New 3 page preview at IGN... sweet.
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Posted below if you are too lazy.
Definitely a good read. Now I am excited. October 14, 2008 US release. EU sometime in 2014.
Hands-on Dokapon Kingdom Wii
An Atlus-made RPG party game hybrid? And it's better than Mario Party, you say? Sign us up!
August 14, 2008 -
For being considered such a mini-game/party machine, Wii is really missing a strong core lineup of those type of games. Don't get us wrong - we're not asking for Game Party 2, or Carnival Games, unless they can seriously up their value - but when it comes to truly well-made offerings in this department, developers are coming up short. Even Nintendo's own Mario Party 8, which totally boasts better gameplay than the seven previous titles (I mean, c'mon, there's new mini-games, right?) was a tremendous letdown. It seem like for all the hype behind party titles and mini-game compilations, there really aren't too many worth the disc they're printed on.
So when we saw Dokapon Kingdom for the first time, you can understand why our reaction was less than enthusiastic. We have faith in Atlus - especially when it comes to the obscure - but it looked like just another random party title, now with chibi characters and some kind of RPG mash-up design. Lame.
Then we played it.
We'll draw the line right now with Dokapon Kingdom, before we even get into why we had so much fun playing it in our recent hands-on. Dokapon isn't a "mini-game" party title. Instead, Atlus is doing what it does best, and is delivering a unique RPG experience; it just so happens this one takes the role of a party game. And as a party game, Dokapon Kingdom cleans up, already delivering more depth, strategy, and versatility than most any party title we've ever played. It's an odd one to wrap your head around, but there's no denying it has legs. This one is truly fun to play.
Dokapon Kingdom doesn't have IR support, it doesn't support waggle, and it's nearly identical to the soon-to-be-released PS2 game, shipping in mid-October right along the Wii version. With only 480p and 16:9 support to make the Wii version the lead SKU (still, we're very thankful for those additions), some Nintendo fans may be put off by this one right away. Like MLB Power Pros, however, this is one game that makes up for its Wii-ness for good old fashioned core gameplay. The game carries out in a similar fashion to something like Mario Party, as you'll have one main game board in the game -it's huge though- and are in a race to complete objectives before your three competitors can. Since the game is all about getting the RPG experience (and ruining friendships) you won't have mini-games to determine who takes the upper hand on a turn-by-turn basis. Instead, this is less about luck, random challenges, and Mario Party-like mini-games, and more about strategy, leveling up, and economy management.
Since there's no mini-games included, players in Dokapon Kingdom will have to learn the ways of oh so many classic RPG designs before it. You'll begin with a player, select a class for him, and set out into the world with an overall quest (the king deals them out one at a time in the game's campaign mode, or you can play a simple party mode where there's one overall objective). Every turn you'll use items or manage spells, spin a six-numbered dial , and travel anywhere that spinner allows you to with the exact number displayed. Where it takes you, however, will determine how the game truly carries out.
There's more diversity in the game to go through in a short hands-on, but we'll touch on most of the basics, and a few of the oddball moments that make Dokapon great. You've got regular spaces to land on, which will either give you an item, some cash, or start you in a random battle with a monster. Fight depend on what region of the world you're in, so if you wander too far out from the beginning, you'll be swarmed with overpowered critters to fight. Sound familiar? It should. It's every RPG game ever. Most battles can be taken care of in one attack/defend turn, but should it go longer, your turn will end, and your fight will pick up once the other three players finished their moves. Generally speaking though, it's a one-shot deal during the opening hours of the game.
Oh, and while we're talking time, the game can be saved at any time, it can be played in its campaign mode with up to four players (or by yourself, with three computer characters), apparently goes for a long, long time, but is full of different quests, story elements, and strategy. Since you can save any time, you can sit down with friends, game it up for an hour or so with your characters, and then wait until next time to jump back into that story mode. Imagine playing Dokapon over the course of a few months, hacking away with friends for an hour or two a week. If that excites you (we dig that concept), then you should already be hooked on this. Like we mentioned earlier though, you can always go into a single-quest game and finish a match in about the same time as standard Mario Party matches; an hour or so.
Back to the action though. So you've got random fights, which lead to items, cash, and experience. When in battle, you've got four main options, including an attack, your magic, or a huge skill. You can also give up at any time, but we wouldn't suggest that. On defense, your job is to predict what the other character will do, and try to block them, giving you a chance to strike back. The starting fighter is decided with a random card draw at the beginning of the game. Once the fight is over, you'll gain your reward, the enemy (if random) will simply die, or, if it's another player, will be at the mercy of you. You can either rob them, forgive them, or mock them, adding silly haircuts, changing their name, or screwing with their character's face. Classic. If you die in a fight, you'll be sent back to the main Dokapon Castle, and have a turn penalty to get back into the game.
Where Dokapon really gets deep though, is in all of its random RPG-inspired ideas and random happenings. For example, if you die, you may encounter an angel that'll revive you instantly at Dokapon Castle for a certain price. In one of our videos included with this hands-on, you can see someone hiring a thief to steal equipment (extremely valuable in the game) from other players, or hire a futuristic robot to seek them out.
It goes even deeper though. Say you go into a shop, buy some new items - such as a super spinner, that lets you spin up to five dials on your turn, or maybe some new weapon or gear - and want to rob the place. You can, but you risk losing, and being on a wanted list, where players get a huge bounty for killing you within seven turns of your failure. Instead though, you plan ahead, buying a disguise at a previous shop, and then rob another one dressed as another player in the game. If you win, amazing items are yours to keep. If you lose, it's not your face on that wanted poster - it's your "friend's" instead. Genius.
There's more. Located all around the world are towns protected by purple monsters. Land on one of these spots, and you can fight a slightly more difficult battle. Win, and the town becomes yours. From there, the game becomes half RPG, half Monopoly, since you can drop more and more cash into furthering the dozens and dozens of towns in the game, or, if you're an ass, and need money right away, you can tax the towns to the ground for your personal, instantly gratifying needs. To keep the balance though, the more you pour into the towns, the more risk you have too, as other players can take them over or rob from them should they land on the spot. Since property is one of the biggest aspects of your player's income though (and questing, since some challenges require you to rescue and build up specific places on the map), you'll need to build up and protect your lands.
The list really goes on and on, but the point is that there are dozens of different strategies to use when playing Dokapon Kingdom, and it leads to what has already proven to be a very fun game, even in our first round of play. Character skills add to the game, allowing certain members to heal every turn, or thieves to randomly steal items any time they pass someone on the roads (in a great strategic move, you can buy one super spinner, use it to run circles around a few people, and hopefully steal another super spinner or turn-increasing item in the process, letting you again steal next turn, doing so over, and over again until they get pissed and butcher you).
Even aspects of classic RPGs such as level rushing to gain a slight edge on the competition, or taking side quests to find elite, epic equipment is included, making Dokapon a true mix of RPG and party game. In fact, outside of Tales of Symphonia's release, this is the closes thing to a RPG experience on Wii. Hopefully it gets the attention it deserves, as our heads are already spinning (no pun intended) with ideas for online sequels, or portable versions to take with us on the go. We're still early on with the game, but already its' obvious that for hardcore gamers, Dokapon Kingdom is a must-play. It's quirky, and we have no idea if it'll sell, but it's fun.
We'll have more on Dokapon Kingdom soon. Until then, check out our new direct-feed videos of the game in action. Good stuff.
I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it.
