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11 Chigusa Choko is the protagonist of Showa American Story and the only character the player controls. She is 19 years old, made her start as a stunt double, and had always dreamed of becoming a movie star. The game writes her name surname first: Chigusa is the family name, Choko the given name. Earlier materials spelled the given name Chouko, but current store and site copy settles on Choko.
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33 Her story begins with her death. Choko travels to Neo Yokohama with her younger sister Aya to audition for a new action film. Shortly after the two arrive at the airport, Choko is assassinated by a group of mysterious men in black, who bury her body in the wilderness outside the city and take Aya away with them. An unknown amount of time later, she comes back to life. The official copy does not say how long she spent in the ground, and no other source narrows it.
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55 Alongside her second life she is given, in the game's own words, "a mysterious and frightening power". That sentence is the whole of it. Nothing published names the power, explains where it came from, or describes what it does.
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77 DetailWhat is knownNameChigusa Choko (family name Chigusa, given name Choko)Age19BackgroundStunt double, aspiring movie starFamilyAya, younger sisterJapanese voiceYoko Hikasa (see Voice Cast)RoleThe only playable character in Showa American Story
88 Story Role
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1010 The question the official story copy hands the player is blunt: "Who were the men in black who took Aya away?" After joining forces with new companions, Choko sets out on a post-apocalyptic journey across America's Route 50 in search of her sister, the truth, and vengeance. The current English store blurb frames the same trip more gently, as a road trip built on combat, exploration and growth, without the revenge line. Both framings come from the game's own materials, and the fuller version is the one that reads as the story premise.
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1212 The world she travels through has been reshaped by The Cataclysm, and the route between its cities is covered on Cities and World Structure. As for when all of this happens, the game gives its own setting as Showa 66. The real Showa era ended at Showa 64, which fell in 1989, so Showa 66 is a date that never happened; had the era continued it would correspond to 1991. The English store description separately places the story in the late 1980s. Both descriptions come from the game's own materials, and Showa 66 Setting covers the discrepancy in full.
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1414 The Only Playable Character
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1616 The studio stated in 2022 that the player controls Choko and only Choko, with no character creator and no facial customisation. Companions met on the road travel with her rather than becoming playable. The publisher's announcement copy notes that survivors encountered along the way can join her, and that some characters may instead oppose her; Michael Hero and Bubba are the two companions shown so far, and Mutsuki Akitora was introduced with the line that he may do either.
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1818 Progression and Equipment
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20-Choko's stats are raised by levelling and by Daily Activities, and can be modified further by equipping accessories. No source has ever named a stat category, so the categories themselves remain unknown. The studio said in 2024 that she has her own skill tree, kept separate from the individual skill trees attached to each weapon. Outfits change her appearance and are among the things she picks up while travelling and puts to use back at the RV; none has been named. Progression, Combat and Weapons cover those systems in detail.
20+Choko's stats are raised by levelling and by Daily Activities, and can be modified further by equipping accessories. No source has named a stat category as of September 2026, so the categories themselves remain unknown. The studio said in 2024 that she has her own skill tree, kept separate from the individual skill trees attached to each weapon. Outfits change her appearance and are among the things she picks up while travelling and puts to use back at the RV; none has been named. Progression, Combat and Weapons cover those systems in detail.
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2222 One developer interview summary describes her recovering a camper and a motorcycle from ruins and repairing them, a thinly sourced detail best read alongside The Guren Express, the RV that serves as her mobile base.
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2424 Design and Performance
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2626 For years Choko's face was deliberately hidden. Trailers kept it out of view, and the 2024 trailer mosaicked it outright. The creative director explained in 2024 that the face design simply was not finished, and said he intended to keep it a mystery for players for the time being. The design shown in 2026 is more revealing than the earlier ones. He also said in a 2025 developer talk that her attack animations were captured through motion capture, with the shoots supervised personally.
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2828 On the brief itself, the studio said in 2023 that one goal of the project was to portray the world from a female protagonist's standpoint, and that it aims to express female beauty as it is, including elements of sexiness, while regularly asking female staff whether the game and character designs feel appropriate. The creative director has said Choko reflects characteristics of the shoujo manga he read growing up, and described her in 2023 and 2024 as beautiful, independent and formidable, showing both bravery and adorable qualities.
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3030 In the gamescom 2026 Demo
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3232 In the build shown at gamescom 2026, Choko wears a mask and works as a vigilante through Neo Yokohama, with Michael Hero and Bubba alongside her. She carried four weapons at once and swapped freely between them mid-fight. The demo's Chapter 3 slice sends her up Mount Neo Yokohama looking for Aya, intending to consult an NPC known as Granny Peace. Everything in that build is provisional: the developers say narrative content was omitted, features were disabled, parameters were adjusted, and its presentation and systems do not represent the final game. gamescom 2026 Demo covers what was and was not in it.
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3434 Voice
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3636 Yoko Hikasa was announced at gamescom 2026 as Choko's Japanese voice. The full announced cast is listed on Voice Cast.
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3838 What Is Not Known
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40-A great deal. Choko has no published hometown, family beyond Aya, birthday or any other biographical detail. How long she was dead, what her power is, who ordered her killing and how the story ends are all unpublished, and the demo stops well before any of it is answered.
40+A great deal, as of September 2026. Choko has no published hometown, family beyond Aya, birthday or any other biographical detail. How long she was dead, what her power is, who ordered her killing and how the story ends are all unpublished, and the demo stops well before any of it is answered.