Roadwarden Review (Switch)

Roadwarden, originally came out on the PC in 2022 and was universally praised for it’s rich story telling and world building. Now, a few years later it has made the jump to the Switch. With the market flooded with Metroidvania and Rogue-like games it’s great to see something a bit different and it’s even better to see something forging a more original path that will actually captivate and engross you. Roadwarden is all these things and more, despite a few performance issues.

The basic premise is that the game is a sort of choose your own adventure, text based, game with some RPG element. You play a new Roadwarden, sent by the merchants’ guild to keep trade moving through a fantasy peninsula filled with monsters and strange happenings. You can pick from a few different variations of your character and then it’s off into the pixel illustrated world to investigate and carry out quests. Your overall goal can be decided on by the player from a host of different options and it’s really up to you to explore where you want over the course of forty days.

The play screen in the game is split into three sections. You get an illustration of your location on the left, the main text description and selectable options in the middle and then access to information about your status and other information on the right. This is navigated by using the Switch control stick or arrow buttons or pressing one of the shortcut buttons. It’s a bit clunky compared to the PC but it does work. We can’t help but feel some kind of virtual mouse cursor may have been a better option though.

Both the illustrations and text set the scene of the harsh fantasy environment well. The text is often lengthy but interesting and there are a normally a host of options to choose from. You can normally even pick from different tones and emotions to use in your replies, all of it adding up to giving the player different paths to follow. This tied to the forty-day time frame means there is a decent amount of replayability here for those who really get into the game and want to play for longer. You certainly can’t do everything or go everywhere in one play through, and the selectable goals also means different priorities are needed for each run.

Once, players leave a location they enter a larger map screen which fills in as they explore. It can feel a bit daunting, but characters are good at giving you information about locations that are in different directions and where you might want to head. This means you are rarely in a situation where you are unsure of where to go or what to do. Instead, the game relies more on a sort of risk versus reward system with the player knowing what’s ahead but also what they stand to gain or lose by doing certain things.

While you are traveling you need to keep an eye on a host of things to keep your character going. There is nourishment, health, tiredness, armour and even appearance which all tie into different aspects of the game and add or remove options if they fall too low. If your appearance is too dishevelled for instance characters are less likely to interact with you, but resting and cleaning takes up precious time which you may not be able to waste.

There are various skill checks and elements of chance you’ll have to face as well. This is very much in the mould of an old school dungeons and dragons RPG, just with a bit more direction. Whenever something which requires ‘chance’ is an option the game will highlight it for you, so you are always have the information you need before making decisions. A well implemented tutorial which pops up naturally as you progress also helps to gently integrate player with the various systems the game runs on.

If there is a criticism it’s that the game runs pretty inconsistently on the Switch, at least in handheld mode. We had a fair few start up crashes when trying to launch and the very first time we played there was even errant code on the screen and an error message about memory. Luckily these disappeared once it seemed to get running but anything that moves is jerky and moving around your options on the play screen comes with a certain amount of lag. It certainly isn’t running in the most optimal way, lets put it that way. Despite this though it remains incredibly engaging and interesting.

Overall, Roadwarden is something both different and rather excellent. The world and atmosphere the game creates with its pixel art and lavish writing really helps to build the feel of a living place. Each interaction is interesting and there is more than enough ‘game’ here to keep people happy who would shy away from other visual novels. It’s closest to something like a digital Fighting Fantasy book, just with more options and systems running. Even with performance issues we really liked it and at the modest price, it’s very easy to recommend.

Overall 8/10

Beyond Galaxyland Review (Switch)

 

The Switch is packed with RPG’s so it was always going to take something different to standout from the crowd. Most of Square Enix’s back catalogue is here so we are a little surprised to see a fairly low budget indie game step up and give the big boys a run for their money.

Beyond Galaxyland, is a game based on old sci-fi and B movies and has our hero Doug, taken off to the stars in order to save earth. The galaxy he finds himself in is inhabited by not only humans but normal earth animals which have now transformed into walking, talking versions of themselves and an array of other alien life. It’s ok though, as Doug has his newly transformed giant hamster companion to help him through.

Presentation wise, the game is a side scrolling 2.5D affair. You can move in and out of the screen at various points as well to add depth to some of the locations. There are occasional puzzles and sections which require some object placement or basic platforming but it’s mainly about finding your way through the environments.

When you encounter enemies the game switches to a turn-based system not dissimilar to many other games of this genre. You have your basic attack option as well as being able to use special skills, items or summon any of the many creatures you can capture along the way. Combat has a small contextual and timed element to them on attack and defence to keep things a touch more interactive than fully traditional RPG games as well.

The capture mechanic adds a very light pokemon style element where you need to photograph the enemy, then try and entrap them in combat. Once this is done, they bring a special move to the party. Summons can also be levelled up and improved as the game goes on. There are a few other systems in play as well, with a crafting mechanic available for those looking to grind the best equipment.

The game also has an excellent quest and map system. Everything is organised clearly and it’s easy to work out what you are meant to be doing. If you get really stuck, you can have guidance to your next waypoint as well. Occasionally you’ll have some issues working out what level something is on but it isn’t often enough to frustrate for long.

What will likely divide players though is the graphical style used. There’s a heavy, old school, style pixel approach here that can make it hard to identify fine details at times. It’s also just a bit too dark at times, especially in some of the dungeons. Certain areas do look suitably impressive though when the visual clutter clears.

