Level-5 recently released Weapon Shop De Omasse, the final game in their “Guild01” collection, in America.Originally, the developer had no plans to release it here due to how much translation work would be required, seeing as the game is very heavy on text. But, three weeks ago, it finally came out here nearly two and half years after its Japanese release. The rhythm/fantasy RPG game is played from the point of view of the blacksmith who creates and sells weapons to adventurers. Except in Weapon Shop De Omasse, the master and his apprentice have decided to rent weapons instead of sell them, collecting their rental fee when the heroes return. With a quirky story and interesting mechanics, Weapon Shop De Omasse revisits the RPG genre from a different angle, bringing something fresh and fun to the table.
Platforms: 3DS
Publisher: Level-5
Developer: Level-5
Genre: REG (Rhythm Entrepreneur Game)
Release Date: February 20, 2014
ESRB Rating: Teen
Weapon Shop De Omasse opens with the master and his apprentice discussing their options for making more money. They decide to switch to renting weapons from selling them, taking orders from heroes and then collecting the fee when they return the weapon. You play as the apprentice, making and polishing weapons, dealing with customers, and listening to the Grindcast, which is a type of radio device that gives you a live report of how each hero is doing out on their adventure.
To make weapons, you can choose from a list, which you can divide into different types (daggers, swords, katanas, etc). Once you’ve chosen which weapon you want to make, it turns into a rhythm game. You must tap the metal in time with the music, uncovering the weapon within, while also making sure the metal stays hot enough for you to forge it. The better you do with the rhythm, the more bonuses the weapon gets, and after you’ve finished it up, you cool it down in water. From there, the master gives you the final report, telling you which areas you did well in and which were “Lame.”
There are NPCs and regular heroes that come and go throughout the game – the NPCs are just no-named guys who show up, ask for a weapon (or say “surprise me!”), and then go on their quests. The heroes each have running storylines – there are two sisters who are trying to get back family items that were stolen from them, an old-school samurai trying to understand this different city he lives in, and a cross-dressing makeup specialist hunting for the key to eternal beauty, just to name a few. Each one has specific stats they excel at, and request certain weapons. Additionally, each quest they are going on has monsters listed, and you can see what the monsters are weak against. In the case of NPCs, they just want to purchase whatever you’ve got already made; with the heroes, they’ll give you the order and then come back, so you can design something specifically for their quest.
It’s important to pay attention to all of these different stats, because the only way you get paid is if your customer returns alive (or if someone finds the weapon after they die, which rarely happens). There are different stats to pay attention to, and if you sync everything up perfectly, you can watch the victory unfold on the Grindcast. The Grindcast is a sort of radio show that is delivered to you as scrolling text, divided up by each individual character and the enemies they fight. They’re filled with hilarious anachronisms, like hashtags and references to RPGs.
In fact, the game was written by a Japanese comedian named Yoshiyuki Hirai, so it’s no surprise how much humor can be found within it. But there are also some things that are both strange and annoying in the game, and some of it stems from having a comedian at the helm. As I mentioned, you play as the apprentice, whose out-of-place outfit and bizarre face put me off at first. He didn’t seem to fit into the fantasy RPG trope at all – he looked more like a weird cartoon golfer. That, coupled with the completely alien laugh track sprinkled throughout the game, was the most annoying part of the game.
While it does have its bad moments, it’s got a lot of great moments as well. As the characters succeed at their quests and return their weapons, the weapons themselves level up, and you can polish them to up their stats even more. The characters also bring back special ingredients you can use to make new weapons and imbue them with special powers, like adding in elemental damage. And as you progress through the story, the master teaches you how to make even stronger weapons, allowing you to fill up your shop and give your customers more options.
The rhythm game itself is really fun, even though there’s a lot of repetition in the music. But as the weapons get more complicated, so do the rhythms you have to follow along with. The songs themselves change as well, which was a relief after I made my hundredth weapon and was still hearing the same song over and over again. Despite this repetition, I found the rhythm part of it to be soothing, though I do love rhythm games on my 3DS.
I enjoyed the characters and their outrageous designs and stories as well. The master’s gruff appearance and personality were perfect, and the hilarious story of the pirate captain and the way that she acted like a valley girl on the Grindcast consistently cracked me up. The stereotypes of the heroes were charming and, seen as they were from the blacksmith’s point of view, actually quite funny. The only complaint about the characters were the NPCs, who all had the same exact character model, though with different clothes on. Each one was simply named “NPC” with a letter following, and while their progress did add up a little, it wasn’t as involved as the regular heroes. I would have liked to have seen more heroes with actual stories than so many generic NPCs.
I’m glad that Weapon Shop De Omasse came to our shores. I’ve loved most of the “Guild” games I’ve played, and Level-5’s consistent ability to publish these strange and interesting games has been the source of some of the best time I’ve spent on my 3DS. If you’re into RPGs and want to see something from a fresh point of view with some silliness added in, Weapon Shop De Omasse is a game you’ll definitely want to have in your digital library. And don’t worry – if you beat the game and you want more, there’s plenty to do after the credits roll.
Review Disclosure: A review copy of Weapon Shop De Omasse was provided by Level-5 for the purposes of this review.
