PaigeFTW: Flashback: ‘Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale’
It’s an old game, but a charmer — an addictive one.
Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale deposits players not in the boots of the budding adventurer, but the shabby shoes of the shopkeeper who keeps the heroes supplied with potions and swords on their noble quests. And it is probably twice as fun as picking up the sword yourself would be.
Innocent Recette must open up shop to pay off her deadbeat dad’s debts to the hard-nosed fairy Tear. Players must pay back his 820,000 pix loan (no small sum) in a month, or Recette will be living on the streets.
From there, the game is divided into two spheres: 2D exploring with one of eight different adventurers to find new merchandise, or haggling with customers in the shop. The dungeon-crawling part of the game is fine and functional, but it really shines in its market simulator.
Daily sales trends, item shortages or surpluses, customer personality and other factors (including store décor) all come into play as Recette haggles her way through each transaction. The game is formulaic, but somehow addictive. What if tomorrow you can turn a 30,000-pix profit on the shortcake you’ve been stockpiling? It’s like gambling, only worse because there are no consequences besides all the time you’ll be spending at your computer.
Add that stellar gameplay to the charming sprite visuals and jaunty, self-deprecating script, and Recettear will be the best $19.99 you ever spent on a game (or less, if you catch it during a Steam sale like I did).
Some tips: The only adventurer I ever warmed up to was the balanced Louie (the first swordsman you meet), but there’s a lot of variety to be had.
Another nifty take on the alternative-perspective adventure front: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, which sees you engaging in some serious resource management and city-building as the king that employs all these erstwhile explorers. As a WiiWare title, this game is still playable on the Wii U.