Above everything else though the main thing about Beyond Galaxyland is that it’s incredibly engaging. The characters and dialogue are well written and often humorous, so in your interludes between adventuring you are still keen to push forward and return to continue your adventure after setting the game down.

Overall, Beyond Galaxyland is another indie gem that deserves far more widespread recognition. It may be a touch rough around the edges but there’s so much here that works perfectly it would be remiss of any RPG fan not to give this a go. Those that do will find a fun and rewarding game that gives you hours of planets to explore.

Overall 8/10

Chained Echoes Review (Switch)

The Switch isn’t short of RPG’s with most of the big hitters prominent on the system. The Persona games were one of the last hold outs but even they have no succumbed to notion of hand held levelling. Amid the big boys though is this indie RPG which has somehow sprung from the mind of a single person. Indie RPG’s are nothing new of course, but one this detailed certainly is. Indeed, Chained Echoes is here to really give the big guns a massive run for their money.

Perhaps the one area that the game lacks is in fact its plot. It’s a fairly tried and tested formula, and not one a million miles away from another of the big RPG’s of 2022 in Xenoblade 3. Basically, there are different nations, a big cataclysm type thing happens and then various heroes from each nation decide they don’t want to fight and band together to save the world. We’ve seen it a lot in the past but it works as a solid framework for the story.

Chained Echoes has a retro top down style to it. It looks somewhere between Chrono Trigger, the early Breath of Fire games and the recently revived Live A Live. It would certainly fit in with the look of all the SNES games of the past. It does look lovely as well with pixel art working to really convince you this is some long lost gem.

What is more unique is that the story does not follow the ‘chosen one’ or a sole hero. This is very much about the group and seeing the world through their different eyes. Of course, the characters you have at your disposal vary widely and range from knights to thieves with you needing to be pretty sharp at utilising their skill sets in order to proceed.

This isn’t the only break from the norm as Chained Echoes does a fair few things differently to the standard template. First of all, you are automatically healed at the end of each encounter. This means skills and magic are much more in play and using your standard attacks should be left as a last resort. This does mean though that even standard enemies have a hefty health bar to knock down. This isn’t helped by the colour of it being almost impossible to discern for anyone remotely colourblind.

Another difference is that you only level up at certain points in the game. After defeating bosses you get points you can use to select from a pre-existing list of buffs and skills picked for each character. This means you’ll have to think carefully about the sort of character and team you are trying to build as you can’t just level yourself out of trouble. This can be a problem as we found ourselves stuck at various points of the game with no real way to make our characters stronger in order to progress. You can still level up individual character skills in the more traditional way but these are expensive to buff so be prepared for grinding if that’s the route you want to go.

The real unique selling point though is the attack system. As you carry out attacks a meter builds which eventually will move you into ‘Overdrive’. When in this state you get buffs to your attack and defence. Keep going though and you will move into ‘Overheat’ which then dramatically improves the odds for your opponents. In order to keep the meter in the sweet spot you need to keep and eye on which skills move the meter up and down and use the correct ones accordingly. This can mean swapping characters in and out or having to use a skill you really don’t want to so you have think ahead. On top of this characters can also build up a special attack meter to unleash much like Final Fantasy’s limit breaks.

If this wasn’t enough to get your head around there’s also a whole host of other stuff going on. You can craft and enhance weapons, join an adventures guild for side quests or go on Monster Hunts. There’s also a reward grid that plays out like a sort of board game where as you undertake certain feets you can claim rewards. There really is a lot to do and see and that’s before you consider that simply wandering off the beaten path will normally end up with some kind of hidden boss fight or treasure.

Overall, it is remarkable that a game of this size and ambition has come from such a small team. It’s in danger of being overlooked but fans of RPG’s should go out of there way to make sure to check this out. It holds up against some of the best games in the genre and will give even the most experienced of players something to get their teeth into.

Overall 8/10

Persona 4: Dancing All Night Review (PS Vita)

Persona 4 has certainly turned out to be a flexible franchise for Atlus. In the last few years we have had wide ranging spin offs from the core JRPG game. It started with fighter Persona 4 Arena and then the Etrian Odyssey crossover Persona Q. Now we have another genre to add to the mix with this rhythm action game. 

Dancing All Night is told to the player by Margaret (from the Velvet Room in Persona 4), and takes places about a month after Persona 4. It’s a very strange story (even for Persona), and revolves around the idea that Persona’s pop icon Rise is putting on a show with the other cast of the game being invited along as backing dancers. It gets weirder. 

Soon another female group named Kanamin Kitchen (each member is named after a type of meat), start going missing and the team are drawn back into the strange Midnight world. Only this time it’s the Midnight Stage not the Midnight Channel. They soon find that they can’t attack their enemies as violence is banned and all the shadows that inhabit the world are tied together with a strange yellow ribbon. The ribbon brain washes them and traps them into the rhythm of a strange and eerie song that keeps playing. Of course the only way to break the spell is to fight back with music and dancing.

We completely love the fact that everything is played straight with all the characters taking this deadly seriously. It’s completely insane and entirely better for it. After a slow start the story rolls along at a good pace and there are a ton of excellent anime cut scenes implemented to draw you in (though I’m not sure we needed to keep seeing down Rise’s top at every opportunity in them).

If you don’t want to go through the story the game can also be played out as individual songs which when completed unlock tougher tracks and other bonuses such as dance partners. It’s a good way to practice while also allowing for quick hits of fun which suits the Vita very well.

