The first impression is fantastic. The graphics are gorgeous and the atmosphere is great. The story is interesting, but sometimes hard to follow because of the chaotic presentation. Lots of graphical arty glitches (a bit too much for me) and sometimes the graphics are way, way too dark so its hard to see sometimes where you are going. The biggest gripe I have is with the bugs which can block your progress. Fortunately a restart en reload can solve the issue, but sometimes you don't know it something is a bug or not. I was stuck for more then 30 minutes before I decided to reload my game and behold! A door suddenly opened where it didn't open in the previous game. Especialle in a Redus edition which is already some time available this is unforgivable. So 3 out of 5 stars.
It starts really cool and reminds you a lot about the Lunar games. Same style, graphics and wonderfull music. But the gameplay... URGH! It's terrible. Nostalgia can only get you so far. There is too much wrong with the gameplay. AI management in battles is broken. Level design is TERRIBLE. It's never really clear where you can go and where not. Sometimes you won't get any further if you don't consult the internet. The pathfindind is abysmal. The more you play this game, the more it becomes a choir. I am not having fun anymore, but I've spent so many hours in this game, that I do want to complete it. And guess what! They put a mandatory reaction mini-game after 20 hours or so which you cannot skip. How in your mind can you make a reaction based mini-game with such a terrible control system? For the turn-based battles it's doable and only annoying. But during this mini-game, it's gamebraking. Don't believe me? Look it up: "Magic Trail 3 Pier Solar". And see the frustration which has given this to people. No. Want to play an old school RPG? Play Lunar on an emulator system. I really wanted to like this game, but after 20 hours I have to conclude that it's a complete turd...
It's just not .... It just isn't. The adventure system used is clunky, many far fetched puzzles, unlikable characters and a story that just couldn't get a grip on me. I love adventures point and click style, but this one just.... wasn't.
This is by far one of the best adventure games I have ever played. The story is really vague but that adds to it's charm. The graphics are like a children's novel, but the content is definitely not for children. It's a great adult story disguised as a children's tale. It's extremely dark but also extremely endearing at the same time. You really can connect with the innocense of Fran and her great love: her black cat. The puzzles are just the right amount of difficult without being forced puzzlery if you get what I mean. All the puzzles make sense and there are a lot of hints scattered over the game, if you pay attention. I really really love this game and I'm almost sorry that I cannot experience it for the very first time again. Great work! Pure genious!
