Looking for a magical getaway? Yearning to go on an epic quest? Excited about waiting in line for overpriced merch? Then grab a sword and your annual pass, because Heroland awaits!
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Work x Work (localized as Heroland) is a game about... work. Available on the Switch, PC, PS4, it's helmed by some really great names, with Nobuyuki Inoue (director of Mother 3) as scenario writer, Takahiro Yamane (one of the directors of Fantasy Life) as the director, Nobuhiro Imagawa (art director of Mother 3) handling the art direction here, and Tsukasa Masuko (who did a lot of the early SMT soundtracks) handling the OST. Also produced by Takuya Yamanaka, who was the director/producer of The Caligula Effect (+Overdose) so I will be inherently really biased about this game due to Caligula being one of my fave games ever.
Like Caligula, Heroland is a game that sets out to break the mold of what videogames can do, and unrestrained by expectations, with the devs having a huge amount of freedom in how they work on it (at the cost of budget...). While Caligula is a game about escapism, depression, and self-harming coping methods told through the lens of music, Heroland is a story about the trials of the working class and the oppressive nature of capitalism told through the lens of rpg cliches. It's a constant theme that's prevalent through the entire work. In the characters, in gameplay and in constant one-off jokes. It doesn't just bring up capitalism as a nebulous enemy that the protags have to fight, kinda dipping their toes into the message but never actually doing anything meaningful with it (hi Pokemon Sword/Shield), it's what this game Is.
I expect that from Yamanaka though, as Caligula was made with the unique perspective of his experience working as a psychologist, and needless to say, it kinda carried over to Heroland too. With Mother 3 also being REALLY heavy on capitalist critique, having a lot of the same people working on this was even better.
But what is the plot, you might say. The plot of Heroland takes place in an RPG amusement park named... Heroland, where guests can go through dungeons and fight monsters all in a safe environment with guided tours. It stars two characters: Pochio (Lucky in the localization), a young man from a poor family who applied to the titular park and is now a tour guide there, and Prince Elric (also known as Prince 18), the heir apparent of the King of Knowble, who recently fell down to 18th in line for the throne and goes to the park to try and defeat the Dark Lord to regain his place (not knowing he's made-up). You play as Lucky as he works as a tour guide, with Prince Elric leading the story as he drags Lucky around to do stuff for him (as well as other characters that Lucky will have to guide into dungeons).
The game's plot isn't exactly the most mindblowing, as it ends up following the beats of rpg stories in general, but the true appeal of the game for me is just how they play, subvert, and joke about those rpg tropes (as well as running gags within it's own story that become relevant later, which I don't want to give an example of because spoilers) and the characterizations of the cast, who are all quirky in their own little ways.
Beyond Lucky and Prince Elric, there's Lua, a self-proclaimed "Exposition Fairy" that speaks for Lucky and helps him out at his job (as well as making sarcastic remarks about everything around her), Minister Oak, Prince Elric's retainer/manservant who parrots everything as he observes with no will of his own. Miranda, Julia and Mana, a group of 3 friends/groupies of Prince Elric that wants to get his [bleep] and keeps failing, and Phillip, a dog that's 17th in line for the throne. Among many, many others. Each of them has a friendship meter you can fill up, with character-specific sidequests unlocked if you get them high enough.
The gameplay is... not it's highest point. If you ever played a gatcha game and put your units on auto that's basically how it plays (minus the whaling for rare/S-rank units). Since you're playing a tour guide, you don't actively participate in the combat, instead, guiding the characters you take in by choosing a move for them, giving them all a specific tactic, or using items on them. Each of your choices are limited, because after one 'guide', you'll need to wait before you can make another 'guide', and it doesn't become particularly tactical until you gain some levels and cut down the time it takes to make another decision.
There's no exploration like in the Mother games, as it all takes place on the Heroland island, with every dungeon being a tour that you pick from the in-game lobby. The only real variation are forks where you can choose which enemy you want to fight but it goes back to the main road anyway. Luckily there's an option to speed up the combat, and lord knows you'll be using it.
Story dungeons and sidequest dungeons all have specific characters you HAVE to take, and endgame is kinda plagued with several dungeons that have a set party you can't really do anything about. A lot of reviews mention the excessive need for grinding, and that's a complaint I can back up, as due to the ever-changing party members, you'll almost always be below the recommended level for a story game dungeon, and have to play catch-up to not die. The sidequests can mitigate this a bit, especially mid-game, but by endgame, most of them are too low-level to give enough exp (or MonCoin in this universe). It can be annoying, but for me, I usually take the grinding sessions as opportunities to try and get rare loot, like weapons and furniture. That being said, the passive nature of the game and the necessary grinding can be a bit much sometimes, so it helps to have something else to do while playing it.
A part of me wants to say the somewhat unrewarding gameplay was on purpose to back up the theme of the game, much like how Monopoly was intended to show how crushing capitalism can be (before being trademarked by Mattel anyway) and works in the constraints of Heroland's budget of being a Furyu game.
The high points of this game is absolutely the dialogue, which are filled with tongue-in-cheek rpg jokes, references, and memes that somehow don't feel too out of place because everything somehow works(xwork) in it anyway
It is an INCREDIBLY funny game, and despite leaning on some serious and/or heartwarming moments, it's a game that means to make you laugh. Not just through jokes but by resonating with those jokes.
It gives the impression that the devs (and localizers) really enjoyed working on this, and put their heart into it. It dips into moments of absurdity and genuine emotions at once, and can be similar to Mother 3 in that regard. It's a game that feels more like an experience than a game, and I'd really recommend it to people who are even slightly interested in it from what I've said so far.