The presentation and structure is excellent so it’s a good thing the actual game underneath it is strong as well. The action takes place with one of the heroes in the centre of the screen dancing and stars flying out towards the left and right edges. Players then have to hit the corresponding buttons that they pass in time to the beat. This utilises three of the buttons on each side of the Vita and gets pretty hectic as you progress. 

Notes soon begin to change to require more complex inputs with buttons needing to be held and pressed at the same time as well. There are also extra points and a ‘fever’ circle that shoots out from time to time that requires the tilt of an analogue stick in order to hit it as it fills the circle surrounding the play area. Filling the fever gauge allows for special events to happen at certain points in the song and adds up to big points.

It’s a solid and fun system and the notes hit precisely with no input lag. The graphics behind the scene are also excellent and keep things lively. The music itself is a collection of various types of Japanese style music from pop to dance and a hint of metal and there’s nothing here that’s going to ready grate on you with the best songs being rather good. 

Overall, Persona 4: Dancing all Night is a good rhythm game in its own right. It obviously has a fairly niche market to aim at and I’m not sure we were all crying out for ‘Persona does rhythm action’ but now that it has we’re rather glad it did. It’s humorous, breezy fun and suits the Vita perfectly. It might not be the next Gitaroo man or Ouenden but it’s certainly something that fans should enjoy and it’s clearly had a ton of effort put into getting just right. Newcomers will likely be completely lost though.

Overall 8/10

Colour Blind Issues - No
Review Code - Yes

Breath of Fire 2 Review (GBA)

Following on from the excellent first instalment in the Breath of Fire series, Breath of Fire II has a lot to live up to. Set in the same world as the first title but five hundred years later, the second installment continues the story.

Though there may not seem to be too many similarities between the stories of the two titles, certain things remain the same - you still control the hero Ryu who will learn he has the power to turn into a dragon, and at the end of all the twists and turns there will still be a showdown with a mysterious goddess.

The story goes that, after the destruction of the evil Milia, the warriors hid themselves away from the world in such a way that they could never be found - as with their great power they had exposed the world to danger. Five hundred years later, after the memory of the eight brave fighters has drifted away like a gentle snowflake on the wind, a small boy in a tiny village is leading a humble existence with his father and sister. The boy's name is Ryu and he will shortly learn that his fate is entwined with the fate of the world around him.

Certain things have changed since the first game in the series: now you can no longer tell how much energy the enemy has left, healing is not always the first action that happens each turn in a battle, and a new town-building feature has been added. Breath of Fire had a large amount of features that meant the story kept progressing at a decent pace, with a smart player being able to gain the upper hand most of the time.

With the removal of some of these, the second title really makes it hard for you to achieve your goal. While some may welcome the dramatic increase in difficulty, the balance of the original seems to have vanished completely. This means that you may well end up doing the same section of the game at least fifteen or twenty times before getting through. This does not help the flow of an otherwise brilliant story - in fact, after you've heard the same part of the plot regurgitated time and again, you become indifferent to the detail; the broken narrative.

Cosmetically, the second instalment is much improved from the original. Characters and landscapes are bigger and contain a lot more detail - bringing the game closer to being a sort of Anime comic strip, though not quite making it. The world around you is depicted beautifully, with clouds passing overhead and a lot more variation in the terrain than before and all holding true to the established style of the series. Every aspect from a graphical point of view is bigger, more detailed and generally more charming.

Breath of Fire II truly is a gaming conundrum: you are presented with a beautifully detailed world, underpinned with interesting characters and a brilliantly developed plot, but you cannot progress anywhere because the difficulty level is so ridiculous. It just seems stupid - why make almost every section of the game so tough that you have to level up your characters for a couple of hours just to get through? And then, when reaching the next section, you have to do the same thing again. Surely it would have been better to simply reduce the difficulty of the sections to keep the story flowing and the player interested?

What we are left with is an RPG that is screaming out for 'essential' status, but due to the complete lack of a learning gradient ends up being unnecessarily difficult and frustrating to play. The title is still very good, and the story so engaging that some players will do whatever it takes to advance the plot, but for RPG fans in general, this amounts to little more than a failure to expand upon an exceptional first instalment. Breath of Fire II is good - but it could and should have been a lot better. Disappointing.

Overall 7/10

Pier Solar and the Great Architects Review (PC)

Pier Solar has certainly taken a unique road to reaching modern systems. Originally released as a home brew Mega Drive game the HD version has now made its way to PC and a number of other home formats. The story follows a boy named Hoston who, with a group of friends goes looking for a herb to help his sick father. While searching for the herb the three friends find something from an ancient world and then the real story begins.

Set in a world of magic and fantasy the game has some beautifully designed backdrops for our heroes to wander around. There’s a little bit of a strange juxtaposition between the pixel based characters and objects and the backgrounds themselves but if you set the full HD filter into action it’s certainly a lovely game to look at.  Despite reminding us of games like Chrono Trigger and Breath of Fire it has a style and visual charm all of its own as well.

The game also has a subtle musical score which fits well with the different environments and plays away in the background. It’s not spectacular but considering this was designed with the Mega Drive in mind it’s quite an impressive accomplishment. 

Combat is carried out in the traditional turn based way. Random encounters are the order of the day but they are paced so that your adventuring isn’t interrupted every few seconds. Once in combat you have the standard options of attacking, defending, using items. The main gimmick of the combat system is the Gather mechanic. This allows players to power up a level per each turn they remain inactive. Not only does doing this increase the damage your character does but also allows for higher levels skills to be used. It works well and while you won’t be using it much to begin with you’ll soon be weighing up the pros and cons of charging characters up in order to succeed. 

