Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada

f you play at your own pace, make liberal use of the fast-forward button and remember that it's just a game, it can offer you tens, maybe even hundreds of hours of fun! [Issue #47 – July/August 2020, p. 21]

Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada is a treat of RPG weirdness and a fantastic way to let a surprisingly large number of hours gently drift away as one man’s epic quest to create gets completely out of hand.

Dandy Dungeon is a breath of fresh air in a time when most games take themselves too seriously. I love the music and humour here. Having already played a good amount of it on iOS, it is good to see a whole new audience get a chance to play this since the mobile version is no longer available. If you enjoy roguelites and great humour and want something that oozes charm, you need to get this.

This action RPG with roguelite elements features an outright bizarre concept but its gameplay mechanics, puzzles and feeling of competitiveness help make it a fun, enjoyable and engaging experience for everyone who's looking for something unusual.

Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada is a fun, unique and genuinely funny game. It manages to keep you entertained throughout its playtime with a mix of solid jokes and excellent gameplay, and unlike so many games that jump from mobile to Switch, it works perfectly on the system. It's a delight and one that you'll find yourself hooked on. Also, down with capitalism and billionaire CEOs.

Having shaken off the free-to-play nature of its origins – Yamada had a set amount of stamina on mobile, meaning he could only code his game for a certain amount of time each day – Dandy Dungeon embraces all of the brilliant little quirks that make it a great game in its own right. The light-hearted take on one man’s inability to separate reality from fantasy really works as a great conceit for the overall game, while the puzzle-like approach to combat and exploration makes the now rather tired world of roguelites feel instantly more refreshing. Don’t let this little gem pass you by.

This dungeon crawling RPG builds upon familiar mechanics to craft something fresh and new.

For £20/$25, Dandy Dungeon: The Legend of Brave Yamada packs in plenty of content. It’s taken me about 15 hours to see the credits roll, but even now there’s better equipment for me to aim for and higher scores to aspire to. It’s not your usual dungeon-crawling RPG, and it might not be much of a looker, but Dandy Dungeon is a hell of a lot of fun. It’ll get its quirky little claws in you and refuse to let go.

While a little reliant on grinding near the end, Dandy Dungeon: Legend of Brave Yamada is a delightful little tongue-in-cheek RPG with a little heart and a lot of laughs. Its simple yet engrossing gameplay system mixed with fun puzzle mechanics and cute presentation make this a wonderful Switch title to play on the go.

The hands-off approach to this RPG adventure can be a bit misleading based on screenshots alone, but accept Dandy Dungeon - Legend of Brave Yamada for what it is, and relax with the simple premise and delightfully funny plot. The unique premise really is unlike anything most have played, and it plays into the satisfaction of being able to use them brain cells to hit a perfect route every time. With a plot that is equally interesting and hilarious, as well as the rewarding nature of items and new options being thrown in at a rapid pace, invest in this and everything is sure to be fine and dandy.

At the end of the day, your enjoyment of Dandy Dungeon hinges on a few factors: Do you like cute, quirky, and simple RPGs? How do you feel about rogue-lite elements and grinding for items? The unique presentation and charm are definite positives, but the gameplay does become worn out given that you have almost no agency in the dungeons outside of drawing your hero’s path and activating a handful of limited-use items like fireball scrolls, healing potions, and stat buffs. Like Black Bird before it, Dandy Dungeon is certainly an oddity, but it has enough strong points to make it worth a look.

If you want to play a simplistic game while laughing at an unfortunate protagonist then Dandy Dungeon will surely fit the bill.