Work x Work (Heroland) is a labour of love. From the devs retweeting my livetweets of the game, to the constant criticism of videogame crunch culture, it's a game that they WANTED to make, and WANTED to share. I can respect that immensely, and gameplay issues aside, I think it's worth playing for that alone.
Like Caligula, Heroland is a game that sets out to break the mold of what videogames can do, and unrestrained by expectations, with the devs having a huge amount of freedom in how they work on it (at the cost of budget...). While Caligula is a game about escapism, depression, and self-harming coping methods told through the lens of music, Heroland is a story about the trials of the working class and the oppressive nature of capitalism told through the lens of rpg cliches. It's a constant theme that's prevalent through the entire work. In the characters, in gameplay and in constant one-off jokes. It doesn't just bring up capitalism as a nebulous enemy that the protags have to fight, kinda dipping their toes into the message but never actually doing anything meaningful with it (hi Pokemon Sword/Shield), it's what this game Is.
I expect that from Yamanaka though, as Caligula was made with the unique perspective of his experience working as a psychologist, and needless to say, it kinda carried over to Heroland too. With Mother 3 also being REALLY heavy on capitalist critique, having a lot of the same people working on this was even better.
But what is the plot, you might say. The plot of Heroland takes place in an RPG amusement park named... Heroland, where guests can go through dungeons and fight monsters all in a safe environment with guided tours. It stars two characters: Pochio (Lucky in the localization), a young man from a poor family who applied to the titular park and is now a tour guide there, and Prince Elric (also known as Prince 18), the heir apparent of the King of Knowble, who recently fell down to 18th in line for the throne and goes to the park to try and defeat the Dark Lord to regain his place (not knowing he's made-up). You play as Lucky as he works as a tour guide, with Prince Elric leading the story as he drags Lucky around to do stuff for him (as well as other characters that Lucky will have to guide into dungeons).
The game's plot isn't exactly the most mindblowing, as it ends up following the beats of rpg stories in general, but the true appeal of the game for me is just how they play, subvert, and joke about those rpg tropes (as well as running gags within it's own story that become relevant later, which I don't want to give an example of because spoilers) and the characterizations of the cast, who are all quirky in their own little ways.
Beyond Lucky and Prince Elric, there's Lua, a self-proclaimed "Exposition Fairy" that speaks for Lucky and helps him out at his job (as well as making sarcastic remarks about everything around her), Minister Oak, Prince Elric's retainer/manservant who parrots everything as he observes with no will of his own. Miranda, Julia and Mana, a group of 3 friends/groupies of Prince Elric that wants to get his [bleep] and keeps failing, and Phillip, a dog that's 17th in line for the throne. Among many, many others. Each of them has a friendship meter you can fill up, with character-specific sidequests unlocked if you get them high enough.
The gameplay is... not it's highest point. If you ever played a gatcha game and put your units on auto that's basically how it plays (minus the whaling for rare/S-rank units). Since you're playing a tour guide, you don't actively participate in the combat, instead, guiding the characters you take in by choosing a move for them, giving them all a specific tactic, or using items on them. Each of your choices are limited, because after one 'guide', you'll need to wait before you can make another 'guide', and it doesn't become particularly tactical until you gain some levels and cut down the time it takes to make another decision.
There's no exploration like in the Mother games, as it all takes place on the Heroland island, with every dungeon being a tour that you pick from the in-game lobby. The only real variation are forks where you can choose which enemy you want to fight but it goes back to the main road anyway. Luckily there's an option to speed up the combat, and lord knows you'll be using it.
Story dungeons and sidequest dungeons all have specific characters you HAVE to take, and endgame is kinda plagued with several dungeons that have a set party you can't really do anything about. A lot of reviews mention the excessive need for grinding, and that's a complaint I can back up, as due to the ever-changing party members, you'll almost always be below the recommended level for a story game dungeon, and have to play catch-up to not die. The sidequests can mitigate this a bit, especially mid-game, but by endgame, most of them are too low-level to give enough exp (or MonCoin in this universe). It can be annoying, but for me, I usually take the grinding sessions as opportunities to try and get rare loot, like weapons and furniture. That being said, the passive nature of the game and the necessary grinding can be a bit much sometimes, so it helps to have something else to do while playing it.
A part of me wants to say the somewhat unrewarding gameplay was on purpose to back up the theme of the game, much like how Monopoly was intended to show how crushing capitalism can be (before being trademarked by Mattel anyway) and works in the constraints of Heroland's budget of being a Furyu game.
The high points of this game is absolutely the dialogue, which are filled with tongue-in-cheek rpg jokes, references, and memes that somehow don't feel too out of place because everything somehow works(xwork) in it anyway
It is an INCREDIBLY funny game, and despite leaning on some serious and/or heartwarming moments, it's a game that means to make you laugh. Not just through jokes but by resonating with those jokes.
It gives the impression that the devs (and localizers) really enjoyed working on this, and put their heart into it. It dips into moments of absurdity and genuine emotions at once, and can be similar to Mother 3 in that regard. It's a game that feels more like an experience than a game, and I'd really recommend it to people who are even slightly interested in it from what I've said so far.
Work x Work (Heroland) is a labour of love. From the devs retweeting my livetweets of the game, to the constant criticism of videogame crunch culture, it's a game that they WANTED to make, and WANTED to share. I can respect that immensely, and gameplay issues aside, I think it's worth playing for that alone.