Promise Mascot Agency is… so very weird in the best of ways. We try to stay away from harsh language, but mindfuck would be an accurate descriptor. In it, you play as an ex-Yakuza who is fleeing from the lifestyle. Your only option is to escape to a cursed Japanese town and try to earn money to buy your life back.
The story starts with us taking over a mascot agency, well, a defunct one. Promise Mascot Agency existed before but went out of business. So, it was turned into a love hotel that, also, went out of business. And, now, it’s back to being a mascot agency. If you’re unfamiliar with mascots, you’ve probably seen them unknowingly at sporting events or maybe even birthday parties.
Needless to say, Promise Mascot Agency is weird. Weird is the word you’re going to hear a lot. But, it’s also incredibly fun, so stick with me here.
By taking over the agency, we’re in charge of getting mascots to and from their jobs, helping them when things go awry, and recruiting new talent. Now would probably be a good time to tell you that mascots aren’t just people in suits. They’re actual beings and they generally have varying levels of powers.
You’ll spend most of your time with Pinky who is… quite literally… a walking, talking pinky. One with a major attitude problem judging by how willing she is to give (ironically) the finger to others who piss her off.
Pinky will be your first mascot and basically your ride-or-die. Any time you leave the agency, she’s in the back of the truck riding with you. While in the truck, you have several things that you can do. You’re basically served an entire village to drive around and it’s an open world, so it’s easy to just go off on side missions all the time.
Get in loser, we’re going mascot-shopping
While in the car, you can recruit new mascots by locating them on the map and driving to them. To sign them on, you’ll have to do a little negotiating, but they’re fairly simple to please if you’re not a jerk and believe that everyone deserves a liveable wage.
Secondly, you can find customers. These tend to be business owners who need something promoted. By starting a relationship with them, they’ll offer you jobs every so often that you can send your available mascots to.
Jobs are something that you don’t really have to pay special attention to since you can technically send any mascot you want. But, if you want the best success and more bang for your buck, you’ll want to try to match the mascot to the job. They’ll have traits that they’re best suited for.
While we’re on the subject of jobs, let’s segue into “heroes” or helpers for the mascots. These are people that you can, also, find by driving around in your car. It’s fairly easy to convince them and once they agree to be a hero, they’ll give you a card with their likeness on it. That card can be used during jobs.
Sometimes, a mascot will have issues that they need help with. One of my mascots was too big to fit through a door, so I needed heroes to help them squeeze through. Each card has a set amount for which they can help. So you may need to use several to successfully help them.
Along with heroes, you can supply the mascots with items that they may be able to use to help themselves. These are generally found in vending machines that you’ll bypass in your car.
But wait, there’s more!
Did you think that was all? Bear with me. While driving, you may see a bunch of yen floating in random places. By driving over them, you’ll get instant cash in a randomized value. Also, you’ll see competitor signage that you can whack with your car to up your fan count.
You may, also, notice some little stations set up that give you a stamp for visiting or you may see shrines that need to be cleaned. Additionally, you may find upgrade cards or items just chilling out that can be picked up for upgrades.
And, some people may give you individual missions like seeking out spiritual animals that have run off with a possession belonging to the person making the request.
Promise Mascot Agency is jam-packed with things to do. I spent most of my time just driving around collecting things. There’s so much more that I likely didn’t uncover or mention, which makes it even more important for you guys to head over and check out the demo for Promise Mascot Agency. While you’re there, add it to your wishlist. You’re going to want to know when you can get your hands on this one. It was so fun and weird.
My only qualm is that it’s very dialogue-heavy, but it’s worth it, honestly. And, if you don’t really care about story elements, your taskbar updates with the information. So, you really don’t have to pay that much attention if you’re there for the zoomies.
No Comment! Be the first one.