I gave it a full 5 stars to reflect the absolute joy of a time I had slurping this game down with a spoon, but I am more than willing to acknowledge that this is NOT a perfect JRPG.

It is, however, a great one. It represents a slight evolution of the work that Sakaguchi and his team at Square did in the lead up to his departure, and presents a dark story steeped in tragedy that fits the vibe of the Xbox platform as it was in 2007. It boasts a strong score composed by Nobuo Uematsu, a tight forty hour story, and compelling combat and character progression that I found immensely satisfied.

Don't rush out to buy an Xbox JUST to play this game, but if you have it you owe it to your self to throw it on and let it wash over you.

The original Mortal Kombat, nowadays, could be seen as a mere appetizer for arcade-goers, showing off simple, yet still fun fights, coupled with plenty of bloody fatalities to leave fans satisfied when they were able to pull them off. Mortal Kombat II, in comparison, feels like the true, main course, providing all of the same bloody and violent fun and charm that the original game had, while expanding upon it by refining the gameplay, adding new, fun characters to play as, new gruesome fatalities, new moves to pull off, new stages to play in, and even different types of fatalities, making for a much more enjoyable and violently satisfying experience for fans of MK and fighting game fanatics alike. And naturally, just like the original game, it went onto become a major success, with it selling like crazy for every platform, spawning many imitators, being enjoyed by millions across the world, and is now considered both one of, if not the best entry in the series, as well as one of the best games of all time. So, with that kind of success in mind, trying to follow up that title in any way whatsoever was gonna be quite the daunting task. I mean, with a game that was heralded as a seemingly flawless masterpiece back in the day, how could they top themselves? Well, I dunno, but they sure did try to, and thus, two years after the previous entry, the world was given the third chapter in this blood-soaked saga that would be simply known as Mortal Kombat 3.

Just like with the last two games, this entry in the series was one that I had no experience with prior to me playing it before this review. I had heard mixed things about it before, with people saying that it was either a step-down from the previous games in the series, or just straight up terrible in general. But hey, at the end of the day, only I can decide whether or not I think a game is good or not, and I decided to stick with the original version of the game so that I can properly see what it did for the series before getting tweaked, as well as so that I can nitpick the fuck out of it. So, based on what I did play through…. I think this may just be the most mechanically sound game in the original trilogy, and a really good entry in the series as a whole. I don’t think it is better than Mortal Kombat II, for reasons I will get into later, but for what we got here, this was definitely the most fun and “unique” game in the series so far, and I am glad that I finally played it.

The story is somewhat of a change of pace from what you expect from this series and fighting games in general, where after his defeat in the previous game, Shao Kahn decides to try a different approach to taking over Earthrealm, with this approach being to have his Shadow Priests revive his late wife Sindel, who would allow Shao Kahn to cross into Earthrealm (somehow), and start to murder every living person while merging the realm with Outworld. Thankfully though, through all of the chaos, several warriors managed to survive the onslaught, including both old and new faces, so it is up to them, with the external help of Raiden, to take on Shao Kahn and save Earthrealm from his wrath, which is mostly a typical plot you would see from any other game, but hey, it is different from the typical “there’s a tournament and bad shit is going down in it” plot we have also seen a million times before.

The graphics are pretty good, still using the style of the previous MK games, and containing plenty of great animations and locations to fight in, but as for the designs of the characters… that’s more of a mixed bag (what the hell did they do to Sub-Zero?!), the music is great, having plenty of appropriate tracks for each of the locations, and a good chunk of them are great to listen to throughout, and the gameplay/control is what is to be expected from an early MK game, but they managed to refine and add onto the gameplay to make it into, in my opinion, the best-playing game in the series so far…………. even if the other changes made to the game kinda suck some of the fun out.

The game is your typical 2D fighting game, where you take control of one 15 different characters, consisting of both new and old faces that are fun enough to try out (even if the roster has problems that we will get into), take on plenty of different opponents in various locations throughout the different realms, throw out many different punches, kicks, special moves, and combos to get the upper hand against any opponent that you are facing, while making sure to block and dodge at any appropriate time, perform a fatality, babality, or whatever finishing move you wish to end off your opponent in a glorious, stupid, or gloriously stupid fashion, and take on several boss opponents that will make you want to rip your hair out as you try to conquer the bullshit AI………. you know, the classic MK experience. Everything you know and love is accounted for here, with plenty of new additions that do change up the way that you play, while making the gameplay smooth and tight enough to where, again, it feels the best to play out of any of the games in the series so far.

In terms of the main gameplay, there were quite a bit of changes made to spice up the fights that you will be partaking in, such as with the inclusion of a run button, which… does exactly what you think it does. This is a neat little addition I guess, but I dunno, I don’t find myself using it all too much, as the game feels fast enough to where it seems slightly unnecessary. The same cannot be said, however, for the game’s dial-a-combos, which are new combos that you can initiate that the opponent cannot break out of, allowing you to deal MASSIVE amounts of damage! I don’t find myself using these too often, cause the concept of chaining combos together turns my brain into this, but whenever I can pull them off, BOY does it ever feel so sweet to actually be good at video games.

Speaking of concepts that my brain can’t comprehend, this brings us over to the Kombat Kodes, which are essentially just cheat codes that can be put in before a match for varying effects, such as having an infinite run meter, causing the entire screen to go dark, or even allowing you to unlock hidden characters to play as. While I myself never tried to unlock any of these, they do sound like a neat way of changing up the game, and I appreciate the fact that they are there for those who are big fans of cheat codes. Some other minor, yet appreciated changes made to the formula would be with the inclusion of somewhat-interactable stages, where sometimes whenever you perform an uppercut onto an enemy which can send them smashing through the ceiling, and moving the fight onto another floor of the stage, which is pretty cool, and in single-player mode, you can even select your own difficulty option!............. which doesn’t help out much in some circumstances, but hey, it helps out for a bit anyway.

Naturally, fatalities are back in this game in full force, with babalities and friendships also making a return right alongside them, with them being just as bloody, gory, and ridiculous as ever. However, that ridiculousness gets ramped up all the way to 11 when it comes to the brand new type of fatalities introduced in this game, Animalities, which involves the character who initiates it turning into some kind of animal and proceeding to tear their opponent apart in the way that their respective animal would do so. These are, naturally, pretty fucking stupid, but in a good way, and it is great to see them play out, but… I dunno, I feel like this is kinda jumping the shark when it comes to these finishing moves. Don’t get me wrong, I am well aware of how ridiculous and dumb Mortal Kombat can get, especially when it comes to its finishing moves, but I dunno, giving all the characters the ability to animorph all for the sake of performing one finishing move………. definitely kinda takes you right out of everything going on, which is probably why this is the only game in the entire series (not counting the later updates) that features these.

This also leads wonderfully into the complaints that I had with this game overall, with the first being that, as a whole, the fatalities in this game are kind of a downgrade compared to what we had previously. Don’t get me wrong, there are some pretty enjoyable ones in there, such as one where Cyrax deploys so many bombs onto his opponent that it ends up destroying the entire world, as well as one where Sindel screams at her opponent so hard that the skin and meat gets ripped right off of them, but most of the other ones could either be seen as downgrades of previous fatalities to an extent, or they are just flatout lazy in their execution. This also applies to the babalities, with them pretty much being the exact same as the previous game, with no changes to make them stand out or be more funny, which does kind of suck. Thankfully though, we still have the friendships, with a lot of them still being pretty funny to watch, especially Cyrax’s, which made me burst out laughing the first time I saw it. Seriously, how can you not love that?

The fatalities weren’t the only thing to receive a downgrade though, as the character roster for this entry of the series is also severely lacking as well. Out of all the characters present here, we do get a good number of classics being brought back, but then we have other characters like Reptile, Johnny Cage, Raiden, and Scorpion, who are completely GONE, which is a MAJOR letdown. I can understand why Raiden isn’t there, because the plot does have an explanation for that, but I don’t understand why several of the other characters aren’t in there, especially Scorpion! Seriously, he is the face of your franchise, and yet you leave him out of this game?! That kind of thing should be impossible to do, and yet, here we are.

Now, this wouldn’t be such a big issue if the new characters that replaced them were fantastic additions to the series, but in terms of the new characters that we do get in this game…. eh… it’s a mixed bag. While I am a big fan of new additions like Kabal, Cyrax and Sektor, you then have other characters like Stryker and Nightwolf, who aren’t terrible by any means, but they just don’t feel like they fit with everyone else, and I never really play as any of them whenever I try playing a round in one of these games. Thankfully though, most of these roster issues are fixed in later updates to the game, so it isn’t that big of a deal, and in terms of any other problems in the game, the only one I can really think of is that fighting game syndrome is present here, with some characters being an absolute BITCH to fight against, but then again, this is standard for Mortal Kombat at this point, so I’m not surprised by it.

