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Recettear: an Item Shop's Tale Localized

Posted by Soulskill on from the just-crazy-enough-to-work dept.

An anonymous reader writes "An indie-produced item-shop-sim-slash-RPG, Recettear: An Item Shop's Tale, has been localized and a demo released by the equally indie startup Carpe Fulgur LLC. The game is equal parts item shop sim (as in, item shop like the kind you find in every RPG ever, except you're behind the counter now) with certain Zelda- or Diablo-esque elements also present in the form of randomly-generated dungeons that you can grab an adventurer friend to go tromping through for loot to sell. The response so far has been pretty positive and it seems like Carpe Fulgur is trying to make a business of taking (non-pornographic) unique indie titles from Japan and getting them into a state where the rest of the world can enjoy them."

36 comments

  1. Non-Pornographic? by Entropy98 · · Score: 0

    I bet there is a market for the porno graphic games here too!

    --Windows Codec Pack

    1. Re:Non-Pornographic? by Tacvek · · Score: 2, Informative

      In case you are not being facetious, the vast majority of Japanese indie games that get localized for US release are pornographic.

      It is to the point where if they did not specify it was a localization of a non-pornographic title, people would assume it was a pornographic title.

      I know of hundreds of US-localized pornographic Japanese indie titles, but less than a dozen US-localized Japanese non-pornographic indie titles.

      --
      Stylish sheet to fix many problems in Slashdot's D3: https://gist.github.com/801524
    2. Re:Non-Pornographic? by Moryath · · Score: 1

      the vast majority of Japanese indie games that get localized for US release are pornographic.

      To be fair, calling them "games" is overstating the case. They're basically click-through porno slideshows with maybe 2-3 "storyline decision points" along the way.

    3. Re:Non-Pornographic? by paedobear · · Score: 1

      The porn games that get localised aren't indie - not in the way that this game is - they're available at normal games shops / electronics shops rather than in specialist indie games/comics shops or at events. There are a bunch of indie porn games too, but they're almost all parodies of established properties, so could never get released overseas

    4. Re:Non-Pornographic? by rdnetto · · Score: 1

      They're called 'visual novels', which is a little more appropriate, and many/most of them use nudity sparingly.

      --
      Most human behaviour can be explained in terms of identity.
  2. Not even weird at all... by sznupi · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Makes a lot of sense, actually - after all, from many hack'n'slash games, it seems like you're already the one keeping local economy going.

    --
    One that hath name thou can not otter
    1. Re:Not even weird at all... by zero_out · · Score: 1

      Makes a lot of sense, actually - after all, from many hack'n'slash games, it seems like you're already the one keeping local economy going.

      Or, more realistically, the one trashing it. Dumping 5x the town's GDP into the local economy all at once, just from all the gold you loot off monsters in those dungeons, would trash the economy. Then again, what is that Uber Sword of Smiting doing in the shopkeep's inventory, in the middle of rural farm country?

    2. Re:Not even weird at all... by sznupi · · Score: 1

      Looking at the amounts (also diversity - each time you talk to them, there's something different) of gear in posession of local merchants, and the margins they keep (just compare the values when selling and buying), it seems more like you're just their productive labourer ;p

      --
      One that hath name thou can not otter
  3. So in other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    ...the tedium of Nethack married to the tedium of being a 7-11 employee? Say no more, where do I send my money!

    1. Re:So in other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you think NetHack is tedious you are quite clearly playing it wrong.

    2. Re:So in other words... by GospelHead821 · · Score: 1

      I always tried playing NetHack the way that I played Rogue when I was a kid. It never worked. Not that I ever beat Rogue, either, but I had a few good runs at it. Unfortunately, I can't quite figure out what the "right" way to play NetHack is because I always end up dying in the first 10 levels of the dungeon. Starvation plagues me and this whole idea of training my pet to steal from item shops confuses me even after reading guides on how to do it.

      --
      Virtue finds and chooses the mean.
      Aristotle, Ethica Nichomachea
    3. Re:So in other words... by Aladrin · · Score: 1

      You just made me realize that I must never have seriously tried to play Nethack.

