Mineko's Night Market

Mineko's Night Market is a charming adventure game with RPG and economic strategy elements. It was developed by the Canadian studio Meowza Games.

Plot

The game is set on a fictional Japanese island, its center being Mount Fugu. It's inhabited by hordes of cats and a small community of hard-working farmers upholding the belief into Nikko, the cat god - though many start doubting whether he ever existed at all. We play as Mineko, a curious girl who arrives on the island to open a business.

Mechanics

Mineko's Night Market features elements of different genres, including RPGs, adventure games and economic strategies. The player explores the village and its surroundings in search of resources and ingredients. These can be used to create ornaments, toys and other items, which can then be sold on the weekly market.

Each market is part of a festival dedicated to a particular aspect of local beliefs and customs. There are more than a dozen such festivities present in the game, each offering different events. After earning some money we can check out the goods sold at other stalls, make some purchases or participate in various mini-games, such as karaoke, kabuki theater, sumo or playing taiko drums.

We can also complete quests for the island's residents, meet new people, make friends, bond with cats and unlock new means of transportation. The island hides many secrets, the most important of which being reported encounters of meetings with the cat god Nikko and the operations of insidious men in black.

Technical aspects

Mineko's Night Market features appealing 2D visuals making use of a rather unusual artstyle. The person responsible, Brent Kobayashi, also worked on projects such as Road Not Taken, Alphabear and Bushido Bear.

Last updated on 26 September 2023