Very enjoyable mix between a fighting game and JRPGs with a combat system which reminds me of the Mario and Luigi RPGs for the DS.
Metroidvania esque 2D exploration with exceptional platforming. The axe which you get early on is one of the most satisfying platforming mechanics I've played with in a long while.
However I feel the game could really have used a better fast travel system and one of the side quests glitched which meant I couldn't even start it.
Despite those minor problems I still enjoyed the 26ish hours I spent with it.
I was well surprised. It runs like a charm on my 11th gen i5 notebook without extra graphics hardware and on Garuda Linux!
Least but not last, the storyboard, the dialogues and the lack of battle explanation are the weak points. The intro battle is very weird and barely explained. The fantasy fiction is too much JRPG for my taste, but it provides some new ideas. It really doesn't hurt the overall experience, due to design.
IMO, most important is gameplay which is tight, the controls work very well, they are well-introduced, progressively. It provides a refreshing but focused mix of simple side scrolling platformer and fighting mixing real-time and rounds which I have rarely seen but waited for. While it still has leveling and plenty of mostly casual dialogue, it's not important and kids certainly wouldn't mind it. Not too much metroidvania either. I rather find it engaging how the controls slowly grow more complex over the first hours. Strategy exists in choosing attacks and combos but it also requires reacting to the attacks of enemies otherwise your party members are dying too fast. The difficulty is leveled by powerful special actions like reviving all of your party.
Later, battles even switch between side-scrolling and action parts.
Not late in the game, I suddenly ran into a stronger enemy. Even before the 3rd party member joined. The enemies get stronger. There aren't many weak enemies in between. But losing fights was not a frustrating experience for me because I could learn to dodge the attacks. I got better by myself, not because of grinding. The player still needs to manage savepoints in the traditional way but there is no stressful life system. Many means contribute to balance the difficulty.
The artwork is very lit and beautiful to look at. But it also looks like hard work. The animation is literally handdrawn.
I am very happy about the discount, otherwise I would have missed this game. As a console gamer, it reminds me of Nintendo console games.
the games combat system is unique and catchy, not hard to pick up but with enough depth that try hards might find satisfaction in timing attacks perfectly and making good team synergies.
the one big catch with this game is that its a hybrid platfomer and JRPG. that can be a challenge for some people. its not overly hard but i know some RPG fans like myself are not good at platforming.
if you want to see how a platformer and a JRPG can mix, and enjoy vibrant fun characters and beautiful settings, get this game.
After considering playing this game for a long while, I finally gave it a chance and I really wish I had played it sooner. The art is top notch, the animation is beautiful and feels like it's made with tons of love, the gameplay is also super fun and every character has its own mechanics. I've played it for a couple of hours and I'm very happy with it so far.
