Japanese mobile game developer Kairosoft burst onto the U.S. scene in late 2010 with the smash-hit sim Game Dev Story. The title allows gamers to grow their own game development studio from a tiny indie making puzzle and trivia games for PCs into a massive operation capable of releasing its own game console.
The game’s not-so-subtle jabs at the real-world game industry made it an instant cult-classic with core gamers. To succeed players have to choose the right company to make consoles for – “Senga” and “Intendro” are two early-game choices. Players also must smartly match their game’s theme with the proper genre. I personally had a string of smash-hit motion-controlled romance games called “Love Touch” towards the end of my Game Dev Story career.
Game Dev Story was the company’s first U.S. title and remains its biggest success. Kairosoft’s story extends back far further, however.
Nearly 20 Years of Sims
The truth is that Kairosoft is a much older company than most people think it is. The studio was formed in 1996 and its small team of nine has been making simple simulation games, first for PC and later for mobile phones, ever since.
Kairosoft has released a steady string of sim titles onto the iOS App Store and Google Play Store since Game Dev Story became such a smash hit – 14 titles in just 22 months. But the truth is that many of these titles, while new to English-speaking audiences, aren’t new at all.
In the late 90s and early 2000s Japanese mobile phones were significantly more powerful than the brick-like Nokia handsets that were popular in the United States and Europe. Apple’s iPhone and high-end Android handsets have since closed the gap, but Japanese consumers enjoyed full-color, game-capable phones far earlier than the Western world.
Can your team make the next big hit?
Most Kairosoft’s sims that hit the App Store are ports of these original mobile games. Anyone that owns Game Dev Story can dive into the options menu to turn “pad on.” This will activate a round virtual game pad that hints at how Kairosoft’s games are played on lower-end phones that don’t feature a touch screen.
New games or old, many English-speaking gamers can’t get enough of Kairosoft’s breezy blend of simple strategy & simulation. The company is often criticized for its titles being too similar to one another. It’s not an unfair complaint – many Kairosoft games feel very homogeneous. Still, after spending enough time away many gamers find themselves developing the well-known “Kairosoft itch” and want to come back for more.
When the mood strikes, which items in the studio's ever-growing library of titles are worth your dough? IGN has your back. We’ve broken down and ranked all of Kairosoft’s English-language iOS releases below. Now you can buy the best and skip the rest.
Kairosoft iPhone Power-Rankings
Mega Mall Story (IGN Review) (Buy)
Game Dev Story may be Kairosoft’s most-popular game, but it isn’t the company’s best. That honor goes to Mega Mall Story. The game features a huge volume of stores to unlock, keeping your mall varied and fresh all the way to the game’s conclusion. The endgame, traditionally the weak spot in Kairosoft games, is strengthened thanks to a few very expensive late-game investments and hard-to-achieve secret goals.
Game Dev Story (IGN Review) (Buy)
Kairosoft’s original hit remains one of the company’s best titles. There is less pure gameplay and decision-making in Game Dev than most Kairosoft titles – you won’t be hunting for combos or worrying about building placement. But the game makes up for these deficiencies with a much faster pace (there is always something to do) and a great sense of video game humor. It’s too much fun attending Game Dev’s version of E3 and hiring a celebrity to hang out in your booth attracting fans, or creating a hit franchise of Pirate Adventure games.
Dungeon Village (IGN Review) (Buy)
Like Game Dev Story, Dungeon Village is more fun than it probably should be thanks to its great theme. The game gives players the opportunity to build up their own RPG town. The more inns and shops you construct, the better equipped traveling adventurers will be. This allows them to defeat more monsters and bring back more loot to spend in town. It’s a great cycle. Plenty of RPG-style loot to collect is just the icing on the cake.
Pocket Academy (IGN Info) (Buy)
Pocket Academy is often overlooked due to its theme. How much fun could it be building and running a private school? Crazy-fun, it turns out. Most Kairosoft games seem complex at first glance but are actually fairly simple beneath the surface. Pocket Academy is one of the few Kairosoft games with true depth. Hiring the right teachers, giving students the right career advice and building just the right mix of facilities gives gamers more decisions to make than most of Kairosoft’s sims.
Epic Astro Story (IGN Info) (Buy)
Epic Astro Story is a great concept for the Kairosoft “simple sim” treatment: pioneer an untamed planet in the distant future, clean out its hostile citizens and build up thriving trade with neighboring aliens to bring in the dough. For the most part the concept works brilliantly. There’s even light RPG combat mechanics. A few balance issues are the only issue holding Epic Astro back from brilliance and top-tier placement. It’s simply too easy to achieve every goal once a gamer figures out the title's ins and outs.
