Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima

History

The game was originally developed in Japan for i-mode devices, with the name 川島教授の全脳トレ (Kawashima Kyoju no Zen Noh Tore, Professor Kawashima’s Full Brain Training). Today there are already 11 games available for i-mode phones in Japan, plus an arcade machine with printable cards and online hi-scores.

In 2007 the European branch of the Namco Bandai mobile division released the Java ME version, Brain Coach with Dr. Kawashima, with a selection of 10 minigames from the Japanese games and localized names per country. The game enjoyed great success, topping the charts for several months in countries like France, Germany and Austria. In 2008 the sequel More Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima was released, with 15 new minigames, hi-score upload to Facebook and Sudoku.

An abridged version of the game is also available for purchase by Verizon Wireless cellphone subscribers.

In May 2009 a PC version was also released with the name Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima.

Namco has announced a Windows Phone 7 version of the game.

Gameplay

The game is structured around a set of 15 minigames which are used in the different game modes.

After selecting a profile (there are 3 slots for different users) a cel-shaded 3D Dr. Kawashima will accompany the player when browsing the menus and will explain the minigames. After playing each minigame in any of the game modes, player's performance is rated via a ranking of items found in nature, which includes creatures such as plankton, a whale or a giraffe.

All the statistics of each player are kept in his/her profile; the game offers the possibility of uploading this data so it's available both in the official website and Facebook.

Game modes

Brain Training 

Presents 3 minigames and it’s only available once a day. The outcome will be recorded so the player can check his/her progress.

Brain Age 

Presents the player with 1 minigame, after which, depending on the performance, the calculated Brain Age of the player will be shown. Just a limited number of minigames are suited for this mode and again it’s only possible to play it once a day.

Quick Play 

Allows playing any of the unlocked games as many times as wished.

Sudoku 

It's a classic Sudoku game adapted to touch screen; in the beginning it’s locked, until the user achieves a ranking of Earth on any of the minigames.

Challenge 

Up to 4 players can select a minigame and compete in hotseat multiplayer.

Development

The minigames are designed, tested and implemented by the Namco Bandai team in Japan. After selecting the most interesting ones, some components of the development team will go to Dr. Kawashima’s Lab at Tohoku University, where every game will be played while monitoring its effect on the brain of the player. With this method it can be scientifically proven that the minigames stimulate certain regions of the brain; these regions are shown before starting every minigame in the final game.

List of Minigames

Memory

Arithmetic

Rock, Paper, Scissors

Inverted Numbers

Predominant Number

Red Minus Blue

Shape Construction

Answer the Question

Rolling Shapes

Follow the Pencil

Add 3*

Broken Calculator*

Inverted Panel*

Reverse Dice*

Pipe Connection*

Games with * after the name are currently unavailable on the Verizon Wireless edition.

List of Titles by Language

The game is called Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima on the App Store worldwide, even though when a language is selected the name switches to the local one used in the Java ME mobile version as follows:

English: Brain Exercise with Dr. Kawashima

French: Stimulation Cérébrale avec le Dr. Kawashima

Italian: Brain Magister con il Dr. Kawashima

German: Gehirn Joggen mit Dr. Kawashima

Spanish: Brain Magister con el Dr. Kawashima

Japanese: Kawashima Kyoju no Zen Noh Tore