Overall, despite the lackluster fatalities and disappointing character roster, I am surprised that I ended up liking Mortal Kombat 3 as much as I did, as it really is a great entry to the series, with plenty of new additions that makes the game that much more fun, gameplay that is much more refined and smooth that makes it wonderful to play, and still just as much bloody gore to where any big fans of the previous games will be mostly satisfied with what they get here. I would recommend it for HUGE Mortal Kombat fans, as well as fighting game fanatics in general, but for everyone else, you would just be best with sticking with the later updates to this game, as they do tweak around a lot of things that this game definitely needed, but we’ll get more into that in a later review. For now though, I would like to leave this review off by showing you one of Kabal’s fatalities from this game that is just… something else. You’re welcome.

Game #591

text by tim rogers

★★☆☆

“NOT REMOTELY AS 'ADVANCED' AS IT NEEDS TO BE.”

In all the official writings, the title of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2 is written as Final Fantasy Tactics A2. Anyone who’s played the previous game in this now-two-game “series” knows that the “A” stands for “Advance”, because the first game was called Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. That game was produced by videogame legend Yasumi Matsuno. It was also for Gameboy Advance. The sequel is neither produced by Yasumi Matsuno, nor is it for Gameboy Advance. Though games are generally better on the Nintendo DS than they were on the Gameboy Advance, and generally worse when they’re not produced by Yasumi Matsuno, weirdly, neither of these things make the game in question exponentially better or worse.

The most interesting thing about this game, if you’re forced to talk about it, is probably its branding. Square-Enix’s business model has come to feel more like a big tobacco company than a videogame developer, these days. In 2007, the mega-publisher is releasing a staggering fourteen Final Fantasy products, all of them belonging to the “Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary” brand, some of them belonging to the “Final Fantasy VII 10th Anniversary” brand, and some of them belonging to the somewhat conceptually hilarious “Final Fantasy XI 5th Anniversary” brand. The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series, in which three titles were announced this year, oddly doesn’t get its own brand. You’d think that, by now, they’d be slightly ashamed of the fact that almost every game they release has a title that begins with the same two words. Why not call them Crystal Chronicles: Final Fantasy? “Crystal Chronicles” is a pleasant, striking combination of words. I guess someone in the company isn’t willing to let anyone mention taking a risk until he finishes having his new mansion built. Or maybe not: the Wii-exclusive download-only Crystal Chronicles game’s title is going to begin with seven whole words preceding the words “Final Fantasy” — The Little King and the Promised Country: Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles, is what they’re calling it. I guess someone was able to slap together a pitch-perfect PowerPoint presentation detailing that it’s okay to bury the keywords in the middle of the title so long as that title includes two colons. You know, there used to be a time this company was proud of their own name, where customers were trusted enough to buy the games because of the maker’s logo on the box. I wonder what happened.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 belongs to the “Ivalice Alliance” brand, in which three other titles were also released this year: Final Fantasy Tactics: The Lion War, a remake of the original Final Fantasy Tactics for the PSP, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, a pleasant-enough, stupidly simple strategy game for the Nintendo DS, and Final Fantasy XII: International Zodiac Job System, which might be the worst subtitle they’ve ever put on a game. I mean, seriously, they’re mentioning one of the most absolutely technical aspects of the game, right there in the title. Final Fantasy Tactics A2 also belongs, of course, to the “Final Fantasy Tactics” brand, which I suppose is a sub-brand of the “Ivalice Alliance” brand, unless they decide some day to make a Tactics game with Crystal Chronicles characters in it. That would be amazing. That would be hilarious. Either way, I wouldn’t put it past them. At any rate, slap a “Final Fantasy 20th Anniversary” sticker on the box, and here you have it: a triple-branded game, by Square-Enix, which is kind of like a fourth brand, kind of like a pseudo-brand. How can it not sell at least a quarter million copies?

As what it is — branded, polished, focus-tested — it’s pretty much a perfect little package. The graphics are almost overwhelmingly pleasant, with rich colors and delicious little animations. The music, by Kenji Ito (probably the best (capitalized) Game Music Composer in the world right now), is fascinating: he took Hitoshi Sakimoto’s iconic Final Fantasy Tactics jams and somehow mated them with Italian 1950s pre-proto-pop, little dinging bells and all. The arrangements are literally miraculous. And then there are the sound effects — I swear to god, I’d thought for the longest time that Square’s menu cursor sound effect was perfect, and that they’d be fools to mess with it. Well, FFTA2 messes with it, and the results are gaspingly gorgeous. If you’re anything like me, you will find yourself — figuratively — filled, many times during each battle, with the strong desire to rip the earbuds out of your ears and lick them, expecting honey to be dripping out.

You have a tremendous 56 job classes to choose from this time, some of them total conceptual cop-outs (like “Animal User”, who can use a “Sheep” spell to protect himself with “Wool”, which guards against cold), and others are pretty simply awesome (Fencer, who specializes in thrusting sword attacks that push enemies back). At the end of the day, though, you might wonder why there are three elementary classes (Fencer, Soldier, Warrior) for sword techniques, though hey, they all have different techniques, and it’s pretty cool to learn new techniques.

The back of the box describes this game as “A pick-up-and-play simulation RPG for all players!” Maybe they should have said “A pick-up-and-play simulation RPG for all players who know what ‘RPG’ stands for”. Maybe that would have taken up too much precious real estate on the back of the box, though hey, maybe they could have spared it: the back of the box is mostly text, anyway, with only one actual screenshot of the game at play. The other two (tiny) screenshots show a dialogue in one of the many towns’ many bars and the hecking map screen. Yeah, good work, there.

This weird shame is confusing, because A2 is a much better game, as far as games go, than its predecessor. This is funny, because the first one was, you know, actually directed by an actual genius. Geniuses make weird decisions sometimes, I guess: the first game ditched the brilliant (and now simulation-RPG standard) “Active Time” turn-based battle system in favor of a “player side attacks, enemy side attacks” style. This type of battle system, as present in Matsuno’s Tactics Ogre, wasn’t so bad because it gave us a peculiar sensation: go to the bathroom (or cook an omelette) while the enemy side is attacking, and then come back into the living room, where the game screen has changed, either drastically or subtly. Sit down, pick up the controller, and feel something like a forensics expert as you plan your strategy. This didn’t work so well when the game console is something you carry around in your hands. The reinstatement of the AT system, now without a name — now just something that is — works wonders for FFTA2. Each battle is a polished, cute little challenge. The battlefields sometimes feel a little bit flat, which is a real shame: at last, the ability to push an opponent back one square is a lot more executable, and there just aren’t enough heights to knock the enemies down from. I suppose the flat battlefields are on account of the game’s not being presented in actual, rotatable 3D. Why isn’t it in 3D, though? The Dragon Quest IV remake for DS, from what I could tell at Tokyo Game Show, handles 3D exceptionally well, if in a “Porno for Pixelantes” kind of way.

Moreover, why doesn’t this game support touch screen controls at all? It seems like an amazing omission to me. I suppose to controller-only inputs are clean and simple enough — press the L and R buttons during battle to zip between enemy targets when targeting spells, or press them while in free-targeting mode to peruse each troop on the battlefield, in the order that they’re going to attack. Though really, some people like the pointing and clicking. It’s really weird — the window size and fonts seem optimized for touching with a stylus. Though maybe they cut out stylus controls because that way you wouldn’t be able to hear that delicious cursor sound so much. The game includes an option to set the “main screen” as the top or the bottom, though, and I guess couldn’t do that with touch-screen controls.

The most glaring omission in this game — and it glares pretty ferociously — is the multiplayer. The back of the box says that players can “Enjoy wireless play with a friend!” It also says that the friend needs a copy of the game — this must mean . . . yes, that there are multiplayer battles! In a Final Fantasy Tactics game! On the DS, a system my friends actually own and play! I figured that multiplayer battles were a shoe-in, seeing as the battle system has been reverted to the glory of the original FFT‘s AT. I mean, no one would want to play a two-player competitive battle if it was the old “one side attacks, other side attacks” system, yeah? And this is the Nintendo DS, the home of the eight-million-selling Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. And the, uhh, half-million selling Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Square-Enix knows that players love to play together. They’ve already got the most intensive co-op RPG-esque experience on the system; why not go for the monopoly on awesome versus strategy, as well?

Well, a quick tear through the instruction manual will leave you cursing like a sailor: it’s hecking Item Trading. No versus mode for you — you’ll have to buy the PSP Final Fantasy Tactics remake, and then convince your friends to all buy PSPs, jackass. Man, what a rip-off. I guess, ultimately, Square-Enix didn’t want to cannibalize their own sales. Which makes about as much sense as, well, it doesn’t. This is where the in-branding becomes interesting again: “Traditional” FFT and FFT “Advance” are two different sub-sub-brands within one sub-brand (FFT) of another sub-brand (“Ivalice Alliance”) within the “Final Fantasy” brand. If they share too many features — despite the fact that they’re on different consoles — then the publisher will be philosophically defeated. And we wouldn’t want that — otherwise we’d never get that remake of Final Fantasy VII!

