Doshin the Giant is one of those games where you ask yourself: “What am I playing? Am I a God? Or am I a turd? And is there any reason why I can’t be both of those things at the same time?! And is that my belly button or my cock? I hope it’s the former…”

It’s also a game where you can lose yourself in the tropical paradise that is the island you live on, because the sound effects, lighting and music are soothing and dreamlike…

Developed by “Param“, Doshin the Giant was initially released for the ill-fated Nintendo 64DD (the floppy disk drive for the N64), in 1999. An expansion disk was released for the same system in May of 2000. Cut to two years later, and Doshin the Giant receives a remake for the Nintendo GameCube… To much scratching of heads… Only this time the ‘Doshin‘ concept had been properly worked out and expanded, and more involving gameplay had been included.

The basic aim of the game is to find and interact with the human natives on the island and to indirectly help them improve their lives. Or: you can do the opposite… You can terrorize the population as Doshin‘s evil twin (Joshin) instead!

A quick flick through the manual and you’ll discover that there are two ways to play Doshin: the ‘good‘ way, or the ‘bad‘ way. Both ways basically lead to the same thing, which is: the growth of Doshin into something… bigger. And eventually: more wonderful than the walking giant yellow turd he initially seems to be.

If you do good deeds for the humans, you’ll receive hearts. And if you complete a circle of hearts, Doshin will grow to the next level. If you terrorize the humans, or stand on them, or otherwise fuck up their plans, then they will give you skulls instead. And if you complete a circle of skulls, Doshin will also grow to the next level. I don’t know yet if growing Doshin a certain way has an effect on the game upon completion, but I’m guessing that it does, because that would be too good of an opportunity to pass up on…

You can switch between Doshin and Joshin at any time by pressing ‘Y’. If Joshin‘s in play, though, the humans will be afraid of him, so make damn sure you only have him out when you need him.

What is interesting about Doshin the Giant is that – as your island population becomes more and more advanced – they also start to build bigger and bigger buildings. Until they eventually build various monuments to you. Which is all quite embarrassing, but I’m sure there’s a poignant reason for it when the game ends.

Doshin the Giant is about being “reborn with the sun” every morning, and dying every night. In between, you get the chance to do good or evil in the world for the thirty minutes that you live in it. How long this cycle goes on for, I don’t yet know. But it’s certainly a game I’m going to finish to find out… Because there’s more to Doshin the Giant than at first meets the eye.

More: Doshin the Giant on Wikipedia