Finally, Some Good News
The gaming industry needs a bit of good news, and Milano’s Odd Job Collection has an origin story befitting one: A team of translators known as Hilltop Works recently did a stellar job on a Japanese game known as Boku no Natsuyasumi 2. Such a good job in fact, that they were approached to do an official translation on Milano’s Odd Job Collection, releasing outside of Japan for the first time.
And in an age where cosy games are all the rage, this re-release of a charming, if repetitive, PS1 game is coming at the perfect time.
Milano Is Off On Holiday! Except…
As the titular Milano, you are sent to your uncle’s house for the summer vacation whilst your mum needs to go to the hospital. Don’t worry, she’s fine. But as Milano arrives, her uncle has decided to go away on holiday too, leaving Milano all on her own. Rather than throwing a big party and trashing the place, Milano takes the opportunity to earn some money and spruce up her uncle’s place.
Over the course of 40 days, Milano can sample a variety of jobs, including dishwashing, milking cows, and serving fast food. These take the form of minigames, giving you a target number to complete within a certain time. They start off easy enough, but on higher difficulties can prove challenging. The payoff however, is more money to spend decorating your uncle’s house.
These minigames are simple in concept but give an added difficulty with tricky inputs. They’re reminiscent of Warioware microgames, where you need to be quick on the draw in order to meet your quota. Fail to do that in the time limit, and you won’t earn any money at all, which if you ask me is a bit harsh.
Your Evenings Are To Be Spent As You Wish
Your evenings can be spent doing a variety of things, with some activities boosting Milano’s stats: Skill, energy and mood. Improving these will help in the minigames by unlocking higher difficulties and giving you more time to complete them. You have time for two activities a night, and a further choice to make when it comes to bedtime. Do you decide to read to increase your skill stat, browse the catalogue and spend your hard earned money, or even wish upon a star?
Activities can include cooking, cleaning or washing up. You are also looking after your uncle’s cat, Pepelosa, who can – and will – run away if neglected. This will have a negative impact on your overall rating. Unsurprisingly.
Browsing Catalogues – The Biggest Throwback
Browsing the catalogue allows you to purchase a wide variety of items to decorate your home with. There really are a lot of items within, with many of them coming in different colours, allowing you to coordinate.
Most of these will be superficial items, but there are several that come with additional activities to unlock. What these are will be fairly obvious when you consult what activities you can do on an evening. Water the plants, watch TV, learn an instrument and unlock some new cooking recipes. It will take a few days at first to have enough money to even afford the basic versions of these items, but get better at the minigames and improve Milano’s stats and soon the money will come rolling in.
However, there is a big downside to shopping from the catalogue. It takes a few days for your orders to arrive, and then in order to place them in the house, you need to take a day off from work. Unfortunately, you cannot place the items in the house on an evening.
40 Days And 40 Nights
At the end of your 40 days, you will receive a ranking based on your overall performance. For better grades though, there is a secret job to be found…
If 40 days sounds like a long time, it is. The minigames do get tiresome over time, and the limited amount of evening activities get really laborious. Thankfully you can skip the animations because once you have seen them once, there is nothing new to see.
But where Milano’s Odd Job Collection can feel repetitive, it is still a fun throwback to the original PlayStation times. It has a real classic aesthetic, and even includes the load and save screens for good measure.
A Cosy Game From Times Gone By
Milano’s Odd Job Collection is a cosy game from a time when cosy games weren’t a thing. It has a lot of the genre hallmarks, such as decorating a home and a relaxing atmosphere, yet it is perhaps lacking in content, as it can get repetitive over time.
But, if you manage to uncover the secrets, it’s a decent enough hit of nostalgia.
Important Links
Milano’s Odd Job Collection Lands on Xbox, PC, Switch and PlayStation – A Classic Gem Reimagined – https://www.thexboxhub.com/milanos-odd-job-collection-lands-on-xbox-pc-switch-and-playstation-a-classic-gem-reimagined/
Lost PlayStation Classic ‘Milano’s Odd Job Collection’ is Finally Coming to Xbox – https://www.thexboxhub.com/lost-playstation-classic-milanos-odd-job-collection-is-finally-coming-to-xbox/
Buy from the Xbox Store – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/milanos-odd-job-collection/9mwwkqwfml1w
