Kingdom’s Item Shop

Genre: Management Simulation / RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Kingdom’s Item Shop, released on Nintendo 3DS in 2016, is a Management Simulation with light RPG elements where players manage a shop in a medieval fantasy JRPG setting.

The presentation here makes use of pixel art 2D visuals with some very light stereoscopic 3D effects that does a good job evoking the JRPG genre this game is inspired by. This is backed by the same sort of music you tend to have in those games, though nothing quite as memorable as you might hear in the best games in that genre.

The gameplay here is mostly focused on its Management Simulation elements that have players placing items in their shop to sell or bringing them to a neighboring shop (via a menu) to synthesize into something new, which you can then sell or turn around and synthesize again. Synthesize recipes are mostly hidden from the player, but they can get hints or try to experiment with those recipes on their own. And as players profit from their store sales, they can also upgrade their shop to have improved space for their inventory.

Of course, this doesn’t address how you get the materials to craft and synthesize to begin with, and this involves a clever take on the RPG genre where players don’t fight in battles themselves, but instead hire mercenaries to take on enemies and then scramble around during the fight to pick up materials that spill out of enemies. Players have only very light control over the combat itself – in addition to choosing which mercenaries to hire, you can change their strategy back and forth between offensive and defensive, or signal them to use special moves once they’re charged up. It’s a clever way of going about these elements that’s really delightful.

Really, the problems here generally come in the form of a lack of choice and variety. Players only slowly gain access to new areas to adventure through, new shops to synthesize in, and as a result, only slowly gain access to new items to sell. There doesn’t seem to be any different strategy in the shop management beyond “sell more expensive items, in higher quantities”. You can’t set your prices, can’t alter your shop to appeal to a different clientele, can’t run promotions or anything like that. In fact, you don’t need to even be present or have your Nintendo 3DS turned on to sell items – this is, in effect, an Idle Game in that regard. Unfortunately, this means that this game’s grindy nature feels repetitive really quickly.

That’s not to say there’s no appeal to Kingdom’s Item Shop – it’s a charming game and it’s genuinely enjoyable to see your shop’s profits come in as you put your new items up for sale. And the way this game handles adventuring to get materials is really clever and original. Unfortunately, the slow progression, repetitive gameplay, and lack of options in the managing of your shop limit this game in ways that keep it from becoming something better and more engaging. For the $5 asking price it’s still worth a look for fans of Management Sims and JRPGs, but those same fans are more likely to be served by more modern entries in the genre like Moonlighter and Marenian Tavern Story.

tl;dr – Kingdom’s Item Shop is a Management Simulation with light RPG elements that has players managing a shop in a typical fantasy JRPG setting. It’s a fun premise and the way the game handles adventuring to get more materials is really clever, but the game’s progression is too slow, the gameplay is too repetitive, and players are not given enough options when it comes to how they manage their shop. Fans of Management Simulations will still likely enjoy this, but not nearly as much as more modern entries in the genre.

Grade: C+

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