Just a 'little' too easy, but I really adore the combat and the character designs. I wish we got more of this because this was really damn fun.
Joya de culto
This review contains spoilers
Solatorobo proves itself to be a really standout piece on the Nintendo DS with its gorgeous art and complex world and truly interesting story, but fails at what should have perhaps been its primary function - to be a fun game.
The gameplay is very same-y for most of the game. You go to an island, you select a quest and you do it. You spend the majority of your time on your robot doing very repetitive combat, usually consisting of waiting out an attack or running up to an enemy to mash A, and to throw them 3 times, and rinse and repeat, and when you're not fighting, you're usually moving boxes around, if you're not in the rare gimmick section. You might go fishing, operate a mounted gun, race in a flight section or free-roam and fly around. While it undeniably offers a wide range of activities and collectibles for the player, none of them feel particularly fleshed out or compelling to play on their own.
In the latter half of the game, you do get to unlock a few new combat abilities to make the combos a bit more interesting, but this isn't until about 10 hours in. In fact, most of the juicy stuff isn't available until about 10 hours in, which is a ridiculously high cost to enter. Sure, for a game with a story as complex as Solatorobo, it makes sense that you should spend time with the characters to understand their motivations and the world around them, but 10 hours? It's a little much.
Still, I was compelled to continue, even as quests became more of a slog to progress through, and as my distaste for the gameplay grew. The all around design of the game, narratively and artistically, is just so compelling that I needed to finish it out and see it all. I can't stress how inspired and just pleasing to look at so many of the characters, machines, and locations are. Looking through artbooks for Solatorobo, it's so clear that a great amount of thought and passion went into the design of the world, which makes it all the more disappointing that the gameplay is just so boring.
More than once did I pause and think to myself that Solatorobo could have benefitted from being a different genre than it was. Solatorobo is regarded as an action RPG, but it hardly leans into the RPG side of things - sure, you can upgrade your stats, and you can change out your fuselage for some different stats and abilities late in the game, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that it could have really benefitted from being a turn based RPG. Sometimes I even considered that it might have benefitted from being in an entirely different medium - a manga, an anime, even a film!
Still, Solatorobo is a really great experience, despite its failures with its gameplay. The world of Solatorobo, and Little Tail Bronx (the series to which Solatorobo belongs) is so rich and interesting that it certainly warrants some time spent with it. I wish I hadn't missed out on this as a kid.
TL;DR: I wish this was an anime.
The gameplay is very same-y for most of the game. You go to an island, you select a quest and you do it. You spend the majority of your time on your robot doing very repetitive combat, usually consisting of waiting out an attack or running up to an enemy to mash A, and to throw them 3 times, and rinse and repeat, and when you're not fighting, you're usually moving boxes around, if you're not in the rare gimmick section. You might go fishing, operate a mounted gun, race in a flight section or free-roam and fly around. While it undeniably offers a wide range of activities and collectibles for the player, none of them feel particularly fleshed out or compelling to play on their own.
In the latter half of the game, you do get to unlock a few new combat abilities to make the combos a bit more interesting, but this isn't until about 10 hours in. In fact, most of the juicy stuff isn't available until about 10 hours in, which is a ridiculously high cost to enter. Sure, for a game with a story as complex as Solatorobo, it makes sense that you should spend time with the characters to understand their motivations and the world around them, but 10 hours? It's a little much.
Still, I was compelled to continue, even as quests became more of a slog to progress through, and as my distaste for the gameplay grew. The all around design of the game, narratively and artistically, is just so compelling that I needed to finish it out and see it all. I can't stress how inspired and just pleasing to look at so many of the characters, machines, and locations are. Looking through artbooks for Solatorobo, it's so clear that a great amount of thought and passion went into the design of the world, which makes it all the more disappointing that the gameplay is just so boring.
