Let the games begin!
Doodle Champion Island Games
is a Google Doodle Gamenote made in partnership with Tokyo-based animation studio, Studio 4°C. It is based heavily on Japanese mythology and culture and was created for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The game follows the story of Lucky, a calico ninja cat participating in the titular Champion Island Games held on, where else, Champion Island. To win the games Lucky must defeat the champions of seven sports: Archery, Table Tennis, Skateboarding, Marathon Running, Artistic Swimming, Climbing and Rugby. Along the way she'll also end up assisting the locals with their various problems from helping unblock hot springs to inspiring an Oni to follow his dreams of being a baker.
The game also features an online component in the form of a scoreboard that keeps track of four teams, one of which you will join at the start of the game.
Doodle Champion Island Games contains examples of:
- 100% Completion: The Trophy Room encourages the player to aim for this, getting a trophy for every side-quest completed.
- Aborted Arc: When Lucky enters Fukoro's dojo in the climbing area, she is told by the young birds inside that Fukoro will only return to the dojo if somebody reaches him on the top of the mountain, and that whoever manages to do so will obtain a high position within the dojo. It seems like another sidequest worthy of a trophy, but ultimately barely anything comes from it. Beating Fukoro at one of the climbing stages only results in him sitting on top of the dojo on the world map from that moment on, but there is no trophy. At first, the birds in the dojo still acted as if Fukoro is gone, but this was fixed eventually in the expansion.
- All for Nothing: One of the sidequests involves Lucky trying to retrieve a rabbit's "lucky arrow". However, when you finally find it and return it to him, he says that he no longer wants it, much to Lucky's annoyance and chagrin.
- Artistic License – Physics: A bottle of lava should be impossible to handle due to high temperatures. Also, it's still liquid.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: Lucky wears a Bandana around her neck and is quite adept at sports.
- Cats Are Snarkers: Lucky has a few moments where she comments on some of the NPC's attitudes. She mentions that the lady wanting 500 locks must like her privacy a lot.
- Cat Ninja: Lucky is explicitly referred to by the doodle's description as a Ninja Cat, which explains her ability to disappear in a puff of smoke and reappear at one of the sport's entrances.
- Cats Hate Water: Lucky mentions that she dislikes getting wet, though this doesn't stop her from becoming a swimming champion.
- Chekhov's Gunman: The sleeping cat at Oni Island. Lucky first wonders if he is the real Trophy Master, but the cat drowsily explains that the Trophy Master is a female cat, and gives directions on how to find Momo.
- Cherry Blossoms: Petals constantly rain across the screen after obtaining all seven scrolls
- The Chosen One: There's said to be a Chosen One destined to win all events and bring balance to the island, and Lucky is implied to be the one. Subverted in the ending, where it turns out the stone guardians just made the whole thing up to help motivate people.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: To convince Tengu to trade away his fan, you retrieve his invisibility cloak from an Octopus. He then tries to go for Moving the Goalposts, saying he needs his fan to play table tennis. Lucky shouts with frustration that if he does that, he'll keep scaring away the villages with the gusts. Tengu then pauses and asks if that's why they left. He asks why no one came to tell him the winds were a problem. He says if he had known, he would have stopped summoning winds immediately. Lucky acknowledges she should have been more upfront.
- Creative Closing Credits: The ending credits for the game show Lucky sailing away as the day breaks into the night, and the song for the level two water level plays as a Triumphant Reprise. Then they rest on the text that thanks all of the Google champions who have played.
- Creepy Good: The Trophy Master has a creepy laugh and knows a worrying amount about Lucky, but is still a nice person who rewards helping others. Double Subverted when it is revealed he's not the real Trophy Master, making it seem like he did something to the true Trophy Master, until it turns out that the real Trophy Master Momo was distracted playing video games while he filled the role in Momo's stead.
- Deadpan Snarker: Though Lucky is rather friendly, she has a sharp tongue that she occasionally breaks out, usually in response to some of the weirder locals. For example, when she retrieves a local's lucky arrow she snarks to herself about how it looks like every other arrow.
- Dungeon Bypass: An early game glitch allowed a player to win rugby early. If they picked up the blue powerup during the game, one could walk on the lava barrier and walk to the other end of the field, winning with the highest possible score. Sadly, this has been patched out in the update.
- Expansion Pack: On August 24, 2021, the game was expanded with 2 more sidequests, and additional stages for the Archery and Rugby minigames. It was also given a proper ending where Lucky can choose to leave the island.
- Faux Horrific: One sidequest involves repairing a road by getting hot spring water to mix with the concrete (with said hot spring requiring an entirely different sidequest to access). If Lucky talks with the Ushi workers afterwards, asking why they didn't get it themselves, it turns out that they're so into hard work and strength that a place of relaxation like the hot springs is horrifying to them.
- Fetch Quest: Most of Lucky's quests boil down to this. For example, one quest has her track down three pieces of driftwood for a woodcarver.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- Momotaro will be on your team in the rugby game regardless of whether or not you've already played the sidequest where you need to find him.
