A Major in Business Management and Dungeon Crawling!: Ultima's Recettear Review!

There’s something special about a video game that is not only fun, but somehow manages to also teach you a skill quite important in life. that skill is how to run a business and make money.
Recettear is a video game about just that! Available on Steam, Recettear allows players to run an item shop. It is more than just simple shop keeping, as it mixes in RPG elements and dungeon crawling into the gameplay as well! But can a RPG dungeon crawler shop keeping hybrid truly be good, or is it just a foul mixture?

Story:
Recettear follows the story of young Recette Lemongrass, who, with the help of her recently met fairy companion Tear, runs an Item Shop! We learn vis Flashback how they met. Recette is waking up from a nice long sleep when she hears a knock on the door and is promptly greeted to Tear the fairy, who has come to find Recette’s dad so that he may pay his loan. Unluckily for her, he left the house to become a “Hero” and disappeared after an adventure. Due to this, the loan is instead put on his daughter. It’s up to Recette to pay back the dept she wasn’t even involved in or aware of! Good thing Tear is actually there to help Recette pay back the debt. Tear suggests converting the house into an “Item Shop” to help pay the loan. Recette quickly agrees to and loves the idea, and is quickly at work making the shop happen. Thus, the journey to paying off a loan she NEVER knew about and was SUDDENLY thrust on to her (thanks DAD) begins.

The story is simple to follow, and doesn’t require a lot of thinking or time to grasp it. The conflict is fairly relatable, but it wouldn’t be possible to sympathize with our main heroine if she was unlikeable. Thankfully, Recette is nowhere near unlikeable, as her naive yet cheerful and optimistic personality is a pleasure to experience throughout the game. She’s ADORABLE. You genuinely don’t want her to be homeless and are willing to help her out to the best of your ability. Tear is smart, but may come off as cold or uncaring. She is not heartless, however, as she wants to help Recette keep her house, and actually does care for her. Tear is a sharp contrast to Recette, but both form a believable, friendly, and likeable bond that helps tell the story.

Gameplay:
Recettear’s gameplay is split into two parts, shop management and dungeon crawling. Firstly, running the item shop; your goal is to obtain items by different means so that you may sell them for money AKA Pix. You are able to obtain these items by finding them in dungeons, buying them from the market or guild, buying them from residents selling them to you, or by crafting. The tutorials do a good job explaining the games mechanics inside and outside the shop. To make a profit selling items, the key is to sell them at a higher price than the overall value of the item. Don’t set it too high though, as it will not only turn away potential customers, but potential profits as well. Selling items works similarly, but instead of paying more than the value of the item, you pay less than the value. Offer too little money, and you may lose out on a potential item to sell for more money. The key to being successful is to carefully and smartly price your items when buying and selling. Knowing what items to sell and display helps your business as well. There’s also the overall look of your shop, which changes the “atmosphere” of the shop, which can draw in or deter specific customers.

Look at my beautifully decorated shop! <3

Not to mention the amount of money certain customers are willing to spend, having the right amount of items in stock, having specific items in stock… it is a good thing the inventory menu and other menus are easily navigable! If you fail to pay the loan, the house will be taken, and poor Recette will have to SOMEHOW find a cardboard box comfy as her new home.

Cardboard has always been one of the finest building materials. Or was it the other way around?...

There is definitely plenty of strategy and planning necessary in running the shop, and this is Recettear’s strong point. It’s basically like learning marketing class in high school, or, IDK, running an actual business! It requires lots of thinking, but it’s fun, especially since you don’t have to worry about the real problems of IRL businesses, like going out of business and being homeless! It’s easily the best part of the game.

Secondly, dungeon crawling; Dungeon crawling is one of the many methods of obtaining items to sell at your shop. To go into a dungeon, you hire adventurers! You’ll be given one fairly easily early on, and more adventurers may be unlocked through various means as the game progresses. The dungeon crawling is a decent but fun experience. Dungeons are randomly generated each time, making each venture a new experience. Controls are very simple to grasp. You have an attack button, a special attack button, and movement keys used to explore and fight. Several monsters exist in the dungeons, each with their own individual behaviors in battle. Let’s not forget about the items! Items can be dropped by monsters or found in chests scattered throughout the map. The overall simplicity of dungeon crawling makes is extremely accessible. Admittedly though, the simplicity makes it feel repetitive overtime. However, the refreshed dungeon layouts and the different strategies needed to defeat each of the monsters helps keep gameplay as fresh as possible. Exploring dungeons is often rewarding, as you’ll find free items and items only obtainable from said dungeons and monsters. Not to mention, dungeon crawling is NOT necessary to playing and/or beating the game, which is nice.

Here is a simple layout of one of the dungeons!

After beating the game, you get some nice postgame content. You can continue to run the shop to your heart's content, or you can play Survival Mode, where you forever pay debt until you lose. It’s a nice reward for beating what is a relatively challenging but slightly short game. There is also the item encyclopedia to fill out, which keeps trace of all items found in the game!

Graphics and Sound:
Recettear uses sprites and basic 3d models and textures for its graphics. The graphics range from average to pretty good! The sprites are fairly detailed, sharp, and animate well. Character portraits look nice, but are not outstanding. 3d models and textures are on the same boat. All together, the game looks good, and is relatively pleasing to the eye.
The music ranges from passable to great. A lot of the music has an upbeat, lighthearted tone, especially in town. Dungeon music is a bit different sounding, but it is effective, though unremarkable. On the other hand, the tune in the shop is addicting and just puts a innocent smile on my face, and other tunes in town help create many tones such as adventurous and innocent.

Price:
Recettear goes for $19.99 on steam. It’s not bad a price considering the content available. I still recommend you get it on sale if you’re skeptical about it.

Conclusion:
Turns out Recettear is a recipe for success! It’s filled with personality, strategy, and overall fun! The shopkeeping is fantastic, the dungeon crawling is decent, and the game is overall very solid. Do pick it up if you are into RPG’s!

Score: 9/10