This is a Milano’s Odd Job Collection review, and this is a big release because it took 26 years for it to come overseas. This comes from the hands of Implicit Conversions, a group that does an amazing job at porting old games, with a translation from Hilltop, a prolific group of translators. The publishing house is of course XSEED, which is still a branch of Natsume in the USA, and this game came from the hand of Westone in Japan back in 1999, known for their Wonder Boy games. Attaining cult classic status in that country, Milano’s Odd Job Collection became a neat oddity of the PS1 library and now we can play it on PC.
As the name of the game implies, it is quite the odd experience but in a good way, Milano’s family is busy so its up to herself to enjoy her Summer break by doing a variety of jobs and even decorating her own house. The game presents itself in a rather unique way, even for the time, as it feels like a collection of mini games in a central hub where you can pick them and that’s pretty much it on the surface. However, I can understand the appeal it has for some people, because when you start getting deep into the mechanical aspects there’s a ton of hidden things and interactions.
You have a limited amount of days until your family returns from being busy, and little Milano needs your help trying to organize the perfect schedule to do her best during every day. Initially, options for jobs are limited, you can do dish washing or even trying to milk some funny looking flying cows before time runs out, and now you can guess why the game has Odd Job Collection in the name, jobs do get unusual, you can even become a doctor. The game does explain how it works, yet it does it in a superficial level so there’s still work to do discovering things by yourself, something I truly appreciate in old games.
While Milano’s Odd Job Collection might look simple, even childish, there’s some things under the hood that make it stand out. After working each day, or even just enjoying a day off in the park while eating popcorn, Milano returns back to her home and she has the option to do many activities in it. You can cook dishes, clean the house, do the laundry, and plenty of other mundane things that seem like placebo but some of them impact your stats. If you carefully check menus, you can see that Milano does indeed have some stats that influence things in the game.
Depending on her levels of energy and even mood levels, new jobs become available and sometimes different events can trigger due to RNG. The idea of the game is trying to optimize her days in the best way possible to get better paying jobs so you can buy more expensive items to decorate the house with. Even deliveries of these items need to be planned strategically, as they only reach your doorstep in an specific day rather than always, so be sure to bundle many things if you can spare some cash. The decision to buy things happens during midnight when Milano goes to sleep along with others.
You can also opt to Wish for something good to happen which occasionally will make a shooting star pop up and grant you a wish from three options, one of these options being a bonus to your cash that you may find the next day. There’s a certain flow you need to get accustomed to if you want to become good at this game, there’s even some skill involved in the mini games as they become progressively harder, they do have difficulty levels that get unlocked as you play. Despite the simplistic and naive facade that Milano’s Odd Job Collection has, this game proves that obfuscation of mechanics makes things more enjoyable.
The art style is cute, clearly aimed towards the younger side of the demographic spectrum but everyone can enjoy the quirky nature of this game, Milano’s Odd Job Collection is odd and unique, truly one of a kind. Depending on how good you are at the game, you will receive a different grade at the end to show how good you were, attempting to reach the highest one might be a tough thing to do since things can get tough very quickly. Management defines the game, but you also need other skills such as good coordination to play the mini games.
This is definitely not a game for everyone, some might even find it quite repetitive despite the fact that RNG plays a role in each playthrough. This makes the experience highly replayable, and you even have an arcade mode to practice all of the mini games in every difficulty level. All in all, the game exudes that charm from the 90s that barely exists in the industry nowadays, that’s because it is an old game that didn’t really age all things considered. Milano’s Odd Job Collection could come today as a new release and it would feel in place.
While relaxing games with stress free routine tasks aren’t really my cup of tea, I have to appreciate the work put into Milano’s Odd Job Collection, as it actually provided some fun while it lasted. Playthroughs are rather short, you only have a total of 41 days until your parents return home and days go by very quickly, especially when you hit the button to speed up animations for things happening at home. The point of the game is taking it slow, enjoying every moment, relishing in the mundane yet peculiar vibes of Zucchini Town and wishing that things in life were as simple yet mysterious as the game shows us.
Initially I believed I wouldn’t be a fan, but being an old title I really had to give it a try and it surprised me. The translation is wonderful, and the voice acting work is also rather neat too, especially for Milano. For fans of cute things, you can even feed the cat of the house, Pepelosa, as one of the possible actions you can pick for the day, while it seems to do nothing at all stat wise, it is yet another cute animation to enjoy out of many to look out for and experience.
Milano’s Odd Job Collection Review – Verdict
Millano's Odd Job Collection: Milano's Odd Job Collection might be simple at first glance, but the game obfuscates its mechanics to add more mystery to the mundane. The animations of the game are lovely, and there was tons of effort put into making the game as charming as possible. While the gameplay might not be the cup of tea for some, it is one of those games that if it sticks with you it sticks quite hard. I won't forget my time at Zucchini Town. – Hiro
[Editor’s Note: Milano’s Odd Job Collection was reviewed on PC and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]
