Dokapon is an EXCELLENT party game for RPG fans; at the same time, however, it is nothing more than this
And let's be fair: this is an extremely novel idea in the process of being refined. ATLAS has done it again and released a fairly great game. Dokapon is probably one of the greatest party games ever created, and really destroys the mindless-banter of Mario Party's style.
We have character classes, random battles, STRATEGICAL movement choices, and a fun flowing, nonstop action-yet easy to save and play later, kind of fun. With a group of people, Dokapon is guaranteed to bring hours of friendly entertainment. Lots of things have been done well, and I feel quite a bit of balance and outright fun.
It is noted, however, that Dokapon's score of 8.0 is STRICTLY in a party setting. I say this because I have played Dakapon alone as well, against CPUs. Once we enter the realm of CPU players, Dokapon drops to about a 6.0.
And I have reasons for being so harsh. I have no idea why since the Monopoly for PC era or since the Mario Party 1000x era, that CPU for these kind of games have ALWAYS BEEN BROKEN. CPU never ceases to amaze me by rolling EXACTLY what it needs ever time. I have even tested this by loading the same save point over and over again to see if the CPU would make the same spinner-roll. It did every time.
So the CPU of these party games are programmed TO BE broken. Apparently the spins are NOT random, but preprogrammed. Playing a party game with a pre-programmed spinner for the CPU feels incredibly unfun and broken, and it was probably done because of the programming difficulties of choosing other options.
In short, AVOID CPU DOKAPON at all costs. Same applies to all the other party games as well. But if you got 2-4 people who want to have a ball, Dokapon shines with its authenticity, creativity, and outright fun factor and easy interface/learning curve. It has side quests, main quests, items shops, equipment, special classes, and surprisingly unique NPCs. Definitely gets my sticker of recommendation...that is, if you are playing with other HUMANS