Metal Slug Tactics - PC Review

Metal Slug Tactics by developer Leikir Studio and publishers Dotemu and Gamera Games—PC Review written by Nick with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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The Metal Slug series has been around for a long time, and despite its age, the titles tend to stand the test of time. They have a fun, colorful visual style that ages gracefully, and the core run and gun mechanics were so well done that most of the time? Signs of age are easy to overlook. Now the series takes its signature visuals and style to a turn-based tactics game, and in many ways Metal Slug Tactics feels like something from the past the past and not a game just released this month. However, Metal Slug Tactics does so many core things well enough that it’s still a good deal of fun today and will appeal to fans of the series and strategy games alike.

Metal Slug Tactics is ambitious. Taking the core of a long-running franchise and changing it to a completely new genre is often unsuccessful. Right off of the bat, the presentation drips Metal Slug style. Great use of color, the familiar but unique character design and rocking soundtrack all come together beautifully. The graphics won’t win any awards for pushing technical boundaries, but they’re an enjoyable pixel style that feels true to the series. For a series built around pulse-pounding sound and action, it’s surprising how well that feeling carries over to a turn-based tactics game here. 

That feeling of ‘action’ in a turn-based game is assisted by more than just the graphics and audio, but also the gameplay. How? There’s some interesting concepts baked in here that don’t reinvent the tactics wheel, so to speak, but give Metal Slug Tactics a bit of a unique feel. For one, it’s got a rogue-lite structure to repeated runs and lots of randomized elements. This feels like a genre that’s been showing up in a lot of spaces, especially card battlers and action games, so while at first blush I found it a little off-putting, the elements felt rather at home here. You earn experience and level up your characters, but it’s not a proper RPG. These are temporary improvements; incredibly important to your success but bound to the particular run you are on. Metal Slug Tactics also scratches that “Just one more run!” itch, due to this rogue-lite structure that almost guarantees failure… and the urge to do it better the next time around.

There is also this idea of more movement means higher chance of avoiding attacks. In a lot of turn-based tactics game, I tend to be conservative with my movement. Not here. The more movement the better, actually. Another cool mechanic that makes the game feel like bullets are flying everywhere (again, similar to the core series which has a heavy emphasis on shots being fired from all directions) is the Sync Attack system. It’s a mechanic that sees a target that puts a heavy focus on lining up a single target in front of multiple characters. That means if you get a shot in from a character to the left, and then you get a follow-up shot from the right, the first character will get a second attack. This means you can pile up loads of damage fast – but at the cost of taking out your opponents in a more balanced approach that has its own risks. There is also a timer aspect to the stages that create a sense of pressure, especially during boss fights where I often felt like I had to press the action instead of stalling to look for openings.

That being said, there is clearly thought required here. Leveraging the environment to cut down damage and using movement to improve your dodging ability gives Metal Slug Tactics an almost puzzle-like feel sometimes. There’s also a strong element of resource management as you have to weigh ammo consumption into your attacks.

There is quite the learning curve here, it should be noted. While most of the ideas here are ones I’ve seen in one form or another in prior games, the way they’re rolled together here and given their own unique flavors does make Metal Slug Tactics a bit slow to pick up. Add the aforementioned rogue-lite approach that will almost certainly see you get beaten up once you plug through the tutorial, and the potential for frustration is real. Also at higher levels of difficulty? Metal Slug Tactics can be pretty unforgiving.

However, the more I played and the more I experienced the trial and error (lots of error, but that’s probably a ‘me thing’), the more the disparate systems started to come together and really reveal Metal Slug Tactics for what it is. The variety of characters, weapons, stages and systems gel to create a game that at times looks and sounds like the original Metal Slug games, but the ‘Tactics’ part of the name really shines through when it all comes together. 

Metal Slug Tactics is a great twist on the venerable, bombastic action series. It looks and sounds the part, even as it tickles the brain with clever mechanics and an almost puzzle-like atmosphere. I’ll admit I had my doubts about the rogue-lite approach at first, but it was undeniably easy to pick it up for just ‘one more match’ – always a good sign. Even if you’re not familiar with the run and gun Metal Slug series, as long as you like tactics games, you should enjoy this entry. However, the Metal Slug DNA here just makes the overall package that much more entertaining for longtime fans such as myself.

Score: 8 out of 10

 

 

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Astral Throne high fantasy SRPG roguelike coming April 4 to Steam!

Ontario, Canada – March 20, 2024. The team at Zero Sun Games is thrilled to invite all strategy and RPG fans to dive into the realm of Astral Throne with an all-new demo launching on Steam on April 4, 2024!

The upcoming demo will focus on Act I of Astral Throne, showcasing its unique blend of roguelike progression, turn-based battles, and epic fantasy narrative. The announcement is accompanied by a new trailer that offers a glimpse into the enigmatic universe of Astral Throne and the twist it puts on the familiar genre.

