The only monster in our gang that takes a human form in the game, Ricky, goes in search of powerful rings in order to revive his fading home of the Lummox animals. The story, although the most linear of all the ones presented, is quite emotional and is a kind of story about the formation of a personality and growing up.
Playing for him is quite difficult at first, since you are literally a goal like a falcon. Only accessories, no armor and weapons are allowed to equip. So no fighting skills and growth of attributes – only what you can absorb after defeating other monsters. One skill from one monster, like all other representatives of this race. At the same time, having absorbed the soul of an adversary, your ward changes shape, which is reflected in the model in battle and its characteristics.
The good news is that almost immediately you will acquire allies of other races, among which there will be very strong comrades. I recommend the local samurai Gena, he is a very strong swordsman with cool martial arts skills, a real killing machine.
Bard Lute is perhaps the most commonplace of all protagonists. But at the same time, the most, that neither is, a jack of all trades, who is good at mastering any attacks or magic, from him you can blind a fighter who has all the desired skills for attack, defense and support. As an adventurer at heart, he goes wherever his eyes will look, and as a result, he encounters the killer of his father and a powerful group, where some details of the global plan concerning the central storyline are revealed. On his way he meets all the characters.
Model Emelia begins in prison, where she ends up on charges of murdering her lover. During her story, she meets knowledgeable informants and learns that she was set up by members of the dangerous Trinity organization. What sets her apart from the rest of the human race is the possibility of class change. Carried out when changing the costume in the style of spheres from Final fantasy x-2… Not only her model is changing, but also characteristics with skills. Moreover, military-style clothing accelerates the acquisition of skills for firearms, and a wrestler suit – of martial arts.
The story about the fur by the name of the T260G model immediately throws out of the fire and into the fire, demonstrating the galactic mix. As a result, our gallant robot turns out to be buried in the Garbage (with a capital letter, like last time, since this is the name of the city – Scrapyard) for many years, until it is dug up by young technicians in one of the regions. He has a rather entertaining story, where people interfere, and the outcome is reminiscent of the games in the Phantasy Star series. The most juice in it is a cool battle with the final villain.
Mechs do not improve their parameters, following the results of battles they absorb instead the computer programs of iron opponents, which open up access to new skills. T260G, in turn, has its own feature – it is able to change the case. Each chassis changes the model and gives an increase in efficiency in the use of attacking techniques against certain races, healing and other benefits. Everything has a price, so you will need to think carefully about what mechanical parts, things and items of equipment to equip the mechs in order to get the desired build of parameters and a set of attacks.
The eighth and final character is the uncompromising detective Fuze, a real tough nut to crack. His intriguing story intersects with all the others and lifts the veil of secrecy over many questions that remain after the passage of the plot for other heroes. It is intriguing for a reason, because you transfer your decisions through the transfer of the system file of the game before starting the passage. Only in its storyline is it possible to bring together all the playable characters, both major and minor. (All details about the adventures of the robot are prohibited by the embargo, so I will omit the details).
Of course, you will be challenged by a whole lot of bosses. Although they are repeated in places due to the structure of the narrative, there will not be a feeling that there are very few of them, and even more so that they are weak. In addition to a large pool of health, everyone has their own unique aces up their sleeve, and you will have to familiarize yourself with both attack patterns and weaknesses. Sometimes you are amazed at the epic nature of the battles – these are large interesting-looking models of bosses, and their animations themselves, and a battle melody, and even unexpected moments. So, in a battle with one of them, the place of the battle will change right in the middle of the field, and the other will need to be entertained with a sophisticated method.
The openness of the game turns it into an analogue in places Souls, where you can stumble upon a powerful enemy, having died the death of the brave. Fortunately, they are given to save almost at any time, except for the places provided for by the plot. But that’s not all – the remaster now has the option to escape from the battle with 100% probability. Naturally, you won’t be able to hide from the bosses. Therefore, it is worth coming prepared and fully armed.
Scenarios for each of the heroes are not only arcs of intertwining stories and combat challenges, but also unique gameplay solutions. So, at one moment you will have to solve a number of puzzles with mirrors, at another – use infrared glasses, and at the third – surf the vastness of cyberspace to eliminate bugs in order to get into the system.
Speaking of other innovations, it was important to expand the explanations for all skills and items. In the old version, all the effects and bonuses were not indicated, and there was also no information about the effect of the applied items during the battle, which, you see, is critical for playing with an abundance of objects and techniques. There is also a brief summary that summarizes all the mechanics and features of the gameplay. Also, adjustments were made to some skills and capabilities, and a number of techniques were renamed to better convey the meaning of their actions.
It is impossible to express the amount of gratitude to the developers for such comfort as the ability to speed up both the animation of battles and the movement of characters. Options are available in 2 and 3 times, and are configured separately for each aspect. This is a great time saver.
Interestingly, the game was graphically transformed using AI upscaling, which gave an absolutely amazing result. Bright colors, neat models of characters and objects in the background, great fighting animations. Believe me, given the diverse bestiary to match the settings of the locations and the many types of attacks, watching the effects and movements is a real extravaganza. I’m not afraid to say that, with the exception of AAA titles, this is one of the most entertaining JRPGs. It is as if you feel the heaviness of the blows, coupled with the powerful soundtrack. Otherwise, we have a traditional 2D, flavored with pre-rendered backdrops, which are now adjusted to a widescreen display scale of 16 by 9. Each screen is like an art form, be it a multi-story casino, dense jungle, a futuristic city in the sky or a magical kingdom.
All the overall gloss is spoiled by the ridiculous interface with huge frames and wretched fonts, as if they came from a cheap mobile game. It seems that the developers simply copied the shell from the mobile version without bothering to adequately implement it on consoles and PCs.
Kenji Ito, the composer of the game, seemed to be possessed by a demon while creating the soundtrack. The musical accompaniment changes as dramatically as what is happening on the screen, striving to suddenly plunge a melodic knife into the back of an unsuspecting gamer, only enhancing the effect of presence and involvement in the events. Music sometimes anticipates the future, but this is more a plus than a minus, because it makes you concentrate in anticipation of tragedy or fun.
Taking into account the combined hodgepodge of settings, the composer tried to find a key for each. In all regions, you will feel the enveloping accompaniment, whether it is a lounge in a harbor town, a brisk battle march in the jungle or a tense melody in ancient ruins. I would like to separately praise the theme that sounds at the start of each story and sets in the right way. She is mysterious, depressing and bewitching – igniting the imagination with epic adventures ahead. The presence of as many as five battle tunes and unique themes of boss battles for each of the heroes is also pleasing – the most intense and long-lasting compositions.
Amazingly, due to the intervention of the father of the series, the quality of this reissue turned out to be even better than the remasters of such pillars of the genre from Square Enix as Final fantasy vii, VIII and IX…
