Oh! Edo Towns Review

Kairosoft is back with yet another mobile strategy/ sim title. This time around players are tasked with building up a town in Japan's Edo Period (1603 – 1868). The ultimate goal is to grow your town's value as high as possible, in the hope of becoming the top province in the country. Like all Kairosoft titles, this growth is a balancing act. Buildings that provide the biggest bump in value might not bring in any actual income, for example. And players have to balance their need for Research Points, used for unlocking new shops with their need for Gold, used to build new shops.


Edo Towns has a large cultural gap that makes it much harder to get into compared to Kairosoft's biggest hits. In Mega Mall Story, I inherently understand that a Game Store and a CD Store should be built by each other. But I lack the context to understand Edo Towns' buildings. Udon Shop? Soba Shop? Straw Hat Shop? It's not as much fun unlocking and building these outlets. It's still addictive developing a bustling city full of huge buildings after starting with a tiny farming town. The core strategy of placing the proper buildings together to create combos and intelligently managing your resources is still satisfying.


Oh! Edo Towns is not Kairosoft's best game. Players spend too much time passively waiting for money or Research Points to come in, and the game lacks the "just one more round" hook built into Game Dev Story, Mega Mall Story and Grand Prix Story. But despite these shortcomings, the title is still a great way to wile away some time. Kairosoft addicts will feel right at home in this cheerful pixel art town. Like all Kairosoft titles, certain bonuses carry over game to game, encouraging replay value. For $4 this is a great value. The title could easily pass for a $10 - $15 XBLA or indie PC title.

• More Wireless Reviews
• Latest Wireless News, Reviews, and Videos