Speaking of remakes of Final Fantasy VII: the same in-breeding apparent in every other recent Square-Enix release is oozing out of the corners of Final Fantasy Tactics A2. It should be a given at this point, I guess: remember Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories for the Gameboy Advance, in which Sora, the hero of Kingdom Hearts, a PlayStation 2 game about Disney characters and Final Fantasy characters meeting and having long philosophical discussions and legally constricted brawls with blunt objects, forgets the events of the previous canonical game, and must relive them in portable game form by using an artifact called the “Chain of Memories”. Flash forward to Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix for PlayStation 2, which includes the entirety of Chain of Memories, now upgraded to look and play like the PlayStation 2 that originally inspired it. Copies of copies of copies of copies — that’s what suffices for blockbuster material these days. Well, Final Fantasy Tactics A2 is pretty much just a cover band of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance — it’s so busy trying to be the exact same game that it ends up completely missing the point.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance was a gentle, slow-moving little game, and as such, it was enjoyable. The tutorial, which should be more famous than it is, involved characters having a snowball fight. When these real-world characters got transported into the Final Fantasy universe, things got more mortal, though the sense of innocence never quite lifted. It added up to a quirky kind of pleasant aura. In the Final Fantasy world, our young hero joins a “clan” of warriors, takes “missions”, and fights “battles” in order to raise his reputation. The game plays out in episodes. Take a mission, fight the battle, save the game, get off the train, et cetera. A story (and one with a weirdly powerful moral message), however, comes creeping slowly in, and that story unfolds as we take more missions, fight more battles, and get off more trains.

FFT-A2 is essentially the same game, without the creeping story. A young boy, while serving detention in the library on the eve of his school summer vacation, is sucked into an old book. Now he joins a clan led by a man named Cid (absolute earliest-ever appearance of Cid in a Final Fantasy game: check), and goes off on an adventure! By “adventure” I mean he takes on missions at identical pubs in identical cities all around the world. He revels boyishly in the logistics of combat. “Wow! Earning new job-specific abilities and then equipping them while in another job class is fun!” There’s a weird kind of Pokemon-esque sheen covering the whole thing, and it might even be more disturbing — though only because it’s a bit harder to place — than the plucky main character in Advance Wars, grinning and saying “Cool! Tanks are super-strong against infantry!” after witnessing a battalion of cartoon tanks wiping out a hundred men on foot. At times, as you start and finish your fiftieth or hundredth battle and still no story pokes its head out of the ground, as the main character continues to expresses profound interest in the book-keeping elements of raising an army, it starts to feel like maybe this isn’t an RPG after all. Maybe it’s a middle-school pre-primer for one of those business-manners-training games that are flooding the market these days, with some critical thinking exercises (strategic battles) thrown in for good measure.

This microthin story facade doesn’t change the fact that the game sparkles when it comes down to dudes fighting dudes. With 56 job classes (for God’s sake!) and a total of twenty-four soldiers in your reserve army, it’s very flexible and very open to experimentation. Taken one mission at a time, played like a board game, it’s a heck of a polished package — and some of the battles are pretty tough. That there’s no versus mode, however, is a crippling flaw that cannot be ignored. You’d think that, you know, when the game is so light on story and loose with regards to structure, that a versus mode would just be a given. Oh well. I will continue to raise my job levels in horrible solitude, with nothing human to fling my made men against. There certainly exist many worse things to do on the train.

In a 2013 GDC talk on the development of Dragon’s Dogma. The director Hideaki Itsuno wanted specific principles: “high degree of freedom, simple action, highly realistic.” With examples: Elder Scrolls Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Fable 2. Disclosing their units shipped and the same quality/s each possesses. These three aspects I'm quite fond of. With the first as numero uno what I look for. Freedom. Always. His “job was to convince internal members of Capcom that this is a challenge he wanted to take on. Similar games in this open world RPG genre didn't really exist in Japan. And they weren’t able to accurately forecast if the project would sell or the market potential.”

I couldn’t help but remember a comparable individual I look up to, Tetsuya Takahashi. The man behind the creation of the Xeno series along with his team and his wife Soraya Saga. In a 2015 Venturebeat interview he answered a question on what is the "biggest difference between Western and Japanese audiences, especially in terms of what they want from a role-playing game?” Takahashi said “What you’ll find quite often is that a lot of the markets outside of Japan are interested in games where you can do anything you want. They put a high priority on a great degree of freedom. In the Japanese market, it’s more common for people will demand a certain flow to the events in a game. We find that they’re more comfortable with a linear framework. We have our theories about why this might be.”

The comparison is relative due to the creators of their respective franchises aspiring to replicate near identical reception and appeal within their works. To differing results. Moving outside their comfort zone creating a fusion in a way. As much as I would revel in going off on Xenoblade Chronicles X, that’s a story for another time. Among the challenges and expectations, Itsuno is trying to match Skyrim’s massive reception with Dragon’s Dogma. An ambitious endeavor I appreciate as he remarks transparently in March 20, 2012. “At Capcom, we’ve made Dragon’s Dogma and come up to this point through our experience of action games. We’re trying to make a new genre: We’re using our action heritage and putting that into an action RPG.”

Emphasizing “changing action RPG to ACTION rpg.” Going for ambition is not inherently wrong. Great to have these goals to strive towards. As long as they stick the landing, journey and beginning. And I must say, after 3 playthroughs. One on normal, on hard mode, and finishing a speedrun whilst completing everything I can in postgame and the DLC on Bitterback isle of the Dark Arisen version, I firmly believe they succeeded in accomplishing all three qualities. However, despite my abundant enjoyment I did come across a sizable bulk of concerns I’ll discuss later in my mixed feelings. For now, I’ll discuss immediate sections I love.

Freedom is unrestricted. You can forget the main quest and go gallivanting off the beaten path and run towards any place on the map. Delving freely into dark dungeons, rocky caverns or forgotten ruins where a lantern is a must to combat the darkness. Filled with a plethora of variable attackers you won’t usually see copy-paste monsters on a budget. Harpies, undead skeletons, zombies, knights, mages, bandits, goblins, liches, ghosts, ogres, and etc. Even their variants are suitable. Clashing heavyweights against yours. Thus I can’t complain on the diverse enemy enriching every location you stumble in your wanderlust. Speaking of stumbling, you can upon completing a small bit of central plot early on set your fast travel points within reason. I didn’t like the approach since you receive a limited lot but ultimately came around to liking the unorthodox system. Helped by the fact the world didn’t feel too huge to traverse. Nor too meager to explore the sum of the whole caboodle within a short amount of time. Instead, the locales are filled with interesting locations. Multiple medium to large-scale dungeons displaying serviceable level design beyond linear corridors. Plenty of paths to tread both up and down. Breathtaking scenery during adventures. Bluemoon Tower made me feel as if I was transported in Rome’s Colosseum except fantasied. Ruined in decay where a single step can lead to certain death. Or embark on a long fog-filled forest where directions can prove futile for a newbie traveler. Yet for the experienced, hitting misty poles can unveil the true path. Mayhaps you will partake in a water temple? Which by the gods isn’t as arduous as other infamous water temples in games I’ve played. Link would breathe a sigh of relief here. Levers and switches to change the water level. Or for the speedy, they can excuse the routes and with careful jumping reach the end of the dungeon. Outside the danger is palpable with special zones where never-before-seen creatures lurk. Dangerous lichs and small drakes patrol. A functional day/night cycle capable of giving goosebumps if you decide to tackle the absence of sun with naught but your companions along. Hopefully, you brought ample oil flasks for your lantern. Cause oh boy does the night present dangerous adversaries not just in a greater supply of darker denizens but boss behemoths roaming the lands. Reminded me a bit of turning tail and running towards safety amid the nights in Dying Light. Seeing a chimera pop up near my location still gives me shivers…

Additionally changing vocations called classes and specializing in whatever playstyle you so choose is near-painless. Parallel to the weapon classes from Monster Hunter, but different. As you kill bounties of opponents and level up your vocation rank, unlock new skills and abilities. Allowed me to play as a mystic knight capable of dishing out spells while tanking with a shield and upon switching my staff in the menu. I return, bashing heads without remorse. Each class is satisfying with strengths and weaknesses. I honestly didn’t expect to fancy bow and arrows, and DD made me a fan of archery. What the heck man? I was a longtime Greatsword user.Heck, you can grab and climb any large creature during conflicts whenever. Hiroyuki Kobayashi, the producer said in an 2011 Siliconera interview. How DD’s grab mechanic in addition to “...the main character can go and do whatever he wants in this world, it gave birth to the idea that he’s fighting enemies and he should be able to fight them in any way that he wants and so we came up with the idea of the grabbing mechanic. He can climb on these enemies and fight them however he chooses.” A defining trait adding an essential option for players to tactfully embrace a closer savage quarrel against any terrifying freaks. Though the concept isn’t fresh, Shadow of the Colossus(SOTC) requires players to climb and weaken a colossus by striking their weak-spots. The influence I feel resonates still with characters conducting similar operations. If I am climbing a Cyclops then surely the eye is the weakness right?! Yes! Chimera for instance as an early boss functions in a comparable manner. Slay the snake tail, to make climbing safer. Hitting the goat head silences spells, then bashed the lion head to finish off the triple threat in a single body. Refreshing to play an open realm granting players simple mechanics and then shooing them off, if they decide not to embrace the major narrative at will.

