I only sort of grew up with JRPGs. I didn’t have a console as a kid, but instead had a little Gameboy and whatever game cartridges I could either bum off my friends or convince my mother were not “boy games.” My JRPG experience is Golden Sun, Pokemon, and Fire Emblem, the latter of which is only a JRPG in style, but not at all in gameplay. JRPGs are simple enough to understand that this lack of experience with them doesn’t necessarily hinder me, but neither does it instill in me the sense of nostalgia or familiarity that I think it instills in everyone else. The decisions the genre makes about how to structure its worlds and characters, or what its gameplay looks like are not ones that I have any particular fondness for. However, I try to approach every game in my library with an open mind. Some of them have legitimately been the ones to change my mind on entire genres, like Beacon for action roguelikes. The goal of the series is to find the gems in the rough, and if I approach games with my preconceived notions, all I’ll ever find is rocks.

On the other hand…

In Cat of Monte Cristo, you play as Edmond Dantes, a cat person sailing on a trip to Alba. There, he agrees to help the captain of his ship carry a mysterious letter back to Marseilles (or Merseilles - spelling is not this game’s strong suit). Upon his arrival in Marseilles, Edmond is arrested, thrown in prison, and must think of a way to escape and return to his true love, Mercedes.

Cat of Monte Cristo is a JRPG, and as such, follows all the standard JRPG mechanics. It uses party-based, turn-based combat mechanics, and an absolutely boundless sea of random encounters. Each character has a unique set of abilities powered by a combination of mana and “TP,” with TP charging as the character takes actions and receives damage. Items and equipment augment the characters’ combat abilities, though the game is nowhere near long enough to make use of the sheer number of items I rummaged out of the chests I found.

My favourite ability is “Charge of the”

I’ll be blunt: Cat of Monte Cristo is a game I picked up for $.73 at some point, likely because it had the word “cat” in the title. It feels and plays like a game I picked up for $.73. The various characters’ abilities aren’t particularly special, but they sync together just fine. The level and map design is fairly standard, but it too does what it sets out to do just fine. The characters, and with them the plot, are propelled from plot point to plot point without much issue. Everything moves smoothly, the art is fine, and nothing broke. While the writing is fairly terrible, it somehow manages to loop through bad and back into endearing. The whole game feels this way. There’s a soft earnestness to it and a care to its crafting that makes the game a sweet little experience.

…bless you and your writing, Cat of Monte Cristo.

When I write these reviews, I ask myself one question - did this game accomplish what it set out to accomplish? I judge a game not by how it compares to other games, or whether or not I liked it, but just by whether it does what it set out to do. Cat of Monte Cristo is a simple JRPG. It tells a version of The Count of Monte Cristo in a JRPG setting using JRPG tropes, and it does a good job of doing so. Nothing about it particularly excels, but all of it is exactly what it sets out to be. It is a fun little game to pull out for a couple hours, feel cozy with, and set aside again at the end. It was clearly made with love, both for the art of game-making and for its source material, and that love shines through in the end product. It’s a competent little game that would benefit greatly from a tussle with a spellchecker.

Developer: Brewsterland Studios

Genre: Jrpg

Year: 2021

Country: United States

Language: English

Play Time: 1.5 - 2 Hours

Youtube: https://youtu.be/b7T8PRDVskk