Is your sense of adventure gushing? NIS Americaâs downloadable PSP game Cladun: This is an RPG! could be the sweet release youâre looking for.
A young girl named Pudding and her childhood friend Souma fall headfirst into the world of Arcanus Cella. Arcanus Cella is not your normal magical land, and this is not your typical action role-playing game. Donât let its colorful 8-bit presentation fool you; thereâs a terrifically deep game lurking beneath Cladunâs simplistic surface.
Ideal Player
People who enjoy spending five to ten minutes preparing to conquer a two minute long dungeon. Fans of NIS Americaâs strategy titles that want to swing a sword in real-time without sacrificing complexity.
Why Should I Care?
Because playing Disgaea in the bathroom on your PSP makes your legs fall asleep. Cladun: This is an RPG! gives players the complexity and humor they expect from a Nippon Ichi game, while keeping the dungeons small enough to tear through in mere minutes, if that.
I get the feeling this is an RPG. Whatever gave you that idea? Yes, Cladun is an action RPG. All of the elements are in place. Youâve got colorful characters that gain levels and experience, powerful weapons and equipment to collect, dungeons to explore, and pointy hair. On the outside, it looks every bit like an 8-bit action role-playing game.
What if I look inside? Well then you enter the Magic Circle! When any of the characters you meet or design is set as the main character, you fill their magic circle with other party members, adding to the main characterâs power. The Magic Circle is like a game board you populate with party members and power-enhancing artifacts. Every character gains experience, but only sub characters gain vital stats like attack power. To be a strong main character, one has to do time as sub characters.
It all sounds so complicated. Well it is complicated, but thatâs how Nippon Ichi fans like it. On the flip side, dungeons are straightforward affairs. Most of the story dungeons take between 30 seconds and two minutes to complete. You hop in, kill the monsters, collect the treasures, and hop back out again, with extra points awarded for faster runs. Itâs the one of the most portable friendly action RPGs Iâve ever played.
So itâs short? God no. The main quest alone took me around 15 hours to complete, with my characters averaging level 40 out of 99. Once you reach that level cap you can change a characterâs job, carrying over some stats from the previous job for even more power, which youâll need to tackle the 99-floor random dungeon.
Cladun: This Is An RPG! In Action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAUz8Swbees
Buy It
If you crave a stat-heavy role-playing experience in easy to manage, bite-sized chunks, with a healthy dose of sometimes racy humor on the side.
Donât Buy It
If you arenât prepared to grind your ass off to build the perfect party.
The Bottom Line
Cladun: This is an RPG! might look likeâand to some extent play likeâan old school action role-playing game, but you wonât get far in it if you stick to hacking and slashing. By integrating the wonderfully intricate Magic Circle mechanic into the game, Nippon Ichi has crafted a game thatâs a lovely cross between action RPG and the strategy role-playing games the developer is known for. Itâs a beautiful marriage of the basic and complex thatâs a true joy to play.
Cladun: This is an RPG! was developed by Nippon Ichi and published by NIS America on the PlayStation Network for the PSP on September 21. Retails for $19.99 USD. A copy of the game was given to us by the publisher for reviewing purposes. Played through campaign until the last normal dungeon boss went down. Screwed about in the random dungeons. Still have much to do. Was not able to test Ad Hoc multiplayer.
