Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! (Limited Edition)

Cladun Returns: This is Sengoku! (Limited Edition) is an action-RPG set in the mystical land of Arcanus Cella, where souls await reincarnation. Players assist restless spirits by battling through dungeons filled with traps and monsters, inspired by feudal Japan’s Sengoku era. This exclusive edition includes a collector’s box, a foam sword replica, the original soundtrack CD, and the game itself as a Steam download (for Windows) or physical PS4 copy, available only through select NIS America online stores.

Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku! (Limited Edition): A Pixel-Perfect Return to Roguelike Roots

Introduction

In the oversaturated landscape of dungeon crawlers and roguelikes, Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku! stands as a defiantly niche homage to the genre’s 8-bit origins. Released in 2017 by Nippon Ichi Software (NIS) and localized by NIS America, this resurrection of the Cladun series blends feudal Japanese folklore with punishing, procedurally generated dungeons. The Limited Edition—a collector’s treasure featuring a foam sword, soundtrack CD, and art box—embodies the game’s ethos: unapologetically retro, deeply customizable, and brimming with mechanical complexity. While flawed in execution, Cladun Returns carves its niche with a pixelated scalpel, rewarding patience with a uniquely granular RPG experience.

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Development History & Context

Born from Nippon Ichi Software’s legacy of quirky, systems-driven JRPGs (Disgaea, La Pucelle), Cladun Returns emerged during a renaissance for roguelikes (The Binding of Isaac, Enter the Gungeon). Yet unlike its contemporaries, it eschewed modern polish for deliberate retro minimalism, targeting the PSP/Vita and PC/PS4 audiences hungry for portable, bite-sized dungeon runs.

Technologically, the game leveraged NIS’s expertise in sprite-based design, refining the “Magic Circle” system from earlier entries—a mechanic that transforms party members into stat-boosting artifacts. The 2017 release faced challenges: While indie roguelikes embraced accessibility, Cladun Returns doubled down on obtuse menus and inventory management, a design choice reflecting its PSP-era roots. The Limited Edition’s physical extras (including a whimsical foam sword) served as both a love letter to collectors and a nod to the game’s tongue-in-cheek tone.

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Narrative & Thematic Deep Dive

Set in Arcanus Cella—a purgatory for souls awaiting reincarnation—the plot follows an amnesiac protagonist tasked with resolving the regrets of historical Sengoku-era figures. Each chapter adopts a formulaic structure: A troubled spirit (e.g., Yukimura Sanada, Oda Nobunaga) must confront their past, unveil their true form, and join the player’s party. The narrative’s brevity and repetitive structure (“help soul X, repeat”) are its weakest links, relying on feudal Japan’s rich history as a crutch rather than a compelling foundation.

Yet thematically, Cladun Returns resonates. Its focus on unfinished business and redemption mirrors the mechanical loop of death and progression. Characters like Ranmaru Mori and Chacha embody archetypal struggles—honor, betrayal, love—but lack depth beyond textual vignettes. Dialogue oscillates between earnest melodrama and self-aware humor (e.g., the “Drunkard” personality trait), though localization occasionally falters, leaving cultural nuances unexplored. The story’s true weight lies in its subtext: Every dungeon crawl is a metaphor for confronting one’s past, with the Magic Circle system literalizing communal support in overcoming trauma.

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Gameplay Mechanics & Systems

At its core, Cladun Returns is a top-down action RPG with roguelike elements. The Magic Circle system dominates its design: Players assign “Lords” (active characters) and “Vassals” (support units) to geometric grids, where their placement dictates stat boosts, elemental resistances, and ability unlocks. This system is brilliant yet Byzantine—a puzzle demanding optimization of mana costs, artifact synergies, and growth rates. Early hours overwhelm with menus, but mastery reveals depth reminiscent of Disgaea’s item worlds.

Combat prioritizes positioning and weapon mastery. Eight weapon types—from spears (range) to shuriken (rapid fire)—each alter playstyles significantly. Traps and enemy patterns demand precision: Sprinting lowers defense, flanking deals bonus damage, and environmental hazards (quakes, fire jets) punish carelessness. However, balance wavers; bows trivialize encounters with kiting, while late-game Ran-geons (randomized dungeons) spike brutally, favoring grind-heavy builds.

Customization shines via the Pixel Editor, allowing players to design characters and gear down to individual pixels—a feature that encourages community sharing. Yet this creativity clashes with the inventory system, where “titled” artifacts resist stacking, creating clutter. Soft-locking bugs (after 3–5 hours of play) and unclear progression gates (e.g., Osaka Castle’s teleporter maze) further mar the experience.

Multiplayer modes—co-op dungeons and competitive point battles—add longevity but feel undercooked, lacking the procedural variety of modern roguelikes.

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World-Building, Art & Sound

Cladun Returns presents a visual dichotomy. Environments dazzle with SNES-era detail: Bamboo forests sway, castles loom in parallax, and trap-laden crypts pulse with hazard indicators. Conversely, character sprites evoke NES austerity, clashing with the lush backdrops. The Pixel Editor mitigates this, empowering players to bridge the gap with custom designs—a meta-commentary on the game’s DIY ethos.

Sound design is its crown jewel. Composer Tenpei Sato (Disgaea) orchestrates a genre-hopping soundtrack—jazzy bossa nova, thunderous rock, and chiptune renditions—toggleable between “modern” and “8-bit” modes. Tracks like “Sengoku Rhapsody” fuse shamisen riffs with electric guitars, while dungeon themes escalate tension with off-kilter time signatures. Sound effects, though minimalist, punctuate combat with satisfying crunches and trap hisses.

The setting—feudal Japan reimagined as a purgatorial Mario Maker canvas—blends history with whimsy. Real-world locales (Osaka Castle, Sekigahara) house gelatinous slimes and fire-breathing dragons, reinforcing the game’s irreverent blend of fact and fantasy.

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Reception & Legacy

Upon release, Cladun Returns earned mixed-to-positive reviews (Metascore 73, Steam “Mostly Positive”). Critics lauded its customization and soundtrack but lamented repetitiveness and opaque systems. PlayStation Vita performance issues (framerate drops) further dented its appeal.

Commercially, it underperformed—a fate shared by many NIS titles—yet cultivated a cult following. Its legacy lies in pushing customization boundaries: The Pixel Editor inspired indie devs (EA’s *Dragon Quest Builders), while the Magic Circle system remains a high-water mark for party-based stat-crunching. Though overshadowed by roguelike titans (Hades, Dead Cells), it persists as a idiosyncratic bridge between JRPG depth and arcade immediacy.

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Conclusion

Cladun Returns: This Is Sengoku! is a paradox—a game of staggering ambition shackled by its own nostalgia. Its Magic Circle mechanics and pixel editor offer near-limitless depth, while its narrative and balance falter under repetition. The Limited Edition’s charming extras embody its spirit: a foam sword as both weapon and metaphor for its playful, DIY heart.

For historians, it captures a moment when indie and retro aesthetics collided, reminding us that innovation often wears pixelated gloves. For players, it remains a flawed gem—best suited for masochists who relish spreadsheets alongside swordplay. In the pantheon of roguelikes, Cladun Returns is no king, but its tomb is worth plundering.

Final Verdict: A 7/10 experience for the patient, a 9/10 toolkit for the creative, and a must-play for Sengoku-era completists.