Watch the new Astral Throne trailer:

Dubbed ‘the roguelike Fire Emblem’, Astral Throne merges grid-based combat of classic SRPGs (Strategy Role-Playing Games) with the exhilarating randomness of roguelike adventures. Every playthrough offers a strategic challenge and peels back another layer of the game’s overarching narrative puzzle. Developers draw on the rich legacy of legendary titles like Fire Emblem and Final Fantasy Tactics, blending it with genre-defining roguelikes such as FTL and Slay the Spire to craft an experience that feels equally nostalgic and novel.

In Astral Throne, you step into the boots of a Hero on a journey through a mysterious island kingdom. Ever since the realm was struck by a falling star, it has been shrouded in mind-warping fog. The few explorers lured to the island’s mystery seldom survived. Those who did share fragmented visions of a cult that took over the royalty and embraced the worship of the Fallen Star.

Since its inception in 2022, Astral Throne has been generating excitement among RPG and strategy enthusiasts, drawing comparisons to titles such as Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Zero Sun Games also achieved praise at last year’s Indie Cup Canada festival, with the jury commending Astral Throne’s in-depth mechanics and handcrafted combat scenarios.

Once the demo is available on April 4, developers will invite the players to share their feedback on the game, helping Zero Sun Games shape Astral Throne into a true genre landmark. The Fallen Star awaits!

Key Features

• Strategically Rich, Deceptively Simple. Engage in grid-based battles that evolve from straightforward confrontations into intricate strategic puzzles. Master the synergy between units, the arsenal at your disposal, and the abilities of each hero to secure your triumph.
  

• A World That Never Stays the Same. Your choices lead to significantly different outcomes, shaped by random skills, characters, loot, and story events. True to its SRPG heritage, Astral Throne features permadeath for every unit, adding weight to every decision and battle.

• Handcrafted Tactical Encounters. Developers meticulously designed every battle scenario to present a distinct strategic challenge. Though the path you take through the island is random, no two encounters ever feel the same.
  

• A Puzzle-Like Narrative. Each playthrough is an individual ‘what if’ scenario that shakes up character relationships and narrative arcs, revealing pieces of a grand, overarching mystery you have to solve through replay and exploration.

• A Realm of High Fantasy. Step into the world of a fallen kingdom veiled in Stardust Fog, a land of lost memories and faded glory. Accompanied by a stirring orchestral soundtrack, Astral Throne invites players on an epic, emotional journey.

Factsheet

• Developer: Zero Sun Games

• Platforms: PC

• Genre: Roguelike SRPG

• Planned Release Date: 2024

• Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2560500/Astral_Throne/

About Zero Sun Games

Zero Sun Games is a video game development studio based in Ontario, Canada. Co-founded by a group of talented and passionate friends, the studio is focused on creating a diverse range of games in various genres for a wide audience of gamers.

Links

• Website: zerosungames.com

• Twitter: @ZeroSunGames

• YouTube: @ZeroSunGames

• TikTok: @ZeroSunGames

• Discord: discord.gg/c9BAb7mBAT

Article by: Susan N.

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Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord Review

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord by developers Sting Entertainment, Compile Heart, Idea Factory and publisher Idea Factory International—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher. 

Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes.

From the original wild ride of Fairy Fencer F back on the PS3 to the revamped Fairy Fencer F: Dark Advent on the PS4, our Fairy Fencers are back again for a more musical number in Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord that takes place in a turn based strategy format. 

Fairy Fencer F is one of Compile Heart and Idea Factory’s more interesting titles. Unlike the Neptunia Series which is based in Video Game Console lore and personification of those consoles, Fairy Fencer is a more magical world where humans and fairies exist in the wake of a giant battle between the Vile God and the Goddess. Combining this with would be heroes who are far removed from being the paragons of justice, the ensuing comedy often brings levity to the more evil, death, destruction and world ending aspirations of the mega corporation Dorfa. 

While not having played the revamped Dark Advent myself, it is still on my backlog, and yes Richard I will get to it, it thankfully wasn’t needed to get going with Refrain Chord. Taking place somewhere after the beginnings of Fairy Fencer F, all the characters that you know, love, and hate, are back for another round of shenanigans as they continue their journey. So on that note, I recommend at least playing one of the prior entries which are also both available on the PC if you don't have a console. 

Where Refrain Chord really branches out from its JRPG roots is in its move to an SRPG format. Gone are all the dungeon explorations for side quests, main quests and material gathering. Instead, you now have specific points on the familiar world map that will offer you a choice of free, side or main storyline encounters. Each of these encounters plays out on large enough maps that will test your strategic thinking or your ability to grind for experience points. While this shift was quite fun in the beginning, and we'll get into all of those points soon, it could often feel like a slog which I thought was unfortunate as there are some really neat features in this gameplay shift. 

