Ok so after sitting with this game for a while and seeing how positive most of the reviews are, I feel comfortable writing a negative review, for this, a game I'd planned to enjoy so much.

If the reviews were worse, I wouldn't say anything, because Kaizen Game Works is a studio that I generally admire and whose commitment to originality and risk-taking I feel should be rewarded. I loved their previous title, Paradise Killer, which was why I bought Promise Mascot Agency almost immediately upon release. The two titles share certain strengths- both have well-realized aesthetics whose visual and audio components are executed without flaw, their exploration mechanics are well-thought out and fun, and they both have broad casts of colorful, well-designed characters bursting with personality. If this sounds like a lotta praise for what's supposed to be a negative review, then make no mistake: I do believe this game certainly has it's virtues and I'll happily admit them. Kaizen games is a good-to-great studio, but unfortunately I think the successes of this game are ultimately outweighed by the flaws, which led me to abandon my playthrough halfway.

What flaws? Two big ones for me: the mascot-event mechanics central to the experience, and the writing. The mascot events are generic, repeatable events wherein you use cards, representing allies on the island, to help the mascots when they run into trouble promoting the businesses that hire you, and without going into too much detail, it's a simple, shallow numbers game. There's no meaningful choices related to deckbuilding, and little strategy to the events. At best, they'd be inoffensive (and the events themselves are funny the first time you encounter them) but the problem is you gotta do a LOT of them. By mid-game you'll have about ten jobs on the burner at any given time, assigning mascots based on talents, and while not all of these will result in "battles," either way it's just a tedious, shallow bore. Yes this is a management game, but at no level are you really making compelling choices, and the repetition gets so bad that the central mechanic (excluding exploration) of the whole game becomes something you'd rather avoid. This is the long-form way of saying it just isn't fun.

The second weakness for me is the writing. This will be contentious for some. I admit that the dialogue is polished and far above the level of most games, and when the game strives to be funny it actually, frequently succeeds. Genuinely funny writing is much more difficult to achieve than most people realize and the fact that Promise Mascot Agency manages it is hugely to the writer's credit. Outside of that, however, I found the story to be very predictable with little forward movement and for the general bent of it to cross the line from "quirky" to "sappy" to the point that it became off-putting for me. Moreover, the vast number of characters and their lack of centrality to the central plot makes it difficult for any of them to be developed well independently. Most mascots have a single joke that they stick to and their "sub-plot" always revolves around the resolution of whatever problem you found them with in a satisfying, upbeat manner, which happens, like thirty times, I think? There are also the side-characters for whom things work more or less the same. I get that this is similar to the writing in Yakuza, a series which strongly inspired PMA, but god after a point it's like being force-fed candy til youre sick. All the darker elements of the plot remain very surface level, and even Pinky, your sidekick, who is supposed to be a little "edgier" (not meant as a pejorative, the idea of such a character works here) fall into this same mold over time.

I wanted to like this game, really I did, but after taking a day or two off and then coming back thinking I'd been too hard on it, I realized upon trying to play it again that the central mechanics just felt like a giant chore and that I wasn't at all curious what would happen to the characters- exactly the opposite of how I felt about Paradise Killer. With all this said, however, I repeat that I admire the devs, that I'm happy they struck out for something new that they believe in, and I will certainly still try their next game.

PS: If you're thinking of trying PMA for two hours to see if you want a refund, then beware. The tedium and repetition only start to hit far beyond the playtime that lies within the refund window.

Fun combo of open-world exploration, management sim, and visual novel presented with a great Showa era inspired aesthetic. Terrific and often genuinely funny writing. Took just under 20 hours to fully 100%. Highly recommended.

Wonderful stuff for collectathons, storytelling, and mascot-lovers!

All I wanted was Paradise Killer 2, and instead I get this bonkers nonsense. This absolutely amazing, insane, bonkers nonsense.

Very solid and fun open world game with a lot of little nooks and crannies to explore, all in a classic little pickup truck. The characters are all very well written in a way you wouldn't expect from a game that presents itself as goofy as this. Basically, another great game from Kaizen Game Works.

Baffling to review, because the story is not *as* good as Yakuza: Like a Dragon, but the game as a whole is *definitely* better than Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In any case, play this if you like Yakuza.

A Yakuza title but only the side management game. Solid 10/10 for me.

Chill, fun, great soundtrack, very enjoyable.
Somehow a severed pinky became cute and my favorite character.

i cannot express how much i f*cking love kaizen game works

A Japanese "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" where instead of Toons we get Mascots, living anatomical people who are working mascots living alongside humans.

Yes, it's loony, and it delivers on its premise's hilarious promise, but it's also by turns heartfelt, incisive, and completely entertaining from top to bottom. All this is the wrapping on a crime mystery with satisfying, albeit shallow, game mechanics that wouldn't work if it wasn't so beautifully, brilliantly madcap and brimming with humanity and wisdom.

GOTY by a country mile.