For folks who don’t know the premise is simple and lightly intriguing. Within a small village called Cassardis you(after creating your protagonist) live a relatively normal life. Until one day. A BIG RED DRAGON starts scorching your fellow villagers on the nearby beach. Wreaking havoc. Heart pounding you decisively run out. Brandish a rusted sword and try to fight off the savage dragon. You can undoubtedly realize how such an encounter fared. Very poorly. We lose our life. But wait! We are alive? The dragon decides to steal our ‘heart’ literally. And some way, somehow we are alive as “Arisen” A human being whose destiny is tied to stopping the dragon. Welp, there goes my regular routine. I already had plans for. Although facing the dragon is the least of our concerns, immediately you are bombarded with new main and side quests to undertake at your leisure. And it is here where the realistic portion emerges.

Highly realistic is accurate. For better or worse, everything operates and contributes to the unique presentation. Resembling real life, a black market exists for counterfeiting necessities. Try saving key special quest items instead of returning them to the owner. Giving them a pale counterpart. The outcome may raise eyebrows. Moving on, all items have weight. Healing, tools and materials are not spared. Gathering materials takes time. Thankfully not too slow and not too fast. I mentioned the grab mechanic earlier, but just as you are provided the ability to climb onto giants, so too do they have the innate ability to pin you down in their grasp! Best to keep on the move Arisen! Lest you fall into their hands! Stamina(ST) is your lifeline. Every weapon ability used will deplete a small portion of your gauge. Sprinting slowly depletes it. Running then jumping can induce a noticeable chunk gone. Don’t forget grabbing is affected. And behind a hidden blindspot. Your height and weight matter too. Being a figure with low density grants the highest stamina regen and the lowest encumbrance(Volume you can carry). Attaining a higher amount of body load causes you to restore a bit slower, on the offset causes you to be granted extra capacity for ST and encumbrance. Here is a chart for reference. Height also plays a key role. Being of a minimal stature allows entrance upon tiny openings and perhaps smaller hitboxes. Whereas a tall guy cannot enter limited spaces. Will have the inverse effect of hitboxes. Forget plans to go underneath a Cyclops as a six footer fella. If you thought that was the term of the realistic portion. Think again. Encumbrance affects all the above. Here is another chart for reference. Depending on how your current carry load. From ultra light to over-encumbered. Parameters in values will alter jogging & running speed, recovery time, climbing, carrying, grapple, and running. Naked for instance will have little to no penalty. Can grapple giants for the longest, run for an extended period along with moving at the fastest speed. Compared to a heavy individual. Oh man, you’ll be as slow as molasses. Not to that extent, but a noticeable degree changes with whatever you do. Finding yourself out of breath easily. Constantly recharging your gauge and good lord don’t get me started on the inability to pick up items except for several exceptions. Not strictly a requirement to understand these mechanics as you assemble your character and comrade. To the surface-level player, but to those who love knowing every itty bitty detail, they prove their tonnage in gold. Attention to detail in weight, height, ST and encumbrance demonstrates a philosophy that is neither half-baked nor too overly complicated. Functions as a well-oiled cog with alternative core features the developers are trying to convey. Such as a satisfying fight loop.

Action albeit simplified achieves hallmark makings of a gratifying beast slaying loop. Imagine facing a near insurmountable boss only to win succeeding ‘x’ or ‘xx’ amount of tries. Hmm, I’m reminded of Hidetaka Miyazaki’s Soul series. Good. That works. Broadening your horizons then, input a hardy challenger with a health bar and conjure the memory of facing a troublesome 2+ health bar encounter. That too is acceptable. Finally, remember how Monster Hunter immersified you to hunt, check for clues then melee and perhaps trail a weakened creature? Well, erase the busy work and focus on the bout. Hit any usable abilities with the smash of a button. 3 or six depending on the class provided. Sure it uses stamina, but the expense is negligible unless spammed. An immediate gratification than a delayed response. A real-time shift to having the ideal battles in Dragon’s Dogma. Except missing a couple major details. You. Are. Not. Alone. Pawns are lifelong companions. A main pawn is always at your side. With two spares you can summon in through an online feature. Connecting online accommodates your world a random assortment of online pawns. No need returning to base and recruit, simply talking with them and as long as they meet your current level. A free no cost sign-up to your party begins. Thus, clashes against adversaries transform regular duels into a group brawl. Facing a horde of goblins never got old by channeling my inner Goblin Slayer party. A towering cyclops becomes inadvertently a fantasy AT-AT skirmish to bring them down. Here’s a hint. Focus on the legs! Encountering a drake in the wilds is a flee-on-sight order early on. Impossible to finish a coup de grace as a greenhorn adventurer. Though, you are welcome to try. The outcome is less PTSD inducing trying to sneak by a Xenoblade Rotbart. Death awaits…

Nevertheless, vocations are powerful when used effectively. Applies, to companions too. Having a standard tank, healer, archer, and a mage. Deja vu DND party? A nice callback to Western party composition. Of which has never failed me yet. A tank as a fighter and warrior offers the classic sword and shield capable of taunting foolish dumb dumbs. Embracing the greatsword yields high damage at the expense of losing blockability. Archers employed as striders are quick dual daggers with flashy moves and evasion skills to support both in and outside of combat. Ranger provides an extended longbow specialization capable of sniping from long distances. Attaining greater firepower. Supplemented by a decent dagger skillset. Mages offer a wealth of healing and buffing parties with elemental enchantments. Having a dagger imbued with either fire, ice, electric, holy, or dark offers an extra modifier damaging susceptible opposition with a weakness towards certain aspects. The sorcerer class trades healing with an increased arsenal for magickal power. Those who know Konosuba's Megumin* blasting everyone to smithereens illustrating a magical nuke. Can render analogous results with a hurricane. If not satisfied, summon a meteor from the skies, Ice spikes, or seismic ground spells, yeeting hostiles to kingdom come. There’s a reason why I didn’t use the magickal jobs a lot. Matches end quicker once I finish casting. And I prefer not one-shotting everything hehe. Before I forget, three hybrid vocations exist solely for the player. Mystic knight, magick archer, and the assassin. By far I enjoyed these plenty than regular jobs due to the fact they can use further than two weapons. Mixes classes, thereby offering distinct move sets and abilities. Launch magickal arrows raining from above, use spells as a tank whilst hiding behind a shield, or gouge enemies biting deeper and causing severe blows when mounted. Are a miniscule taste of what they offer. Don’t be me who spent twenty hours as a warrior slamming my greatsword deep into mons. Viscerally pleasant. Even supposing I had the foresight to experiment. So go off my friends! Trial and error with whichever job you fancy.

As an addendum to the combat above the realism meshes well enough during bloody encounters. Low health causes the screen to die in red and slight screen shakes will occur. Buffs can benefit you in the tides of clashing steel, but so too do debuffs, classified as debilitation's from the other side may prove detrimental. Blind for instance will blind your screen. Almost literally except for a very limited view. Petrification will turn you into stone sooner or later. Torpor plays out as if the player is in a slow-mo. Super cool to see at first glance. But dread and despair abruptly emerge. I could add extra into the next 16 debuffs. But I’m trying not to scare you… Notwithstanding these harsh conditions, there is a respectable measure of curatives restoring to normal statuses so thou-shalt-not fear them too much. You can at least spam them to your liking without an animation. So Skyrim spamming HP foods restores health after a near defeat is both humorous and a valid strategy. Reminds me of the Tales series because I'm properly making use of my inventory management instead of hoarding. I'm eating grass plants, raw meat, and questionable rotting meals if I have no choice… Oh boy no wonder why I have horrible indigestion and poison… I won’t say the reason why...Ugh.

