What kind of company puts this kind of DLC out? Trash companies. This is what trash looks like. This is how to identify that a company is trying to rip you off. DLC for making the game easier and faster so you can pay to play less means the game is intentionally slow and long.
People look at those DLCs! Is this a joke? What the hell is going on?! Pay to remove encounters? Pay to get more XP? Pay do do more damage? Seriously, how is this real?
Seems like a simple formulaic throwback to JRPGs of yesteryear. Predictable but... that was the style of those games. The only good points are that feel and the decent, if old style graphics.
Controls are... strange and unreliable. Not sure what is going on, can't find any way to change or modify configuration for a gamepad.
Implementation of the former points shop is wonky. Can't figure out how to activate the various boosts, but at least it doesn't cost money. If you want lots of stuff from that, the grind is real.
Don't buy the DLCs, I won't. To charge $5 for basic cheats is... sourced on the floor of a barn.
6 hours in, I've pretty much had enough of this.
Story and graphics are not actively bad, as far as I have gotten. The DLCs are scummy, controls are shit.
Meh.
2 things in advance:
1. I didn't have high expectations of this game, after all it's my 46th Kemco game.
2. You don't need the DLC, the game is easy enough as it is.
Actually, the game surprised me in a positive way. Surprised in that it doesn't give the player excessive powers right from the start. Well, it takes about 1-2 hours, but after that most of the enemies are just annoying.
Here's a little digression that is NOT in this game (but otherwise in almost all EXE games). No daily raffle; no mini-farm where you plant stat items; no instant warp to places/dungeons you've already visited.
So what can you expect in this game? As always, you have a party of 4 more or less young heroes who only break free from their childish squabbles over the course of the game.
The gameplay is very linear. So from town A you go to town B via dungeon C. In every dungeon a mini boss awaits you at the end.
You can also measure your strength in the arena...but the rewards are nothing special.
You have to get the main hero ready for the big final battle.
To do this you can grind (until you drop) to increase the level.
The maximum level is 99 + 900.
You also have to unlock new skills. To do this you have to use your weapons, which also get points in fights.
Every 3 fights you also get 10 points for the special shop. You can call this up at any time via the menu and buy items in it.
While the equipment is nothing special, the stat items are particularly interesting. With them (and a lot of grinding) you can create your super fighter.
Now that you have defeated the final boss you have the option of a New Game+. Here you can take your stats, gold and most weapons (if you don't have to find them in the game) with you.
And that's the point that sets this game apart from all previous EXE games. In the others you can rejoin just before the final battle and then get a new option that leads to a different ending.
Here, on the other hand, you have to play the entire game again from the beginning.
Some new elements are introduced and previously closed areas are now accessible. But it's still annoying and, above all, boring...even though there is now a new arena and dungeon.
As a compromise, there is the option to skip most of the dialogues in fast forward.
And as the ultimate reward, you get to see the true ending of the game.
So, can I recommend the game? Well, if you want to waste time, buy it (but only if it's on sale). Especially if you like old retro 2D JRPGs without much demand.
Let's be blunt here. There's not much of a floor in terms of RPGs, but we've managed to graze our knees on the gravel here. A game so completely lifeless and generic that lacks so much for notability, that I and many others struggle to find words to describe it.
Aggressively mediocre; it sure is an RPG, but it has nothing to pass it beyond existing.
I think the achievements say it best: Only 30% of people even managed to walk 5k steps ingame.
Imagine a game boring enough to make players quit before even such a small amount.