Video Gamer is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Prices subject to change. Learn more
Train Your Brain: Nintendo Switch Training for Adults, the next game in the Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training series, is coming to the Nintendo Switch before the end of this year and it is bundled with an officially licensed stylus.
On the official Japanese My Nintendo Store, the new brain-teasing title is set to be released on December 27 2019. Pre-orders are available now, and it bundles the game and the stylus together for ¥3,758. Don’t wince just yet because some quick mental maths — or Googling — says that’s about £28.30 over here. But, I would argue you can’t put a price on the floating face of Dr. Kawashima, shaking his head and sadly reporting that your brain age is 67, when you are a fresh faced 11 year old and only just got a sticker for your ‘excellent!’ long division homework.
On the Nintendo DS, Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training would use the touch screen so players could write their answers to calculations, sudoku, and counting puzzles. Nintendo has released the stylus so that these very same puzzles are possible on the Switch. It’s also being sold separately, and customers can pre-order the pen for ¥864, or £6.50. It’s super handy to have an officially licensed stylus; firstly to avoid damage to the Switch screen, and secondly to replace the limited edition Mario Maker 2 one that went behind the sofa and never returned.
There’s a small disclaimer that says, ‘Nintendo Switch Lite does not allow you to play “Latest Game Test”, “Finger Calculation”, “Finger Gymnastics”, “Bird Counting”, “Flag Raising”, and “Box Counting” using Joy-Con functions.’ So, one could assume that Switch Lite players would rely upon the stylus more so than the Switch version of the game. ‘Flag Raising’ seems to be a colour coding puzzle based on the colours of the Joy-Cons, and in one photo, the player holds the Switch vertically — just like in the previous games — to complete mental maths challenges.
Regarding confirmed games, players use the Joy-Con’s IR camera to scan their hand and play a game of rock-paper-scissors, or hold up the correct answer to mental maths questions with the Switch. Also shown in the trailer are competitive counting games, and a game that seems to cause the running character to jump over obstacles with each correct answer.
As this listing has only appeared on the Japanese store so far, it’s unknown as to whether the Western release of the game would coincide with December 27. But, it’s a smart move to release a new Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training game, in my humble opinion. The Switch Lite sold incredibly well in Japan, and that version of the console is made with a more casual gamer in mind. The series has sold over 19 million units as of 2015, and I’m sure newcomers and fans will welcome the next game with the beaming smiles they learned from Dr Kawashima’s polygonal persona.
Train Your Brain: Nintendo Switch Training for Adults will be released in Japan on December 27. Watch the trailer below.
