Community Pom (1997)

A very cute and charming little action adventure game with some minor community/town sim management elements tied in. The controls are simple and responsive enough to make for a great early kid's game. The artstyle and unique fairy tale story elements really add to this as well. The gameplay can most easily be compared to a 2D Zelda but a couple added mechanics where you are managing these little Pom creatures and their town where you need to feed them and direct them to construct new buildings and farm, etc. You can then take them along with you to reach new areas and help battle enemies.

The game's sense of humor, artstyle, music, and unique mashing of gameplay elements all scream cult classic material. I don't even mind how obscure or unclear some elements of the game are to figure out as it would add some mystique to the game for a child playing without a guide, and most of these secrets aren't really necessary for progress in the main story anyway.

My only real gripes besides the point that some mechanics could have been made clearer are that the gameplay loop of managing the Poms in their community and bringing them along on battles is pretty shallow, at least for an adult gamer. There just isn't much to do to manage them and their impact in combat is very limited and entirely skippable. Lastly, there is some references in a secret area that are a major tonal mismatch with the rest of the game, and while it didn't ruin the game for me, I did find it off-putting.

Based on my growing Pom count out of the translated guide's listed total Poms, I'd say I'm about halfway so far. Just from initial impressions and game concept alone, this title just oozes cult classic potential.

-Adorable sprites/artstyle and animations. (The Poms are essentially naked outside of accessories like hats, but the Pom that swims even has this silly animation of them putting on a swimsuit just as an example)

-The energetic and unique music tracks coupled with charming/fun characters and world building adds a lot to the experience

-Controls are smooth and responsive with combat being a bit too simplistic but it does seem to get gradually more challenging as the game progresses

-The only downside so far being that the community/monster management aspects of the Poms seem to be a bit shallow with less depth and impact than you'd expect