Catalyst Castle

So, I’ve done something I haven’t done in quite a while. I’ve played a computer game! (*Gasp!*, *Shocked!*) And it is horribly addictive, but wonderfully fun.

Recettear is an item-shop-focused role-playing game. It was independently produced by a small software company in Japan, and localized for North America by another small company in the USA. The English version was just released on September 10^th, five days ago.

In this game, you play a girl named Recette who runs an item shop with the help of a fairy named Tear. She’s trying to pay off a massive debt that her father racked up just before he went off adventuring. If she can’t pay off the debt, she’ll lose the item shop, which is also her house. The characters are very appealing, the game has quite a bit of story in it, and the artwork is fantastic.

Game play revolves around to activities. The first one is managing your store. You can buy some items at wholesale prices from the local merchants guild and marketplace and then resell them at a profit in your store. As your profits grow you can even expand and remodel your shop. Do you hate how, in most RPGs, shop owners only pay you 50% of an item’s value when you sell it to them, and then turn around and sell it at full price? In Recettear you can be that shop owner! Yay! I love that the adorable Recette’s catchphrase is “Capitalism, ho!”

The second main activity in Recettear is dungeon delving. Recette is just a simple girl who runs an item shop, and wouldn’t stand a chance against dangerous monsters, but she can hire adventurers to go into dungeons for her and collect items. When she does, you take control of the adventurer and explore the dungeon. There are no random battles in Recette, at least not in the typical sense. Dungeon delving plays like a classic Zelda or Mana game. Fighting monsters requires skill and timing in addition to strategy. The great thing about dungeons is that any items you pick up here can be sold at 100% profit in your store (though you may have to spend some money on your adventurer to make sure he is well equipped).

In addition to these two main aspects of game play, there are also plenty of colorful characters that you can meet and interact with in town. The loan payments that you have to make each week keep you challenged. Overall, it’s a fun and rewarding game with lots of personality.

I enjoyed the free demo so much, that I purchased the full game for $20 and am waiting right now while it downloads. ^_^

You can learn more about Recettear, and download the free demo, by visiting their website here.