Summary
ThoughPromise Mascot Agencyappears like a chill management sim game at first, it’s actually a pretty high-stakes, breakneck game with a lot of traps you can fall into. The tough part is, when opening the Promise Mascot Agency, there are a lot of systems and mechanics you’ll have to learn all at once, with very little forgiveness.
So, if you want to make sure you’re avoiding as many game-overs as possible, you’ll need to watch out for this list of common mistakes a lot of people can make. Here are some big mistakes that are easy to make, but also easy to avoid.
10Spending Too Much Time On Collectibles
Time Is Money
Many indie gamesoften have a lot of collectible side quests that can offer you great perks, like upgraded Mascot Support Hero Cards, but you’ll want to make sure you’re not dedicating an entire play session just to tracking these down. There’s a handful of reasons why you’ll want to avoid this.
First of all, the Shimazu Threat Meter is always ticking, and if it runs out, she’ll be in troublewith rival Yakuza. So if you’re not being proactive and tracking down new jobs, mascots, and sources of income, you’ll quickly find yourself in a precarious position. Second, collectibles can take a long time to find and can prove a waste of time depending on how good your deck is. Work on collectibles as you do the main quest.
9Hoarding Yen
You Can’t Take It With You
While you’re definitely going to want to verify you always have some yen in your reserves so you don’t accidentally go into the red, you also don’t want to end up a dragon atop a golden hoard. Ultimately, you’ve got to spend money to make money in Promise Mascot Agency.
The best way to spend your money is on Agency Upgrades, Subcontractors, or Town Improvements, as these can all yield you more money. Also Mascot Help Items are relatively cheap, so don’t worry about wasting your money on these.
8Ignoring Passive Income
This Is The Easy Part
Passive income is the best way to pay your bills in Promise Mascot Agency. Oftentimes, early on in the game, if you’re able to unlock and find more subcontractors or get town improvements going, these can cover your bills entirely.
This means that everything you earn through Mascot jobs is yours to keep or send to Shimazu. While it may seem like there’s a high overhead cost for passive income projects, rest assured that this is rarely a mistake. Just verify that if you’re buying out subcontractor agencies, you have enough subcontractors to go around.
7Starting The Main Quest Too Early
No Rush
About midway through Act Two, Pinky will give you a notification that Nui and Yui are waiting for you at the Promise Mascot Agency. Be warned, after you do this quest, you’ll be introduced to the Shimazu Threat Meter, and you’ll be on a ticking clock for the rest of your campaign.
Before triggering this part of the main quest, it’s recommended that you build up a bank of yen by doing Mascot jobs all over Kaso-Machi. You actually won’t ever be coerced into starting this quest, so there’s a good chance you can build up a reserve of millions of yen before you ever have to send anything back home.
6Using The Wrong Mascot Help Items
Pay Attention To Stats And Stamina
In some ways, it may seem like most Mascot Help Items just give you a random chance to either boost stamina or avoid incidents at jobs. While this is true, you may actually be way more specific about how you use Mascot Help Items. Wasting the wrong item on the wrong Mascot can prove costly.
For example, if you have a Mascot going out on a job and they already have full stamina, there’s really no point in wasting a Mascot Help Item on them that boosts stamina. Instead, use items that have a higher chance of preventing incidents. verify you have a diverse stock of Mascot Help Items so you’re not wasting the wrong items on the wrong jobs.
5Prioritizing The Wrong Quests
Not All Quests Serve The Same Purpose
There are a handful of different quest types in Promise Mascot Agency. There are collectible hunts, upgrade quests, and main quests. Not all of these serve the same purpose, and some of them are far more important than others, though the game doesn’t exactly tell you that.
For one, Shiori may often pop up in your quest log, saying that she has a ‘new business opportunity.’ Prioritize these quests first, as Shiori will likely be offering you a new way to earn money. Conversely, most town quests just offer you upgraded Mascot Support Hero Cards, and can be done at your own pace.
4Ignoring Pinky
Take Some Advice!
Early on, Pinky will tell you that you can always solicit her for help at any point during your quest. While it’s easy to imagine that you’ve got the game figured out and you don’t need tutorials, asking Pinky actually serves a concrete purpose.
As you level up your agency’s fame, you’ll earn access to more Mascots and more job opportunities. While these will appear on your map, asking Pinky about new jobs and Mascots will highlight these quests. You’ll want to do these as soon as possible to avoid the ticking clock on Shimazu’s threat running out with no Mascots or jobs at your disposal.
3Mismanaging Mascots
Let’s Make A Deal
Every time you recruit a Mascot, you’ll have to negotiate their salary, time off, and more. This is all part of themanagement sim genre. The goal here is to make them a decent offer without overdoing it. You’ll want to get their negotiation meter into the ‘Interested’ zone, but just barely.
There’s really not much reason to offer more than the bare minimum. Most of the time, as long as you don’t overwork Mascots, they’ll remain happy and healthy. Also, it’s worth noting that you’ll likely want to avoid renegotiating their job share, as this can stack in really lethal ways.
2Relying On Autosaves
Save The Old Fashioned Way
Once you’ve triggered the Shimazu’s Threat Meter, Pinky will explain that you can always reload an old autosave if you get a game over. While this is true, you can end up in a perpetual loop of bad save files and game-overs if you rely solely on autosaves.
This is because, when you reload an autosave, your Shimazu Threat Meter doesn’t replenish at all. Anytime you feel you’re in a good spot financially, and with the Shimazu Threat Meter, make a manual save in one of the ten slots offered to you. This will ensure you always have a good spot to go back to should you fail.
1Poor Navigation
Make Sure You Know Where You’re Going
Understanding how the island of Kaso-Machi works is extremely important. Because you’re always in a race against the clock, you’re going to want to avoid going too far off the beaten path, and therefore far from an ATM (which you need to send money to Shimazu).
Plus, if you haven’t prioritized upgrading your truck, you can find yourself stuck. While you can always respawn if you’re trapped, or reload an old save, this can prove tedious. Make sure you have a vague sense of where ATMs are on the island so that you don’t get stuck wasting time driving back to civilization while the Shimazu Threat Meter goes down.