The addendum is vital because in peeling a layer, a fresh coat arises next. In learning and understanding these miniature details do we embrace and take advantage of the rules connected and presented. I’m reminded of Masahiro Sakurai. Talking about his Eight Hit Stop Techniques Video. For those unaware he first educates the viewer by asserting “'Hit stop' is an effect added just as an attack hits its target. Both you and your opponent stop for a brief moment." Fighting games apply the method among plenty of auxiliaries outside the genre, but I want to direct your attention to a technique. On point five - Control the amount of hit stop. I’m paraphrasing but he displays a sword’s tip that deploys higher damage than merely slashing. Creating a multiplier effect. DDDA has something similar, performing buffs to maximize attacks given and while not the same as Sakura with the sword tip. The placement of weapon attacks is crucial. Hitting a weak spot on a cyclops' eye presents far better devastation than hitting steel plates adorning their feet. Bouncing your weapons off. Deadly monstrosities present separate qualities to take advantage of their weaknesses. I won’t declare any more to spoil the surprise, though keep an eye out for possible body vulnerability. A few may not be as clear-cut as the above example, but in the course of conflicts, pawns can learn strategies to call out. “Wolves hunt in packs.” “Tis weak to fire!” Or “Strike from the rear!” Improving as you do. Making ventures into the unknown is not so daunting. Creating opportunities midst facets of combat that in turn grasp both parties on strengths and weaknesses. Resulting in an easy curve to comprehend. Oh undead weak to holy? Quickly enchant my weaponry in holy magic! Blast I'm being possessed? Guess I'll pray for my ally to friendly fire me gently. For fellow Arisen struggling with AI behavior there is an overlooked characteristic in determining inclinations. I didn’t constantly re-tool inclinations and inputted a sort of aggressive stance during clashes. One and done setting their parameters. Think of it slightly like gambits from FFXII. Determining what they should prioritize when facing enemies. Defending, healing, focusing on spell-casters, adventurous etc. Not complicated at all and I found to my gratification their Artificial intelligence surprising at times to slap me from a possession, heal me when I need it, or taunt foes while I recover. I recommend re-configuring a pawn’s priorities when you see a nearby knowledge chairs in Inns if you’re unsatisfied with what they’re doing.

Additionally, Sakurai posits the pinnacle of hit-stop techniques. By keeping the attacker moving slightly during the hitstop. DDDA operates in the same vein at landing a blow on an enemy. Even launching them into the air works super effectively. Man, I thought there were no supplementary hidden features. You wish! A knockback rule exists! I won’t go into the finer details, but suffice it to say you can stun an enemy by delivering a threshold of damage. Staggering blows into dazed status. Each enemy has different thresholds. Not earth-shattering, but players from Smash,min-maxers, or fellows who enjoys reading the closer details. Proves an invaluable mechanic. Why should I endure a long battle whereas I could blast the creature off a cliff? A flying griffin for instance who loves employing guerilla warfare can’t do anything once tethered onto sweet dirty ground. And if so inclined, may use dastardly tactics to grind a deathly foe later on. Furthermore, The motion of following through with attacks remains intact. Wonderful smacking foolish opponents daring for a challenge. Resulting in throwing attackers into the sky or yourself. And despite a lack of playing DMC games from Itsuno’s library(I’ll get there trust me) I will confess I felt Monster Hunter DNA at times. The feeling of every physical melee weapon impacting on a mon’s flesh is visceral and resorts back to the hit-stop. In searching for validation I dug deeper into the team’s qualifications and found despite a lot of heavy hitters from the DMC4. There is a decent chunk of old veterans. You can see a full list here from MobyGames.. Figures like as Minae Matsukawa, Kento Kinoshita, Programming lead - Yoshiharu Nakao all have experience from the franchise. So it is not a stretch to declare DD has a lot of combat expertise in the action department. A respectable load of history bleeds beyond the monster IP and forges a sort of culmination so to speak of their past practices. If that’s not enough, compare the two cover art and see striking resemblances. It’s no wonder why I had comforting familiarity with its systems in place and not-clunky responses working adequately on my controller. The fact there is no innate lock-on button speaks volumes in conveying a move harkening key positioning. Strats over stats or vice-versa is a viable method. Learning the ins and outs of brute patterns, dodging if needed, and persevering in spite of a tough, challenging harsh world that can eat you up. As a consequence the clunkiness and jank were nonexistent. Therefore, the fun loop in engagements felt ruggedly smooth. Leaving out conniptions. And followed up by "Try and beat me!"

Moreover, Majority of quests excel in rising above the average of mundane. Close in regards to boring me due to how the design usually offers a fetch, extermination. But digging deeper by talking to various NPCs, investigating for clues, escorting helpless innocents, following suspicious individuals, and by far ones that raised my eyebrows were chained side quests which act as further development arcs of NPCs. These missions flesh out the remaining cast further, don’t expect full nuance ala CD projekt RED quality. Within these hidden assignments emerge uncommon cutscenes for the side-cast, once their character arcs reach their cusp. Giving precious glimpses into the lives of the folks asking for Arisen's services. Not extraordinary, filled with the most amazing must-play ever. But also not being boring to the gills. If you ever wanted to know their background then embrace their inquiries without complaint. I found to my amusement notable ones. I'll share vague memoirs. I assisted a traveling merchant who wanted to know what happened to his father, while infuriating because of the number of requests early on. I quickly forgave him when I learned the reasoning. To my amazement, I chanced a weird meeting with a naive fool whose wanderlust knows no bounds. Often leaving him in dire straits of remarkably horrible stamina. An irony not lost on me. Gathering healing curatives was less of a task than above and by the boundary of his errands, I found a relatable dude who took his hardships by heart and appreciated my efforts to aid him. In contrast to the people I said earlier, I came across a flirtatious gal who swindled me for money. Forgive me for I was besotted by her charms and foolishly gave her a decent chunk of my purse. Thinking perhaps she’ll repay me cash someday. Wrong. I got played like a damn fiddle. Turning my heart darker. Lightening once I saw her in trouble later on, I could not leave her alone. And to my shame, I became a white knight to save her again. The lesson I learned thereafter is to never be infatuated by the charms and beauty. I was foolish. But continued in the pursuit of lore I found to my delight a worthy sidequest of my time that granted me further insight into the lands of Gransys. Not lore shattering, but close. I won’t mention anything concrete, but I live for these conclusions despite the almost mundane design. I would claim they’re worth it if you relish learning deeper the days of yore and its hearty and duplicitous denizens. For those looking to tie a deeper love. You can gift presents to vital NPCs. Ah very realistic the developers are striving towards.

Need a break from the RPG nature? Partake in platforming. Where you have to reach the highest point of a building, structure, or ruin to take a medallion. Employ the environment. Didn’t expect platforming, but hey it's pretty refreshing. And this is tucked away in noticeboard operations. 50 of them are available. A good friend of mine mentioned they lead you to secret spots. Hell the starting area after creating your character has one! A cool benefit of learning precise maneuvers on wall structures/spaces. Never hurts to check your surroundings, my dude!

The story itself I initially perceived to be a nothing burger for about ??% of the way. However, the remaining ??% due to lore bombs and recontextualization of the narrative because of the lore-dropping revelations opened my eyes beyond a basic story into clever territory. Make no mistake, this doesn’t mean the plot elevated and demolished my initial impressions. Instead, I think I’m on board with what the writers were trying to achieve, and it's a concept I don’t see often in JRPGs except my favorites. Delving not too simple and not too complex which is bonus credit for me. But in terms of impact? I find it acceptable, but incapable of mesmerizing me to the terminus. A clean “Oh you clever dastard” for lack of a specific conclusion. If viewed alongside the whole shebang, I believe it is appropriate judging about the overall thematic messaging. And for that, I respect, admire and praise it in the confines of which it struggles to desperately convey to the masses. To fluctuating outcomes.

Despite, the praise I said above. I must confess to a host of mixed feelings. Concerns I had amid my playthroughs, I feel are worth noting to varying degrees that are neither positive nor negative.

First, I realize certain systems and mechanics are too realistic for my blood. This isn’t laziness. I’m tolerant of many things and if I wasn’t I wouldn’t have played three reruns. Be that as it may. I still feel the beginning hours can be something of a hurdle to unfamiliar folks unused to the style of play. Can take a while to reach a constant cycle of enjoyment in lieu of a delayed gratification. A few assorted examples that will trickle below on numerous fragments. I don't appreciate having a limit placed on me regarding weight. I revel collecting anything in my sight. So the constrained encumbrance based on character creation is debilitating in maintaining a constant fun flow. Perhaps doubling or tripling the maximum supply would be an acceptable softer blow. I recognize this is a balanced measure to not spam healing items amid combat. Regardless, I can make my Pawns into mules carrying rations and whatnot. Also, I abhor the stamina system over sprints, when no enemies are nearby. I believe my limiter should drain exclusively in the nearby vicinity of adversaries. No malicious entities close by? No depleting. So I can freely sprint to my destination without frustration. Thereby, respecting the player’s focus and investment. The forceful nature of realism is apparent anytime I'm out roaming. Yet entering a city/town, I can jog to my heart's content.