The slog of these battles doesn't come from the gameplay speed. Playing at normal speed or a sped up speed, it doesn't take long to move your characters from square to square, perform attacks or execute abilities and then have them face in the best direction possible for the oncoming attacks. The oncoming attacks are generally what can turn this into a slog as there are often just too many enemies on the field to be any fun. 

This isn't a question of NIS having spoiled us with Disgaea 6's impressive auto battles as even Agarest had a form of those ways back. It's really a case of there are just too many enemies. While your characters will often be stronger than the enemy, that only goes so far when there are 2-3 times more of them and whenever your turn rolls around you need to heal instead of attack. This is why I feel like things weren't properly calibrated and unless you've really stuck to a stage or two in particular to grind? You'll often wonder if these are even winnable. 

Because otherwise? There's a solid system here. Characters as mentioned can move around a grid with a base movement range. From there, you can select whether a character uses a basic normal attack, skills, magic or use items. In good Fairy Fencer fashion, characters after a certain point in battle can also Fairize to merge with their fairy partner and become more powerful and be able to move further on the grid. This helps close the distance or move to the aid of one of your allies. Fairizing also grants access to certain skills only able to be used in this state. It can easily change the flow of battle and is worth using once available unless there's really a reason to hold off and wait. 

The game changer this time around on top of the more strategic approach is the addition of the Muse. Joining in early enough, Fleur acts as the party's muse against the enemy's muse Glace. These two act as the ultimate support units to the rest of your party as while they are not designed to attack, their music and it's range can mess up or enhance your strategy pretty quickly. 

Now here we aren't talking about the power of a Disney song to make everyone feel better or know that you mean business. Here, we are talking about pure power in which both Fleur and Glace can increase the abilities of both parties. Increased attack, defense, automatic healing, or offering units that can't normally counter attack the ability, these all come in some neat ranges. Full square, diamond and outward facing triangle alway originate from the Muse so if they move? The area of the song moves. 

This alone can change a course of battle, but if the two songs come into contact with one another? The dramatic resonance can be fantastic. As the songs clash on the field, any square that has both songs will increase in respective power. With this level of power though, a Muse's song can only last a few turns at a time but even these come with some extra features such as being able to increase the range or the intensity of the song. On a final note about the music, I really enjoyed the variety of songs that were sung by the muses as their songs replace that of the standard battle music. When both are singing at the same time, then it’s not just one song, but it becomes their song as one blends into the other in a harmony that is very pleasant to the ear. 

To further support your battle prowess, every character has access to a variety of sub-fairies that can further modify their stats as well as grant different abilities and magic that their core fairy doesn't provide. This applies to both your Fencers and your Muse. The only difference here is that your Muse can only select from a specific subset of fairies that are designed for support purposes. This isn't an issue per say, but it does take some time for those types to start being available so it's a good thing that the enemy AI will almost never go after your Muse unless there's no way to your Fencers. 

Because it's not all about the combat, there is going to be plenty of dialog between the cast that will often have you laughing or groaning at the ridiculousness. The dialog itself continues on in the more simulated 2D/3D feel where 2D characters look like they are breathing and all of the colors are super vibrant. The voice actors also give a stellar performance but if you were hoping for a return of the English cast, this time around the voice track is in Japanese only. 

It’s all of these moments, short, medium and fairy long length (I’m not apologizing for that pun!) that not only move the story along, but that make Fairy Fencer F what it is. It gives you more… insight? Into the characters, their motivations and… ah hell, who am I kidding? Most of the motivations revolve around food! But it’s generally fun unless the bad guys are involved and helps to alleviate the often long winded battle sequences as there is also no more dungeon crawling to be had. 

Adding a bit to the levity, is the ability to go searching for treasure on the main map. With several “charges” available at a time which can be restored by going into encounters, you can use your inventory of sub-fairies and their furies to stab the ground and see what comes out. Materials for crafting and new equipment pieces can be found and the more that you poke at the map, the higher the chances are that you can chain this action for a singular charge. It helps to balance out the lack of dungeon exploring for materials as some of the crafting items are much better than what you can buy in the stop. 

Overall Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord isn't a bad title. It has a great system, fun dialog and awesome visuals, however, the transition to a Strategy RPG format doesn't feel as balanced as it should. With the battles often seeing your party being severely outnumbered, battles felt like they took much longer than they should have, reducing the fun factor to an otherwise good approach in the shift from a JRPG to an SRPG format. 

Score: 7 / 10

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Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3 Review

Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3 by developer Nippon Ichi Software and publisher NIS America Inc.—Nintendo Switch review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher.