There are also a few things hidden away to help you. A map can be displayed of your current area and radar turned on. You can also teleport to the entrance of an area. We found this completely by accident by pressing a controllers trigger button and couldn’t find any other reference to it anywhere else. Maybe it’s all part of the mystery? 

There are a fair few things that could be clearer in the game such as how you save (pressing action on a glowing gold circle). The game only tells you the basic controls and explains very little else. We worked things out fairly quickly but we can only imagine how many gamers out there must not know half the stuff you can do in the game or had to resort to a guide to work out how to save.

Once you get to grips with everything there is a fun adventure to be had with an interesting story and satisfying turn-based combat.  The writing is a little hit and miss, normally strong for the main characters but weaker for NPC’s (and downright odd in places).  But it certainly does the job of setting up the world and grandeur of the quest at hand.

Overall, Pier Solar is a charming game that doesn’t feel dated despite being designed for a 16-bit system. It’s an enjoyable world to wander around and the characters are likable and have some fun skills to play with. If you want something that merges the classic RPG style with a few modern touches to ease the pain then this is well worth a look.

Overall 7/10

Final Fantasy IX Review (Playstation)

After the good, but disappointing for many Final Fantasy VIII the next instalment of the series had a lot of work to do. Many fans felt the ecstasy produced by the monumental seventh instalment had been taken away. Unsure what was about to spring from the minds of Square Soft many approached Final Fantasy IX with both caution and a romanticist hope that all would be set right in the world of gaming once more.

Taking a more traditional fantasy setting than the previous two games, FFIX is firmly based in the realms of the medieval. Huge castles, magic swords, enchanted towers and the odd dragon are very much the order of the day. A big change from the Neo-punk and technologically advanced societies presented in FFVII and FFVIII. 

The setting proves an inspired touch showing an awful lot can be done without guns and mechanical creations, somehow it just seems to make the whole escapade more of a magical fairy tale adventure than ever before. The plot, (deep breath everyone), revolves around a monkey-tailed thief named Zidane. Starting with a band of thieves including the said hero trying to kidnap the princess of Alexandria. 

Simple enough you may think, however the reason for the kidnap is that the queen of Alexandria has become evil and planes to take over the entire world using huge magically summoned beasts named Eidolons. In order to do this the Eidolons must be drawn out of the Princess, killing her in the process. After many twists and turns we find that the queen is being controlled by another evil character named Kuja, the Princess is in fact not the real Princess at all but in fact from a lost village of summoners and then everything really gets complicated. 

The story effectively puts across the idea buried deep within the Final Fantasy subconscious; those being the notions of love, friendship, hope and individuality. The idea that no matter how small and insignificant someone may be able to make a historic difference. A very clichéd tale, but one rarely told so beautifully and enigmatically. 

Graphically, the game is absolutely stunning from start to finish. If the PSOne ever produced anything more jaw dropping than this game, then we have yet to witness it. The locations you find yourself exploring are created excellently and act to add whole new levels of atmosphere to the story. Characters and monsters are equally stunning, huge beast towering over our diminutive heroes making the player believe they truly are in for a fight. The real showstopper though is the CGI; it is simply breath taking what the cut scenes look like and really makes you understand why the game comes on four discs. The CGI puts almost every other game of the era to shame.

Luckily the gameplay system has been brilliantly overhauled since the last episode as well. Skills are now learned from wearing different items and using different weapons. As characters fight and progress the skills become permanent additions to their arsenals allowing new equipment to be used to gain yet more power and skills. A very good system that allows a lot of flexibility, allowing players to give characters whichever skills they prefer, meaning you can play the game how you want to. 

Furthermore, the summoning of Eidolons, previously Guardian forces has been changed back to the way of Final Fantasy VII meaning battles are more tactical and fun no longer relying on the same old moves to get you through. Now everything is governed by how many magic points a character has, a much more sensible way of doing things, showing Square Soft clearly realise when they have got something wrong. 

Everything in the game is just about perfect with controls, story, characters and setting all of the very highest order. In typical Final Fantasy style the game will take the best part of a lifetime to get through, and the rest of that lifetime to find all of the thousands of secrets hidden away.

So a perfect ten out of ten? Well no, but it does come very close. We realise how tiresome it is to keep referring back to FFVII but it is still the best example of the genre to found on the planet, with a story that never lets up and the odd mini game to break up the more traditional action. While the story is good in FFIX we found ourselves getting bored during sections of the third disc, Admittedly not very often but enough to sour the experience a little. Furthermore, as with FFVIII there are very few mini games and certainly nothing in the league of the bike chase from FFVII. This ever so slight lack just makes the game fall short. 

Final Fantasy IX is a masterpiece of an adventure game. For anyone not to fall in love with it would truly amaze us. Everything is set just right and you are drawn into the story right from the very offset. It really is hard to pick fault with it, and even harder to think what could have been done to make it better. However you cannot get away from the fact it is still not as amazing as FFVII, although I doubt anything ever will be. As it is FFIX is leagues ahead of FFVIII and beats FFX for sheer magic as well, but still has to settle for being a very close runner up to what was and is a landmark in the Role-play genre.

Overall 9/10

Dragon Fantasy: Book 1 Review (PS3/Vita)

Dragon Fantasy has taken a very long time to come to the EU Playstation store. Launching on iOS in 2011 and in the US around a year or so ago, we’d pretty much given up on it ever seeing the light of day over here until it suddenly appeared without warning. It’s a game based heavily in the 8-bit RPG genre and takes us back to the days of a more simple adventure. 

