Video games usually place you in the role of the plucky adventurer.  You are the wizard, the warrior, or the rogue, and it's your duty (and often destiny) to save the world.  On your journey, one of the most important things to do is to acquire more powerful gear to make your character stronger.  But who exactly are you buying that gear from?

Enter: Recettear.  First released in 2007 (and later 2010 in a global english localisation), Reccetear places you in the role of an 8 year old girl tasked with running an adventurer’s item shop in order to pay back a very suspicious loan.  You hire adventurers to go on dungeon runs, and you strive to buy low and sell high in an attempt to pay back ever increasing debts.

On release this concept was entirely novel, and that novelty turned it into a smash success.  But how does this game really work under the hood?  Is Reccetear only a good game thanks to its charming presentation and unique concept, or is this actually an enjoyable and engaging video game?

On this episode, we discuss:

Shopkeeping

Recettear’s item stocking and selling revolves around multiple mechanics, some of which are very deviously hidden from the player.  Combo selling chains and customer loyalty has to be balanced against extracting the maximum possible profit from your customers.  How well explained are these mechanics?  Are they balanced?  Does the balancing act become too much to handle as the game progresses?

Dungeoneering

Ask anyone - the dungeon arpg gameplay in Recettear is almost universally despised.  No review is complete without bemoaning this part of the experience.  But are they really that bad?  We dive deep and explore what doesn’t work about these dungeons, and more surprisingly, what does.

Presentation

Reccetear’s presentation is simple.  Items get snapped onto predetermined locations, selling items is a series of fast menus popping off in succession, and moving around town is as simple as selecting a location.  Does this simplicity of UI navigation lead to a crisp and clean experience, or is it ultimately too restrictive and limiting for the player?

We answer these questions and many more on the 129th episode of the Retro Spectives Podcast!

Intro Music: KieLoBot - Tanzen K

Outro Music: Rockit Maxx - One point to another

Reccetear OST: sarumotto, Araibear, ni_ya, m_box

Are the mechanics behind Reccetear really as exploitable as we described?  Are the dungeons worse than we thought?  What other games in the shopkeeper genre would you recommend?  Come let us know what you think on our community discord server!

If you’d like to support the show, please check out our Buy Me a Coffee page!