Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale Now Available in English

Top (and only) item shop management RPG “Recettear: An Item Shop’s Tale” has been given a professional translation and an official English language release, which went on sale today.

The title, a doujin soft release from several years ago, was previously available only in Japanese, so its release is rather unusual – and not just unusual, but also highly welcome, as it is an original and charming title.

The game itself revolves around the adventures of Recette and her fairy debt collector companion Tear (whom the observant may recognise as having appeared in Sankaku Complex’s header images since the site’s inception) as they strive to pay off her father’s debt by managing his item shop.

Gameplay takes traditional JRPG structure and turns it on its head by making the focus of the game running one of the RPG genre’s ubiquitous item shops – the player must secure inventory, set prices, deal with customers and expand the shop, though the game also boasts a traditional (if stripped down) RPG component where extra items and new companions (with whom relationships can be forged) can be obtained.

The game’s humour and presentation are reminiscent of Disgaea and similar titles, although the gameplay itself is rather more original blend of genres.

Sankaku Complex’s review of the original Japanese version was published some time ago – this contains plenty of detail and play discussion, so it may well be worth revisiting.

Suffice to say, the game is excellent and well deserving of support now it is easily available in English.

The game is now available online from Steam, Impulse and Gamer’s Gate.

A demo is available for those wishing to try first.