Milano's Odd Job Collection

I 100%ed the game so you don't have to...I also like this game that wasn't known outside of Japan.

This game shows that even with a simple premise, a high-replayability game when done right can be genuinely fun and engaging! Playing it instantly brought me back to my childhood. That sense of achievement—earning pocket money, saving up, and finally buying something with your own effort🥹I didn’t expect this game to bring back a feeling I didn’t even realize I missed. What really made me fall in love with it is how the game encourages you to replay. You’re free to fail, learn, and try again—without punishment. Each run feels meaningful as you slowly improve, unlock new things, and experiment with different approaches. And knowing that future updates are planned honestly makes me even more excited to see what they will add next. By the end of it, my heart genuinely felt full. If you’re looking for a short, cozy game to unwind after a long day, something that makes you feel accomplished without pressure, this game might heal your heart more than you expect😆

So nice to see a quality translation of an unknown (to me at least lol) PS1 game. Just finished my first 'run' with a C grade and I think now I kinda see the scope and appeal of the game more. The job mini games that I played were all fun to master (except washing dishes lol), and I could see really fun speed runs of this game existing (like trying to get to a certain furniture item etc). In the first 10 days or so I was still on my toes waiting for a conflict to happen, some villain to impose some other deadline or fail state, but nope, the worst thing that can happen is that you screw up a game so bad that you don't get paid. That was pretty freeing once I realized it and switched gears into making a fun hangout spot for my girl. Gonna have to do another run or two to make sure she can get herself a game box. Translation was great, the minor modern wrapping around the game was sufficient for me (IMO didn't need the save states but I could see that being helpful for some players). My one gripe in that department would be that I would love some more display options around resolution and windowed/fullscreen modes - I personally got a dumb wide monitor and I'd rather have it be windowed than have the wallpaper + letterboxing that's in the current build. Loved the other display options like the CRT stuff.

Very adorable life sim. The design for the animals are so cute. If you want to try something different . You should try this

Cute and short game (3-4 hours for one playthrough when not skipping scenes) where you play mini-games, earn money and buy furniture. There's 8 mini games in total, with 5 difficulty levels each, but they are not all available from the start. By taking certain decisions during non-work hours Milano earns points in three attributes which helps unlock all the mini games. The main appeal of the game is that it's cute, has cute animations and the mini games can actually be quite challenging on higher levels! It's a simple game with a few hidden secrets and interactions. Don't go in expecting too much but what is there is polished, fun and cute!

The game is pretty much a collection of fun mini games that remind me of when I was little myself, when Wario Ware and Pokémon Stadium were some of my favourite games. I absolutely adore the artstyle. I would’ve loved this as a kid, and I still do now being in my 30s. Update: I’ve had some issues playing with my Nintendo Pro Controller since the game doesn’t seem to recognize it, and I haven’t been able to use it in the beginning. I managed to resolve my problem by playing in the Big Picture Mode, enabling Steam Input for the game in its properties and restarted the game.

A cute little minigame collection with some added life sim elements. The minigames are a bit reminiscent of Bishi Bashi Special or Pokemon Stadium, with the main difference being that the games here are all single player. I'm not too sure how punishing they are on higher difficulties as I've yet to unlock them (more on that in a second) but in general they all feel fun and control well, with the Ranch, Burger Shop and Hospital being my favourites. Gameplay takes place over the course of 40 in-game days, with each day being a choice of main activity (do a job, decorate your house or just chill in the park!) and two evening activities back at home. These partly function to raise your stats (which allow you to pick different daytime jobs) but also are just a way to let you see some cute animations of Milano making some pancakes, feeding her cat, learning to play an instrument, etc. Speaking of, the pixel animation and art style in this game is absolutely gorgeous and is a wonderful example of the style from this era. My only real gripe with the gameplay is that minigame difficulty is tied to your "Skill" stat - that is, until you level your skill up, you are only able to select the easiest difficulty. While the other two stats, "Mood" and "Energy" are easy to level up from the start, Skill remained a mystery for me right through to end until I bought one of the desks from the catalogue which allows you to train it. This did make the minigames get repetitive far more quickly, and I really wish the game did signpost a bit more clearly how you are supposed to increase Skill. Lastly, I just want to mention the localisation and dubbing for this game, which is excellent. For an obscure Japan-only minigame collection from the 90's I never would have expected them to give it an English dub, and it really manages to fit the style of the era and sound similar to English anime dubs from the time. Original Japanese text and audio is also available (and can be mixed and matched if you want to play Subs not Dubs) so it's also possible to play what is essentially a straight port of the original Japanese release as well if you prefer. Overall, this is a very short but fun little collection and I'm very happy to see games like this being preserved and given a chance to reach a wider audience. It's fun, relaxing little game with a lot of heart, and I hope we see more niche games like this being brought to modern audiences.