The game it split into three chapters, each of which follows the story of a different person. There’s Ogden, an aging knight looking to prove his worth and protect the kingdom, Prince Anders and the thieving pair of Jerald and Ramona. Any chapter can be played from the off but starting with Ogden is the best idea as they more or less run in chronological order.

The biggest influence on the game is very clearly the Dragon’s Quest series and this could easily be mistaken for one of the early games. The churches where you save are pretty much the same and some of the same mechanics are also in place. The general graphical style is also much closer to Dragon’s quest than other RPG’s.

The combat and systems are very basic compared to what we have come to expect. Combat is turn based and you can attack and cast spells but that is about it. You can change weapons and armour and explore a world map but there is nothing particularly fresh or innovative going on. That isn’t of course a bad thing as such as it allows for a stripped down game which is easily accessible and certainly fits mobile gaming fairly well.

The writing and story are also pretty decent. The characters are likable and there are some nice touches of humour going on. The problem comes when you hit a grinding wall. The system follows Dragon’s Quest in that when you die you are returned to the last church you saved at (losing half your gold). However, unlike most of Dragon’s Quest games we found ourselves getting bored very quickly when we couldn’t progress. 

The main reason for this is that you seem to move forward at a snail’s pace sometimes. It can take a while to level up and if you are saving up for armour or weapons and get beaten you have to start over again. Combat also takes a bit too long with far too many button presses required to move text forward. It all ends up becoming a bit tired and the urge to progress soon begins to disappear.

The other major problem the game has is that for the same price you can pick up a host of PS1 and PSP RPG’s which are deeper and generally a bit more spectacular to play. That isn’t to take away from the development team here- it’s not realistic to expect a small studio to be developing titles to rival Final Fantasy VII. But the fact remains you could be playing that for around the same price.

We did start out having fun with the game but sadly it didn’t really hold our attention for more than a few hours. It’s too samey and the design of dungeons and enemies just doesn’t quite cut it on the PS3 and Vita. On iOS we can certainly see why it’s had success but it’s going to take a lot more than this to draw gamers away from the likes of Persona 4 or one of the many PS1 games on offer.

Overall, Dragon Fantasy tries to recreate a nostalgic buzz around early RPG’s, the problem is can you think of any truly iconic ones in terms of how they played? The great games tended to come in the sixteen bit era when the likes of Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy and Breath of Fire really found their feet. What that means is that Dragon Fantasy is an interesting look back at the history of the genre but not one you want to spend any great amount of time with.

Overall 5/10

Demon Gaze Review (PS Vita)

The Vita is fast becoming the platform of choice for both developers and players who want a slice of JRP action in their lives. Demon Gaze continues this trend and also adds to the recent resurgence of games taking on the first person dungeon crawler genre. It’s bright and colourful, it’s got questionably drawn female characters and it’s absolutely hard as nails.

You awaken in a basement without knowledge of who you are. You are quickly thrown into a battle with a demon. After defeating it you find out you are a Demon Gazer with the ability to capture strong demons and harness their abilities. You then have to venture into the worlds many dungeons to find more foes to defeat and hopefully find out all those things you can’t remember. We’ve been here before with the story certainly but there are numerous twists and turns along the way to keep this one interesting.

The game is split into two different sections. First of all you have the inn. Here you can talk to NPC characters, accept quests and stock up on gear and weapons. You can also revive fallen characters and just about everything else we have come to expect from this type of game. You rent a room and every time you return from the world you have to pay up. If you can’t afford it the mysterious girl running the place will let you off but you’ll lose out on bonuses and some facilities won’t be open to you. 

In order to venture into the world you have to build a party. Starting with just one member, each time you want to add someone you have to rent them a room. It’s expensive but worthwhile as you won’t be getting far without a full complement of heroes. The dungeons in Demon gaze are tough and you’ll be hammered early on if you don’t keep an eye on what you’re doing. Perhaps more than any other game in recent times you really need to keep on top of your skills and how different status effects work. Mastering the elemental strength and weaknesses of attacks is also key to survival.

Dungeons are grid based and the game will auto map for you as you progress. The aim is to find demon circles. Placing gems on the circles will someone monsters and once defeated you will take control of the circle. The circle can then be used to save and change equipped demons while placing gems with different properties will alter the items dropped by slain foes. You’re real aim is to control all the circles in a given area as this makes the lord demon of the realm appear. Defeating the lord demons binds them to you and also progresses the story.

You can only have one demon tied to you at any one time and they all have their own styles and advantages in the over world and combat. For instance, one demon will let you walk on lava, allowing you access to previously unreachable areas, while another makes hidden doors glow. Most are also tied to a particular element such as earth, fire or darkness and thus are best employed when dealing with a lord demon weak against that element. Be warned though, these demons are seriously tough. Battles can rage for a long time and if you die it’s straight back to the title screen.

Combat is turn based and happens randomly as well as when you walk into certain symbols in dungeons. It’s fairly standard stuff except for the inclusion of being able to unlock a demon to assist you. When summoned, the demon will act independently to help you while a timer ticks down each turn. If you don’t lock the demon back away before the timer runs out it will go into chaotic mode and start attacking the party as well. More turns are gained by defeating enemies and demons also level up and become more loyal as you progress.

Despite the difficulty the game is also incredibly rewarding. Every time you venture that bit further it feels like an achievement and your characters learn new skills every few levels or so. It may require a bit of grinding to break the back of the difficulty curve but it’s a game well worth sticking with.