 Estimated reading time: 11 minutes

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After releasing Vol. 1 and Vol. 2, we now are getting Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 3, and boy was I super excited when I heard what was in this one. The titles we get in Vol. 3 are my two favourite classic NIS titles outside the Disgaea series, so I'm excited to share this with you. In Vol. 3 we get Rhapsody: A musical Adventure and La Pucelle: Ragnarok.

Note: Please be aware that this review contains some spoilers either in the text or in the screenshots taken during gameplay.

For those of you who are familiar with either title, the Rhapsody featured is the original PS1 version, and La Pucelle is the extended / enhanced version of La Pucelle: Tactics. A review covering the PC version written by P-Y for Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and La Pucelle: Ragnarok can also be found on our site if you're looking for a comparison between ports. If you're familiar with the titles or have read the reviews for the PC port, feel free to skip to the bottom paragraph and summary for my cliff notes on the Switch version.

For those who are unfamiliar, let's dive into these two classic titles!

Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure

First up, I want to talk about Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. Now, some of you may be asking "is this the DS version?", to which I would say "definitely not". The DS version had a simplified combat system, and removed the feature where you were able to recruit monsters to your party. Thankfully NIS has opted to go for the original PS1 version here, much to my delight.

Rhapsody stars a young girl named Cornet who is living with her grandfather after the death of her parents. Cornet dreams of marrying the prince of the Marl Kingdom, who the townspeople have nothing but good things to say about. Unfortunately for her, every girl within a four day trip is also interested in the prince.

Thankfully for Cornet she has something that sets her apart from the crowd: a magic horn. This horn allows her to command puppets, which she can use in battle or in general to help her out. She can also speak with puppets, even if she isn't controlling them through her horn, and is friends with a puppet named Kururu, who tends to give her (somewhat) helpful advice. Needless to say, things don't always go how you hope, and Cornet ends up setting off on an adventure in order to be with the Prince, making both friends and enemies along the way.

Rhapsody is a bit of a toned down version of the NIS SRPG fare, with an interesting take on the adventure and combat. As you explore the world, you will be roaming around maps, talking with townspeople, beating up baddies, and helping puppets fulfill their dreams so that they may be reincarnated. Exploring locales is walking around a map, often consisting of very similar looking passageways, in a 2D top-down-ish style. As you explore you can find chests with items, puppets to recruit, as well as get into random battles.

Combat in Rhapsody is well put together, with enemies and allies being on a grid based map, with the units acting in order of their speed value. These grids are significantly smaller than other NIS titles, and don't feature any of the later title's convoluted panel and stage effects. You can command your units to move and attack along the grids, use special abilities or magic, or simply end the turn in order to guard.

Cornet also participates in combat, using her treasured horn as a weapon. Since Cornet is essentially a puppet master, not only does she participate in combat normally, but she can also use the horn to increase the attack of any dolls fighting with the party as long as they are within range. Doing so also builds up a musical score which can be used for "rewards", which are attacks using desserts, or healing the party members.

Cornet also plays another special role. If Cornet defeats an enemy with her horn attack, there is a chance the enemy monster will ask to join the party, provided they aren't unique or boss type monsters. Monsters can either be used as party members or sold for cash if you're running low. While dolls are usually the better party member options, that doesn't mean the monsters aren't useful. Unfortunately, new units tend to come in at the wonderful level of 1, so they will almost always require a bit of effort to get them up to par.

Thankfully the game is rather basic in a number of functions to help accommodate this. For starters, units you have only wear accessories, no specific weapon types, and are therefore a lot easier to outfit. Also, Rhapsody is pretty easy. No, really, it isn't that challenging, even on the harder difficulty, especially if you use the combat system to its fullest potential. However, in a rare turn of events for me, I actually don't think there is anything wrong with Rhapsody being an easier title. With Rhapsody, you're there for the story, the characters, the adventure, and the music. Sure, combat may be a large part, but it's not where the focus lies.

There are many interesting companions to recruit, and they all have desires which you can fulfill, making for interesting companion quests. Additionally, the characters in Rhapsody have a habit of breaking out into song whenever they have an opportune moment. Sometimes it's a solo, sometimes a duet. Sometimes it's even the bad guy, but hey, what do you expect from a game called "Rhapsody: a Musical Adventure". In fact, I'm pretty sure a character makes a cameo in a later game and questions why nobody breaks out into song.

Rhapsody is a game full of heart, and song, and I'm really glad to see the PS1 version get an updated port.

La Pucelle: Ragnarok

Next up on the list we have La Pucelle: Ragnarok, the enhanced / extended version of La Pucelle: Tactics, which is sitting on my game shelf right next to me.

La Pucelle is around the time where NIS started thinking "let's make this system absolutely ridiculous" and decided to run away with it. La Pucelle is also, arguably, my favourite NIS SRPG. Yes, I do mean including the Disgaea series in that statement. La Pucelle is a story about Prier, a sister working for the church who aims to be the next Maiden of Light, and a professional demon hunter. She's rude and crass, but her heart is in the right place. Or at least it will be if you make the right choices.