More than once did I pause and think to myself that Solatorobo could have benefitted from being a different genre than it was. Solatorobo is regarded as an action RPG, but it hardly leans into the RPG side of things - sure, you can upgrade your stats, and you can change out your fuselage for some different stats and abilities late in the game, but I just couldn't shake the feeling that it could have really benefitted from being a turn based RPG. Sometimes I even considered that it might have benefitted from being in an entirely different medium - a manga, an anime, even a film!
Still, Solatorobo is a really great experience, despite its failures with its gameplay. The world of Solatorobo, and Little Tail Bronx (the series to which Solatorobo belongs) is so rich and interesting that it certainly warrants some time spent with it. I wish I hadn't missed out on this as a kid.
TL;DR: I wish this was an anime.
This game's pretty repetitive and simple in terms of gameplay but it makes up for it in other areas. The average battle is just lifting your opponents up and probably stunlocking them or throwing their projectiles back at them. Kinda like those shows where people make wild robots with flamethrowers and stuff but the one that wins is just the one that flips others over.
Going through the world is what really makes the game. Something about each region feels so memorable. Basset being made of wrecked ships, the holy sites in Samoyede and Mau, the capital in Shephard. I like the story a lot too, Elh and Red are great characters. Getting into the 2nd half of the game unspoiled really got me excited with all that went on.
Going through the world is what really makes the game. Something about each region feels so memorable. Basset being made of wrecked ships, the holy sites in Samoyede and Mau, the capital in Shephard. I like the story a lot too, Elh and Red are great characters. Getting into the 2nd half of the game unspoiled really got me excited with all that went on.
this game is so interesting.
by all metrics, it should be a fairly banal ride throughout: moment to moment gameplay is almost impressively shallow and overexplained at every given opportunity. even narratively speaking, while it does cool things in it's latter half, it still doesn't do anything you haven't ever seen before.
and yet, despite everything, it still manages to be more than the sum of it's parts. there's a very particular charm to solatorobo that's difficult to pin down. something about the characterization, the expressive art, the attention to detail in it's worldbuilding (especially considering it's continuity with tail concerto)... i really couldn't help but enjoy my time with it. it does it's job and then some at being a cozy little ds game to whittle away at when out and about, and while i wish it was more than what it was, i still came away from the experience happy i played. if you're similarly inclined towards games like these, it's an easy recommend.
by all metrics, it should be a fairly banal ride throughout: moment to moment gameplay is almost impressively shallow and overexplained at every given opportunity. even narratively speaking, while it does cool things in it's latter half, it still doesn't do anything you haven't ever seen before.
and yet, despite everything, it still manages to be more than the sum of it's parts. there's a very particular charm to solatorobo that's difficult to pin down. something about the characterization, the expressive art, the attention to detail in it's worldbuilding (especially considering it's continuity with tail concerto)... i really couldn't help but enjoy my time with it. it does it's job and then some at being a cozy little ds game to whittle away at when out and about, and while i wish it was more than what it was, i still came away from the experience happy i played. if you're similarly inclined towards games like these, it's an easy recommend.
THE underrated ds hidden gem
the gameplay is a bit simple and can get repetitive, but its plenty enjoyable as a charming little ds era adventure. good story, gorgeous visuals, memorable soundtrack, lovable characters... its the whole package
solatorobo holds a special place in my heart, as im sure it does for many people who were lucky enough to discover it. do yourself a favor, hack your 3ds and play this game
the gameplay is a bit simple and can get repetitive, but its plenty enjoyable as a charming little ds era adventure. good story, gorgeous visuals, memorable soundtrack, lovable characters... its the whole package
solatorobo holds a special place in my heart, as im sure it does for many people who were lucky enough to discover it. do yourself a favor, hack your 3ds and play this game
RAHHH I LOVE THIS GAME SO MUCH the graphics are literally so good and I love the characters so much.
Actually peak (I have not finished the game yet)
True hidden gem. First off I gotta say, while the gameplay is much better than Tail Concerto's in the sense that the controls work and it won't mess you up due to poor sensitivy or clunkiness... it still is very mindless and repetitive. There's an attempt to have some sort of in depth combat system in this, allowing you to customize your robot with different upgrades that fit in slots that you must unlock and each improving certain stats, but it never feels supper necessary to keep upgrading because the combat is just mashing A and then jumping to press A again.
