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Years ago, Indieszero and Nintendo made this amazing GBA game called Sakura Momoko no Ukiuki Carnival. In it, our goal was to prepare a carnival for Colortown, inviting the people who lived there to it and getting the blessing from the gods to ensure a good time is had by all. It never got localized, which is a tragedy. However, Gingham Games, Melos Han-Tani, Mogumu, and Sandy Powder’s Danchi Days features that same sort of spirit and neighbor-collecting initiative in the hopes of once again holding a happy summer festival.
Hoshino Kanaoka and Rio Isshiki are childhood friends who grew up in the same danchi (think of it as an apartment complex) and even attended the kindergarten run by her grandma, Kimiko. However, that was about seven years ago. Now in sixth grade, 12-year-old Hoshino and her dad moved back to the danchi to help with her grandmother who’s now suffering from dementia and sees morale and the community sort of fell apart once Kimiko stopped acting as a major representative and holding the annual summer festival. Hoshino, believing bringing it back will help her grandma recover, goes to meet with the danchi’s “god,” gets a kappa assistant named Moro-Q who worked with her grandma, and starts spending the next nine days getting the needed offerings for the god and for the event and using footwork and the internet to gather RSVPs from attendees to make it a success.
Now, when I compared Danchi Days to Sakura Momoko no Ukiuki Carnival earlier, I meant it. The motivation and progression is very similar, right down to internet investigations and the Neighbor Dex formed by meeting people playing a part in assisting gathering as many people as possible. Every day, Hoshino wakes up and heads out to different areas of the complex with Moro-Q. Each person you meet may feature set requirements in order to convince them to RSVP. For example, one person you’re clearly intended to invite later asks you to answer questions about residents that you’d only know after meeting them and unlocking either their personal webpages on the in-game internet or Neighbor Dex entries. Another person is very chatty, and you need to meet someone else associated with water to get the item needed to quench their thirst so they can say yes. Some areas of the complex are blocked off by progression barriers tied to story events or getting a certain number of RSVPs.
While a lot of Danchi Days can make it feel like an adventure game, there’s also a lite minigame collection element to it. Many of the RSVPs and triggers for certain events are tied to Sense Master challenges. These each require Hoshino to achieve a certain result within a specific number of footsteps. So it could involve catching fried eggs while fire comes down from slides, moving to catch musical notes from birds, collecting puddle splashes, and so on. This is where the game gets a bit uneven. Some of these minigames are fine. Others get a bit fiddly or unintentionally challenging based on positioning and purpose. None of them are intentionally difficult and they only take a few minutes to complete, so it isn’t breaking the immersion or getting in the way of progress. Frankly, I found myself a more annoyed by Hoshino’s general walking speed by the occasional Sense Master challenge that fell flat.
Especially since Danchi Days is otherwise so charming and immersive. The aesthetic is bright and colorful. There’s a sense of optimism, even though tough topics are addressed. Many of the characters are really bright and fun. I loved how it did encourage some light investigation and logical deduction for getting through some areas or solving puzzles tied to getting certain neighbors to RSVP. It’s also great that the developers offered an option to keep playing “each day,” rather than immediately sending Hoshino and Moro-Q back home after hitting the story-mandated daily quota for RSVPs and tasks. The decisions sort of struck me as design choices intended to make it easy for newcomers or younger players to grasp, while still offering opportunities to maximize efforts and push yourself further.
We didn’t get Sakura Momoko no Ukiuki Carnival worldwide and we probably never will. But now, I’m okay with that. Danchi Days is an incredibly charming game about connecting with neighbors, preparing a festival, and doing kind things for people you love. It’s a joyful and sweet adventure complete with an internet that’s actually more pleasant than not. If you’re looking for a chill time and a chance to actually make characters’ world a better place, this offers that.
Danchi Days will come to the PC via Steam on October 29, 2026, and a demo is available.
