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| Title screen is random; more variations as story progresses. |
Developer/publisher: Aquaplus.
Platform: PS4/PS5/PC
Official Site: https://aquaplus.jp/mm/index_en.html
Release date: 2022-11-17.
Okay so Aquaplus has decided to make a new game, that is set before utawarerumono 2.
This game ended up being harder than I expected, it really is quite in line with
old school rpg's, so I want to say this game probably isn't it if you want something casual.
I won't be detailing any plot spoilers and there'll just be some screens/cg's without context.
I forgot to add that this game is available in english on PC, but the ps4/5 versions are japanese only.
OP movie
Pro's
- Interesting story that is part of a greater whole.
- Decent graphics/world design and BGM.
- Combat may be simplistic yet it can still be satisfying to win against odds.
Con's
- Can be unforgiven at times...
- Mobs a plenty! but EXP scaling is pretty bad.
- Npc/townsfolk models can leave to be desired.(This has been patched)
- Game locks basic QoL features behind Halu upgrades... want shrines
to give both hp/mp? short out of luck till you have the mats.
Story/characters:
end up trying to meet back up with his father who apparently send her to Oshtor for help.
Personally when this game was announced I was like huh? a midquel? will this turn out okay...
good thing, at first sight this game isn't too heavy on relying on the rest of the series but
despite it trying to tell a story of its own it is without a doubt this is a prequel to utawarerumono 2!
its just not going to be about Haku or Kuon, because it is about Oshtor and the history of yamato.Honestly if you like Oshtor, Munechika or Mikazuchi who are the main characters
along with Shunya and want to enjoy an RPG adventure with those three in their younger years
then I think its an easy recommendation but ultimately this game is more or less
a coming of age story mostly centered on Oshtor and Miikazuchi of how they became generals!
There are only four party members in this game which makes it pretty compact...
err did I say four? actually there's a fifth if we count the robot that Shunya can summon.
They all get unique weapon designs too! sad there was no glamour system i'd definitely
want to keep using a specific look at times.
Their backstories were also the most interesting to me and well I never really understood
Mikazuchi in the original games but turns out he was really a tsundere ore-sama.😂
Munechika more or less felt like she was there for comic relief but she too
had her backstory fleshed out a little! As for Shunya... I do not know and I can not
say much without spoilers so I just say that I don't really understand her or that
this game ended up cutting itself short? yes that is right while the story mostly
seems wrapped up and sets Osthor to the path of general... Shunya is left up in the air.
I was very disappointed... and I do not understand the end at all.
I am not sure if I should recommend it if you're completely new to the utawarerumono series though... but I think this game can be played either before or after Uta2&3. I don't want to be
too strict especially when this game really tries to stand on its own and introduce its
own elements while still knowing its part of a greater story and world.
In terms of story pacing/length of the game, it is pretty long? it took me 50ish hours
I think the overall pacing was okay however it did kind of slow down once you got
to the capital and it took a bit before the story picked up again.
It did leave us with some fun scenes and fetch quests... atleast those gave good money!
is this what it means to finally land a good job? probably!
More after the jump.
Gameplay:
that can make it interesting but I wasn't too impressed by it. All in all it was pretty standard...
it may be an rpg now but it still is rooted in a visual novel sometimes scenes were over an hour long.😅
At times they also love to throw riddles at you; like the part about the crows in the desert. honestly
i'm not a fan since i'm terrible at those but whatever, its a nice attempt to spice things up.
Good thing it was only at the beginning... and the rest was pretty standard adventuring
maybe have to activate some switch to make sure path's connect in an old school fashion no less.
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| Final status after beating the game. |
which is best done with Shunya as Munechika seems to leave herself open to back attacks
whenever I even try to play on the field as her. Dunno if its just bad timing or her animation.
There's a Halu upgrade that sort of mitigates it but goodluck early on...
I do like how this game makes skills that inflict status ailments useful such as sleep
is definitely very good to delay bosses just so you can heal etc.
Speed buffs and debuffs are critical for the endgame fights... if you don't use it then R.I.P.
Without Mikazuchi's speed buff I do not think I could have beaten the final boss
which I only took down cuz I focused on triggering supers. The adds were so annoying. ugh!
There's also some postgame bosses available if you're still up for it...
so all in all I think this game has good enough value to it.
