Food Fantasy vs Pixel Shopkeeper
Food Fantasy
Food Fantasy is a unique JRPG where all the characters in the game are essentially personified food. For instance, "red wine" is personified into a suave young man who dressed like a Victorian vampire, while "hotdog" is depicted as a tall and lanky young man who has a passion for painting (naturally, ketchup is his signature paint). This concept in its own is immensely intriguing and, of course, very unique, but does the game holds up well when it comes to its gameplay?Well, the story behind the whole game can feel a tad bit forced, and even confusing for some. Apparently, fallen angels have invaded the world and only food souls, a.k.a. the food characters, are able to help defeat them. Combat is pretty barebones, but it's still decent for a mobile RPG. The game even lets you manage your own restaurant where you'll get to prepare and serve food to your customers, much like in a cafe-themed time management game.
Food Fantasy is indeed a very intriguing game, all thanks to its unique perspective on food. It's also really nice that the game incorporates some aspects of a restaurant management game, which completely fits the overall theme, into its gameplay, giving players something else to enjoy aside from all the fighting in a standard RPG.
Pixel Shopkeeper
Pixel Shopkeeper is a fun, indie shop simulation and management game where you head out to raid dungeons just so you can gather items to sell and then sell them at your very own shop. The looting system in this game is immensely challenging. It has a bit of inventory management that may bring to mind dungeon crawlers like Diablo, but unlike those games, this one employs a tetris-like gameplay. So, basically, you'll be trying to bring back as many items as you can by fitting each oddly-shaped items (like tetris pieces) into your square-shaped bag. You can purchase other bags later on as well. Different bags have different grid shapes, making fitting those items a bit more challenging than usual. Some even have special grids that will double or triple the number of the item that is placed over it.Featuring nostalgic pixel graphics, this game also has a rather unique "crafting system" - if you even can call it that - whereby you can combine lower-level items to create a higher quality and hence, more valuable item. This also means that you may find yourself re-running lower level dungeons just so you can gather enough items to do your crafting.
Being a simulation game, your shop is upgradable too. You can purchase better furniture such as display shelves, tables, or cases to place more items on display. Note that only displayed items can be sold. You can also polish the items while waiting for customers just so you can get extra cash from the "Shiny" bonus. The adventurers you sell your items to may have special quests for you from time to time. Oh, and don't forget to tap on them as they pass by your shop to encourage them to check out your wares!
Despite its simple, pixel looks, Pixel Shopkeeper is a surprisingly in-depth shopkeeping simulation game with some elements of RPGs. It's very entertaining to be able to farm dungeons for the items you sell and even turn them into more profitable goods. If you enjoy a good shop simulation game and you like idle-like RPGs, then this is a game you don't want to miss!