[b]Note:[/b] A copy of the game was gifted to me by an awesome friend. ^^
[i]Jane's Hotel: New Story Collector's Edition[/i] is a time management game developed by STARCO Games and published by Qumaron. It is based on the [i]Jane's Hotel[/i] time management series, which has yet to make an appearance on Steam, and it serves as a reboot. You take on the role of Jane, but rather than Jane from the original series, you're the great-granddaughter of the first Jane. Anyway, you visit the hotel where Jane's great-grandmother used to run and started her hotel business. However, Jane quickly discovers that the hotel is in disrepair and that the city plans to sell it, which might mean that the hotel might get torn down. Not wanting her great-grandmother's legacy to be gone, Jane decides to take charge and restore the hotel to its former glory. The maid working at the hotel encourages her by wanting to help her out with tasks and such. That's the basic story premise, so I'll end my synopsis here to avoid spoilers and all that.
As for the gameplay, there are a total of 81 levels, as this is a collector's edition. 70 levels are the base game, while 11 bonus levels are additional content. There is only one preset difficulty level. In each level, you're given a couple of goals - serve the specified number of hotel guests and make a certain amount of money (no expert goal). As for the tasks, they vary from checking in and out guests to serving them drinks and food. You earn money from doing these tasks, and the quicker you do so, the more money you get. After completing each level, you get access to the shop, and if you have enough money and stars (which you can earn from completing levels), then you can purchase items and upgrades, like a coffee machine, that can increase your hotel's rating. At the time of this review, there are no Steam/in-game achievements or Steam trading cards.
Now that I've gone over the story and gameplay, I'll move onto my thoughts. Being a fan of the original [i]Jane's Hotel[/i] series (which I hope will be on Steam someday), I was excited to find out about [i]Jane's Hotel: New Story Collector's Edition[/i]. First, I enjoyed the story. Lots of years have passed since the end of events in the previous Jane's game (which I believe is [i]Jane's Hotel Mania[/i]), so it was good to see a descendant of Jane entering the picture and wanting to revive her great-grandmother's hotel franchise. This definitely serves as a reboot to the series, and I like getting to follow Jane as she works with the maid to serve hotel guests and rebuild the hotel. The story serves well enough for the game although I should note that for the parts where this is dialogue between Jane and other characters, the English translation can feel a bit awkward. Still, it's understandable enough.
As for the gameplay, I found it fun and pretty doable. I didn't encounter any technical problems, and I was able to reach the goals for most of the levels on my first try. For a few levels, I had to replay them since I would end up being a bit short of the money goal. Even though upgrades are available, there aren't any for making Jane or the maid walk faster, which I feel like should have been included. (I believe that in the previous [i]Jane's Hotel[/i] games, there was always a walk faster upgrade.) Although neither expert goals nor achievements are present, I don't think it's a negative. Occasionally, I enjoy games that are simple, and personally, I'd rather play a TM that is more doable to 100% complete than one in which the goals are humanly impossible to achieve.
In regards to the art, the graphics have been updated to reflect a more 3-D style. While they still retain that cartoony vibe, it's great to see Jane, the maid, and the guests as 3-D models and the various furnishings and whatnot reflecting that same feeling. The colors are vibrant without being too bright. With the music, there are a few tracks available, and all of them have a lively, upbeat feel, which is perfect for playing through the levels.
Overall, would I recommend [i]Jane's Hotel: New Story Collector's Edition[/i]? If you like time management games (especially the old school ones) and don't mind the lack of achievements and so forth, then this is worth taking a look. It's doable to complete all of the levels, and the story and gameplay are fun. For the asking price, I think it's worth it, as it took me around 7.5 hours to complete all of the levels. ^^
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