With that said, I'm still glad I saw this game through. Just as with Tail Concerto, the entire thing is saved by its world and characters. Great artwork, music, and worldbuilding with way more development than Tail Concerto gives us a great peek into this world. The story actually developed in ways I wasn't expecting, which was amazing. This game is clearly a passion project for CyberConnect2 and it's a shame that they can't get the chance at a sequel or remake that could improve its lackluster gameplay. Still, worth checking out for anyone looking for a hidden gem on the DS, or furry fans.
Where's the anime though?
With that said, I'm still glad I saw this game through. Just as with Tail Concerto, the entire thing is saved by its world and characters. Great artwork, music, and worldbuilding with way more development than Tail Concerto gives us a great peek into this world. The story actually developed in ways I wasn't expecting, which was amazing. This game is clearly a passion project for CyberConnect2 and it's a shame that they can't get the chance at a sequel or remake that could improve its lackluster gameplay. Still, worth checking out for anyone looking for a hidden gem on the DS, or furry fans.
Where's the anime though?
What a pleasant surprise of a game.
Worldbuilding is wonderful, and as some people have pointed out, I definitely see the Xenoblade 2 resemblances.
Got mechs, got titans with the titano-machina (and one looks a lot like Urayan titan), got the CLOUD SEA!
Even without leaning on XB2 comparisons, the world is unique and beautiful, and the great soundtrack emphasizes it more.
The characters are mostly pretty damn good. I wish Chocolat got some more development, but most of them are good (Red, Elh, Marveille especially).
The villains were good too, though a bit on the weak side imo. Part two's were better but still wish they were a bit more compelling. (I may have a high bar when it comes to this)
Now for the weakest part of the game, the gameplay and controls. The controls less so, they're not SO bad. It's limited to 8-directional movement so it's awkward at times when the game demands precision platforming.
And the combat, well...At least it's easy. It's not too deep, and fairly button-mashy. Pick up and throw, that's basically it. It's a breeze to play through but it's also not very challenging.
Ok anyway I loved it overall, it's a severely underrated gem for DS. Shame about the outrageous price for the physical version.
Worldbuilding is wonderful, and as some people have pointed out, I definitely see the Xenoblade 2 resemblances.
Got mechs, got titans with the titano-machina (and one looks a lot like Urayan titan), got the CLOUD SEA!
Even without leaning on XB2 comparisons, the world is unique and beautiful, and the great soundtrack emphasizes it more.
The characters are mostly pretty damn good. I wish Chocolat got some more development, but most of them are good (Red, Elh, Marveille especially).
The villains were good too, though a bit on the weak side imo. Part two's were better but still wish they were a bit more compelling. (I may have a high bar when it comes to this)
Now for the weakest part of the game, the gameplay and controls. The controls less so, they're not SO bad. It's limited to 8-directional movement so it's awkward at times when the game demands precision platforming.
And the combat, well...At least it's easy. It's not too deep, and fairly button-mashy. Pick up and throw, that's basically it. It's a breeze to play through but it's also not very challenging.
Ok anyway I loved it overall, it's a severely underrated gem for DS. Shame about the outrageous price for the physical version.
Must play for all freaks, gameplay is simple but the story, music and art are incredible.
stylé mais flem
This game left me completely speechless by the end. The story and characters are among some of the strongest I have encountered across many RPG games. The graphics are downright stunning and the art style is reminiscent of classic Ghibli films such as Castle in the Sky. The soundtrack is stellar and the combat is exhilarating. The side quest system with the hunter rank is the best way I have seen any game handle side quests because it makes every side quest feel original and allows them to all have their own cute narrative. This is one of the best games I have ever played.
That being said there are some definite flaws. The primary flaw being the easy difficulty. The game is super easy due to the insanely high amount of health that you have. This, while unfortunate, does not take away from this genuine masterpiece of a video game.