That's right, there are multiple endings that are affected by your actions. In fact, one of the gag endings in the original got extended for the Ragnarok version, which is pretty entertaining. Just like with the rest of the game, there are still a bunch of quirky character interactions to witness, mostly involving Prier getting mad at someone. Chapters can have their own endings as well, so pay attention to what people say, and if there is an extra panel of interest on the map, it may be a good idea to check it out.

Much closer in style to Disgaea than Rhapsody, La Pucelle features what has become what some may immediately think of when a NIS or Disgaea title is mentioned: grid-based combat with many units introduced through a base panel. While there are a lot of differences and quirks, the basic premise of La Pucelle is to go shopping in the town and talk to who you want, then head off into a series of stages in a large overarching map.

Each stage is individual, and will generally be cleared either by defeating all the monsters or by walking onto a panel that leads to the next screen. What La Pucelle also has is Dark Portals. Essentially these guys are like the geo panels in Disgaea, except they are tiles you can walk on, and standing on them and facing a direction will send a floor effect in a line. Certain characters can purify the portals, which causes a chain reaction along the floor panels, possibly ending in a damaging or healing miracle, if you fulfill the right conditions.

So, let's talk a bit about how La Pucelle is different from the standard SRPG from NIS nowadays. You more or less have four different base leveling systems at play. I know that sounds like a lot, but hear me out a bit. Two are tied to your character specifically, and two are tied to the gear you have equipped. For character specific, you have a raw level, which increases as you kill enemies and participate in a group killing enemies, and skill levels, which increase with use. The levels tied to your items are item level and attribute levels. Items will gain exp as you purify dark portals, enhancing stats upon leveling. Attribute levels increase as you participate in killing enemies, and increases a characters attribute value. At certain benchmarks, characters will learn new skills, such as minor increases in critical rate or defense.

In addition to this, there is also an item fusion option, where you can have a tamed monster hold at least two items to have their effects added to the first item the monster is holding. Yes, you read that correctly, you can tame monsters here as well. This is done in a manner similar to the Dark Portals, where you purify a creature and then beat it. The more you purify it, the more likely it will be to join you, although more of a similar type of monster means a harder recruitment threshold.

La Pucelle is chock full of interesting characters with some of the best names taken from French words as well. We have Prier (prayer) the hot-headed and violent sister, Culotte (cheeky or knickers), Alouette (Sparrow), Salade (Lettuce) etc. Heck, even the "Goddess Poitreen" is similar to "poitrine". All of the characters have their own personalities and place in the story and are interesting in their own right. Characters are also only as useless as you let them become, so if you feel a character isn't up to snuff, maybe you should reexamine your training regimen for them and what they have equipped.

Now, despite having a little more complicated battle and leveling system, I found the equipment economy to be a lot more user friendly than in the Disgaea titles. Sure the way of leveling and fusing is surprisingly in-depth, but at least you no longer need to run through a 100 floors of annoying enemies, only to get soft-locked on floor 98 by geo panels that give Immortality and No Moving. So dumb that was.

As a port, both Rhapsody and La Pucelle have been done a real service. I can assure you, having broken out the original La Pucelle Tactics a few weeks ago, that playing it on my PS2 looks ugly as all hell on my current TV. The Switch port though? It looks great. Well, it certainly looks and feels old, but it doesn't look bad, and that's the important thing. Plugging the PS2 in it got all stretched and looked wonky, but no more with the Switch release! Whether it is in handheld mode or TV mode, both were appealing. Rhapsody does have a "smooth mode", which I've shown an example of earlier, that I found to be a little ugly looking, but it's an optional toggle! As an added bonus, the runtime was smooth and loading times were fast. Heck, I feel like I got more lag on my PS2 than on the Switch.

Summary

Overall, Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol. 3 is my favourite of the bunch. Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and La Pucelle: Ragnarock have what I feel is the most heart of all the NIS classic titles.

If you're a fan of the Disgaea series, you can't go wrong with either title, and even those new to the genre have a wonderful entry with Rhapsody. The updated graphic quality from the PS1 and PS2 era is greatly appreciated, and being able to bring these titles with me on the go with the Switch is amazing.

Score: 8.25 / 10

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Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok Review

Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok by developer Nippon Ichi Software and publisher NIS America Inc.—PC (Steam) review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes 

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Having originally released for the PS2, La Pucelle Tactics would remain one of my favorite SRPGs within Nippon Ichi Software's universe for a long time to come. Having eventually released an upgraded version titled La Pucelle: Ragnarok for the PSP, it was sadly never released outside of Japan until now through the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3 collection.

