Image via Idea Factory International
While sugoroku JRPG games aren’t exactly common, I’m delighted they’re common enough for us to get multiple localizations of them. Idea Factory International brought Calamity Angels: Special Delivery westward. Unfortunately, the gameplay isn’t fleshed out enough to make it feel as captivating as contemporaries like Dokapon. The idea is fun, but playing it can feel tedious.
In the fantasy realm of Orkotris, delivery folks belong to their own guild and deliver letters and packages around the country. The couriers’ parties also consist of actual warriors who help get the job done. Players follow Yuri, a member who’s bascially in charge of the Calamity Angels Ivris, Luminous, Numero, Selma, Somnia, and Suliya. As the first part of their name suggests, they’re a mess. However, by taking on assignments and deliveries, defeating Omoikurai along the way, you’ll hopefully show they still show potential and can do some good.
As a sugoroku with JRPG elements, Calamity Angels: Special Delivery largely involves moving around a board, spinning to determine how many spaces you move, to reach certain spaces to complete the deliveries the group undertook. Different spaces can trigger different events and altercations. If you end up in a fight, it’s a turn-based situation with Yuri directing members in a simple fight in which they may or may not listen based on their mood. Each run starts with accepting an assignment. Then, you do some inventory management to ensure you can fit the package and any items the team will need for their fights. You then spin to move across the board to where you need to be to complete the assignment.
In concept, this seems like a novel approach to a turn-based JRPG, but Calamity Angels: Special Delivery falls short in a lot of ways. While the inventory management element when preparing for a quest seems novel, I never experienced any major issues when it came to ensuring room for my delivery and any items the crew might need. The only real management issue came up when I couldn’t equip characters right when I bought items. (Which is odd, considering even older RPGs would offer the option to immediately equip after making a purchase from the shop menu.) But even that’s not too troublesome, since it just means going through a few extra menus.
While sugoroku JRPGs can and do work, with Dokapon being one that developed a cult following, Calamity Angels: Special Delivery doesn’t since I never felt a real incentive to not choose the quickest possible path. Could there be items? Would my team get stronger? Maybe, but the game is fairly easy and the enemy encounter rate is such that I didn’t feel a need to deal with more. Especially since, while novel, the combat system can get a little tedious due to its simplicity and the rate at which members might ignore my requests. Tedious at best, I’d say, and frustrating at worst when allies won’t listen when facing a boss.
Calamity Angels: Special Delivery isn’t bad, but it can be a tedious game and the sugoroku don’t enhance the JRPG. Instead, it can feel like it drags it out more in a way that doesn’t add anything to the experience. It’s not bad, but quickly falls into a somewhat boring and unexpectedly bland routine even with the board game and inventory management elements.
Calamity Angels: Special Delivery is available for the Switch, PS4, and PS5, and it will also appear on the PC.
Calamity Angels: Special Delivery
Calamity Angels: Special Delivery isn’t entirely bad, but it can be a tedious game and the sugoroku don’t enhance the JRPG.