KuruKuru MaruMaru

About

KuruKuru MaruMaru is a lighthearted simulator that trades realism for quirky charm. You play as Wakaba, a nervous rookie driver enduring a bizarre driving school run by an eccentric staff. The game mixes driving lessons with oddball mini-games and chores, all presented in a brightly colored, comically exaggerated style. Between the rubber-hose animation and deadpan humor, it feels less like a driving test and more like a workplace orientation at a toy factory run by cartoon maniacs. The game’s oddness is its strength. Characters range from the unsettlingly cheerful instructors to a mysterious tail-equipped employee who shows up unannounced. While the mechanics are simple, the dialogue and scenarios lean into absurdity, creating a vibe that’s equal parts awkward and endearing. Though largely forgotten outside cult circles, it remains a relic of early 2000s PlayStation experimentation where charm often outshone polish.

Storyline

Main character Wakaba is finally getting his driver's license, so he can go on a date with his girlfriend Clutch. He picked the cheapest driving school he could find, but the brochure is a bit odd: It says that he won't be able to go home for a while. They even send someone from their staff to fetch him, a person with a weird laugh and a tail! So Wakaba says his goodbyes to his girlfriend and leaves for the driving school.