Despite its hearty price tag, I am glad to have spent it to experience it. It will likely be the best DS game I will ever play.
That being said there are some definite flaws. The primary flaw being the easy difficulty. The game is super easy due to the insanely high amount of health that you have. This, while unfortunate, does not take away from this genuine masterpiece of a video game.
Despite its hearty price tag, I am glad to have spent it to experience it. It will likely be the best DS game I will ever play.
Masterpiece of my childhood
I didn't know this game even existed until this year. I watched a video about it and was completely hooked on wanting to play it for myself. Now that I have I can safely say this is one of my favorite games I've played. Everything about it is just so much of what I love.
The story alone blew me away. Even with having been spoiled on a large chunk of it from the video I watched I still was enthralled with everything. The characters all get great development. There's a lot I want to say but honestly I dont wanna spoil it at all for anyone. I feel it's truly best experienced on your own. I can't imagine how much more I would've been in love with it had I played this fully blind.
The gameplay is great and although simple at first gains some more depth by the second half. The biggest complaint I have is just the fact that there's no challenge to any fights. But I think the fast pacing and how often new environments and mechanics are introduced helps mitigate that issue at least a little.
There's so much I could talk about but really all I have to say... play this. Your only way is to emulate it unless you really wanna spend a couple hundred on a copy. But either way this is an amazing gem that sadly never got the recognition it deserved. I would love for another game to try at the ideas introduced here, and to get more of the amazing world that was developed throughout the narrative. Hopefully I can get some of that when I give Fuga a try.
The story alone blew me away. Even with having been spoiled on a large chunk of it from the video I watched I still was enthralled with everything. The characters all get great development. There's a lot I want to say but honestly I dont wanna spoil it at all for anyone. I feel it's truly best experienced on your own. I can't imagine how much more I would've been in love with it had I played this fully blind.
The gameplay is great and although simple at first gains some more depth by the second half. The biggest complaint I have is just the fact that there's no challenge to any fights. But I think the fast pacing and how often new environments and mechanics are introduced helps mitigate that issue at least a little.
There's so much I could talk about but really all I have to say... play this. Your only way is to emulate it unless you really wanna spend a couple hundred on a copy. But either way this is an amazing gem that sadly never got the recognition it deserved. I would love for another game to try at the ideas introduced here, and to get more of the amazing world that was developed throughout the narrative. Hopefully I can get some of that when I give Fuga a try.
Daniel ve Daniel diye geçen 2 adaş dalyarrağa teşekkürler hayvan tecavüzcüsüne dönüştürdü bizi amın oğulları. Peygamber üzerine yemin etseler bile Daniel isimli bireyleri köpeğinize kedinize yaklaştırmayın evcil hayvan tacizcileri çıkıyor hepsi.
This game altered my brain chemistry forever
This game is quite the repetitive mashup of gimmicks and ideas, but it has a charm unlike any other game I've played in a while. I love the character designs, too!
this is the first time a game genuinely changed my life and i will never be so grateful for this game existing, its a perfect title with tons of charm to it and its such a shame its didn't get as popular as it did on the DS.
The aesthetics of this game definitely carries it alot.
It's a game with an extremely unique vision. It's honestly mind boggling they managed to get a game this jam-packed with content to work so well on the DS.
A hidden gem for sure.
It's a game with an extremely unique vision. It's honestly mind boggling they managed to get a game this jam-packed with content to work so well on the DS.
A hidden gem for sure.
Didn’t replay this or anything, I’m just thinking about how good this game is and how much I want to get Fuga Melodies of Steel now.
I expected this game to be way better than it is based on what I've heard about it. I like the aesthetics, but that ended up being all it has going for it. Four chapters in I was ballparking that there would be like eight total but there's TWENTY. Very bad sign when I'm wondering when a game ends so early in.