Second. The focus to limit fast travel points via port crystals in a limited volume feels constricting. inside, you cannot teleport regularly like in other rpgs. A simple click on a town/city and voila “I'm there” is not the same. You have to set a handful of crystals(by completing the prime quests in an NG playthrough(NG being a new game) to place on any overworld spot, not a town or dungeon. Then you gain the power to transport there with a ferrystone. The Dark Arisen version comes equipped with an eternal ferry stone to acquiesce unlimited travel back to places. Very weird. know I've come around on the concept earlier, yet I cannot help but remark the NG+ implementation of buying another crystal feels like the right approach. Extras cannot be available for purchase until reaching NG+ With previously set crystals already shown on the map ready to be teleported at your leisure. Makes backtracking to old areas somewhat of a pain to trek repeatedly. Wonder if the sequel changes things up and adjusts normal travel if they already discovered the location. Rather than setting their own. But the underlying problem arises just as I am forced revisiting former whereabouts where I don’t have a teleportation ready. Perhaps an alternative was to balance the components by discovering locales, and therefore freely travel excluding the requirement of a crystalline item.

Third - Failable & Missable quests. Mostly concerning the side-content. Imperative to note, changing several quests in the menu. Can fail certain operations outright. I remember a particular instance of escorting a fella only to switch to separate assignment real quick to complete as well. Failing the assignment. I was shocked. My entire work and I must revert to my old save file or checkpoint. Not a major deal since I activated it like a madlad. But DD operates on a single file. Thereby, I cannot pull from a list a quick load easy peasy. You get 1 solo file and a checkpoint. The latter is akin to a hard autosave. And activates as you sleep among divergent matters. Ergo if you’re screwed by the 1st option a 2nd exists. The alternative choice is reverting to the checkpoint. A weird implementation system feels again restrictive in freely managing their save options. Resorting to a strict implementation of accepting the consequences. Reminds me of the Souls series where a similar loadout occurs. Nevertheless, necessary to keep in mind. On missables. Keeping in mind your employer’s deadlines is advisable since the whole title operates under a day/night cycle with every important NPC patrolling a different route. And so you will need to remember where they're previously. Admittedly I didn’t have much trouble finding them since almost always there is a marker on the map/mini-map to lead you to the corresponding location. Plus they can fail if you don’t finish them quickly. Let’s say, you decide tackling the side content from NPCs just before the final boss. Welp, you missed out on nearly checking all boxes they have to offer. Most of them must be finished as you progress through the leading narrative. If there is a big pet peeve I have is that unknown to my knowledge missables may be incurred. Hence why I decided to casually refer to a guide to not miss any of them. Brumbek’s Steam’s guide was immensely helpful in solving an ungroovy dilemma. And of course the Before I play section too.

Fourth - Miscellaneous areas such as the expansion's secret augments should’ve been an extra free section to equip in place of having to override your set augments already. Aside from abilities, you can equip more than five augments. Acting as passives, these to a certain degree substantially add effective modifiers to gameplay. Extra carry heft. Extra damage, reduction of a blow upon your life, etc. Each job upholds special properties to procure with discipline points. The expansions make it so you would have to replace them if you find them worthy of your attention. Several, I found extremely lacking. Gathering faster? Ballista ammo reloading faster? These in my mind should’ve been freely equippable without replacing old skills. Perhaps in a separate section. I haven’t seen the entirety, but looking at the list I would claim a decent chunk are not important than others. Plus the post-game area needs further diverse environments than copy-pasting several variants together and re-using few bosses. Make it truly unique. No half-measures. The expansion at the least did a full-blown dungeon crawler area complete with original foes to combat and traps to escape from. The process of gifting, could've been enhanced rather of on NPC's. Have the player romance our main pawn please. I conceived this would be a natural way to induce a pure love than seeing a human on the street, you meet one day to become your beloved before end credits rolled. Call me a romantic, but friendships forged by fire together are super satisfying as my best buddy likes to disclose mhm. Lastly, I firmly believe changing abilities while on the field than having to resort to a friendly neighborhood is less burdensome. Wherefore I am endowed with alternating cool powers to try. I loathe retreating to a town/city just to change my job and set current skills repeatedly. These are added busywork and do little respecting a player's time. I dearly wish a loadout is readily available, so I don't always have to reapply my normal gear every occasion I change vocations. Why must I become naked anew… I’m not asking for auto-changing jobs midway through skirmishes, that would be extremely silly. Merely asking for tweaks in minor quality-of-life suggestions. For instance, Baffling having three ability slots for warrior in spite of distinct jobs having no trouble slotting six. I'm not carrying a shield man!

Despite the mixed concerns. These issues can vary greatly from person to person. As of now, they didn’t impact my overall experience severely, but if you had randomly bumped into me years prior in 2015. Playing the PS3 version. I would quickly comment "I fell off hard" and subsequently again over several years across different platforms before I decided enough was enough to click with many things. Then my initial past impressions would not be as kind as I am now. It's why I think anyone who concluded poorly of the game is without a doubt true. Everything can be perceived as mundane, busywork, tiring, troubling, lacking for the sake of realism. Perhaps buckling under the pressure of its ambitions. Not connecting with the player sufficiently to invest farther into Gransys and what they offer. And I firmly believe that’s fair and valid. Because that’s what I thought of it before. On the other hand, there’s a special oomph underlying the working limitations and minor laws in play uplifting, transforming into a greater than the sum of its parts. Critically understanding interconnected features in place. Emerges a particular identity. A Japanese open-world ACTION rpg styled in the likeness of a Western RPG, but with the "Hiyah!" DNA of Capcom’s legacy is a sight to behold. And while I am not as versed as I am in Capcom’s library, isn't the game the first bold showing of a true open-world RPG at least from the corporation in 2012? I was checking the company’s past titles and I saw Okami and Monster Hunter titles released prior. But the former isn’t a true RPG as far as I am aware and the latter had segmented zones, not seamless. Tying back to what Itsuno said earlier of similar games not existing in Japan. In such a way Dragon’s Dogma is akin to a blueprint inspired by Skyrim. A WRPG made by JRPGs developers.

At the end of the day, this is the first title I've played directed by Hideaki Itsuno with his team, and holy moly does this man cook blazing fire! Very ambitious plan splicing Western RPG ideas with a considerable degree of freedom and Capcom's long standing history has most certainly paid off. A new IP since launching in 2012 has sold 8.4 million units as of December, 2023. Boasts a humongous market of consumers vying for this type of medium. Of course it didn't reach Skyrim's far reaching sales records, but for a New IP it is a worthy achievement. And one I can only say exceedingly rare that I replay again and again. My last memory was Final Fantasy XVI and Shadow of the Colossus. Thus it comes as no surprise that I enjoy to the fullest extent what is offered here. A tough, brutally challenging low fantasy medieval adventure handling the reins of a plain yet straightforward action formula. A pawn system never fails to leave me alone even in the darkest of days. Nakama power at its peak. Allowing a party to venture without restraint into dangerous areas. Accepting the consequences of my activities due to the sheer freedom given. Wrestling with the unique ideas offered unorthodoxly yet refined presents a hell of an ordeal. For better or worse the realism can destroy the immersiveness and fun, but for those who stick through thick and thin. I believe there is something quite special in store for you. And in my case. The light premise, in the beginning, invigorated me to face my ultimate opponent at the end of the primary story, post-game and expansion. And I was left not disappointed. Rather grinning from ear to ear at one of the finest battles and experiences I've determined from my multiple adventures for a JRPG. Move over Monster Hunter. I became a Dragon Slayer.

9/10

References & Additional Material:
2013 GDC talk on Dragon’s Dogma development
2015 XCX Director Interview
2012 Itsuno and Skyrim
2011 Siliconera interview
Credits of Dragons Dogma

Systems & Mechanics:
19 Debilitations Overview
Encumbrance Overview
Augments Overview
Weight Overview
Pawn Inclinations

Helpful links:
Brumbek’s Missable Quests Guide
Before I play

“It’s often written about how Final Fantasy VII changed the fate of Japanese RPGs upon its release in 1997. Much less is written about how, one year later, Baldur’s Gate revitalized the CRPG genre. After the genre tapered off during the mid-90s, losing its appeal to “Doom clones”, RTS games, and the rising popularity of consoles, some CRPG developers were left wondering if they had coded themselves into a corner. Baldur’s Gate, though, managed to bring them back to the spotlight, selling two million copies worldwide and forever elevating the recently founded BioWare into a household name for CRPGs. It’s not that it was the only CRPG around. The revered Fallout series began a year before, to similar critical acclaim – but only a tiny fraction of the sales.” - Felipe Pepe, The CRPG Book: A Guide to Computer Role-Playing Games

As someone who didn’t grow up with Fallout or Baldur’s Gate. Two franchises continued to surprise me to no end during my ventures playing their older catalog over recent years. Fallout 2, being the last old CRPG I beat, I figured it was high time to see how much BG1 holds up, so I can familiarize myself with the universe before eventually starting BG3 down the road. First, I must confess to completing both the base game and Siege of Dragonspear with mods. I say this earlier on to not confuse my experience of a modded playthrough against a non-mod experience. As a consequence, I’ve gone the extra mile to play my switch copy to see how vanilla is to compare the two. Not to completion, but enough to grant me a fair grasp. I’ll discuss this in detail later, but I figure a warning would suffice early on to prevent any misconceptions between vanilla and modded content. I’ll talk about mods later and if I don’t discuss it, please assume I’m discussing vanilla.

