Gameplay issues diminish the brilliant concept Fragile Dreams delivers, but it is still an RPG worth experiencing.
Hours Played = 11:06:03
Status = Completed
Positive
- Memorable story, enemies and setting
- Fantastic environment design and atmosphere makes exploration joyful
- Great sound design, including both English and Japanese dubs
Negative
- Painful camera and controls in closed or small areas
- Combat is a bit clunky and could use a lock-on or guarding
- Game's a bit too easy and straightforward
Great concept alone doesn't make a game. But does great concept make an RPG worth playing? Fragile Dreams is an example of that. Despite its flaws and setbacks, Fragile Dreams succeeds in pulling you towards its immersive world, amazing atmosphere and, impressive visuals and audio. Unfortunately it has some annoying issues which hold back such an amazing adventure.
Fragile Dreams is set in a near, post-apocalyptic future where most of humanity not longer exists. In this lonely, beautiful world the game follows Seto's journey, a young boy who is left alone in this world after the only person in his life, his old man passed away. After that Seto decides to search for other survivors. Upon finding a silver-haired girl who then runs away, Seto goes in pursuit of this girl for a long adventure; encounter few humans including the chicken-head wearing merchant, the cheerful and sometimes annoying Crow, PF and other friends Seto makes along the way. The story is a bit overdramatic at times, with an anime inspired look which almost perfectly suits the game. Its magnificent creepy and dark atmosphere will keep you constantly on your guard as you adventure through the game.
What makes a great RPG is its story. Fragile Dreams succeeds in that. But great concept isn't always enough to pull through some tedious work. The gameplay has some annoying issues which at first may seem a bit of irritating to get accustomed to. But if you can stick around for a while, you'll realize that everything is tolerable. The controls work fine alone. Moving around with the Nunchuk, pointing at the screen with the Wii Remote aims your flashlight and the camera can be turned around at 360 ̊ around but no up. In wide and spacious areas these cause no problems, except that the camera may be a bit zoomed out. The problem is when you combine them in. In small areas the camera and controls are extremely awkward and unreliable, constantly making you lose direction.
In combat they are more of a hazard. The combat is overall very simplistic for an RPG and it lacks some fundamental things. Seto can't guard nor dodge, nor can he lock on to enemies to make up for the game's camera problems. Since Seto aims his flashlight wherever you aim it, it's impossible to make a 180 ̊ turn meaning you'll be leaving your back wide open. In tight areas fighting fast enemies are very infuriating to keep up with considering that the combat is a bit slow and the pace is even slower. The enemies are interesting though. You'll be fighting countless spectral enemies which become visible whenever you are close or by hearing their noises from the Wii Remote's speaker. Enemies seem to lack a bit a variety overall, but their design is great and almost always fun to fight. Unfortunately they reappear each time you enter and leave a room making you fight same enemy dozens of times. It is also difficult to keep up with some enemies as well. The combat is also very straightforward and the overall difficulty is a piece of cake, meaning you'll be blowing some of the game's strange bosses far too quickly. Although the difficulty is slightly inconsistent. Some bosses are very infuriating, normally because they are enormous and can't keep track of their movements. Once you learn their tricks they can be breezed through without breaking a sweat. Other than that the game is quite easy.
To add tension and increase the dark atmosphere, a well implemented flashlight is used. You will be using all the time to explore some of the darkest and spooky areas in the game. The flashlight will help you locate the position of the enemy since without it, it is almost impossible to locate them. It is also helpful to know where Seto is looking at. The green Wii pointer is always on screen and wherever it is there is the flashlight and Seto looking in that direction. Some hours in the game you'll gain a new, special flashlight. This flashlight can find things that are invisible to the naked eye, but its bright green light may hurt your eyes. There is also the issue of the inventory. Its size is pretty small at first and it doesn't get much bigger. You will constantly arranging the inventory at each save point or even each time you find a new item. This process begins alright, but overtime it gets tiresome and will seem more of a chore than actual fun. You'll be finding plenty of useful items such as health items, weapons and memory items and mystery items. Finding memory items will reveal the memory of the person which had the item at the bonfire where you save. Mystery items are mysterious items which can only be discovered at the bonfire. Bonfires are frequent, to avoid making the game any frustrating. Mystery items can be anything including money. Occasionally the merchant wearing a big chicken head passes by whenever you are at the bonfire and will sell you items. He sells a variety of things including health items and weapons.
There are other issues. Weapons constantly break on you, sometimes leaving you on the most inopportune times. One rare case is when the weapon breaks when you haven't even hit an enemy. The worst part is that the weapon breaks without warning and unless you have a replacement it's difficult to deal heavy damage. Most luckily weapons are cheap from the merchant and he has an abundant supply of them, making this easier to get used to. Some backtracking as well to endure. Sometimes you have to search for some items, and there are some non-fighting sequences for example catching Crow which unless you know what to do, you become stuck and some of these lead to frustration. The backtracking isn't a huge issue, but over time exploring the same corridors over and over might take its toll.
Fragile Dreams looks beautiful. The anime inspired graphics and the beautiful, dark environments will constantly make you wonder what will be coming next. At first the areas vary from underground mall, circus, and hotel. Some of these areas are relatively small which adds a bit of backtracking but the anime quality is great no doubt. The character models deserve as much credit, all the more emotional with the anime visuals which does a great job bringing the world to life. Even the enemy design is marvelous, but the best looking thing in the game is that incredibly beautiful red sunset in the beginning of the game. The sound design is as good. The moody music keeps you tingling as you approach enemies and the heavy but effective use of the Wii Remote's speaker enlivens the mood when you aim the pointer to that spot the enemy is or coming to close the enemies as you hear their noises and growls. Surprisingly enough this game has both the original Japanese dubs and English dub. The English voices may seem a bit dramatic at times but it's all good.
Fragile Dreams is a good game but in the end the game is also short accompanied by a somewhat unsatisfying and disappointing ending. The Wii is a bit lacking in role-playing games so if you are a fan of the genre you should pick up Fragile Dreams as soon as possible, with or with its flaws. The small flaws should stop you from enjoying this action RPG, because its great concept is enough to make it worth a rental.
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Graphics = 8.3
A very beautiful looking game, with a lot of creepy environments and corridors to explore. Great character and enemy design. Light environments don't look as good.
Sound = 7.9
Fitting atmospherically impacting soundtrack. The sound effects are bombs. Provides both English and Japanese voices. Heavy but effective use of the Wii remote's speaker adds tension.
Presentation = 8.4
Great concept, cutscenes and occasional cinematic. The atmosphere is just brilliant and I've never seen better in an RPG. Loadings are quick as the wind.
Gameplay = 7.3
The camera and controls are crafted well, but in combat and small areas they are a combination of mess and frustration. For an RPG combat lacks depth and is very straightforward. Fun exploration but there is some minor backtracking. Minor inconsistently when it comes to challenge. It doesn't mean it can't be fun.
Story = 7.8
Interesting setting; a boy in a lonely, beautiful world searches for other survivors. The atmosphere is magnificent, the anime visuals back it up well, and despite some moments when the game lets up a bit, it's a very memorable and original story. Short for an RPG. Disappointing ending.
OVERALL = 73 / 100
Gameplay issues diminish the brilliant concept Fragile Dreams delivers, but it is still an RPG worth experiencing.