Disclaimer
I was sent a free copy of Dokapon Kingdom: Connect to review for my blog. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I won’t let it sway my opinions. This will be my honest review.
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Table of Contents
What is Dokapon Kingom:Connect?
Dokapon Kingdom is a fantasy themed party game out now on Steam and the Nintendo Switch. The game is currently on sale until July 7, 2026 for those with enough friends (real or imaginary) to take advantage of this wacky adventure game.
Hook
The kingdom is in trouble. Monsters have appeared and terrorize the town. The king has summoned the kingdom’s bravest heroes to fight back against the scourge, and make the country profitable again. You and your friends must race across the kingdom, fighting monsters, collecting loot, and making as much money as possible. The hero who makes the most money at the end of the game will win the princess’ hand in marriage. Will fortune favor you, or will this be the end of a long time friendship? Boot it up and find out!
Gameplay
Players take turns moving across the board, sort of like Mario Party. Players will roll a dice, and move the required spaces. Where the player ends up will trigger an event. Events can be loot, random encounters, shops, or boss encounters. Players will need to plan accordingly to optimize their income generation. The game has three modes: story, normal, and battle. Story is for players who have a lot of time to play. Normal lets you choose the number of rounds for those who want shorter, more manageable games, and battle is a race. There is offline, couch support but you can also play online. You can host/join a game with random people, or link up with all your online friends and play over discord. For those who have no friends, the game has CPUs you can play with.
Combat
If you aren’t rolling for random loot or money, you are fighting the many monsters that threaten the Kingdom’s profit margins. Players can also fight each other. Combat in this game is a simple game of rock paper scissors (where each type is a different type of attack). Combat gets a bit more complicated as you move around the board and collect better equipment and spells. Throughout your run, you also level up. Leveling lets you increase stat points so you can customize your character to deal the most damage.
Does it work on the Steam Deck
The game works on everything, including the Steam Deck. If you’re playing online with your friends, you aren’t going to hate the experience. Everything is clear and easy to read, and the game runs great.
Review
As I wrap up my collaboration with Idea Factory, I am very disapointed that this is the game I ended on. The game is fine, but you really need friends for this game to be fun, otherwise you aren’t having a good time. The game feels slow, and story mode drags on forever. Had I been playing with my friends and smack talking the whole time, the wait between turns wouldn’t feel like torture. If you have friends who can survive competition where the RNG can screw you, I can see Dokapon Kingdom: Connect having some value.
Aesthetic
Dokapon Kingdom: Connect sort of reminds me of Streetpass on the 3DS, and I loved Streetpass. Nintendo needs to bring that back. I loved collecting all the different Miis. The characters in this game sort of remind me of Miis, but a little cuter. The world feels like a Miiverse type world, and I can respect that. I like that this game can run on everything, which means you can play on a toaster and have fun with your friends and family. For me, the art is the best part, because the gameplay wasn’t very impressive.
Story
The game doesn’t really have a story except for the initial hook. Occasionally, the king will come in and give you random loot or stat points, but there isn’t anything deep you need to follow or keep track of. Story mode is just the longest and most strait forward of the modes.
Combat
Combat is fine if you enjoy rock paper scissors. Whether you are defending or attacking, you get a set of skills that can potentially counter enemy action or at least reduce damage. The NPC fights do get a little repetitive. Maybe I got lucky, but I was mostly always able to guess what the lower mobs would do. I can see how PVP can be more exciting, especially science you rob your friends of their money and their turn. As you move across the board, you pick up equipment, spells, and levels that make you more powerful.
But is it fun?
If you’re playing with friends, I can see the value. You get trapped in this slog where RNG can easily turn the tides in your favor with a simple coin flip. I lively friend group will certainly enjoy the hell this can become, but it has the potential to ruin some friendships. If you don’t have friends, I wouldn’t bother. I played with the CPUs, and they cheat even on easy. Losing to NPCs is not as fun as losing to your friends because you can’t smack talk. I would argue that playing online would be a worse experience because this feels like more of a party game you pull out with your friends, not something you want to compete with strangers. Unless you get lucky and find some cool stranger who will later become your friends I mean. If you were thinking of buying your game for yourself, don’t bother. If you have a fun friend group to play this with, color me jealous.
Conclusion
I never really enjoyed these types of party games, but Dokopon Kingdom fairs a little better than the newest Mario Party. My issue with Mario Party is that there are only a couple of mini games I want to play, the rest feels like torture. Even only playing the mini games I like doesn’t really interest me. I like that Dokopon is more strait forward, albeit a little more random. You roll, you move, and you pray to the gods you get something good. At the end of the day, whether this game is good or not really depends on the group you play with. I don’t have a group of friends to play, so I didn’t have a good time. That said, I can see this being hilarious with the right group of people. If you like fantasy, need a new party game, sure, but wait for a sale.
You can pick up Dokapon Kingdom: Connect on Steam and the Nintendo Switch.