Within the first moments of hearing about this game, I immediately knew I wanted to play it. The art style had me completely captivated and as a huge fan of JRPG’s I was sold the moment I saw the game. Luckily there were not one, but two different demos which only confirmed that I was going to love this game. And love it I did, I quickly became addicted, playing almost 4 hours every day for the first month. This is definitely a must play for any JRPG fan!
Story: 8.5/10
First of all I want to mention that any review you read that says there is no connection between the characters stories was made by someone who did not finish the game. It is true that the stories do not start to connect until the end, and not even all of the stories play into the larger theme, but the game definitely does build up to something bigger and does have a true ending available after every characters individual story has been beaten.
Since it would take too long to talk on every character’s story, it is important to talk about Primrose’s story, which tackles a very dark theme and does a fantastic job of providing true feelings for what she has been through and what she must do. Truly, her story deserves some kind of award which if you don’t have the time to play, find some way to watch or see it online. It is definitely worth your time.
Score: 10/10
The music in this game is beautiful and very fitting adding another dimension to an already great game. I found myself going online just to listen to the tracks.
Characters/Character Development: 9.5/10
Many of the eight characters can feel a bit stereotypical, but seeing their progression and growth through their chapters makes them break the familiar mold. Even side characters feel perfectly in place and help build a good story.
Graphics: 10/10
Now although it sounds weird to give a game with bit-style graphics a perfect score for how good it looks, this game definitely has earned it. The ‘2D-HD’ as they call it looks so amazing and is something completely jaw-dropping for games in this style. The first time I entered a cave and saw the light reflect off the walls I was amazed. Watching something like the water flow through a river looks stunning and shows how well non bit-stlyed water fits in with a bit-styled game.
Gameplay: 10/10
This is the best combat I have ever encountered in a game with turn-based combat. Boosting your attacks is so satisfying and lets you feel like you are getting off a really big hit and that you really have control of what’s going on. Also the way the combat is set up in terms of enemy weaknesses and breaks, it keeps you consistently coming up with new ways to overcome each new foe. This is not a game where you can simply keep using the same fighting strategy over and over again and continue to win and I love that because it stops the game from being stale.
Difficulty: 5.5/10 (0 being the easiest, 10 being the hardest)
Difficulty is perfect here. When you lose against a boss, you’re not left with the feeling of frustration, but rather a determination and a better strategy of what to do for the next battle. Then, when you finally are able to beat the boss, you feel very accomplished. The only reason I can’t give this a perfectly even score is because the optional final boss is insanely difficult and is frustrating and time consuming to even fight.
Fun: 8.5/10
While this is truly one of the most enjoyable games I’ve ever played, it’s not without its faults. The game does a great job of feeling very open, but many of the optional dungeons contain nothing until you have picked up the side quest, leading to an unsatisfying experience if you receive nothing after exploring. The game can also get a bit grindy, especially toward the end and if you choose to take on the optional final boss. There are several strategies to get quick XP, but much of it is left up to chance. Even with several hiccups, this world is so much fun to explore and see and definitely worth your time to just look around and see what all is there.
Recommended for-
- · JRPG Fans
- · Fans of old school style games