Fortune Summoners is available from the usual digital-only retailers, with a free demo available.
As with Carpe Fulgur's other translation efforts this is a cutesy sprite based RPG. As you'd expect, their translation's excellent (presumably; I don't speak Japanese after all) and filled with humour. If the graphical style put you off Recettear or Chantelise then this won't be any different. I'd suggest you reconsider, though.
The game itself is a sidescrolling action RPG which allows you to control up to three characters at once. The main character, Arche, is a swords-girl who'll you'll spend most of the game playing as. Her normal moves are all sword based while the other two characters (who you can switch to) are magic users. Spells are cast simply by getting to ground and casting them by holding the button down, so you'll probably be playing as her when you have another party member anyway (fortunately, the AI for the characters you aren't controlling is superb and can be customised with minimal fuss). While it's quite satisfying to pull off combos with the various moves you lean as you level up, the system was clearly designed with a D-pad/WASD/arrows in mind (you need to hit the buttons one after the other and press the attack button at the same time), so using an analogue stick can be frustrating at times. This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that dying just brings you back a few rooms and you have the option to automatically move back to the nearest safe area to do some level grinding or get some better equipment before trying again. The dungeons are also fun, although rather short and lacking in save points.
The game has a linear story with no sidequests, but there are plenty of hidden areas to explore and some Mini Games.
I won't talk too much about the story (we have an entire page for that after all), but it's quite enjoyable and the characters are memorable, if a little clichéd (although all of them have some complexity to them).
Graphics: Cutesy sprites, with some nice backgrounds and animations. 8/10 Story/Presentation: The dialogue's genuinely funny and the characters are likeable enough. 8/10 Gameplay: Challenging, frustrating in places, but rewarding. 9/10
VideoGame Frustrating at times, but impossible to put down
Fortune Summoners is available from the usual digital-only retailers, with a free demo available.
As with Carpe Fulgur's other translation efforts this is a cutesy sprite based RPG. As you'd expect, their translation's excellent (presumably; I don't speak Japanese after all) and filled with humour. If the graphical style put you off Recettear or Chantelise then this won't be any different. I'd suggest you reconsider, though.
The game itself is a sidescrolling action RPG which allows you to control up to three characters at once. The main character, Arche, is a swords-girl who'll you'll spend most of the game playing as. Her normal moves are all sword based while the other two characters (who you can switch to) are magic users. Spells are cast simply by getting to ground and casting them by holding the button down, so you'll probably be playing as her when you have another party member anyway (fortunately, the AI for the characters you aren't controlling is superb and can be customised with minimal fuss). While it's quite satisfying to pull off combos with the various moves you lean as you level up, the system was clearly designed with a D-pad/WASD/arrows in mind (you need to hit the buttons one after the other and press the attack button at the same time), so using an analogue stick can be frustrating at times. This is mitigated somewhat by the fact that dying just brings you back a few rooms and you have the option to automatically move back to the nearest safe area to do some level grinding or get some better equipment before trying again. The dungeons are also fun, although rather short and lacking in save points.
The game has a linear story with no sidequests, but there are plenty of hidden areas to explore and some Mini Games.
I won't talk too much about the story (we have an entire page for that after all), but it's quite enjoyable and the characters are memorable, if a little clichéd (although all of them have some complexity to them).
Graphics: Cutesy sprites, with some nice backgrounds and animations. 8/10
Story/Presentation: The dialogue's genuinely funny and the characters are likeable enough. 8/10
Gameplay: Challenging, frustrating in places, but rewarding. 9/10
Overall: If you're an RPG fan, try the demo. 9/10