- The victory cut scene for the rugby game shows the Oni to be Graceful Losers, like the other champions, but talking to them afterward in the dojo reveals they are quite sour about their loss and want a rematch.
- Gentle Giant: Downplayed, but still valid: The climbing champion is a giant owl who tosses snowballs down the cliff to make it harder for Lucky to reach the top. However, if she does reach the top, the owl gives Lucky the scroll after curiously regarding it for a few seconds.
- Giant Enemy Crab: The Marathon Running segment has crabs (and octopuses) as obstacles that will slow down Lucky if she bumps into them without using her invulnerability. A giant crab type appears only on the harder difficulty and is bigger than Lucky or the Kijimuna themselves.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: The main goal of the Games is to win a scroll of victory by besting each of the seven champions on the island.
- Graceful Loser: The victory cutscenes show the ex-champions celebrating Lucky's victory before giving her the scroll.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: Sometimes, certain characters suddenly speak in another language. For example, in one of the earlier quests, you are to help a turtle bring trophies to the Trophy Room. For some reason, one of his dialogue is in Portuguese.
- Handicapped Badass: In what is possibly a nod to the Paralympic Games, the Tengu boss of the table tennis game has a prosthetic leg, Yoichi is not just on horseback but appears to be seated in some sort of cart/wheelchair, and among the runners in the Marathon Running game there is always at least 1 wheelchair bound athlete participating, who can easily keep up with the regular runners.
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: Inverted in the tutorial's Table Tennis match, where the stone guardians will act like you won even if you lost 3-0.
- Hufflepuff House: The four teams that a player can join for the leaderboards are the strong Ushi (Blue), the smart Karasu (Red), the sneaky Inari (Yellow), and... the Kappa (Green), which are this.
- I'll Never Tell You What I'm Telling You!: Lucky learns the secret skatepark's password this way.Kitsune: What's the password? I'll never tell. And you'll never guess that it's TEA KETTLE!
- Invisibility Cloak: The tengu from the Table Tennis game has one, but it was stolen by an octopus. Lucky is asked to retrieve it.
- Lethal Lava Land: Downplayed; the rugby section of the island, where the Oni live, is full of lava, but it's all purely for decorative purposes. It doesn't serve as an obstacle in the rugby game.
- Lions and Tigers and Humans... Oh, My!: Youkai, funny animals and humans all appear side by side in the game.
- Meaningful Name: Petunias in the language of flowers can mean anger and resentment. Petunia the Porcupine is upset that people enter her house and that the games are going on, starting the sidequest to get her locks.
- Metropolis Level: Tanooki City is noticeably more urbanized compared to the rest of the island and said in-game to be where most residents of Champion Island live.
- Minigame Game: The seven sports are presented as interactive minigames, with some having harder variations unlocked through completing Fetch Quests.
- Moving the Goalposts: One sidequest has a rotund athlete ditch training in favor of all-you-can-eat noodles, and keeps making up excuses that Lucky has to deal with. It's only when Lucky gives up her spare lucky bandana and call him an athlete despite his poor work ethic that he gives in and heads to the nearest gym.
- My Rules Are Not Your Rules: In the expansion of the archery game, while the player will have their arrow blocked by the crossed out floating, Yoichi's arrows will not only shoot through it but also remove it PLUS giving Yoichi 50 points per removed cross-out markers. Talk about cheating to the extremes...
- Mysterious Past: Lucky has one. She mentions offhand when talking to an Oni that wishes to be a baker that she gave up everything in her life to come to Doodle Champion Island.
- "No. Just… No" Reaction: Lucky responds this way if you click on fur shampoo in the convenience store. She says the product looks nice, but she hates getting her fur wet.
- Not So Above It All: Lucky normally is a Nice Girl who convinces the animals politely to either trade items or to pursue their dream job. She gets a sneaky look on her face when convincing a crab to buy a vacant house.
- No Ending: Initially played straight; even after obtaining all 7 scrolls and completing all sidequests, Lucky still refuses to leave, so the player can keep playing the minigames endlessly. Averted as of the expansion released on August 24, 2021, when Lucky is given the option to leave the island (which will reset all your progress).
- Passionate Sports Girl: Lucky enjoys sports of all kinds and is eager to prove herself in the events on Champion Island.
- Player Headquarters: Each of the four teams has a headquarters, that Lucky can only enter if she belongs to that particular team. Each headquarter in turn is divided in 3 sections; one that is immediately available, one that becomes available after obtaining 3 scrolls, and one that becomes available after obtaining 6 scrolls.
- Pokémon Speak: The kappa can't say anything other than their name, with the exception of a "smart Kappa" on the path to the Archery game. However, siding with the Green team and entering the kappa headquarters reveals that it's mostly an act, and they can speak perfectly fine to a teammate.
- Poor Communication Kills: In the abandoned village sidequest, the villagers are scared off by the strong winds the Tengu's fan creates, so Lucky is sent to confiscate it. However, it turns out that the Tengu can choose not to make strong winds and just doesn't know they're the problem. Once Lucky finally explains the situation, it's quickly and easily resolved.