Note: Please be aware that this review contains some spoilers either in the text or in the screenshots taken during gameplay.

Before the Netherworld(s) of Disgaea with the insanity of becoming an Overlord, overthrowing an Overlord, being a delinquent or taking out a Corrupternment dood, we had a follow-up of sorts to Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure. Getting started at the beginning of this adventure, La Pucelle is a branch of the Church of the Holy Maiden that trains Demon Hunters on the downlow and keeps the regular population safe from the supernatural. Having recently graduated, our protagonists Prier and her brother Culotte under the wing of Sister Alouette start off with a hunt for zombies in a nearby sewer though things may not exactly be what they seem.

Set in the same world of the Marl Kingdom, La Pucelle instead of following along the themes of love and friendship instead went towards some darker humor tones that lends itself well to the world of the more supernatural. This naming convention however is honestly still one of the best especially for a French person as while half of the names have a religious base like Prier (Prayer), Croix (Cross), you have others that are food based like Father Salad, Eclair and Captain Homard (Lobster) of the Escargot (Snail). Hilarious naming conventions aside, La Pucelle is still a solid SRPG adventure that will often challenge you.

Still remaining fairly unique in its approach even this many years later, La Pucelle has a style of its own that I do wish NIS / NISA would revisit at some point. Starting off with town-like explorations not unlike Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, once you leave town and head towards the dungeons things get interesting. Doing away with the JRPG exploration, La Pucelle’s dungeons are all maps that can be challenged, or run through, on your way to find whatever it is that you are looking for. An item? A boss? A cure for someone? Each of these can be hidden within the maze-like structure that will be set before you.

Now the reason I use the term maze-like, is that each map acts as a stage that NIS / NISA have used ever since with the Makai universe (Disgaea 1-7, Makai Kingdom, Phantom Brave, etc.,). Unlike the rest of the titles that have come after however, these maps can have multiple passages forward. Only adding to this is that you often don’t actually have to complete a stage in order to move forwards. If you have a character reach an exit point, you can simply move on without having to complete the current objective which is normally to defeat all enemies. For those that want to move fast, this is an option, however, if you don’t complete the stage, you’ll have to keep up this process every single time you want to move through.

If you do go ahead and complete the objectives, the map will be deemed cleared and you can simply move through the nodes in the dungeon menu map. The main reason you would want to do this would be to make it easier on yourself especially if you’re planning on not getting a “bad” chapter ending, more on that later. The second reason is that until you move back to the world map, your characters won’t replenish their Skill Points making certain combats a bit tougher if you can’t use ranged abilities, magic, or heal up when things start to get a bit dicey. The final reason that you would want to do this is that some dungeons have dead ends forcing you to have to double back through the last zone to find another way forwards.

Outside of the ease of dungeon exploration, the other reason that you would want to make sure to clear a whole dungeon would be for the more obvious element of an SRPG. Experience grinding. La Pucelle does not hold its punches and if you don’t use EVERYTHING in front of you at times and perhaps level up a little bit? You’ll lose. Starting off with a few human characters, Prier, Culotte and Alouette, you’ll either need to seriously grind exp, or, recruit monsters over to your side. Unlike a lot of other entries, monsters in La Pucelle are just as useful as human characters being able to equip all weapons and be upgraded in a similar fashion.

Moving into “twist #1”, all characters can only really improve on their Atk, Def, Hit, Res, “insert” HP, and SP through their equipment in battle. Without any gear? These cannot be leveled up otherwise. Whether physical based weapons, magical based staves to use magic or more defensive gear like shields, glasses and shoes, each of these will contain a stat modifier. Starting low, it doesn't take very long for better gear to not only provide the ability to upgrade your Atk, but also your Def and / or your Res. Also possible is double Int or Hit. What all of these upgrades do is provide better combat skills to your characters such as the ability to jump higher, attack or defend better, or the ability to purify dark energy from further away.

“Twist #2” is a double header. Before we had to deal with Geo blocks or cubes or squares, there were currents of Dark Energy. These currents of energy start from a select point known as Dark Portals and then move forwards until they hit something. What these currents actually do however is potentially spawn new enemies through the portals if left alone for too long, so while you want to take these out, you’ll want to be creative about them first. Having mentioned that these currents move forwards until they hit something? These currents can be blended together and even turned to face new directions by placing a character on the flow and then turning them to face another direction. The longer the current, the more potential destructive force can be applied and don't forget to use your enemies to help you out!

Red currents represent fire, green represents wind, and blue ice. Having default RGB colors however, once you start meshing currents together you can get yellow for lightning, turquoise for healing, purple for darkness and a form of gray for holy. To remove these currents from play, you’ll need to purify them with a human character as this is the only real area that monsters differ. Each current has its own hit points and depending on the character doing the purification, it could take one or two characters to pull this off. Once you’ve pulled it off though, get ready as this can change the entire course of battle.

