I don’t really know how much of Artificial Dream in Arcadia’s appeal is carried by the crossover between MegaTen and Touhou, or just the fact that we haven’t seen Megami Tensei 2’s brand of dungeon crawling in a minute, but what I can say is that it’s a lot of fun, with a clear passion for the two series evident throughout the game and a clear effort to make this style of game play well and make sense in 2023. Features of MegaTen that are often considered frustrating (e.g. pitfalls, one way doors, the magnetite system, the luck based feel of negotiation) are made far more manageable thanks to new additions such as grimoires or the battery system, or, of course, the bullet hell hijacking. The complexity of the dungeons feels toned down from those games just a little bit overall, though they are still well designed and a test of survival and endurance, and anyone missing Atlus’ strangely addicting brand of bullshit dungeon design can look forward to the final post-game dungeon. It’s a comparatively welcoming and accessible game, with all of the quality of life improvements you’d expect from a modern Megami Tensei game, while still requiring careful team building and strategy. I was worried about this game pulling an SMT5 and making level-ups too powerful, and thankfully that’s not the case; I found myself building a new party for just about every dungeon, partially just for fun and partially to not get destroyed.
There’s no way of getting around this, but the story is really lame. The plot just feels like an excuse to explore Gensokyo and collect Touhou characters, and while I never expected a great, or even decent plot from this game, I was still disappointed with how it flounders in some areas. The execution of the tower, for example, which seemed like it was meant to be this game’s version of Tarturus, felt so half-assed with its one gimmick repeated throughout the floors. Not to mention how the final boss and ending felt so anticlimactic. At the very least, the plot does allow for some really fun scenarios, such as vandalizing Eientei with Mokou, or invading the moon and leading a rebellion for moon rabbit worker’s rights. The unintrusive nature of the plot also means that the player is easily able to break away from the story and tackle some of the sidequests and minigames. The strengths of Touhou Project’s writing don’t have too much to do with the plot, it’s more so world building and characterization. In that regard, ADiA sees more success, but still isn’t that great. Shoutouts to the postgame though. If you felt let down by the main ending like I did, that part of the game feels like an actually solid conclusion.
It’s not a perfect game, and even at their best, games like this are niche for understandable reasons. If you’re the type to play an RPG for the story more than anything, you should just go for something else. Still, if you’re a fan of Megami Tensei, Touhou Project, or dungeon crawlers, the game is well worth your time. If you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, I’m not sure how good ADiA is as an introduction to Touhou, but this is probably the best way of getting into classic Megami Tensei, in the event that you’re interested in SMT 1 or 2, but are discouraged by the jank. With a story mode of around 25 hours and a full completion time of roughly 40 hours, I find ADiA is the perfect length for this kind of RPG, and it's well worth the miniscule 10 dollar price tag (I agree with others that the game’s price could have easily been doubled). As a longtime fan of Megami Tensei and Touhou Project, and someone who has missed these types of games, I loved every second of Artificial Dream in Arcadia, despite its flaws. While I don’t expect others to get the same appreciation from it, it’s still a great game, serving as an excellent tribute to both franchises and a lovingly crafted dungeon crawler in its own right.
There’s no way of getting around this, but the story is really lame. The plot just feels like an excuse to explore Gensokyo and collect Touhou characters, and while I never expected a great, or even decent plot from this game, I was still disappointed with how it flounders in some areas. The execution of the tower, for example, which seemed like it was meant to be this game’s version of Tarturus, felt so half-assed with its one gimmick repeated throughout the floors. Not to mention how the final boss and ending felt so anticlimactic. At the very least, the plot does allow for some really fun scenarios, such as vandalizing Eientei with Mokou, or invading the moon and leading a rebellion for moon rabbit worker’s rights. The unintrusive nature of the plot also means that the player is easily able to break away from the story and tackle some of the sidequests and minigames. The strengths of Touhou Project’s writing don’t have too much to do with the plot, it’s more so world building and characterization. In that regard, ADiA sees more success, but still isn’t that great. Shoutouts to the postgame though. If you felt let down by the main ending like I did, that part of the game feels like an actually solid conclusion.
It’s not a perfect game, and even at their best, games like this are niche for understandable reasons. If you’re the type to play an RPG for the story more than anything, you should just go for something else. Still, if you’re a fan of Megami Tensei, Touhou Project, or dungeon crawlers, the game is well worth your time. If you’re unfamiliar with the franchise, I’m not sure how good ADiA is as an introduction to Touhou, but this is probably the best way of getting into classic Megami Tensei, in the event that you’re interested in SMT 1 or 2, but are discouraged by the jank. With a story mode of around 25 hours and a full completion time of roughly 40 hours, I find ADiA is the perfect length for this kind of RPG, and it's well worth the miniscule 10 dollar price tag (I agree with others that the game’s price could have easily been doubled). As a longtime fan of Megami Tensei and Touhou Project, and someone who has missed these types of games, I loved every second of Artificial Dream in Arcadia, despite its flaws. While I don’t expect others to get the same appreciation from it, it’s still a great game, serving as an excellent tribute to both franchises and a lovingly crafted dungeon crawler in its own right.