The main issue with this game is that the combat is a complete joke and remains effectively the same from prologue to final chapter. It's a very literal masher with next to no challenge. It's backed up by RPG mechanics and stat customization that barely matter. I like to think I could tolerate samey combat if it's at least moderately fun to play but it straight up is not fun from the first minute. Total slog.
You do a story segment where you pick up and throw things, then get sent to do side quests where you pick up and throw things on the same reused maps. Exploring areas is plagued with interjections from your party telling you things you should already know about what to do next (e.g. "Looks like we need a crate for that button!"). The story doesn't do it any favors in between these segments. It comes across to me as just anime slop but it's made worse by the looming dread of more grabbing and throwing after the text ends. Occasionally there is a segment where you partake in a plane race, and it somehow manages to be even worse than normal gameplay.
There could be a version of this game that expanded and interesting. Free from the limitations of the Nintendo DS and blessed with modern action rpg design. I hope that comes to exist some day, because I'd love to see it. Not any time soon probably, since FUGA seems to be seeing success in its own style. Two stars is a generous rating as I have very few good things to say about this game. I really truly wanted it to be good. At least the characters are cute.
The main issue with this game is that the combat is a complete joke and remains effectively the same from prologue to final chapter. It's a very literal masher with next to no challenge. It's backed up by RPG mechanics and stat customization that barely matter. I like to think I could tolerate samey combat if it's at least moderately fun to play but it straight up is not fun from the first minute. Total slog.
You do a story segment where you pick up and throw things, then get sent to do side quests where you pick up and throw things on the same reused maps. Exploring areas is plagued with interjections from your party telling you things you should already know about what to do next (e.g. "Looks like we need a crate for that button!"). The story doesn't do it any favors in between these segments. It comes across to me as just anime slop but it's made worse by the looming dread of more grabbing and throwing after the text ends. Occasionally there is a segment where you partake in a plane race, and it somehow manages to be even worse than normal gameplay.
There could be a version of this game that expanded and interesting. Free from the limitations of the Nintendo DS and blessed with modern action rpg design. I hope that comes to exist some day, because I'd love to see it. Not any time soon probably, since FUGA seems to be seeing success in its own style. Two stars is a generous rating as I have very few good things to say about this game. I really truly wanted it to be good. At least the characters are cute.
J'aime bien rigoler en disant à mes potes que j'ai un passé de furry à cause de ce jeu
This is one of those games I wish I could play for the first time again. Only thing I can fault it on is the extremely simplistic combat to the point of being rather trivial to win in any confrontation.
Probably the most upset I've been that I don't feel like I could score a game higher in quite a while. Everything here is perfectly on point besides the gameplay itself. The story is great--especially in the back half--the music is some of the best on the DS, it's a technical marvel, the characters are super well written and get you to empathize with almost everyone, it got me to actually care about the worldbuilding which is a sign of good worldbuilding--it's so, so much more fully-realized than Tail Concerto in functionally every aspect.
But it's just not that fun to play. It's not frustrating like Tail Concerto often is, which is a positive, but it is fairly boring and repetitive and it leaves the game to be carried heavily by all of its other aspects. Aspects which are only partially present in the first half, which made getting the full experience here a bit of a slog. In many ways Solatorobo is a better Xenoblade 2--there are frankly enough shared elements here that I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Takahashi played this and took inspiration--but it still maintains a weirdly lopsided pacing which heavily favors the back half, even if it's better in music and character writing and worldbuilding and most things. But maybe the one thing that XB2 does do better than this is that it's got a fairly dense combat system which, while not amazing, does a good enough job at holding your attention for however long you've gotta do it, which I just can't say for the simple A-mashy combat in this.
Underbaked gameplay seems to be a common issue for CyberConnect2, which is really sad considering how clearly passionate they are about the Little Tail Bronx series. Any amount of research into the history of the franchise will tell you this, but it really comes through in the work itself, too. I really want to share this passion but for every minute I was enraptured there was probably 5 minutes of me just travelling through a dungeon like I've travelled through every other dungeon so far. This is an issue with frankly most JRPGs, but it is especially prominent here, even with its relatively short runtime compared to its peers at only about 20 hours. Even though the gameplay has a lot of issues here it's a huge improvement from Tail Concerto and if the quality improves the same amount from this to Fuga I'll be very happy, not holding my breath though.
