Cladun - This Is An RPG
 

Nippon Ichi Software. When that name is on a game, you know two things:

1) It's going to be an RPG.
2) It's going to have at least one twist on the formula that encourages ridiculous amounts of grinding.

Cladun - This Is An RPG is no exception. It's a roguelike... sort of.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/09...ts/cladun1.jpg

It's not turnbased, and the story dungeons are the same every time, but the top-down perspective and eventual 99 Level Random Dungeon provide some of that flavor.

It's got a pretty ridiculous party system called the Magic Circle.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/09...ts/cladun2.jpg

Since you only control one character, the others get placed in a circle to "cheer you on". They, in turn, provide Mana for upgrades that you place on the circle that directly affect your character. They also take damage in place of your character, with the caveat that if they die, the upgrades they're linked to go with them.

To top that off, when a main character levels up, their stat boosts focus on making them a better sub character, and vice versa. Meaning not only do you have a large number of people to focus on grinding at once, but you have to constantly switch who you're controlling, which in turn affects the layout of the circle! It's enough to make your head spin!

It's all wrapped up in a wonderfully retro package that includes both a "modern" and "retro" soundtrack that's freely switchable, and dialogue that doesn't take itself too seriously. Best yet, it's downloadable on the PSN for really cheap!

Go play this game! After all, it is an RPG!

It's a pretty fun game if you're in the mood for a simple dungeon crawler. I really didn't like the two main characters, Souma and Pudding, so I was very glad to unlock the custom character creation. Using a wizard class for the main character makes the game a bit easier too. There isn't much of a difference in attack and defense thanks to the magic circle bonuses, and they can use powerful ranged spells.

My main problem with Cladun is that it could really use an instruction manual at times. It barely explains anything at all, and I still don't know what some of the weapon/armor titles mean.