Once a current has been purified, it will start to deal damage to any enemy that happens to be standing in its path. Your own characters do not receive damage but can be healed with the above mentioned turquoise color. What will happen to your characters however is that they can get an extension to their turn if they are in the path. If they had moved? They can move again. If they have attacked, they can attack again. If they did both? They can do both again. There’s no downside to trying to make these currents work for you while on your turn as once the enemy moves, they can disrupt whatever you were trying to do as the current will stop if it’s being faced head on.

Finally in regards to the currents, purifying them is how you’ll be leveling up your gear. New gear is always nice to acquire as you can get better upgrades for your attributes, but in the meantime? Upgrading them will also help you keep your edge against your enemies as the stages become tougher to complete. Furthermore, because it’s only your human characters that can purify, you’ll most likely be finding yourself getting them the newest gear, protagonists for the win, and then giving the previously upgraded gear to your monster friends to keep them more up to date. It works out well enough and there’s no real downsides short of the amount of time it can sometimes take to get it just right for maximum efficiency.

Now with all of the talks of dungeons, maps and stages, there’s still a JRPG quality to La Pucelle which can change the outcome of the story. If for example you were to simply move straight through and defeat a boss, you may get a normal chapter ending but you could also just as easily get a bad chapter ending. There’s often a bit more going on than what you can see and it’s up to you to control your characters to move around town, talk to people and put together bits of information to get a better understanding of the current events.

Furthermore, re-exploring certain stages could lead you to find something that you missed before such as an event square that could lead you to something new, weather information or a quest. Quests have their own rewards and in some cases, you could avoid a good part of a chapter by simply cashing in on a reward and buying what you need instead of having to fight for it. It’s a neat approach and that’s what makes La Pucelle different from the rest of the stage based SPRGs as there are sometimes more than one way to do things whether for good or for bad.

Otherwise, La Pucelle is just as good as I remember, and La Pucelle: Ragnarok with its extras have made it even better. If I had perhaps one “complaint” it would be similar to that of the other Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volumes in that the sprites have not been upgraded to match the rest of the presentation. Otherwise though? That’s it and this remains a solid SRPG experience.

As a final note, for the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3 collection on the PC through Steam, I did notice an issue at times that I want to mention as someone else may encounter it. While my Desktop is pretty shiny in its specs, still being fairly new, my laptop is now getting pretty old and showing its age. While playing on my laptop, everything was smooth, responsive and enjoyable until I plugged it into another display. When plugged into another display, there was a noticeable lag in the graphics and in the animations making the input speeds feel “heavy” to get anything done. If you do encounter this? That would be more aging hardware and system specs, not the actual Volume 3 content which I was happy to find out.

Summary

Overall Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok is still as solid as it’s ever been. With plenty of replayability in getting different chapter endings, the combat and the exploration is only ever made better by the ridiculousness of the humor and the naming conventions of religious items and french foods!

Score: 8.25 / 10

As a whole for Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: La Pucelle: Ragnarok / Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure package, both of these old school Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America Inc. titles are worth it. Whether as a revisit for those that got to experience them at the time, or as a first time adventure for those that didn’t, the package is solid and it’s an easy recommendation alongside the other two volumes.

          Package score: 8 / 10

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Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 3: Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure Review

Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3: Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure by developer Nippon Ichi Software and publisher NIS America Inc.—PC (Steam) review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes 

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Following up on Nippon Ichi Software and NIS America Inc.'s Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 1 and Vol 2, Vol 3 is finally upon us! Taking two much older titles than the ones we’ve seen so far, Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure and La Pucelle: Ragnarok (PSP revamp of Tactics from the PS2), these two SRPGs were both a delight to revisit in a modern day environment.

Note: Please be aware that this review contains some spoilers either in the text or in the screenshots taken during gameplay.

Starting off with the PS1 classic Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, while it did see a Nintendo DS port a decade later after its initial release, more than a decade after that Rhapsody is making another entrance from stage right but in its original 4:3 format. Starring a small town girl known as Cornet, this adventure is the story of love. Love for the prince that she dreams of one day being with, love of friends and frenemies, and finally? Love of family.

While the story of Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure is never very deep, each of these forms of love is what makes Rhapsody a heartwarming story. It's cute and it's entertaining which is a good thing as there are some of the gameplay mechanics that did not age as well over the decades. Having originally found an almost sweet spot in its playstyle, Rhapsody is an SRPG but with JRPG elements when it comes to exploring the world and finding out clues of where to go next. Town interfaces are small but have people to talk to and depending on actions completed they can potentially offer you new leads on what to do next.

