People don�t play Mario Party because it�s Mario Party.
They play Mario Party because they�re hammered and can�t even wrap their brains around
anything as strenuous as belting out the lyrics to Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
There�s always that one guy who�s got no musical talent at all and can barely deal
with keys on easy, so Rock Band isn�t always the answer.
At that point, it�s either Mario Party or... well, what if we took that idea of a multiplayer
board game, and made it an RPG?
Yes, an RPG.
Seems counterproductive to nursing a good buzz, but hear me out.
Dokapon Kingdom manages to streamline - and most importantly, speed up - the RPG experience
into something you can play with three other people in the room without one or more of
�em nodding off.
It�s strange, to say the least... but I could totally see me and three other people
doing exactly this.
Dokapon Kingdom takes place across a map full of encounter spaces, item spaces, magic spaces,
towns, and various other facilities, the majority of which are named after rivers for whatever
reason.
No, seriously, you can claim the Allegheny here, and presumably go digging for baseballs
if you really want.
The King of Dokapon Kingdom, rather ineffectual monarch that he is, has decided that his successor
shall be chosen by seeing which of up to four adventurers can rack up the most cold, hard
currency (and associated assets) before an arbitrary number of weeks have elapsed.
Said winner then gets... the princess� hand in marriage, or the king�s, depending.
And that�s kinda creepy from two directions at once if you stop to think about it, so
I won�t.
The point is, It�s an honest-to-goodness RPG, in super-tiny doses, alternated with
other players, on a big ol� board.
Each turn, representing one day of an in-game week - sees each character spinning to see
how many spaces they move, then heading out across the map to find the most advantageous
spot to land.
It might trigger a roulette to obtain an item or spell or cash, it might spark an encounter
with an NPC, or it might result in a battle against a monster of some description.
In keeping with the �quick and easy� theme, Dokapon Kingdom�s battles are one-turn affairs
where your options are short and simple: Attack (which can be defended by the opponent), Magic
(of offensive and defensive varieties), Strike (which is susceptible to counterattacks),
use a class-based skill, and concede.
Fail to off the monster in one turn, and you�ll have to scuffle again next turn, costing you
that turn.
That said, the rewards are fairly great: Cash, EXP, cash, items, cash, and a potentially
liberated city, which is worth more than ANYTHING else.
These cities - and the liberation thereof - are your primary wealth engine throughout
the game, and can be used to heal up or collect taxes for pocket change.
Upgraded weapons and armor don�t buy themselves, after all.
So you�re balancing grinding for levels with knocking down big monsters, shopping,
upgrading or further taxing your lands, and... well, should you land on an opponent�s space,
you can get into a scrum with �em directly, potentially liberating them of all their cash.
Dokapon Kingdom puts a spin on the party game that, frankly, sends it right up my alley
like a frightened cat.
(Get it?
�Cuz it�s an alley.)
Though only three character classes are available at the outset, a further nine can be unlocked,
as can bestiary entries on all the strange creatures you�ll be taking down over the
course of the game.
I never expected an RPG could work under these rather absurd limitations, but the bite-size
nature of the quest means even those with woefully short attention spans - and those
artificially shortened - should have no trouble picking it up and running with it.
Which, in that state, could be pretty dumb.
You�ll put your eye out, kid.