Orphaned at a young age. Unknowing of their parentage. Adopted by the kindness of a stranger. Grew up sharing a loving childhood along a playful lass. Taught discipline and care by your father. Lived safely in the confines of the library fortress of Candlekeep for many years. What more could they want? Well… Such halcyon days must come to an end when suddenly you’re attacked by mysterious assassins! Questioning them leads to no answers. So we ask our stepfather later on for any information, However, he evades your queries in favor of leaving the bastion of respite and comfort you’ve known for twenty years. In search of finding answers to these unprovoked attacks in the Sword Coast of the Forgotten Realms. A campaign setting inside Dungeon and Dragons.

I adore the slow story approach to gently albeit dangerously letting the player go off to the coast and encounter whatever lurks behind the shadows, paved roads, and unbeaten paths. The unrestricted freedom is a major plus and to my delight, I found worthwhile discoveries across my travels alongside my horrible luck being attacked by foolish bandits or powerful creatures. Early on, I was scared yet excited. I came across another kind soul offering tips and directions. Yet unknowingly I wonder if such a person may have a hidden motive to backstab me. Anxiety, dread, and vigilance were my constant internal ruminations once I saw unfamiliar creatures patrolling. Even neutral bears are no exception. Capable of dealing massive damage to my comrades should I provoke one half-heartedly. Beyond the regular horrors of animals and insects, I was able to fight different manners of goblins, ogres, variants of ghouls, ghosts, etc. No shortage of interesting enemies to fight. And my axe cleaved through them viscerally. A dangerous yet fine balance emerges. Granting parties a fighting chance, and safety and instilling a sense of vigilance. I could’ve bumped the difficulty lower time, but I kept the normal difficulty throughout to give me a sense of challenge and excitement. I deeply appreciate the open freedom whilst encountering dangers and opportunities wherever I tread, reminding me heavily of roaming the Wastelands in Fallout 1 and 2.

Enjoyable isometric RPG gameplay. Dialogue choices do a good job of giving you a variety of options to be witty, sarcastic, no-nonsense, blunt, dismissive, etc. In effect, they augment conversations. A visit to the tavern to buy alcohol teases points of interest to travel and investigate. Conversing with the common folk results in similar outcomes. Innocent conversations may lead to potential side quests and multichain ones providing increased incentive to witness the outcome of an ailing NPC. Forget the conversations? Simply scrolling up on the text box reveals past lines said. A handy journal is equipped too which is interesting and provides the player character(PC) monologues of his/her/their internal thoughts about the quest or information sought. Therefore, depth to the world of Forgotten Realms is an alluring prospect. A search function is included too! I habitually checked my journal constantly to read my inner PC’s thoughts on a quest or journal entry. Occasionally to my amusement my dialogue choices can be quite witty, sarcastic, brisk, blunt, or gentle and helpful. The internal monologues are shared without remorse. And I welcome these thoughts and relish the lines.

For those not inclined to the hustle and bustle of speaking. One can dive deep into combat. No, not turn-based. No need to grind to level 100 like a JRPG. BG1 uses advanced dungeons and dragons 2nd edition(2E ADND) ruleset. This means you start at a measly level one, working your way to ten. Utilizing real-time action with pause fights they’re the main meat of the fighting aspect. Mouse over an enemy, click, and bam! Your whole party will auto-attack the individual. You can also initiate battles whenever you please. So attacking a shopkeeper or nearby civilian who’s off doing their errands is not exempt from your blade or spells. Hell, the AI will work its magic! No input is required! If the AI isn’t up to snuff. Tinker their script and check each unit’s actions. An aspect that surprised me greatly and the innate options to change their AI to your preference is excellent. Though to be fair I didn’t tinker too much! The default settings are adequate to suit my fighting playstyle. To BG1’s credit, plenty of customization options are at your disposal. Aside from the regular equipment, you can outfit each member: equip two rings, cloaks, amulets, belts, and extra weapon slots! Changeable in the heat of battle. I’m astounded by the sheer options at your disposal in 1998! Making build variety worth experimenting like a madman. Min-maxers will find no shortage to increase their stats or change spells in their spellbook to suit any occasion.

I felt super joy in clearing the nearby lands of evil and helping poor souls along the way. Despite ironically being an allegedly evil paladin. Builds and classes are plentiful and deep. I could assign any of my members in dual classes(within reason), learn spells for my mages, or slot any manner of weaponry as long as the class allows them to. Use ranged weaponry, a sling to hit enemies, and casting spells using wands. By the last chapter, I was running a six-man crew consisting of A Blackguard who is an evil paladin, a thief who is a ranger, and my childhood friend. A vengeful half-orcish Blackguard, A red wizard who begrudgingly joins our motley crew, a neutral evil drow cleric, and an unlucky wild mage who can’t control her powers. A dysfunctional group, full of uneasy alliances and explosive personalities, stayed together through thick and thin. Many fights ensued and yet. We. Did. Not Falter. Okay I must admit we did fail a lot in the final boss… but that’s a story for another day

Companions are plentiful. Twenty-four plus allies you can recruit and four exclusive ones in the enhanced edition. My feelings of satisfaction permeated once I saw a potentially new member along the horizon. Asking for genuine assistance. By random chance in a building. Stumble on unique encounters. Where any battle may ensue or a unique script may play. Choose to help, attack, or run away. These instances never rinse and repeat in a tiring formula. Instead, they felt natural. Moving on the question may arise to utilize canon units before importing to the following expansions/sequels. According to my CRPG veteran friend of mine. The individuals or other party members you choose are “subjective and a pretty fine line. I think if you're uncertain, go for the canon. If you like your setup already, keep it. A little better, but not something you should go out of your way to meet.” Upon completing the plot and seeing the difference between my non-canon friends and my switch version, I'm rolling alongside the canon company. Ultimately, I agree with their statement. Only adding follow your heart to suit your desire. Although, you should keep Dorn as a prospective acquaintance to recruit mhhm.

The Sword Coast is full of danger, excitement, and surprises. Gentle worldbuilding and clean-to-deep lore work wonders. Boosting the writing to levels near engrossing to read. I love it! Reminding me heavily of Lord of the Rings except if the fellowship decided to go off the beaten path and help those in need. Forget the ring! Anyway… a wealth of books you can buy in taverns, and shops presenting interesting backgrounds on religion, history, past historical events, legends, myths, etc. Never hurts reading! Connecting nicely in minor ways to my allies, citizens, and villains! Not pages of exposition. Mostly a couple of paragraphs or extra if you get a heavier tome. Granting informative knowledge on the races, items, and locales. Subtly nudging me to go deeper beyond the surface level “Oh that’s just an elf. Meh, a dwarf, bah a human?” Nay my marvelous friends! They’re more than meets the eye. For the elf could be a half-elf or a drow! Dwarves mistaken for gnomes! And humans themselves can prove resilient. though still squishy… And relations between people are not the norm such as jolly and peaceful. Reminds me of X-Men/Mutant/Brotherhood relationships with the common folk except fantasied. Racism, class hierarchy, and hidden factions are abundant. And I, the poor unlucky son of a gun, have to find answers?! Gimme a break. I’m only level one…

Sidequests feel natural and written well. I like how little down-to-earth they are and deal in relatable matters. One has you stop a man about to jump off a cliff! Search for a cloak to return to a dismayed individual. Clean a house of spiders for the owner to take up residence. May seem mundane and not offer much. Nevertheless, I appreciate the slightly monotonous tasks to slowly build up my user and partners' strengths. Sooner or later I was rolling level 3s party and higher. I was able to partake in extensively intricate activities. A certain thief's quest to pass a test. Passing judgment on a man brainwashed. Aiding or killing a crook who seeks to take advantage of innocent individuals and return a chicken to human life. I kid you not I’m in disbelief on the chicken side mission. A bit of RNG is involved. Incredible to see a quest fail by chance. Hell, you can sell the guy to a vendor and forget him. It wasn’t worth it. The vendor didn’t reward me enough gold… I enjoyed the progression of slowly increasing the complex quests as my friends grew stronger since they offer a realistic fantasy take in mixing inspiration from our lived experiences into a videogame and to the developer's credit I feel it works wonderfully. My members were rugged and dirty as I completed all objectives until my journal entries were tidy. The physical rewards were sufficient and lore-wise adequate. Mods restoring cut content I highly suggest checking out. I found their inclusion to not be out of place and fit superbly adding depth and giving life to the areas you visit.

In the interest of not gushing further, I must talk about my mixed feelings now. Not a positive or a negative, but for the sake of transparency I'm noting them down.

