The thinking gamer's wii title
It is a story driven journey that explores mankind's existence.
I thank XSeedGames for bringing this game to America.
I was one of many fans that requested a stateside release. I preordered it over 6 months prior, and I owe it to them to review it.
It has been handed over to us in what looks like an essentially 100% accurate translation.
The story and feel are distinctly Japanese.
All characters in the game come with plenty of emotional baggage, with the exception of the damsel Ren.
Through their story you examine the real tragedies of aging, losing a friend prematurely, excepting death, and people's need for meaningful relationships. Seto can also collect objects that carry lost memories. You hear snippets of various walks of life before the tragedy- Siblings hunting for treasure, the cheating husband seeking forgiveness, a suicidal bomber, even a cat that travels from owner to owner. The message seems fairy obvious- Are we, the gamer, aware of the brevity of life? That said, the story can sometime become overly sappy or melodramatic at times.
The graphics are more or less run of the mill in quality.
But the details are there- Moss grown hotels, a dilapidated railroad station,
Tokyo Tower. All of them carry a melancholy feel that fits the post-apocalyptic world.
There aren't a ton of enemies in the game. Only about 10 enemy types exist in the game, and about 6 bosses.
Most of them are weird, silly, occasionally creepy- something straight out of a summer ghost story from Japan.
This is not Silent Hill. In fact the game is made in way that you eventually can't be scared. Initially, the game is kinda creepy because you're all alone. But as the story progresses, you start to have companions. Eventually you're accompanied by a ghost for almost HALF the game! So its sort of a letdown as a horror survival.
The soundtrack is fairly well made. Nothing really stands out as spectacular except the theme song. That really can pull at the heart strings. The game came with both Japanese and English audio. I am a fan of dubs, and I can say the cast was pretty good. The company chosen was Bang Zoom Ent. (Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill, Rune Factory, etc.) The only character I had a bit of concern with was Seto. He is not necessarily a bad choice, but he takes some getting used to. Seto is such a small character, and he's only about 15, and extremely emo. He cries many times in the story. The actor is at least in his 20s, so it doesn't come off as a crybaby kid. No big deal, just switch to Japanese audio if it bothers you. Certain voices are reused for stock characters, but no biggie. The memory items usually only last about 5 minutes or so. There have to be over 50 different memory items, so reusing cast is understandable.
As far as flaws go, the biggest one is the motion control. It is very hard to get Seto to turn with the wii remote. The controls are not broken, but they would have been so much better if that was fixed. Another thing that would have helped wuld be a lock on feature for enemies. The other problem is inventory space. Weapons break, and become useless quite often. Unfortunately you can't carry a replacement without cutting down a sizable portion of your inventory. Memory Items take inventory space too, so you may have to sacrifice healing items or weapons to collect them. The only way to switch out your inventory with new items is to get to a save point. There were times in the game when I navigated to the same save point about 10 or 15 times just to move inventory. The only portion of the game that I almost got lost on was the shortcut to the mall. You can easily miss it if you don't explore the hotel roof several times. They should have made it more obvious.
Fragile Dreams is a good wii title that is not for everyone. It is meant for players looking to explore, to understand, not for action-packed fighting. It is definitely a game I will not forgot anytime soon.