Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku!

Originally known as Classic Dungeon Sengoku, the game was released in Japan, for PlayStation Vita, on May 26, 2016. The version for the American and European markets came out in 2017, thanks to the NIS America company.

Plot

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! once again takes the player to the magical Arcanus Cella, which is the world the previous installments were set in. This time, this mysterious place serves the role of a waiting room for souls to be reincarnated. During the events in the game, the inhabitants of Arcanus Cella cannot complain about a lack of company, as the Sengoku period is ending right now in Japan. Sengoku, was a period of conflicts, rebellions, and chaos; the local feudals were fighting bloody battles for power over the lands belonging to their neighbours.

Some of the commanders managed to stay victorious throughout the wars, others however, were damned – as for their hopes and dreams – they were ruined. Burdened with regret, their souls are taken to Arcanus Cella, The path of reincarnation is unavailable for them however, since they first have to find peace and solution for the bitterness that is consuming them. The player finds themselves among the lost souls, and their goal is to help the dead through taking care of their unfinished, earthly business. Doing so requires the player to conduct numerous expeditions to various parts of Japan, where dangerous dungeons filled with enemies are awaiting.

Mechanics

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! for PC, PS4 and PSV resembles the previous installments of the series in many aspects. The game is again an action-RPG, whose gameplay formula is based on the concepts of the dungeon crawler subgenre. Traversing different dungeons and mazes constitutes the core of the experience, apart from fighting the enemies, avoiding traps and obtaining new parts of equipment. The in-game locations were based on places that really existed in Japan during the Sengoku period. One of the more complex mazes included here for the player to explore is the Osaka castle in the Kansai region. When penetrating the dungeons, the player encounters hordes of regular enemies, as well as powerful bosses. The player fights here fire-breating dragons, ice giants, toothed spheres, and many others. From time to time, one can encounter an enemy that looks rather ridiculous, like a deadly, spinning umbrella.

Combat is real-time and the player can make use of 8 kinds of weapons to eliminate their enemies. The game features different types of katanas, hammers, spears, daggers, shurikens, sickles, bows and staves. Each weapon category has features unique to it. Daggers, for instance, improve the speed of the character, as well as reduce the stats of the opponent; spears, on the other hand, allow the player to attack from a distance safer than provided by any other kind of melee weapon. Those who use katanas can perform a special attack comprised of three strikes – the last of them deals damage to every enemy around. Shurikens, bows and staves, are for those who prefer to fight using ranged weapons. A single shuriken does not deal much damage, but these metal stars can be thrown at a huge rate, also when moving. As for archers, they can launch arrows that pierce through the target. The magic weapons allow the player to cast area spells belonging to the elements of fire, ice, and spirit. The kind of energy used and the pattern of the missiles launched depend on the weapon itself.

The player-controlled character can be personalized in order to suit one's play-style not only through equipping them with an appropriate weapon, but also through assigning them to an adequate profession. Those affect the statistics, such as the number of health points or the speed of movement, but they also determine what special ability the character has. For example, a Swordsman can move swiftly even on difficult surfaces, such as dense grass or sticky slime. A Saint can permanently destroy the undead; a Merchant specializes in earning and gathering cash. The game features more professions of course, and those most complex, like Shaman or Ninja, can be unlocked only in the later stage of a playthrough. The change of profession brings the character back to level 1, but does not deprive them of the skills they have gathered; also, part of the stats does not get altered as a result of such a change.

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! features the Magic Circles system (characteristic for the series), which allows the player's teammates to defend the main character and improve their stats. The Magic Circles are modifiable patterns of spots in the center of which, the player-controlled character is located. Other characters can be placed in the spots in front of, behind, to the left, and right of the protagonist, but one should notice that the configuration of slots does not have to be the same in every pattern. Members of the formation take damage dealt to the protagonist, depending on their position on the Magic Circle. For instance, the character located behind the protagonist takes damage from the missile launched at their back. In the Magic Circles patterns, the player can also place artifacts that can boost the protagonist with different bonuses. In order for the power of such an item to reveal itself, the artifact has to be assigned to a team-member, who activates the item.

The main character can be also reinforced by the mechanic known as the Fortification. In the depths of Arcanus Cella – the magical world from which the player sets out for their voyages, there is a castle. Using stones available in the local store, the player can extend the fortifications with new walls. Developing this stronghold has a positive influence on the protagonist's stats.

The player can personalize the appearances of both the characters and certain weapons. The in-game Pixel Editor allows the player to draw a character's face pixel after pixel, as well as to create animated facial expressions, separate for a walking character, a running one, and one that is being attacked.

Game modes

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! for PC, PS4 and PSV offers three modes. Those include the singleplayer, the co-op (allowing to traverse the dungeons with friends), and the Versus mode, which is all about rivalry, as the player's goal is to score as many points as they can. The special, incredibly difficult dungeons called Death-geons were designed specifically for the co-op mode. Completing those constitutes a challenge even for the best-organized teams.

The players can also compete for domination of the online leaderboards for the most effective dungeon crawlers. The faster the player is at completing subsequent mazes, the higher their position on the board is.

Technical aspects

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! for PC, PS4 and PSV offers pixel-art visuals; the art style present was inspired by old games released for 8 and 16-bit consoles.

The game allows the player to choose between two soundtracks: the modern, and the retro. Additionally, one can create their own music using the so-called MML (Music Macro Language).