Today's Google Doodle is an interactive RPG in honor of the Tokyo Olympics

Against all odds, the 2020 Olympic Games are still going on in Tokyo, Japan.

In celebration of Japanese culture and sports in general, Google has debuted a new interactive Doodle homage to classic Japanese 16-bit games with art from Japanese animation house Studio 4°C. 

The new Doodle, called Doodle Champion Island Games, is actually a series of Olympic event-themed 16-bit mini-games that you can play, contributing to the scores of four teams Google will track on a global leaderboard.

As feline protagonist Lucky the Calico Ninja Cat, you can join either the Blue, Red, Yellow, or Green teams, represented by Ushi (a cow), Karasu (a crow), Inari (a fox), or Kappa (a Japanese turtle-like water spirit), respectively. 

The seven mini-games feature several new and returning summer Olympic events, such as table tennis, skateboarding, archery, rugby, artistic swimming, sport climbing, and marathon running, each with its own “Legendary Champion” figures to challenge from Japanese folklore and history.

Lucky’s ultimate goal is to defeat each sport Champion to collect all seven sacred scrolls—and complete extra hidden challenges across Champion Island. 

The whole Google Doodle plays like a retro RPG with side-quests, all rendered in a 16-bit art style. Internet users can turn their smartphones into instant gaming devices as they navigate Lucky through a festival over-world populated with the games and champions, complete side quests, and experience the art and cutscenes Studio 4°C created for the Doodle. 

To play the interactive Doodle, just click the link on the icon on Google's landing page. You can also go behind-the-scenes and learn more about the largest interactive Doodle ever made by the Tokyo-based animation studio, STUDIO 4°C below.

Doodle Champion Island Games launched on Google at 9:00 p.m. PT on Thursday, July 22nd / 12:00 a.m. ET on Friday, July 23rd.

(Images via Google)