Overall, Demon Gaze is another excellent addition to the dungeon crawling genre. It’s certainly not a game to cut your teeth with but for those versed in the ways of turn based combat and elements it’s a worthy and challenging adventure to undertake.

Overall 8/10

Shadowrun Review (SNES)

 

Shadowrun represents the definitive example of a game in the cyberpunk genre. The plot follows amnesia sufferer of Jake who, after being killed by a gang at the very start of the game he is revived by a mysterious women. Jake awakes in the morgue unaware of who he is and why he was killed. Piece by piece you must uncover just what is going on and who it is that's after you.

A number of things set the tone perfectly in the Shadowrun world. First of all, the brooding soundtrack hangs in the air implying danger is only around the next corner- no over exaggeration as the title contains a number of random events and enemies that may or may not occur. Every street is littered with hiding places for snipers all too willing to pick you off as well.

Shadowrun’s story is set among the streets of a large city run by mega corporations, with different suburbs and areas creating the feel of a varied and diverse cityscape to explore. Something which helps to build the impression of a living city is the number of people who are just going about their everyday business. Market sales men, doorman, business men, bar patrons and just ordinary people moving around the streets are in enough of an abundance to make you feel that there is a lot going on outside of your own characters adventure.

The fact all the seemingly unimportant characters found in the game may be fearful of gangs or aware of magic creatures but still go on about their everyday lives as normal is a master stroke by the developers as without it the city would feelcold and dead. Instead it feels alive, and Gangs and creatures there are in abundance with everything from Orcs to vampires stalking the streets.

Shadowrun is a world where technology and fantasy collide to create a unique adventure where these things are excepted by the citizens as normal. Everyone knows that these creatures exist, indeed most of them work openly in the city, the threat comes from the corruption of the mega corporations rather than any pre-conceived fantasy rule set of how creatures should act.

Shadowrun proves that fantasy and sci-fi settings can sit side by side with spectacular effect. During the game you will be able to enhance yourself with technology to gain skills, as well as ‘jack’ into computers to steal money and information, but along side this sits the fact you can create magic spells and have a spirit guide to lead you through the game. 

Technology is technology and magic is magic, there is no attempt to explain away the fantastical in terms of some tacked on technological babble about viruses or mods. When you see a vampire or a dragon, no explanation is given as to why it should exist, as none is given as to why humans should exist, you just except it and because of this Shadowrun becomes a far more rich and rewarding experience without convoluted plot points placed to explain away every aspect of magic.

Shadowrun represents and original idea executed to perfection, unfortunately it sold terribly and as a result the ideas found in the title where not expanded upon. A great shame as anyone who has the pleasure of experiencing what the title offers will not be disappointed. The recent revivial of the franchise with 'Shadowrun Returns' shows the popularity of the franchise and we hope to see more titles in the future. They will all have to go some to beat this though.

Overall 8/10 

Persona 4 Golden Review (PS Vita)

 Written by Bradley Marsh

This review was first published on Gamestyle.com

Persona 4 Golden is without a shadow of a doubt an instant classic, a true joy to own and play with a huge amount of content that should see you get over 100 hours of gameplay, depending on how much of the world of Inaba you wish to discover. To be honest, it is a game that you’ll never actually want to end.

The game follows you as you arrive to live with the Dojima’s in the quiet town of Inaba. You start a new school as a new mystery starts. A bizarre series of murders forces you and your friends Chie and Yosuke on a mission after Yukiko is launched into the Midnight Channel and her life ends up in danger. The mystery deepens early on and your group is eventually joined by new members the further the story goes.

Initially the game comes across as a simple RPG, as you trawl through the dungeons on the midnight channel, however as veteran Persona players will know, it is much more than that. The game combines RPG style gameplay with a wonderful story and some amazing writing. There are elements of dating sims with the relationship building that is vital to the RPG elements, as well as other areas that help build your character. It all comes together in a way that hasn’t been executed by others games in such a glorious way before.

After an initial opening couple of hours, which are glorified cut-scenes, the game really opens up and give you full control. Yet those opening moments aren’t as dull, or drawn out like some games. It is here the game teaches you the basic layout of the world around you, introduces the game’s main characters and shows off the mechanics, battles systems and the like. In other games veterans would likely be bored of yet another glorified tutorial, but in Persona 4 Golden, it is much more than that. The writing is so well done, that on a second playthrough, or even a third you are happy to sit through again. Much like watching your favourite TV series again and again.

The game is essentially broken into two main areas. One is the Midnight TV channel where much of the ‘action’ takes place. You will battle through various floors of areas within the channel, battling shadows as you progress to your goal. You wander through the floors and rather than random battles just happening, you’ll see the shadows as you move through. Attack them before they see you and you gain an advantage going into battle, however should they see you, then they get the advantage.

Battles are turn based, but never slow moving. You’ll take on all kinds of weird and wonderful monsters, each with strengths and weaknesses. You will use you Personas (more on them later) to battle, utilising their powers to defeats the shadows. Some battles will be over very quickly as you breeze through the enemy, others will become drawn out strategical battles, that require all your attention and knowledge to overcome. At the end of each you are rewarded with money and EXP based on the level of monster you have defeated. Perform well and you can even select bonuses that will give you special skill cards, new personas and much more.

Ah, those Personas! As described by the game, a Persona is a manifestation of one’s true self. It is these Personas which are the key to battle, they are used for the main and most powerful attacks and need to be managed as the game goes on, so you can get the best from them. This can be done either by earning EXP during battles, gaining bonus cards or by gaining and improving social links.