The base game without mods is a bit lifeless compared to my modded playthrough. Certainly there are moments NPC’s are designated, but the world feels sparse, has tiny reactivity, and is slightly oppressive. The absence of considerable mini/side quests and NPCs at intervals loses my interest in keeping going. I cannot send my companions to a specific place. The banter in my cabal is nearly non-existent. And reactions to story beats are missing. Voiced NPC lines are likewise gone. Identifying can be a pain. You’ll come across a sizable amount of magical items/equipment on your adventures. In demand of identifying either by a spell or by heading to a temple and having the priest identify the item to fully see their properties. Not a pain if we are given loads of unidentifiable equipment, and to BG1’s credit, a sufficient amount to tide us over. Not over-gorging amidst decision paralysis. The tediousness comes in the constant back and forth to towns to identify and sell stuff you accrue to offload the heavyweight. Being encumbered sucks. Different members can hold different amounts of carry load so it is kinda not a wonderful idea to make an associate of low weight capacity. The absence of a book bag is puzzling to a degree since decent materials are available to read and not having an ease of access hurts a bit. Sure a handful of items exist in the form of ‘bags of holdings’ to slot gems, potions, and scrolls. Their weight is not endless. Exacerbated by a considerably slow movement speed which boggles my mind as to why no movement speed slider is in the options to make our traversal faster.

THAC0 & Armor Class minus '-' numbers values can be fairly confusing for newbies. How I usually play is seeing numbers of ‘plus’ meaning ‘good’ and ‘minus’ equalling ‘bad.’ Math is different in BG1. The rest is fine as far as I know. You’ll usually see if it is beneficial to apply if the numbers are highlighted in green for favorable/better and red being bad/underperforming. So equipping a weapon displaying a green highlight is best. If it's red don’t equip or else you’ll perform in a minor capacity. Furthermore, pixel squinting in a handful of sections may be necessary. One in a pretty big optional dungeon, a main plot segment, and to a lesser extent upon exploring multiple floors in buildings. Honestly, you probably will squint maybe 5-10%. To my absolute delight, a zoom function, and a highlight everything option exists. Doesn’t alleviate the squinting issue entirely, but a cool option to use. Interacting with objects in a room to solve puzzles or clicking a secret stash can be a bit troublesome without looking carefully at your surroundings.

Can be overwhelming to understand the 2E ADND ruleset for newbies of what you can and cannot do and how values are applied during clashes. At least it's not Pathfinder homework My friends who played alongside me reported similar confusion. I feel reading the manual can help in a certain way to receive a better understanding of the mechanics. Bit lengthy at a hundred-fifty pages plus, but the combat portion is the most important to remember in my opinion. So no obligation to read all of it. Lots of tutors in Candlekeep explain the most important things: Mechanics, features, tips, explanations, etc. Before venturing off, best to chat near cohorts. Thereby gaining a better comprehension of various obscure topics.

In effect, A dangerous, rigid, unforgiving land emerges. Creating a fascinating contrast from my original modded playthrough. The benefits inside the console port I appreciate. A big green outline to all accessible buildings makes access easier, decreasing squinting. Primarily used the controller due to being so comfortable than using a keyboard and mouse(KB+M). Plenty of options in the settings to tweak to your liking. The new CG replaces the old FMV, though I much prefer the original version compared to the new one. Heavier in visceral atmosphere, conveys a darker tone, and has longer scenes compared to Beamdog’s version. As a result, I feel without mods BG1 creates a partially slower, but acceptable version to play for newcomers and veterans alike.

Base game with mods is a completely different ballpark. Much of my mixed feelings are thrown out the window. Containing quality of life features across the board. The commitment to identify is gone. The default movement speed is tweaked to be faster to my preference. NPC banter is awesome, narrative beats hit a big splash, and interactivity feels very fitting and not out of place at all in my honest opinion. The cut content is a welcome addition to augment life in Sword Coast’s areas providing I would say 50-75% additional activities to do. Mini/side quests are not exempt. And subsequently not too out of place. UI tweaks make quick looting not a chore and display data during info/shop menus are very welcome. A tweaks anthology module goes above the heavens to tweak nearly every aspect. My buddy and I strictly kept our list small and light to enhance vanilla, keeping the balance as close as possible to the original. As long as it's fun, but fair then by all means mod away! Consequently, my modded playthrough experience became fun, exciting, and very enjoyable. I extremely recommend installing mods on PC if you can.

Before I forget, my thoughts on Siege of Dragonspear the expansion to BG1. Solid stuff and a prelude to BG2. We start weeks after the events of the first title. Caelar Argent and her army arrived near Baldur’s Gate quickly. For what purpose? No clue man. But I spend the rest of my questing life confronting her forces in skirmishes and dastardly deeds. She has the gall to send assassins to me!? Yeah, I’m done lady on the assassination attempts. So now you and your comrades set off to investigate her motives, her reasons for sending agents and why the bloody hell does she need an army!? Doesn’t take long to complete. You can finish it quickly according to HLTB in 18 hours or less. For me, I did all the sidequests clocking in under twenty-five hours. Bit of a step down in quality compared to the previous entry, in terms of dialogue and non-fighting. Most if not all of them consist of fighting. These are the moments, the expansion shines a great deal. Epic battles opposing Caelar’s forces. Imagine army vs. army. Defending our position against waves of enemies, infiltrating enemy camps, finding clues to unlock an alternate path, etc. I love it! Smaller maps and favoring a linear approach dressing down the large dungeons in favor of bite-sized portions alongside their puzzle segments. Super appreciate the change of pace from a grand scale in the first, to enhanced closer encounters to test our mettle. Companions chatter at various points to talk about their gripes, goals, or on their new adventures. So they’re not left in the dust for development. Heck, the new units are a treat too! Music again hits all the right notes. No major complaints to say, despite a wish for a sprinkle of nuance in the writing giving a heavier expanse to the world. And it does so to a certain extent. I would’ve liked a bit of extra lore-building to devour. I also wish one member had received extended screen time to develop. Still, Dragonspear is a solid one and I recommend it for those who want worthwhile content and can’t get enough of the Forgotten Realms universe.

One last thing before I head out. Special thanks to the following people who played beside me. Kairoch for completing a modded playthrough. Mango and Jag for finishing the Switch version and granting me an interesting insight into their experiences and finally Donkeyworld for clarifying and providing awesome CRPG insight. This review would not be possible without their thoughts, company and countless laughter sharing our experiences. I also apologize for this long review. It has been in the works for weeks and I’ve nearly gone crazy about whether to publish this longer or shorter. Ultimately cut pages as a result. Nevertheless, I'll allocate them in a Pastebin link below for those curious.

And so after defeating the final boss, seeing the end credits, and doing everything possible plus completing Siege of Dragonspear over the course of my seventy-five hour journey. I can only say Baldur's Gate Enhanced Edition is a refreshing CRPG to try out. Despite some hurdles and bumps on the road during my travels, I believe BG1EE is a fine entrypoint. An above-average effort to keep the game modernized enough for consumers today. Hold’s up nicely. Consequently, I believe the Switch copy and by extension console ports is a serviceable version to play if you don’t desire to tinker around on PC. 98% of my hours were conducted blindly. Meaning no walkthrough was used. The normal difficulty was fine for me. No story points caused me to slam my head on the wall repeatedly. I never got tired of exploring uncharted areas to fulfill my cartographer’s wish to map every nook and cranny. Sure I died. And yes I will admit to reloading countlessly. The save and loading times are fast and I didn’t mind retrying again and again until I advanced further. The fantasy setting is rich, full of wonder, chaos, order, and plenty of world-building to devour. Writing is flavorful. Full of seriousness and humorous lines. Stabilized to not throw my suspension of disbelief into a state of confusion. I completed every side quest and didn’t tire, so I can say they’re pretty satisfying and worth investing your effort in. Because you’ll require the experience to level up. I admire the slow-burn narrative approach to losing newcomers to Sword Coast, embracing their inner curiosity to explore, fight, and discover secrets. Satisfying gameplay loop in not just the combat, but in the dialogue. Installing mods fixed most of my mixed feelings to a certain extent. A likable large cast of companions to recruit and the sheer customization at my fingertips to outfit as we see fit is splendid. Graphics, music, and improvements the remaster tries to implement are commendable of Beamdogs' attempt. I applaud 90s Bioware in creating an incredible CRPG. It is a titan of role-playing and fantasy. Full of nearly everything I thirst for. An easy recommendation for any newcomer or veteran in the genre to sink their teeth. And one I can safely say shot up to my top ten Western RPGs. Can’t wait to start BG2! After a CRPG break…

Base game without mods: 7.7/10
Base game with mods: 8/10

Additional Material:
BG1EE Mods list used & Proper Mod list order
Adventurer’s guide AKA Manual on BG1EE
BG1:EE Before I play Tips
Kairoch’s Extra tips for BG1
My Cut pages from review, Final thoughts on the ending, Durlag’s tower. - Cut pages are fine to read for any newcomer and spoiler free. My thoughts on the ending, final boss, Durlag's tower - should only be read by those who finished the game.
CRPG Book Project - Felipe Pepe made the book free to download. But if you want to support them buy a copy of the book!