You also may have to be careful with BP allocation which are points you get from lvling up!
while more attack is nice more def and hp are also necessary. I was pretty hopeless at trying to find
the right balance and actually struggled during the research facility. Thankfully things got better
once I found a rest spot but exp scaling is awful so grinding too much is not recommended.
From that point on Oshtor had enough attack and hp that I poured BP into DEF and spirit.
Enemies also love to gang up on chara's so Shunya would often die very fast at that point
so for one get the best gear you can and make sure your chara's don't become glass cannons.
Finally EXP scaling is pretty bad most enemies give only a tickle while others give slightly more
but are harder to beat. GGturtlez or big enemies seem to give the most but they are harder
to beat. Grinding too much is discouraged good thing is as long as you do all quest
and fight enough while progressing it shouldn't be a big deal.
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| Atleast we got a mount to make traversing the open world a breeze. |
Graphic wise I think Aquaplus did a great job for their first step in trying to make a full 3d rpg
when all they really did was make visual novels with a little SRPG part.
The maps are huge and I thought it was nice to explore the world of Utaware in 3d
but there are some pitfalls like not always being able to see enemy mobs on the field.
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| Peak map design! |
The lack of a sprint button was unfortunate but idk i'd probably just bump into mobs
even more so its probably for the best its not available. Sadly quick travel took its sweet time
to unlock and as such was unable to complete quests I had accepted in the beginning.
Yea my fault I guess for not doing them? but I want to advance the plot too...😅
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| We need disguises momento. |
there is passion involved versus ones that do not! Monochrome Mobius definitely has that.
One thing I cannot give them any points for is the lowpoly townfolk, they don't mess well
with the main and side characters sprites or the world, its clear they cut some corners here since
everything else looked quite nice. I saw someone make an RTX ON/OFF joke and that's
pretty much true since the main/side characters all look better than some random npc.
Honestly I played a lot, of RPG's and can tell whether something has soul versus when it doesn't
or that it seems that the passion is leaking out. I really liked how they turned the setting into 3d!
Going through the mountain pass on the way to yamato definitely was anif you know you know moment. Which ends up being sad if you already play uta2/3.
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| Oh no... oh nononono. |
Music is pretty decent though! no complaints from me as it still has the same
general utaware vibe from the other games. Suara once again provided great songs!
Final thoughts!
Honestly the story/characters and world was all pretty gucchi and I can recommend it for that
especially if you love utawarerumono, however it seems aquaplus had other plans
and decided to make the gameplay extremely old school and a bit unforgiving.
Sure there's a way to ease the game a bit but I think many gamers might get turned off
due to how hard it can get, due to this I think I can only recommend it if you want a challenge.
(Most QoL improvements are locked behind Halu upgrades.)
Many a gamer would probably go... where is my easy mode? wait I got to unlock
MP regeneration at save points? or scratch their head at how best to distribute stats.
I definitly wasn't the brightest trying to allocate my BP...
The riddle at the beginning of the game is not only relevant for the story but gameplay as well...
and I think many may not even make it to the end due to that. Which is fine not everything is for everyone. Though I do think that Aquaplus went a bit overboard since nowadays RPG games
like this one are hard to find. I struggled at times, but as long as you do sidequest and buy the best
gear available plus put BP into the right points for that character it should all be okay! also
don't forget to actually grind a bit and get the MP regeneration at save points ASAP.
Anyway even if it might seem tough this game has the right amount of balance if you use your brain.
I don't particularly care for graphics but this game looked pretty decent and it was
nice to explore the world of utawarerumon in 3d! I can definitely tell aquaplus
made an honest attempt at trying something new but still wanted to hold on to the utaware IP.
Still it does look a bit rough around the edges and its easy to tell where they cut corners.
(Edit: apparently they patched the NPC townfolks at a later date and they now have faces etc!)
Whether someone is completely new to this game or already a fan of the series, there's
something for both. I do get a little sad that Shunya the heroine of this game
will be part of the forgotten part of subtitle as the timeline of the series goes on.
Shunya did grew on me and the time the party spend together may feel short
but in a ways it was only just the beginning for things yet to come.
Some things may be forgotten... but that doesn't change the fact it was a journey of a lifetime
that unfortunately seems to have to cut itself short for reasons I currently cannot comprehend.
I can recommend this game if you want something like an old school RPG
that is undoubtedly just a small part of something much bigger.
What's next for me? well I'll probably take a bit of a breather for now as this game
was far more challenging than I expected... but hey I made it through!
maybe i'll try harvestella or just go with another VN as I still have bustafellows.
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