- Previous Player-Character Cameo:
- During the final trophy quest, you will meet Momo from the Magic Cat Academy Doodle Games.
- On the Secret Beach, the main pangolin from the Pangolin Love Doodle Game can be seen.
- Lucky and Momo would later appear as customers in the Celebrating Bubble Tea and Celebrating Pani Puri Doogle Games.
- Rain, Rain, Go Away: One sidequest involves convincing a youkai named Amefuri Kozo to stop causing rain in the bamboo forest. Amefuri loves rain and is convinced he is doing people a favor by making it rain. The only way to make him stop is to give him a train ticket so he can bring his rain to other parts of the island.
- Refusal of the Call: One of the sidequests has Lucky come across a sleeping cat. Once awoken, he claims that he was sent to the island to win all the games and become the next Chosen One, just like Lucky... but upon reaching the warm Oni territory, promptly decided to relax and leave the task to the next cat that came along. You complete this quest simply by talking to the cat. He does, however, give a hint on where to find the real Trophy Master.
- Reset Button Ending: The game ends when Lucky chooses to leave the island after receiving all the trophies and completing quests. The locals, however, warn her that when she does, everyone's memory will reset. You can decide to leave anyway. After the credits roll, Lucky ends up back at the island, at the start of the game.
- Rugby Is Slaughter: It is the favorite sport of the Oni, who are all hulking brutes.
- Rule of Seven: 7 sports to win and 7 scrolls to obtain.
- Secret Level: You can unlock special variations of the sports minigames by completing certain sidequests. Climbing, Marathon and Skateboarding each have an unlockable variant while Artistic Swimming and Table Tennis both have two. As of August 24, 2021, Archery and Rugby also have an unlockable special version.
- Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: The Trophy Master is suggested to be hiding dark secrets under a kind exterior, but turns out to be genuinely good. While he is impersonating the real Trophy Master, it's only to cover for her while she's distracted by video games, not for any nefarious reason.
- Shown Their Work: The game contains references big and small to both Japanese mythology, history, and culture, both traditional and modern.
- Every Funny Animal is a species or creature native to Japan.
- One sidequest involves a "sacred fire arrow" that apparently explodes to clear out snow. Ninja were known to use explosive arrows, or horokuhiya, literally arrows with a small explosive tied to the tip, meant to cause small-scale explosions as distractions.
- A rabbit NPC in Tanooki City is carrying a kine, a lopsided mallet that serves as a pestle for making mochi. This is a roundabout reference to the Japanese version of the Moon Rabbit myth, where the rabbit makes mochi.
- Momotarō from the eponymous folktale appears as a character in the game; finding him is one of the sidequests, and along with his 3 animals friends he joins Lucky for the rugby match against the Oni.
- In the Artistic Swimming area of the game, Lucky will encounter Urashima Taro, who is living in the palace at the sea bottom. One sidequest includes Lucky bringing him a letter written by his mother, who has long since died and become a ghost.
- The Boss in the Archery minigame is based on Nasu no Yoichi. The animation preceeding the game shows him performing his most famous feat; shooting the fan off a boat while riding on a horseback.
- The interior of the climbing Dojo was revamped for the update and made to be like an interior of an Ainu house.
- Take a Third Option: While players are strongly encouraged to join one of the four teams, they are not actually required to. It is perfectly possible to play all the minigames and get the scrolls while never joining a team (of course, this does mean that your points won't be added to the total score of a team).
- Talk to Everyone: Like any side quest riddled game, this trope is in full effect. Expect to have a very short play through if you don't.
- Timed Mission: The climbing minigames only give you a limited amount of time to reach the top. The skateboard and archery contests also have time limits during which you have to score as many points as possible.
- Token Heroic Orc: Most Oni are brutes that love to play Rugby, but Lucky encounters one that would rather open his own bakery in Tanooki City. Helping him do so is one of the side quests.
- Trademark Favourite Food: Momotaro likes peaches.
- Trespassing Hero: Lucky can enter various buildings across the island, including people's homes. One sidequest features Petunia, a porcupine that's rather perturbed by this, and asks you to fetch an order of 50 locks from a locksmith in order to keep you and any future unwanted guests out.
- Water Is Womanly: The Artistic Swimming champion is Otohime, a graceful swimming princess who resides in an underwater palace. She's the only explicitly female champion.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are:
- Lucky tells Daichi this when the latter hesitates about returning to the gym. She says that she knows he has a gamer inside of him.
- Likewise, there's a tiny Oni who doesn't feel confident enough to compete because his siblings say that he's too small. One of the updated sidequests is finding a motivational self-help book for him. He then gains the confidence to compete in rugby.
- Youkai: Inevitably, especially the ones that aren't Funny Animals. Among others, there are the Tengu (both the karasu and the hanataka versions), Kappa, Kitsune, Oni and Tanuki.