      --
      "If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you; But if you really make them think, they'll hate you." - DM
    4. Re:So in other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://nethack.wikia.com/wiki/Standard_strategy is a good overview on what you'll have to do. The individual articles on the Nethack wiki have quite a bit of information on HOW to do things, too - and there's #nethack on Freenode to help you out, too.

    5. Re:So in other words... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Starvation plagues me and this whole idea of training my pet to steal from item shops confuses me even after reading guides on how to do it.

      Try playing barbarians, they can eat almost anything.

      Training your pet to steal from item shops is a magical part of the game, at least until you become powerful enough to kill shopkeepers, and then you can only do that as a chaotic alignment or there are repercussions. The trick is to throw something that they will eat at them as quickly as possible after they drop an item in an adjacent square. So you need some tripe or whatever, and you stand in the doorway hitting the . key (or the s key, I usually search instead of resting) until your pet drops an item in the square next to you. Then you throw food at it. Since the pet can sometimes move twice in between your moves, sometimes it drops it and then moves off a square. If you throw food at it in this instance it still gets trained, but the % chance to drop stuff next to you is less (it's not trained as well.) All the other stuff about specific percentage chances is interesting but you don't need to know it. All you need to know is that the best way is when it drops something next to you in the doorway and then doesn't move, then you feed it.

      Someday, I hope that someone will produce a game with the depth of Nethack and the interface savvy of Diablo (I would say Dungeon Siege, but I have yet to actually play it as it won't run under Vista or Windows 7 in spite of being a Microsoft game, and my Windows XP system is in the living room where I rarely get to use it for gaming.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    6. Re:So in other words... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Unfortunately, I can't quite figure out what the "right" way to play NetHack is because I always end up dying in the first 10 levels of the dungeon. Starvation plagues me and this whole idea of training my pet to steal from item shops confuses me even after reading guides on how to do it.

      Try playing as a lawful human Valkyrie. Valkyries are really strong fighters in the early game and should have no trouble with most monsters. Since their starting AC comes from the shield, they can lower their AC a bunch more while playing. Since you're lawful and your starting weapon's a longsword, you can #dip it in a fountain for Excalibur once you hit experience level 5 (1/6 chance of it working -- if it doesn't, just keep trying).

      As for the starvation, 1) don't dawdle (play without a pet if necessary to avoid dawdling) and 2) eat every corpse you kill (don't eat anything old or poisonous, and you'll be fine; also don't overeat, obviously). When I say don't dawdle, I don't mean rushing down the down stairs as soon as you find them. But once you've explored every room on a level, there's not much reason to hang around. Also, the Gnomish mines are virtually a smorgasbord.

      I'd also recommend checking food spoilers to get a better feel for where you're burning up calories. For example, rings and amulets increase the rate at which you get hungry. But mostly, I think it's a matter of just keeping a good pace of moving forward in the mines. As long as you don't try and camp out on an early level waiting for monsters to spawn and keep you fed, you should be good.

    7. Re:So in other words... by DNS-and-BIND · · Score: 1

      Starvation is a problem in the game unless you MOVE MOVE MOVE. Keep moving and eat every corpse you create. Make a note of which corpses poison, sicken, or kill you, and avoid eating those your next game. You have to move down the stairs after fully exploring the level. Starvation is the game's way of keeping you from spending too much unproductive time in one spot.

      --
      Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
  4. Dream come true by kyrio · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've always wanted to be an item shop owner. They make so much money from those stupid adventurers!

    1. Re:Dream come true by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't just the shopkeeper making money from stupid adventurers.

  5. So? by BitZtream · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Is there something unique about this game that makes it truely unique or impressive compared to the other few thousand that came out today, or yesterday?

    The summary and title make it seem like localization is something impressive?

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
    1. Re:So? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      The unique game idea itself. Are you fucking illiterate?

  6. Nevermind - I get it, no porn by BitZtream · · Score: 1

    Sorry, didn't realize it wasn't tentacle porn.

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  7. Localized (n.) - translated into English? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I kept wondering what region it was localized for. I take it the only other region than Japan is USA.