Social Links bring us nicely to the other main area of Persona 4 Golden. Away from battles you will find yourself spending most time at school and interacting with other people around Inaba. Should you have a close enough relationship, you will earn a social link, which can then give bonuses to certain types of Persona, which can either be earned by winning bonus cards in battle, or fused in the Velvet Room.

In many games, the side actions are never as important as the main quest, yet here in Persona the developing of relationships is as vital as actually being in the Midnight Channel. Going for food with friends, joining groups, reading, working, along with others will start and strengthen bonds. As these bonds get stronger, you will earn new ranks which will also earn your Personas new bonuses and powers. Simply ignoring the social aspect of the game and concentrating on the Midnight Channel will see the game end all too soon and likely make battles a frustrating experience later on as you struggle to overcome the shadows. Regardless of added difficulty, you won’t want to ignore the social side, as it is just so damn fun.

Again another side of the game that is common across other RPG style games, is the managing of an inventory, whether that be managing the Personas you carry, the weapons, armour, items, etc. Instead of being purely another menu to play with, some of this is embedded in the story. Managing Personas is done within the Velvet room, where you will fuse Personas, register new Personas, buy skill cards and even get some additional quests. It is something that is common to all the Persona games and is something that works amazingly well.

Persona 4 Golden isn’t a good game based of a few things working well. It is one of the finest games you will play because of just how perfectly every element of the game knits together. Even visually it stands out from the crowd. Originally a PS2 game, Atlus decided against simply re-releasing the game, they put the effort in to port it over to the Vita adding in extras along the way. We could easily wax lyrical about how well the game is presented, how wonderfully crafted the characters are, however anyone picking this up deserves to be wowed by the visual greatness on the Vita’s OLED screen.

Persona 4 Golden isn’t just one of the best games on the Vita to date… Actually scratch that. It is THE best game on the Vita and it is one of the finest games you will ever play. It is a lesson in craftsmanship, there is no weakness at all, at no point is there a moment where your interest falls away. Persona 4 Golden is a system seller, you must own this, even if you need to still buy a Vita to do so.

10/10

Dragon Quest: Journey of the Cursed King Review (PS2)

Dragon Quest was Enix's signature series before they merged with Squaresoft some time ago. This is the first Dragon Quest game after that merger and sticks with the theme of having funky anime style character design with a Dragon Ball Z twist to it. At the time, Dragon Quest games had never made it to the UK before - even though it rivals the Final Fantasy series in Japan for popularity - and so we were a little surprised to see this one being heavily promoted with television spots and poster and magazine adverts.

The distinct graphical style will be immediately apparent and if you're opposed to all things brightly-coloured, it may not be for you. Both the game world and the characters are 3D, but their cel-shading hides this somewhat, There is plenty of treasure to be found around corners and under shadows with the landscapes being well thought out to capitalise of the art style. In contrast, Towns all look very similar and there aren't too many locations in the game that stand out as different. Whereas Final Fantasy sends you to many locations with their own distinct look, these do not really have that charm.

The protagonist of this RPG, surprisingly, does not have spiky hair; he also never speaks throughout the game. Simply put, the hero of the piece is meant to be the player. Our unnamed Hero is a knight to the king and is helping him on his quest to return himself and his daughter back in humans (they have had a curse put on them, transforming the king into a strange Yoda look-alike and the Princess into a horse). To start with, Hero is joined by Yangus, a short, fat, straight-to-the-point cockney, who follows Hero wherever he goes... for reasons we find out later in the game.

The plot starts fairly simply, and through flashbacks you see what has brought us to this point and that our travelling band are searching for an evil Jester named Dhoulmagus. The basic premise is that our group must travel around the world looking for people who can help them in locating the said evil jester, who can then be swiftly dispatched so the King and Princess can return to normal. Later in your travels, two other companions will join you. Of course, this being an RPG, things are never exactly as they first appear.

Plot exposition and dialogue do not dominate as heavily as some may fear and Dragon Quest is not a game that will bore you to death with 30 minute cut scenes. It quickly swings into action by giving you a good hard slap in the face as soon as you try to fight anything. In battle, the initial learning curve is quite steep; though there are not too many level-up 'walls' in the game (i.e. difficulty barriers requiring extra training to pass). Unfortunately, the first one appears right at the start and you'll just have to brave the few hours needed to progress. Furthermore, whenever you die, you are returned to the nearest village with any experience points you earned still intact - meaning, if you are willing to put some time into the title, anyone can finish it.

The battle system is quite simple - you have a standard attack, a power up, magic and items. Power up uses that turn to empower your character by tensing them up with the pay off being in the next turn they can unleash this tension and send the enemy flying! Do this quite a few times and they will get super-charged and hit insanely hard. You can win quite easily by repeatedly pressing X and remembering to heal occasionally, so battles can be a bit boring. Boss battles aren't that much different either. If you get stuck, it's often more effective to just level-up than it is to try a different fighting strategy.

The customisation aspect of your characters affects what weapon they specialise in. When characters level-up, they gain points that can be spent on a specialist skill. For example, if one character specialises in swords, they will do more damage with swords, hit more often, critical hit more often and learn special sword-only abilities.

The music is absolutely mad, and we have never heard anything so happy and constantly upbeat throughout a game before. It is so ludicrously joyful, prepare to be rolling around in happy fits of laughter. There are virtually no serious tones in the game, apart from big boss battles. While you would think that being battered with tunes that make the Sound of Music look miserable would be some kind of hell, somehow it all just manages to stay on the right side of horribly cute.

