At its core, Pandora’s Tower is about the relationship between two lovers, Aeron and Elena. The story, music, even game design all fall in service towards it, and that is precisely what makes this game so special. As for the story, its main conflict stems from Elena’s curse, which can only be stalled by her eating beast flesh and fully eradicated after eating twelve Master Flesh. This is the most natural of the three, because the story is simply written with the two of them together in mind. Aeron’s motivations are all from his desire to cure her curse, which brings a very nice simplicity to the narrative despite some elements of it being rather convoluted at times.
Next falls the soundtrack, which to my surprise actually has no original music made for it. I first thought the game’s use of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique was a sort of one-off, but then as I made my way into the Observatory for the first time, a very familiar melody played that I could swear I’d heard somewhere before. This melody is Liebesraum No. 3 by Frank Liszt, more commonly known as Love Dream, and serves as what I would call the main theme of the game, even though that title technically goes to the song in the intro cutscene based on Dies Irae. This song doesn’t just represent Elena, this song is Elena, for she sings on many occasions throughout the game, most importantly during her performance at the Harvest Festival which kickstarts the main events of the story. With the Observatory sharing this melody, it’s almost as if the game is saying that it by its lonesome is not home, but rather only because Elena is there with you too. You’ll find yourself returning back many times throughout a playthrough, and it only serves to further instill this feeling. For the remainder of the tracks, they all carry this sense of grandiose because of the classical pieces they take from, perfectly fitting for the booming nature of the Thirteen Towers. The Final Boss theme in particular is incredible for the way it builds on recognizable melodies by the end of the game to truly leave an impression, and the credits theme is just lovely.
Though perhaps the most important aspect of them all is the way the game design is used to sell the two’s relationship and really make you care for Elena. I have nothing to say on the level design and combat, both of which are serviceable, but instead the timer that ticks down while you’re going through the towers. Whenever you’re not at the Observatory, a timer representative of how long till Elena transforms will slowly go down. There are certain points in the timer that dictate how far of a transformation she’ll undergo, as you take longer and longer to feed her the Master Flesh you get at the end of a tower. In the beginning, I would do a tower all in one go and wonder why the game gave me so much additional beast flesh since I could just get the Master Flesh quickly and bring Elena’s Timer back up to max like that. But around the third or fourth dungeon, it started getting to the point where Elena would transform almost entirely, and at that point I realized how much of a mistake I had made. There was no point in optimizing how fast I could get through the dungeon to get the Master Flesh if Elena would have to transform and suffer every time. This revelation completely shifted how I played the game, and from then on I would never let her transform even to the minimal level. Pandora’s Tower is so good at making you feel a genuine connection with Elena, mainly due to the fact that a good portion of the game(if you choose to do so for the best ending) is spending time with her and giving gifts. There is an absolutely staggering amount of detail put into this almost dating sim aspect, an incredible amount of very specific voiced lines, special cutscenes that only play when you do certain things, and many different places she’ll be during the day. One of my personal favorites is a scene you get after continuously giving her flower seeds and having the time pass until it grows into a whole patch. The game constantly acknowledges your efforts and shows that what you’re doing has an impact on the world and more importantly, Elena. I remember being a bit disappointed when Elena took off a dress I had given her and went back to her normal clothes, only to later realize that she actually switches between all the necklaces, bracelets, and dresses she’s acquired from you. It’s all this and so, so much more that really make this very small area the game takes place in feel so alive. I still find myself wondering if I really understood everything that was going on in the story, but it almost feels like it doesn’t even matter. Whenever I look back on Pandora’s Tower, that’s not what I’ll be thinking of, nor the towers or gameplay. It’ll be the quiet times spent with Elena, sometimes sharing a meal, looking out at fireflies during the night, and listening to her sing an Eternal Blessing.
Next falls the soundtrack, which to my surprise actually has no original music made for it. I first thought the game’s use of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique was a sort of one-off, but then as I made my way into the Observatory for the first time, a very familiar melody played that I could swear I’d heard somewhere before. This melody is Liebesraum No. 3 by Frank Liszt, more commonly known as Love Dream, and serves as what I would call the main theme of the game, even though that title technically goes to the song in the intro cutscene based on Dies Irae. This song doesn’t just represent Elena, this song is Elena, for she sings on many occasions throughout the game, most importantly during her performance at the Harvest Festival which kickstarts the main events of the story. With the Observatory sharing this melody, it’s almost as if the game is saying that it by its lonesome is not home, but rather only because Elena is there with you too. You’ll find yourself returning back many times throughout a playthrough, and it only serves to further instill this feeling. For the remainder of the tracks, they all carry this sense of grandiose because of the classical pieces they take from, perfectly fitting for the booming nature of the Thirteen Towers. The Final Boss theme in particular is incredible for the way it builds on recognizable melodies by the end of the game to truly leave an impression, and the credits theme is just lovely.
Though perhaps the most important aspect of them all is the way the game design is used to sell the two’s relationship and really make you care for Elena. I have nothing to say on the level design and combat, both of which are serviceable, but instead the timer that ticks down while you’re going through the towers. Whenever you’re not at the Observatory, a timer representative of how long till Elena transforms will slowly go down. There are certain points in the timer that dictate how far of a transformation she’ll undergo, as you take longer and longer to feed her the Master Flesh you get at the end of a tower. In the beginning, I would do a tower all in one go and wonder why the game gave me so much additional beast flesh since I could just get the Master Flesh quickly and bring Elena’s Timer back up to max like that. But around the third or fourth dungeon, it started getting to the point where Elena would transform almost entirely, and at that point I realized how much of a mistake I had made. There was no point in optimizing how fast I could get through the dungeon to get the Master Flesh if Elena would have to transform and suffer every time. This revelation completely shifted how I played the game, and from then on I would never let her transform even to the minimal level. Pandora’s Tower is so good at making you feel a genuine connection with Elena, mainly due to the fact that a good portion of the game(if you choose to do so for the best ending) is spending time with her and giving gifts. There is an absolutely staggering amount of detail put into this almost dating sim aspect, an incredible amount of very specific voiced lines, special cutscenes that only play when you do certain things, and many different places she’ll be during the day. One of my personal favorites is a scene you get after continuously giving her flower seeds and having the time pass until it grows into a whole patch. The game constantly acknowledges your efforts and shows that what you’re doing has an impact on the world and more importantly, Elena. I remember being a bit disappointed when Elena took off a dress I had given her and went back to her normal clothes, only to later realize that she actually switches between all the necklaces, bracelets, and dresses she’s acquired from you. It’s all this and so, so much more that really make this very small area the game takes place in feel so alive. I still find myself wondering if I really understood everything that was going on in the story, but it almost feels like it doesn’t even matter. Whenever I look back on Pandora’s Tower, that’s not what I’ll be thinking of, nor the towers or gameplay. It’ll be the quiet times spent with Elena, sometimes sharing a meal, looking out at fireflies during the night, and listening to her sing an Eternal Blessing.