Pocket League Story (IGN Review) (Buy)
Pocket League Story is similar to Game Dev, in that players manage the progress of a small group of people (this time a soccer team), instead of developing an empty space with stores and decorations like most Kairosoft titles. These stat-management titles are usually simpler and more passive, with less choices for gamers to make. Game Dev succeeds thanks to its clever nods to video game history – something that Pocket League lacks. Passively watching dozens of soccer matches unfold also grows tiresome. Still, it’s very compelling to nurture a team of scrubs into World Cup champs, and Pocket League is very well-balanced, ensuring only very careful players will reach the Gold on their first loop through.
Hot Springs Story (IGN Review) (Buy)
Hot Springs Story is the first Kairosoft game on this chart that’s hard to recommend wholeheartedly. Taking a tiny spa and growing it into a massive, award-winning business (complete with restaurants, message chairs and of course male and female hot springs) is fun, but it doesn’t feel as epic or clever as most Kairosoft titles. It’s also more repetitive than Kairosoft’s greats. To succeed you’ll have to place the same few decorations and stores over and over – there is less variety than a title like Mega Mall.
Venture Towns (IGN Review) (Buy)
Venture Towns was supposed to be a match made in heaven: take Kairosoft’s tried and true breezy sim/strategy and marry it with the most classic of sim genres: the city builder! The results aren’t bad – just disappointing. Venture Towns has some good ideas but never quite recovers from its slow pace. Players spend more time waiting around for money to accumulate than actually playing. The generic theme also works against Venture Towns in some ways. Running a hot springs or private school might feel strange, but they’re also more memorable than developing a generic town.
Grand Prix Story (IGN Review) (Buy)
In Grand Prix Story players must create the best racing team possible by managing staff, carefully upgrading cars and spending research points to unlock new parts. Like Pocket League Story, Grand Prix is a bit on the basic side. There are no buildings to construct or stores to arrange. But Pocket League has the advantage of a universally-loved and understood goal: reach the World Cup. Only major gear-heads will be as excited about competing in an ever-escalating set of races.
Oh! Edo Towns (IGN Review) (Buy)
Oh! Edo Towns tasks players with building up a town in Japan’s Edo Period (1603 – 1868). It suffers from the same pacing problems found in Venture Towns, with the added disadvantage of a significant cultural gap to overcome. Like other Kairosoft titles, the basic strategy is to construct complimentary shops next to one another. But what is the logical thing to build next to a Straw Hat Shop, or a Public Bath?
Even with these problems and its placement at the bottom of the list, Oh! Edo Towns is still a lot of fun. It’s easy to get caught up in that all-too-familiar “Just one more month” cycle that all Kairosoft games feature so strongly. Your next building or expansion is always just around the corner, making the game very hard to put down. Oh! Edo Towns isn’t bad. It’s just the most skippable title among a library of very strong releases.
Bonus #1: Android Hits
Kairosoft often alternates iOS and Android releases, showing each platform an equal amount of love. All Kairosoft titles eventually hit both platforms but some games can remain exclusive to either Google or Apple’s platforms for many months. So iOS gamers looking for a sneak peek of what’s to come should look at what’s already available on Android:
Pocket Clothier - (Buy)
Run your own clothing shop! Coordinate fashions, position mannequins and do everything else in your power to grow from a tiny corner shop into a world-class boutique. 
The Sushi Spinnery - (Buy)
Manage and grow a revolving sushi restaurant! Set the menu, pick your amenities and pick the perfect décor. 
World Cruise Story - (Buy)
Captain a luxury cruise liner! Develop entertainment options including casinos and restaurants, deck-out your ship, create lavish suites and travel to all the right ports to succeed. 
Cafeteria Nipponica - (Buy)
Run your own restaurant! Find ingredients, discover recipes, hire your crew and set the correct ambiance. 
Bonus #2: Untranslated Games
Kairosoft’s Japanese website gives us a hint of what we can expect from the company in the coming months. Titles that have not yet been translated into English include games that allow players to run an arcade, run a video game retail store, become a manga artist, and plenty more.
Only Kairosoft knows for certain what is in store for U.S. audiences - the company is notoriously hard for the English-speaking games press to get in touch with. But it's a sure bet that the small studio has plenty more pixel-filled simulation goodness on the way.
Which Kairosoft games are your favorites? What idea would you like to see Kairosoft tackle next? Leave a note in the comments below and let us know.
Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing cell phone games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.
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