In terms of longevity, Dragon Quest is a decent-sized adventure. It will probably take you forty hours for a basic run through, though the side quests will add another ten or so on top. Then, when you have completed the game, you get the option to start from the point right before you kill the last boss. Doing this unlocks a new dungeon which allows players to find out more about Hero as well as allowing you to find all the weapons you missed out on, master your weapon skills and complete the monster arena - an arena where you can capture monsters from the world and then pit them against other monsters.

Dragon Quest is good fun and a well put together game, although it seems to have a slightly mixed target audience. The team have gone to the trouble to include 'teleport' spells and spells that clear areas of monsters to stop frustrating back tracking and exploration of areas you have already visited which encourages newcomers. However, there are those level-up 'walls' where the only thing you can do is go and get experience points for a few hours in order to proceed. Luckily, these only pop up on two or three occasions and rarely spoil things. The best way to sum it up would be to say that Dragon Quest is a casual RPG for the hardcore gamer. If that sounds like you, or you've enjoyed other Dragon Quest games, then chances are you'll love it.

7/10

Breath of Fire Review (Gameboy Advance)

Over the years, the Breath of Fire series has always managed to be overshadowed by some other title. On the Super Nintendo, Breath of Fire 1 & 2 were overlooked through a combination of Western RPG apathy and the emergence of Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Later, on the PSone, things were much the same. Breath of Fire 3 launched to critical acclaim, but few people would look outside of their Final Fantasy 'comfort' zones - so it was inevitable that when the fourth instalment of the series arrived, many more would fail to acknowledge it. The Game Boy Advance now offers players another chance to sample one of the most magical adventures ever made.

The story surrounding the first game in the series (and which may appear a little fragmented if you weren't paying attention) is a magical yarn that helps to pull you in, and really makes you care about what is happening to the world. It starts when our hero Ryu is rushed from a burning building, with the story of a prophecy ringing in his ears. The great thing about Breath of Fire is that very little of the story is disclosed, with Ryu not having a clue what is happening, but gradually uncovering small pieces of information as the adventure unfolds.

Scripting is first-class, with twists and turns that always keep you guessing until the very last battle. The action is presented in a typical turn-based adventure style. Most of the time you'll walk around the map screen engaging in random battles; it then switches to the battle screen where you can choose your commands - standard fare for anyone who is familiar with turn-based RPGs. The action breaks down into a fairly simple scheme- go to a village and talk to people, then go to the cause of that village's problem and enter a tower or dungeon. Kill a big monster at the end, gain some new skill that allows you to enter the next area, and so on until you finish the game.

Although the way things are done is fairly straightforward, the magical setting makes you push on to see the next part of the story. Graphically, while designed for the Super Nintendo, everything is perfectly acceptable. Sprites have been polished to make them sharper, but apart from that things are kept fairly simple. This is in no way a bad thing however. Far from being just functional, the graphics help to give the game a unique look that sets it apart from other role-playing games.

Characters constructed out of limited colour palettes are bright and vibrant, with well-animated movements. When exploring, it is easy to tell where you are in the world as no two areas look the same (and also contain different enemies). Over the years we have played a lot of RPGs, and every now and then one of them tries to do something a bit different - or so we thought. Let us bring your attention to the Playstation 2 game, Final Fantasy X, hailed upon release for the way in which battles were made more flexible by being able to switch characters in the middle of a fight. Well, guess what? You can do that in Breath of Fire too, and this game originally came out in the early-Nineties (and Dragon Quest games were arguably doing it even earlier).

The title has more innovative touches than possibly any other single RPG. As well as the tagging system 'borrowed' by FFX, all the characters in your party gain experience at the same level. This means that while in other games characters outside of your main party remain weak, in Breath of Fire you can switch characters without fearing they will not be able to cope with enemies. Characters also have a number of individual actions available to them - find an object for Gobi for instance and you can travel around underwater inside a big fish- with doing so meaning you will not be attacked, letting players explore areas without fear of constant random battles. Furthermore, when Mina reaches a certain level she can warp the party to any town you have visited - this is positively a breath of fresh air.

It allows players to freely explore without needing to worry if they will make it back to safety when weak. These are just a few of the extremely helpful features that the game offers, thus easing frustration and aiding progress. In terms of difficulty, the game is well-structured with a near-extraordinary understanding of both pace and learning requirements. To start with, you only have two characters to control and they are both very weak. The characters do not really know what is going on and are not aware of their true powers - thus a lot of the time enemies that appear will be too strong for you, forcing you to run instead of fight.

At first this seems like a flaw, but it is only after you have made it past the first quarter of the game that you realise it is intentional. From here, characters begin to get stronger and realise their destinies, this makes battles a lot easier. Everything is set up to merge seamlessly with the storyline and is an amazing accomplishment.

Overall, Breath of Fire is one of the finest RPGs to appear on any format. Though bettered by latter incarnations of the series, the original remains both innovative and a pure joy to play. While not the most difficult game to beat, it offers up a sturdy challenge - and when games are this long, you don't really need a Final Fantasy VIII-style level of hardcore 'comfort', do you? This title has charm, humour and an epic storyline to round it off, and if you tire of the adventuring you can even opt for fishing. How many other games can boast that? A brilliant game guaranteed to get you hooked (no pun intended).

9/10

Shadowrun Review (SNES)

 

A review of Shadowrun on the Super Nintendo.

 

Looking at the Content of the Last Story Special Edition

A look through the content of the limited edition version of The Last Story on the Wii.