Overall pretty good, but it hurts how incredible this could have been if the gameplay was just a bit better.
But it's just not that fun to play. It's not frustrating like Tail Concerto often is, which is a positive, but it is fairly boring and repetitive and it leaves the game to be carried heavily by all of its other aspects. Aspects which are only partially present in the first half, which made getting the full experience here a bit of a slog. In many ways Solatorobo is a better Xenoblade 2--there are frankly enough shared elements here that I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest if Takahashi played this and took inspiration--but it still maintains a weirdly lopsided pacing which heavily favors the back half, even if it's better in music and character writing and worldbuilding and most things. But maybe the one thing that XB2 does do better than this is that it's got a fairly dense combat system which, while not amazing, does a good enough job at holding your attention for however long you've gotta do it, which I just can't say for the simple A-mashy combat in this.
Underbaked gameplay seems to be a common issue for CyberConnect2, which is really sad considering how clearly passionate they are about the Little Tail Bronx series. Any amount of research into the history of the franchise will tell you this, but it really comes through in the work itself, too. I really want to share this passion but for every minute I was enraptured there was probably 5 minutes of me just travelling through a dungeon like I've travelled through every other dungeon so far. This is an issue with frankly most JRPGs, but it is especially prominent here, even with its relatively short runtime compared to its peers at only about 20 hours. Even though the gameplay has a lot of issues here it's a huge improvement from Tail Concerto and if the quality improves the same amount from this to Fuga I'll be very happy, not holding my breath though.
Overall pretty good, but it hurts how incredible this could have been if the gameplay was just a bit better.
Peak furry game ngl
To me, Solatorobo is a reminder of how amazing video games can be as a medium. It masterfully builds a beautiful world full of creative regions, compelling characters, and atmospheric tunes in addition to one of my favorite stories in a video game.
As a NDS game, CyberConnect2 absolutely pushed the system to its limit and rewarded us with a technical delight that surpasses some of the console's best games of all time. It's not often where I can confidently feel that a dev fully utilized the hardware they were working with, but it's just that good in this case.
Overall, damn. I'm honestly struggling to convey just how much I loved this game and I can only hope that somehow, someway, more people catch on to this absolute masterpiece. If more studios took a fraction of the love and passion that CyberConnect2 had while making this one, we'd almost certainly be in a world where the Gollum video game doesn't exist.
As a NDS game, CyberConnect2 absolutely pushed the system to its limit and rewarded us with a technical delight that surpasses some of the console's best games of all time. It's not often where I can confidently feel that a dev fully utilized the hardware they were working with, but it's just that good in this case.
Overall, damn. I'm honestly struggling to convey just how much I loved this game and I can only hope that somehow, someway, more people catch on to this absolute masterpiece. If more studios took a fraction of the love and passion that CyberConnect2 had while making this one, we'd almost certainly be in a world where the Gollum video game doesn't exist.
This game is one of the few games where it's amazing but it isn't; everything besides the gameplay is very well done and very impressive for a DS game, but the gameplay is just way too easy and boring for my taste. It's a shame, because if CC2 would just figure out the formula for good gameplay, they'd genuinely have an amazing series here.
Rpg con notevoli idee di gameplay ma soprattutto veramente ben scritto, l'unico difetto sorprendentemente non è l'elemento furry imperante ma il fatto che non ci sia mai sfida. Spesso questo elemento uno lo potrebbe vedere come irrisorio, ma quando un gioco ti chiede decine e decine di ore senza proporti mai una vera sfida incomincia ad insinuarsi una noia anche quando l'opera è ben scritta. Un elemento negativo che per me purtroppo ha rovinato sempre di più l'esperienza di gioco
Act 1: Basic but well-written JRPG story
Act 2: Furryvangelion
Act 2: Furryvangelion