From the developer of the Professor Layton and Inazuma Eleven series comes comes a fantasy RPG... where you play the shop-keeper! WEAPONS SHOP de OMASSE!!!
...Actually, technically, your a blacksmith, named Yuhan, and you and your master, Oyaji, run a weapons shop where you craft your own weapons. In the context of this game, it takes place around 50 years after the defeat of this "Evil Lord", as shown in the intro to the game with NES-style graphics. Times are hard and supplies are running short as rumors of the Dark Lord's return spread around. To make up for this Yuhan comes up with a weapon rental system, in which they make weapons, and rent them to customers, who in turn use the weapon for whatever they desire, then return the weapon with their rental fee. The catch is, if they fail their mission, you get paid nothing, AND lose the weapon! You need to work hard to prepare strong weapons, and also choose wisely to select a good weapon best suited for the customer's needs.
When I first saw the trailer for it via February 2014's Nintendo Direct, I thought it would be something of a rhythm game, and while that's definitely present during the actual process of making a weapon, that only makes up about a third or a fourth of the game. The vast majority of the game is all about management; you need to prepare good weapons for your clients, all while keeping track of their quests, polishing weapons you've made to make them stronger, keeping tabs on your inventory, and just in general making "Omasse" (the name of the weapons shop) the best weapons shop out there, in addition to helping make Yuhan a master blacksmith!
Really, though, what makes this game are 2 things: the humor and the characters. The game is incredibly self-aware in terms of its setting being a relatively generic RPG setting, things like stats, levels, EXP, generic monsters like goblins, werewolves, and areas like "Tutorial Cave" and "Starting City" help set the tone rather nicely. The dialogue also gets pretty hilarious, particularly in the case of certain generic customers, all named "NPC" and most if not all of them aware of their status as non-playable characters, basically programmed to do nothing all that important as far as the plot goes. There's even, supposedly, a "live studio audience" that laughs at jokes, gasps at dramatic moments, "Aww"s during sad/cute moments, and even "Boos" certain characters. It feels like a sitcom, especially when Oyaji enters the scene and the audience applauds, like it's like a guest character/favorite character making an appearance in a TV show. I was kind of taken aback by it at first, and it might be annoying to some, but I find it endearing, and helps add to the self-aware tone of the game.
NPCs aside, you also get regular characters, such as the twin acrobat sisters, Mei Lan and Mei Hong, the overly boastful hero-wannabe Jean Jacques Jardeaux, Grandma Snow, who, along with her husband, Grandpa Gabu, defeated the Evil Lord 50 years ago, the up-and-coming a-typical RPG protagonist Friedel Schlintz, the samurai who has it rough Izou Nishinogawa (aka Izo-san), the tough as nails pirate girl Captain Malibu, and the "Bard of Beauty" Mr. Grape Kiss... Seriously, I just have so much to say about each of these characters, I can't contain it all into this one post!
So yeah, in case you couldn't tell, I think this game is so awesome! Just got the game this past Wednesday and started playing it last Thursday. Like, holy Hell is it addicting... Like I said, the humor really does sell it, and I ESPECIALLY love the NPC characters! In fact, I think it's worthy enough for me to want a sequel! I just can't get enough of this, plus it just feels like there can be more done with the concept! New weapons, new characters, new RPG cliches to parody! I love it so much I'm spreading the word! Seriously, for anyone who hasn't bought this game, check it out, it's loads of... well, I wouldn't say fun, but you definitely get into a groove, plus the characters make it all worth it!
