Ingenious Indie Innovators, Part #29 - Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale (2010) (PC) (EasyGameStation)
6It's not everyday that a Japanese computer game gets Western gamers excited, but the unique RPG/strategy hybrid Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale has generated quite a buzz among indie-oriented PC gamers in Europe and the US. Athough there's nothing special about the game's generic anime aesthetics and distinctly low budget presentation, the actual gameplay in Recettear is an intelligent and challenging mix of management sim and dungeon crawling. And when I say "management sim", I'm referring to the well-established Japanese subgenre here - not the casual gaming garbage which we tasteless Gaijin have been churning out on Facebook and smartphones over the last couple of years.
As the game's subtitle (as well as its' catchphrase "Capitalism, ho!") signifies, the strategy/simulation elements revolve around managing a shop and trying to perfect the age-old art of buying stuff for as low a price as possible and then sell it off to other people while making a healthy profit in the process. Things are complicated in interesting ways by all sorts of additional elements such as price fluctuations, the importance of building long-term customer relations as well as upgrading your haggling skills, and a real sense of urgency is present right from the start due to weekly (and ever-increasing) loan payments, which force you to be a very industrious capitalist indeed if you want to avoid a Game Over.
The action RPG-esque dungeon crawling is just one part of the gameplay but can be addictive (in a distinctly Ys-like fashion) and time-consuming - especially since all loot found in dungeons can effectively be sold of at a 100% profit when you get back into town. There's a robust risk-reward structure in place here as well, however, since you need to hire and equip heroes and if they fall in battle, almost all items collected during the dungeoneering session are irrevocably lost.
In all of its individual elements, Recettear is a pretty hardcore strategy RPG and as such will instantly punish any player who draws hasty conclusions based on the brightly colored visuals, cheerful music and silly dialogue.