I heard tell of a quirky independent game called Promise Mascot Agency (Kaizen Game Works (a UK-based developer)) that is set in Japan. There was a demo for it, but I never got around to it. The premise is that a yakuza member is disgraced and has to fake his death. He is responsible (in a way) for a huge sum of money lost, which has cause a loss of face for the matriarch of his yakuza family. The protag is called Michizane Sugawara, also known as The Janitor. His nickname is Michi.
Oh! This is the dev who did Paradise Killer. Oh, man. I wanted to play that game so badly, but it was first-person and highly nausea-inducing. I bore it for a few hours, but I just could not do it, sadly. I really liked the weirdness and the vibe, but I had to throw in the towel.
Back to this game. I have included theannouncement trailer below. You can see that it’s oozing with charm, albeit a twisted charm. I really dug the vibes and the vivid characters. In a world of very bland video games that blend together and become one glob of a game, it’s refreshing to have one that stands out visually.
It’s brightly-colored, unabashedly weird, and has its tongue planted firmly in its cheek. The game is quite clear that it revels in being cheeky, dirty (in the sexual sense), and fast-paced. I love everything about the environments and the audio.
After Michi digraces his family, he cuts off his pinky and then is driven waaaaay outside the city. He is dumped off at a love hotel that is run by a character called Pinky, who is, I realized an hour into the game, an actual pinky. At least the tip of one. The back of her head is a painted nail, and I only have to assume that it’s a sly wink to the fact that disgraced yakuza members cut off their pinky (as Michi did above) as a show of remorse.
Pinky is annoying as hell, but she is meant to be. And she has grown on me already, two hours into the game. She had ran the mascot agency, but the mayor pulled her license after an incident at his daughter’s birthday party in which Pirky did something he did not like. Michi is a smooth talker and is able to convince the mayor that he will be a better owner/manager (and will give the mayor a cut).
After that, it’s off to the races. There was so much to do, I was a bit overwhelmed. I had to recruit mascots, recruit support heroes (who help the mascots if the mascots need it), and had a half-dozen other tasks thrown at me fairly soon thereafter.
I must mention the one thing that I really don’t like about the game–it’s the driving. It’s so clunky and there’s so much of it. In addition, it makes me slightly nauseous as I drive. There are accessibility options, and I may have to fiddle with them a bit more.
Look. I know it’s mostly me and my issues, but it’s pretty disheartening to not be able to do a big chunk of the game. And there are quests that involve driving, which, fortunately, are optional/side quests thus far. I’m hoping I can become adequate at it, but it really is a sucky part of the game for me.
Another good thing about it is that the car and I do not take damage. I’m happy about that, but nothing else with the driving. It’s RT to drive forward (and then stop). LT for reverse. I can go straight in reverse, but turning is a nightmare. I know intellectually that it is the opposite of going forward, but my brain just can’t do it. Oh, and there is a drift as well, but I don’t do that at all. B is to “jump” in the air, and LB is boost.
What I am reduced to is crawling along at like 2 miles an hour because I cannot NOT swerve back and forth. I don’t want to hit other cars, though there’s no penalty for it. I literally cannot keep the car on the road. Again, I know it’s a me-problem, but it’s a huge part of the game. Like, it seems 75% of my time is driving.
Honestly, if anything is going to turn me off the game, it’s that. That and the nausea-inducing aspect. It is not pleasant to play as I’m experiencing low-level nausea the whole time. As I said, it’s manageable, but I would really like not to feel like I’m going to throw up as I play.
The first mascot is someone suggested by Pinky. He’s a sad sack, but also has helpful suggestions for making the agency better. I have to say that the mascots are the shining stars of the game. Each is so distinctive–in looks, in character, and in voice. I have only signed up three so far, but I thoroughly like each one.
A few nitpicky things. One, there are things that happen in the world that aren’t explained. For example, I was driving around and saw some white paper-doll people in a circle on the side of the road. I’m explaining it badly, but it’s clear that you’re supposed to do something with it. I had to look it up when I could not figure it out. You have to run through them in order to cleanse a sin. No idea what that means, but whatever.
Another was a side quest I was doing for the cute mechanic. I had to follow some spirit foxes for him, and when I saw it, I knew what I had to do. When I did it, though, it didn’t work. I was puzzled because it seemed pretty clear what I had to do. Again, I had to look it up, and I had to do a specific version of what I was doing. I would never have thought of that on my own.
I know that could just be me, but it does put a little damper on my mood when I can’t figure things out like this.
Another little nitpicky thing is that so much is thrown at me. I don’t do well with multiple quests that were given in a short timeframe. The saving grace is that there is no time-limit on them, I don’t think? Still. There’s an unspoken pressure in the back of my brain telling me that I have to go faster. Oh, and Pinky will mention it from time to time (she’s always in the bed of my truck). And my other assistant, ah, Shiori is her name, will call me and remind me that we have bills to pay.
Still. I’m really enjoying myself. I can’t wait to meet the other mascots and to see what other shenanigans we can get up to.