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The Exciting Return of Electroplankton

When developing their then-controversial dual-screened, touch-enabled portable DS, Nintendo approached Japanese sound artist Toshio Iwai to see if he had any ideas for the platform. The idea he had was Electroplankton, a non-game collection of ten types of fish who would generate ambient electronic music based on the player's interactions via the touch screen, buttons, and microphone. The epitome of "niche" titles, Electroplankton perfectly demonstrated what the DS could do that no other device at the time could, earning the prestige of being the first DS cart produced (the ROM's code is titled NDS0001) along with the hearts and imaginations of creative gamers around the world, despite being very difficult to find and purchase outside of Japan.

Seeing the promotional materials for Electroplankton online while I was in college absolutely set off sparks in my brain. I had been a very passive gamer for the previous decade, only playing games in web browsers and at friends houses, never getting serious enough about any one game or even the idea of gaming to purchase a device upon which to play any. The first thing I did upon settling home after graduation was decide to reward myself for years of successful schooling by purchasing a brand-new Nintendo DS and a copy of Electroplankton. No piece of software has ever been so addictive. When shown to my friends, they would play for hours, completely ignoring friends and family and responsibilities, so very focused on the three-inch screen and the blips and bloops around it. By the time each of these friends were convinced to buy DSes of their own, Electroplankton was long-since out of print and warranting over a hundred dollars per card online. The single greatest motivator for illegal software emulation on the DS amongst my peers has been the ability to play Electroplankton without stealing my only copy.

Nintendo of Japan announced just a few days ago that they are rereleasing Electroplankton's ten fish types as separate applications of DSiWare, downloadable software for the recently-released DSi. At 200 points (100 points = $1), purchasing all ten will only set the player back $20, bargain price for new DS games and an absolute steal for this hard-to-find gem.

I found it only fitting that Electroplankton be the first card in my DSi when I picked it up a couple of months ago. The card comes everywhere with me, so I don't really have need to purchase these if/when they are released in the US. If, however, these releases have any additional features, modes or options, I may just be down for a second dip in the pool, particularly for favorites "Hanenbow" and "Beatnes". More importantly, though, if these sell well, maybe Nintendo can talk Toshio Iwai into producing some new fish for the service, or possibly even a full-on sequel. Wouldn't that be a fine fish tale?