Independent games may have become a commercial darling in the West, but the Japanese scene is just starting to bloom.

Japan doesn’t have an IndieCade, a massive, multi-day trade show dedicated to independent video games. But it does have BitSummit, an independent games festival that takes place in Kyoto, Japan. While it has a long way to go before it’s the size of Penny Arcade Expo or IndieCade, its third annual festival in early July was promising. It welcomed PlayStation boss Shuhei Yoshida, a company that has broadly embraced indie games on its consoles. Also present were famed game developers Mega Man creator Keiji Inafune and Castlevania series director Koji Igarashi as guests, both of whom have struck out on their own with Kickstarter to much fanfare. BitSummit also admitted thousands of fans over two days to try out the latest Japanese indie creations.

See also: 6 indie games that pushed boundaries at E3

Japan’s indie scene is still coming into its own, but it’s clear already that creators there are prioritizing creativity and self-expression over profitability and sales numbers. Taking the filter off of creators from a country known for its weird and wonderful creations made for some unique and surprising game demos at BitSummit 2015. We played them all and picked out the most uniquely Japanese ones of the bunch.

The indie RPG hero: Brave Yamada-kun

Forget the typical “chosen one” story: a young boy hero of the 16-bit role-playing game days. In Onion Games’ Brave Yamada-kun, the hero is a mustachioed 36-year-old salaryman that wears nothing but striped boxers. The game opens with Yamada ripping off his clothing right after work, straight down to his underwear, and immediately jumping onto the computer to make his own RPG. Think of him as the hero for the indie game age.

Mobile game Brave Yamada-kun smartly blends role-playing and puzzle play through single-screen dungeons. Players have to correctly draw a path for Yamada to march, tracing through enemies, power-ups and traps to a marked goal. As Yamada progresses through the drawn path, he’ll have to survive with his given equipment and hit points.

The whole game is done in a retro pixel art style and looks like it came straight off a Nintendo cartridge. It has a Dragon Quest-style soundtrack to match, and Yamada’s nasal humming and singing compliments each of the tunes.

Throwback multiplayer: Pico Park

I saw ten players holding corded controllers, all facing one screen, and did a double take.

Pico Park is an up-to-10-player puzzle platformer by developer Teco, and it continually drew crowds at BitSummit. Each player controls a simple, boxy-headed little character that must team up with the other nine to solve puzzles together. An early puzzle had each player bouncing a ball off their heads, working together to lead it to the goal. Later levels slowly add complexity; players stacked on top of each other to reach new heights, or grouped up to push open obstacles.

The title will come to PC later this year, and the developer says that it will be very flexible with controller configurations and payer counts. While the demo setup used ten NES-style USB game pads connected to a 10-port hub, other controller options will be available, and the game will automatically reconfigure to smaller player counts.

Old is old again: Bokusuka Wars 2

One of the oldest strategy role-playing games is coming back on PS4, but it looks like it something straight out of 1983. With an art style that would make old DOS shareware games look state-of-the-art, Bokosuka Wars 2 won’t win any awards for its looks. Though you can flip between the original MSX presentation and a more modern style with one button.

The gameplay is just as old, but it has stood the test of time and is still enjoyable. You play as the king, and can move freely about the screen, block by block, picking up knights and pawns that will follow the king in formation. The goal is to march this ever-growing group to the left, toward victory, strategically positioning the pawns and knights to take down enemies and break down barriers, protecting the king all the while.

Japanese heart and soul: Daruma Soul

Daruma are those hollow, bearded heads that Japanese people use as luck charms. But in Daruma Soul, a new horizontal shooter for mobile by duo Tengu Boys, they’re actually bombs.

They’ve turned the genre on its big red head by ditching its common spaceship for a ninja. He continually runs forward, and can be moved by simply sliding a finger on the screen to dodge obstacles “bullet hell” style. The ninja can shoot throwing stars and other ninja weaponry, building his power based on the number of Daruma heads he collects. When things get really hairy, the collected heads act as screen-clearing bombs.

Daruma Soul has a sharp, cartoony look for its strangely cheerful enemies, and explosions featuring cute and colorful faces in smoke puffs.

Ninja gloves and shampoo bottles: Kappa Namooooon and ShCoCoooCoCo

Developer Takahiro Miyazawa fitted my arms with white sleeves with flat black sensors that slid over my middle fingers. This complicated design was the controller for his latest game: Kappa Namooooon. Thrusting my hands toward the screen would allow me to blast away any of the approaching kappa (Japanese mythical frog-like creatures), just like in an anime. Thrusting both hands together initiates a powerful blow that sends multiple kappa flying backwards. But continual flailing depletes your power, so players have to mash their hands together in prayer and shake them to build power back up for future attacks.

The loop of arm thrusting and hand shaking had me sweating, and the embarrassment I felt from the crowd watching me play turned the heat up even more.

Miyazawa’s other BitSummit game demo also uses a real-world object equipped with motion sensors as a controller, but its gameplay is much less intense. ShCoCoooCoCo — named for the sound of a bottle pump — is controlled by an empty lotion bottle. Tilting the bottle moves an on-screen bird over obstacles and projectiles as it flies forward. Pushing down on the bottle’s pump makes the bird spit as its attack.

Miyazawa says that he has no plans to distribute these games.