I was going to start this blog off with something more simple, like a top ten list, but why don't we start things off with a bang.
Dokapon Kingdom is a hybrid role-playing-game/board game published in 2008 by Atlus in America. After being met with a small but positive reception, it was left mostly forgotten until 2014, when Game Grumps posted a small video series of them attempting the game (foul language warning). Dokapon has become increasingly popular in the niche of the streaming world, with players broadcasting themselves on Twitch spinning, fighting, and doing the king's bidding.
Also, this game goes for about $175 dollars on Amazon now.
Players move around a game board with a spinner labeled 0-6, and the amount rolled MUST be moved. The combat is a high-stress system of rock paper scissors, where one must read their opponent, or risk falling behind. The winner is determined by their net worth, meaning that a player must maintain control of cities, who's mayors are so lax that they can relinquish ownership of their city on a moments notice. Millions of dollars of in game currency pass forcibly between hands
If you want a fast example of what makes this game unappealing to a larger audience, the Grumps exemplify it well. Let's start with the bad first:
Cons:
While Dokapon has a lot of good and bad aspects, it opened my eyes to the world of player control.
Dokapon has so many variables that it makes as question the validity of its random number generators. The amount that you move, the items you receive, the monsters you fight (or don't fight)... Nothing in Dokapon is guaranteed. The items in inventory have a life expectancy of a few weeks, as they are lost on death, eaten by bugs, stolen by other players, stolen by non-player characters. Some items are hard to obtain and required for late game play, meaning the entire in-game lives of players are consumed by the need toThe list of liabilities goes on and on. And with the King absent-mindedly giving away your cities or money (yes, he'll go into your wallet and pull cash out for the other players), the main opponent of the game is really the game itself.
"I like knowing my odds going in," says a friend of mine, as he forlornly looks at the screen. One lands on an empty space to fight monsters, but with twelve individual random encounters, a fight is certainly not guaranteed. You could be abducted by aliens or drop dead.No exaggeration.
And with the game taking, I would guess, at least 75 hours (if you're playing with two humans and no computers on storymode), it requires a commitment that most are not willing to uphold.
Pros:
The random elements of this game take away any semblance of control from a player, but also creates a unique game feel. Dokapon is all about the long game, meaning that unlike Mario Party, creating enemies early on will lead to a rowdy player's eventual demise. Its almost like an unspoken code of arms among friends slowly develops, giving betrayal all the more weight.
Finally, the random elements of the game allow it to bloom into something new every time. What I mean by that is, the game unfolds differently each time. Each play-through will create new strategies, new goals, and countless stories that you and friends will retell for days.
Conclusion:
The game is fun, but severely limits itself in that it is almost unplayable alone. From many sources including myself, the computer players are said to be unbeatable. So if you're planning on tackling this monster of a game, make sure to have a least one real friend to accompany you along the way.
If you've read this far, you know by now that I am undoubtedly biased about this game. Yes, its far from perfect, but I love this game. It holds with it an air of mystery that is lost in many games today, with guides and Wikipedia pages only clicks away. Many elements of Dokapon remain a mystery to all.
