Kingdom’s Item Shop makes you a multitasking master

Running a business means wearing many hats. You have to manage your store’s stock, promote it, take care of your customers, meet the demands of your neighborhood and basically be responsible for every possible affair. Video game stores are far easier to manage, but Kingdom’s Item Shop does its very best to maintain that same sort of feeling in a low-pressure environment.

When Kingdom’s Item Shop begins, you aren’t actually the Kingdom’s Item Shop. You’re a little unknown retailer that only has room to sell one item at a time. You need to go out on Quests to different areas with a retinue of traditional RPG warriors, collecting the spoils of their battles. You can then take these items to other Shops in the kingdom, where you can synthesize them into better products. These can then be sold in the shop or held to fill specific Orders.

Each of these actions is efficient and rewarding in its own way, allowing you to do multiple tasks at once. Selling is effortless. You put an item on the counter and, if you feel like it, wait. You can go and do other things, like collecting or creating more stock, if you’d prefer. Your Butler will remain behind to continue selling items when you go. All of the money earned in your absence will be on the bottom screen, behind the counter, when you get back. Whether you want to kill time in your shop or not, you’re still going to earn money from your wares. But really, it encourages you to go off and do other things so you aren’t some stationary fixture in your own shop.

Questing always requires your presence in Kingdom’s Item Shop, but makes sure you multitask. Selecting an area shows every known item available in the region. You hire your party, then head out. Your shop keeper runs around in the background, collecting items the monster drops after each attack lands, while also telling your guard when to attack or defend. Staying on the move, while also being aware of when an opponent’s attack will hit one of your allies, is key. You have to know what everyone’s up to or risk an incomplete run that won’t reward you with additional spoils for beating the boss. Not that failure is some tragic end; even if the party you hired is wiped out by enemies, they’ll receive experience and you’ll keep all of the items you collected on that run. But staying on top of the situation means you’ll know when to attack, when to collect and even when to trigger a special skill.

Even synthesizing is a process where you’re going to keep track of multiple parts. The other item shops offer you some recipe hints for new products, as well as one immediate recipe. Every item you create improves your relationship with the person in charge of the store, meaning you’ll have more recipe hints and things to create. You have to be aware of how many hearts you’ve earned with the shopkeeper and which materials you’ve recently collected, all to be certain you’re coming closer to more recipes and resources. It’s the most focused of the three activities, but still requires you to keep inventory and relationships in mind.

Kingdom’s Item Shop wants you to be a model of efficiency. Once you get your shop set up, you can head out to complete more important tasks, delegating menial day-to-day sales to your butler. In the field, you have to tell your party what to do while also collecting any spoils from a fight. Even synthesizing requires some mild multitasking, since you need to keep recipe hints in mind and your relationship with the owner in mind when preparing new improved items. Keeping in motion and aware of all elements of your business is the key to success in not only real life, but this delightful 3DS simulation.