Every since the gushing reception of Game Dev Story, cellphone-centric game developer Kairosoft has been doling out their style of pixelated management sims on a fairly regular schedule.
While the motif of the games often change radically: From soccer to cruise ships; From mall management to space exploration. No theme is too mundane or grandiose to center a "story" around. Dungeon Village takes the player through the trappings of a burgeoning RPG village. Players who went through the paces of Carpe Fulgar's Recettear may feel a sense of deja vu while civil engineering for JRPG heros, however with such an under used concept the response is fondness at worse.
Dungeon Village is a melange of your standard Kairosoft mechanics. Arguably the most common of Kairosoft tropes, you have 15 years to make your hamlet into a 5 Star beacon of the monster slaying world. As is the standard for these games, you can continue to play after the 15 year mark, however you will no longer contribute to your high score.
Wannabe mayors will need to balance a variety of resources against the needs and growth of your village people. Dungeon Village integrates the questing system which first appeared in Epic Astro Story. Allowing you to send off villagers to gain gold, glory and experience points. However, I found the actual battle tactics portion left out in the transition to be sorely missed.
That said, Dungeon Village pours on a variety of monsters and treasure. A never-explained crafting system allows you to recycle unwanted loot and cook up new magic items. It integrates a surprisingly deep job system, allowing you to choose from an eclectic list including Warrior, Wizard, Merchant and Cook. I spent way too much time considering what type of weapon I should equip on a 10th level Pro Wrestler - sadly folding steel chair was not an option.
While the inner workings of Kairosoft remain a total mystery to me, it's clear that someone with s-rank pixel art skills was at the helm. Perhaps the most detailed and masterfully illustrated title yet released by the team. The snaggle toothed dragons and wind-up mecha gorillas were personal favorites that some how managed to harmonize with the prototypical Kairo character art.
The game is not without its flaws. I found myself baffled at the town leveling criteria. The proud village of Dreamcast Acres reached all the qualifications for a 2 star town within weeks of starting... except earning 35,000 gold per month. Toiling for 8 years, I finally broke that threshold. Immediately I discovered I had everything I needed for the 3 star rating. Following that, I spent 4 seconds building a museum and I was a 4 star town! Wouldn't you know, of the 5 criteria needed for a 5 star town I had all of them except earning 75,000 gold per month. I spent the remaining 7 years vainly chasing that dragon (while hunting real dragons) never to crack 60k.
While it may be a meek complaint, I wasn't thrilled at the new game plus carry over compared to other Kairosoft titles. I was desperately hoping the game would allow me to bring over one of my already leveled heros or access to my unlocked weapons. On your second play through you retain the level of your buildings (which I didn't even pay attention to the first time) and your list of possible occupations (as if I could even afford to make a villager a knight). I can use all the help I can get pinning down that 5th star, but I don't think I'll get much of a head start with this "plus".
All on the table, Dungeon Village is the most enjoyable Kairosoft game since Game Dev Story and is hands down the best looking one to date.
