Ask and ye shall receive - it wasn’t all
that long ago that Japanese iOS gamers had
their hands on the latest release from Kairosoft,
Pocket Academy, but now English speaking audiences
can try their hands at running a high-school.
Much like the other titles in the ‘Story’
series your job is to manage a company (or
in this case an institution) in order to keep
it growing and providing the best services
in the country.
First things first though; ‘Game Dev’
and ‘Hot Springs’ are relatively easy
games to jump in to - ‘Pocket Academy’
is not. Initially the biggest problem to overcome
is managing your dwindling funds as tuition
fees and the occasional bonus here or there
will barely keep you ticking over. Your first
play through is bound to be riddled with mistakes
and the slow pace at which you’re forced
to experience the game is like watching a
horrible train-wreck in slow-motion.
Ultimately your job is to produce a school
of prestige and fame, hopefully attracting
the best and brightest in the country and
helping them to fulfill their dreams of getting
the jobs they want while enjoying their education.
In order to do this you’ll need to build
and maintain facilities to encourage students
to explore, interact and even fall in love
with each other while working towards their
goals. Much like ‘Hot Springs’ bonuses
are awarded for specific building combinations,
though a lot of experimentation is required
to find even a handful of options and this
can be an expensive and time-consuming process.
The upshot to overcoming adversity is getting
to watch individual students as they live
and grow, eventually graduating thanks to
your care and attention. This is where Pocket
Academy sinks its talons in as their failures
are your failures and it’s hard to let something
like that go down without a fight.
If you’re a fan of ‘Sim’ titles, Pocket
Academy delivers a far deeper challenge than
the previous ‘Story’ games, but if you’re
easily frustrated the first play-through may
put you off entirely; an intriguing, but challenging
Sim experience for iOS gamers.
