I think I'm going to be unfair and compare this game to my earlier review of 'Long Live The Queen'. As to which one I'm going to be unfair to, that is for you to decide as yo read through the review.
As I'm sure you have guessed from the cover art that Recettear is a game that was developed by a Japanese studio and for the most part it adheres to most of the assumptions you would think of regarding a Japanese game. The game was developed by Japanese indie game developer EasyGameStation and published by an equally small published called Carpe Fulgur. Neither the developer or the publisher had a website to refer to, so you might have to do some digging to get more information. However, after its original release back in 2007, the game was translated in English and published by Valve on Steam in 2010.
Recettear is pretty stereotypical of what most people think a Japanese game would be in terms of art style and music. But doesn't mean that either of those aspects of the game are bad, just nothing out of the ordinary. I personally enjoyed the game's style and music since I don't really play that many games that are so clearly Japanese. The wide eyes, the cute nature of everything and everyone. It all culminated to creating a very nice and relaxing environment that was amusing to be and follow. This would all be useless fluff without the game's actual mechanics.
Leaving the icing behind, let get into the core of the game otherwise known as its mechanics. The mechanics aren't floating alone though, they are quite tied into the very narrative of the game and its something that I found rather interesting about Recettear. The idea behind the game is that you play a shop keeper set in a traditional world from the role playing genre of videogames. That main narrative idea is then taken to guide the mechanics with your entire task being to run your little item shop without going bankrupt. Its a beautifully simple yet engrossing mechanic since there are a couple of layers added to it that give it that added depth that allows the more detail oriented gamer to really enjoy themselves. One is the haggling mechanic where the player can argue with customers over various buy and selling costs which feeds into the relationship building mechanic of the game with customers that like you being more willing to pay more. Another is the random raise and fall in demand for specific items and materials essentially meaning that you have to play the market and stock your store in a proper manner. The final one is managing your store's appearance to draw in the right crowd and how you to showcase all the different stuff you have to sell as much as you can as fast as you can. Your aren't doing this aimlessly though, the game is pushing you to pay a certain amount of debt back to a bank that your father took a massive loan from and that adds a huge sense or urgency to game that takes it from being a task to actually being a challenge. Add to that the leveling system you have as a shop keeper with more customization options being given to you as you level and have even more underlying motivation to do well and have the best little item shop around.
There is more to the game than selling though, even though it is the major aspect of the gameplay. There is also a dungeon crawling section of the game that is fairly entertaining as well. This aspect of the game is fairly traditional and basic but its still a fun time to actually play. You are confined to only being able to explore dungeons using one character at a time, but the monsters and bosses your fight in the game are designed for that type of combat. Having anymore than one would be unfair and almost impossible to control since the combat is done in a real time with a top down view. The combat isn't that complex with each character having a single basic and single special attack, but its still fun despite its simplicity since you do have to dance around the monsters and bosses and spend a little time actually figuring out their weaknesses. The dungeons do a bit more than that though, they are also item mines where you can gather things to sell in your store and stuff to use to make unique items that you can't even buy so that you can sell them for a massive premium. Lets also not forget about the leveling system for the characters that you take into the dungeons who gain experience and grow stronger as they level making them more capable on going on longer runs and dealing with more damage they take due to your missteps. Its just the cherry on top the the only way to actually make these character better is selling them items from your shop when they come to buy stuff making you decide between you two objectives of making lots of money or improving their stats to make your dungeon runs easier.
Recettear is a game you should get if you are looking for a nice break from the major titles currently drowning the market on all platforms from the handheld to the consoles. Its cute, sincere, well put together and designed in a way where all the mechanics work together to create a stronger experience. Its not a stand out in anything, but it does all of the right things well enough to make it stand head and shoulders above many other games. I wouldn't go so far as to call it a modern classic, but its definitely a good game that I do recommend that people play. CAPITALISM, HO!
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