Cladun: This is an RPG is a humorous action role-playing game. Gameplay mainly consists of fighting through levels (called “dungeons”) with a party of characters, earning money, items and experience. The defining theme of the game is its retro-style presentation, influenced by the 8-bit era of video games. In-game music can be switched in the options menu between “real” (a regular polyphonic soundtrack) and “retro” (with chiptune versions of the same tracks).
The game follows the story of Pudding, a tomboyish girl that is crazy about adventures and treasure, and a boy named Souma, who is determined to protect her. At the beginning of the game they find a way into a legendary secret place called Arcanus Cella - that is rumoured to have plenty of wonderful treasures to find. It is a surreal place filled with characters, creatures and environments strengthening the game’s humorous tone.
The party creation system in the game is called “Magic Circle”. There is a main character (which can be switched between dungeons) that the player controls directly - he or she is the core of a team and defines the shape of the circle. Other characters in the party are called “subs” - their role is to contribute their health points and other attributes. They are inserted into slots in the magic circle, which connect with slots for “artifacts” which raise statistics and grant bonuses to either a sub or the main character. There are five character classes - warrior, dragoon, guardian, wizard and merchant, and each class has different magic circle configurations available when serving the main character role. This system allows a large degree of party customization.
Another unusual feature is the possibility to create an endless number of custom characters, drawing their custom faces with an in-game editor, and even defining their personal final bosses. Character faces can be saved into separate files which allows players to share and import them at will.