Description
You know, there's a lot of shovelware on modern consoles these days, and the Nintendo Switch in particular has some funny stuff that's not green-lit on other systems, but it also has a healthy amount of exclusives and several hidden gems amongst those exclusives. "Ouritsu Anapoko Gakuen" (aka "Royal Anapoko Academy") is one of the system's hidden gems that I've had for years but didn't record as I was holding out some hope that it would see a localization... but having been released in late 2021, it's looking pretty unlikely. Developed by the legendary Yuzo Koshiro's "Ancient Corp." team, the game is a quirky and fantastic cousin to their popular "Gotta / Mamotte" series ("Protect Me Knight", "Gotta Protectors", "Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness"). While those games were a combination of Tower Defense (or "Princess Defense"), ARPG and Beat-'Em-Up, OAG is an unorthodox turn-based RPG with mild student-raising simulation elements but is otherwise hard to define.
There once was a land that shone brightly. People gathered around the beautiful jewels that could be extracted from the land and settle in the large hole that had been dug. Eventually it became a town and then the town developed further and embraced a castle. It became a huge nation and was named the Hole Kingdom. One day, three eccentric merchants appeared and told the king of Hole Kingdom about a utopia that was even further underground. The king was very interested. Together with the merchants aid, they dug even deeper underground. And then what happened? A huge tree emerged from deep underground. Climbing down the giant tree, descending further underground... a bright blue sky and an endless expanse of land became visible, and there were lots of magic stones. However, this place, known as the Land of Motif was infested with monsters!
In the name of conquest, the king prepared for war when more merchants came to visit and said "We, our brethren, were sealed underground for five thousand years. Thanks to you, we can go to the surface. Motif creatures are far more powerful than humans -- if you fight them, humanity will be annihilated. Please surrender quietly." Enraged, the king kills one of the merchants. "How foolish..." one of the merchants muttered as they disappeared. "Damn you, Motif, I've been deceived!" Before you can even lament, monsters pour out from the bottom of the hole. There's no time for humans to be fighting amongst themselves anymore. "The demons! Take them down! The one who accomplishes this great feat will be the new king to rule this new world!" The kings of the warring nations joined hands and thus began the seemingly endless battle between humans and Motif. 300 years pass and the world seemed to return to normal... and an Academy has been created to send aspiring adventurers to continue exploring the depths of Motif.
Gameplay is both simple and complex and is unlike any other RPG but feels rather ambitious and it takes place over in-game months and years. It would take too long to go over every mechanic in detail, so I will outline most its traits instead and elaborate on one or two, but the game features elements of:
・A turn-based battle RPG (routine battles w/ the unique ability to use "prediction" skills to see who enemies attack as well as what actions they'll take and a "Super Guard" mechanic)
・A Roguelite Game (only in the sense that gear / loot is totally random, you revert to lvl.1 each time, and enemies move seamlessly in dungeons the same time you do)
・A Strategy Game (due to the aforementioned, but the player can also use various abilities on the field to dig trenches, set up barricades, burn land, etc., and also get flanked and pincered by enemies... you can also attack in different directions and fight multiple groups simultaneously)
・A Simulation Game (annual student events, recruiting new students, balancing different classes)
・A Manga (a Yonkoma format specifically)
・A Graduation & Inheritance System (Graduates can leave their experience in a "guidebook" and pass on their abilities and strength to new students)
The game introduces more and more concepts as you go such as EX Skills, Personality Skills, Personal traits, and a massive roster of over 100 characters. The game is hilarious (the Princess is rather devious), stays pretty much in line with most of Ancient's other games visually (there's also some returning enemies from other games) and Ayami Morinaga's art is gorgeously presented (and there's so much of it!). The soundtrack, while not composed by Yuzo (barring a single track), is also fantastic and the game lasts well over 50hrs. It retailed for 2800 yen (less than 18~ USD currently) and the game is honestly a steal even at full price. There are a few minor quirks I could mention if pressed, but I recommend the title overall. This is a video of the game in action going through the first year. Enjoy.
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