    1. Re:Localized (n.) - translated into English? by tnok85 · · Score: 1

      Since the article is in English, I'm going to assume it's being localized to English.

  8. Shoe's on the other foot by RawJoe · · Score: 1

    Great, now we have to deal with jerky RPG heros

    --
    ?
    1. Re:Shoe's on the other foot by AP31R0N · · Score: 1

      CRPG heroes.

      RPG heros must account to the DM. Go around looting the villagers and before you can say "Deus ex machina" someone will put the players in their place.

      --
      Utilizing the synergization of benchmark e-solutions to pre-workaround action items!
  9. Next up... by elrous0 · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm currently developing a game where you play as one of the WoW quest givers. All day, every day, you'll sit around with an exclamation point over your head asking every random stranger who comes along to get you 10 wolf pelts. It'll be the most exciting game since Penn & Teller's "Desert Bus."

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
  10. DQIV by sseaman · · Score: 1

    You kinda did this in Dragon Quest IV as Torneko, although the experience there was pretty dull.

    1. Re:DQIV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think ChunSoft also made a 'sequel' of sorts doing this very same exact thing under their 'Mystery Dungeon' brand, for the Super Famicom. You took Taloon/Torneko to the dungeon, and escaped with goodies for your shop to sell (or for you to take back in on your next trip). I think the money in the bank went to help with building back up your town, as well as 'artifacts' you'd find (if I recall correctly). Actually kind of fun at the time, although it seems ChunSoft is a real one-trick pony.

      Japanese-only I think, though someone had a decent translation patch years ago for it.

    2. Re:DQIV by CaseCrash · · Score: 1

      True that! Although he was named Taloon in the american NES version, chapter 3 of DW4 was my first thought. I liked it however, one of my favorite chapters of the game.

      --
      No, that link you posted to a web comic we've all seen a hundred times is not "obligatory."
    3. Re:DQIV by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Actually part 2 "Torneko: The Last Hope" got a US PS1 release:

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torneko:_The_Last_Hope

  11. Segagaga! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    All well and good, but what I really want is a localized version of Segagaga, Sega's satire of the game development industry.

    "Game development is a very special job that requires a very special person. The high stress levels often drive our staff members to become... subhuman. They're violent and need to be caged. But we need them to make good games. This is the unfortunate truth of the game industry..."
    - actual in-game quote from a Segagaga NPC

  12. Progressive stance on DRM by Kirijini · · Score: 3, Interesting

    From the FAQ:

    Does Recettear feature any form of copy protection?
    Recettear does not feature copy protection (or "DRM") of any kind. Neither Carpe Fulgur nor EasyGameStation believe in compromising the user's privacy and freedom to use their computers as they wish.

    But doesn't that mean I can just pirate your game?
    or
    But aren't you afraid of getting pirated into oblivion?
    Well, we'll say this: Recettear would be pirated regardless of whether we used copy protection or not. We're adults and we understand that our work will be stolen by someone who doesn't want to pay for it; that's how the Internet works in this day and age. Any prospective pirates who enjoy our work, however, must realize that we can only continue to produce localizations for games - and possibly help foster new projects on our own - if we make enough money to make a living at it.

    If you like the game even a little bit, please purchase it. We respect our customers enough to not put any invasive DRM programs into Recettear - we hope the respect will be repaid in kind.

  13. Japanimation Sucks by Favonius+Cornelius · · Score: 0, Troll

    I grew out of it 15 years ago. The fact that the form is still stagnating around now is depressing.

    --
    "Men willingly believe what they wish." - Julius Caesar
    1. Re:Japanimation Sucks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Cool story bro.

  14. BBQ stand by smittyman · · Score: 1

    I will start a BBQ stand next to the itemshop. Just need some hell hounds to /follow the battlerager and bring back the meat, grilled on the way back.

    Dragon in the back for fastfood and non paying customers.

    Easy money!

    --
    Message from god, Please logoff, rebooting the Universe
  15. So... by MaXimillion · · Score: 2, Insightful

    taking (non-pornographic) unique indie titles from Japan and getting them into a state where the rest of the world can enjoy them.

    They're adding in pornography?