Pocket League Story for Android - Review

Written by Jeremiah Hisel, Bustercube Saturday, 15 October 2011 05:00

Some time ago I wrote an article about a Japanese mobile game developer named Kairosoft. You may know them from their smash hit Game Dev Story, a sim about starting a game development company, for iOS and Android. They’ve made quite a few games since then, like Hot Springs Story, Grand Prix Story, Mega Mall Story, Pocket Academy and Pocket League Story. Don’t let Kairosoft games cute exterior fool you. At each game's heart they are humorous and  has some deep gameplay elements.

The story is pretty simple, you’re a budding soccer team manager, and it’s your job to create the best team possible. Kairosoft is king at delivering the" dream job" sim, but most of their games are ports of Japanese mobile phone games they made years ago, so they have a limited amount of appeal for a western market.

Where Pocket League Story really shines is in its gameplay. The cutesy graphics hide a beast of a simulation game, for a mobile game. Players level up, gain attributes, learn new skills, and even have their own personalities. When the game first starts you are given a mediocre team, a half wit coach, and a lack luster home facility, but after long hours of training your team will be able to crush all opponents in your way to a national victory. The most tiedious part of the game is just sitting and watching your team practice, but if you don't do that you'll never win any cups, leagues, or challenges. 

The game is very fun, and worth every penny to purchase, but even the most fun games have some drawbacks, and Pocket League Story is no exception. The graphics are dated, even though they are cute. As I stated before most of Kairosoft's current games are ports of older mobile games from the Japanese market, which is why the graphics look dated for current smartphone games. It makes me yearn for the day that Kairosoft runs out of games to port, and makes them start developing for current smartphones. 

In conclusion, Pocket League Story brings some really fun gameplay to your iPhone, or Android device, even though the graphics are dated. If you’re unsure of the game, Kairosoft has a free demo edition for you to check out. Definitely check this game out, you won’t be disappointed.