This part works great and it allows for a more natural flow and reason to revisit locations as you progress through the adventure. One of the parts of Rhapsody that hasn't aged as well however are the dungeons that you'll be exploring in order to process through this adventure. Forgetting just how complicated it could be at times unless you have a stellar memory, I quickly found myself with a pad and paper to start drawing my way through as without it? It could take you some time to figure it out. It could also easily break your gameplay experience by your party being severely over-leveled as you try to figure your way through these dungeons.

The dungeons themselves are built in bland small cube-like rooms with passages potentially opening up to the north, east, south or west sides. There's no mini map. There's no map in your menu. There's nothing but remembering what passageways you've taken and which floor you are currently exploring. Because of this, and the at times crazy amount of random encounters, it's really easy to lose your sense of direction as you could forget which way you were going. I highly recommend making sure you have a pad of paper, a pen and / or pencil nearby because for some of these dungeons? You'll be venturing in a few times over the course of the adventure and no one wants to get lost a second or third time.

So it's a good thing that the story is cute enough to want to know the end of and that the dialog is fairly entertaining especially in the banter with Cornet's enemies and frenemies. Another good point for older gamers is that some of the one liners from the original localization are totally from the 90s making for a double nostalgia trip! If that's not enough for you however then there's also a decent combat system to keep you going which meshes in a turned based JRPG with the grid like combat of an SRPG.

The combat overall is fun. Using unit speeds as a basis for turn order, battle will play out in turns with the fastest characters going first and the slowest going last. Each character on the field can either move, move and attack, attack and move (which is something new titles could remember to implement) or simply attack. Standard attacks tend to only target one square in front of the character but special attacks such as magical blasts can cover a wider range. They do less damage than their single target variants, but two of those, especially if you’ve overleveled, should be enough to clear the field and get your experience points for more levels! Again, overleveling could break the more strategic nature that you’re supposed to experience.

Aside from the normal and magical attacks, there’s another neat combat feature to Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure which ties into the musical adventure. Cornet uses a musical horn as her combat weapon but it’s also with this horn that she can command puppets to help her in battle. So it only makes sense that while going into battle with her puppets that she’s able to also use it to inspire them to do more damage which is always a welcome bonus. Not stopping there however, using Cornet’s horn will also fill up a musical gauge to perform large scale attacks such as dropping massive flans or pancakes on the enemies which can easily remove a boss’ minions!

Outside of battle the musical theme often continues with actual songs making you think you were playing a Disney Movie. Cornet sings, sometimes even in a duet and as une pièce de resistance, even Marjoly (main antagonist) gets their own musical number! These are all overall fun to watch and to listen to as they each have a good production value and fit the overall themes of love, friendship, and in the case of Marjoly? Lack of all the above as some people simply get no respect! It’s tough being the boss some days…

Otherwise, while it can feel a bit dated in a few areas, I’m really happy that Nippon Ichi Software and NISA brought Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure back. I was also happy that NIS and NISA decided to bring the PS1 version of the experience to the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3 as the DS version did away with the SRPG elements for a more traditional JRPG combat experience. Also? Trying to find a PS1 copy is damn near impossible unless you REALLY want to spend a small fortune and the Nintendo DS version just didn’t have the same magic to it. 

Summary

So overall, Prinny Presents NIS Classics Vol 3: Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, while perhaps a little dated from today’s standards, is worth picking up. If you’ve never had the chance to play it, with a charming story, decent combat system and some fun musical numbers, the adventure should net you a solid twelve to sixteen hours and should leave you with a smile on your face as the credits come to a close.

Score: 7.5 / 10

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Disgaea 6 Complete Review

Disgaea 6 Complete by developer Nippon Ichi Software and publisher NIS America Inc.—Sony PlayStation 5 review written by Pierre-Yves with a copy provided by the publisher.

Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes. 

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Previously on Disgaea 6, super reincarnated Pierre-Yves and company found themselves in Nippon Ichi Software's latest over the top and hilarious SRPG series. Having enjoyed their time with it, there was sadly one element that didn't quite shine as well as it could have. Having moved from the Nintendo Switch to the PlayStation 5 however? This SRPG is back, super shiny, and has absolutely zero performance issues as you battle against the God of Destruction and die, die, and die again as the Zombie protagonist Zed.

Note: Please be aware that this review contains some spoilers either in the text or in the screenshots taken during gameplay.

Reviewing a title for a second time comes with a few perks. Firstly, you know what you're in for. Secondly, you can get right into things much quicker as you don't need to go through all of the tutorials or the notes for the features should you choose to bypass them. This is one area that the Disgaea series does really well as it knows that returning fans don't need to know how to deploy, attack, stack blocks and other basic things. For newcomers though, everything is ready and waiting for them to get a better handle on the experience.

Nippon Ichi Software, NIS for short, NISA for its North American localization branch, have been at this for a long time with the original Disgaea: Hour of Darkness (Nick’s 2018 review of Disgaea 1 Complete) having come out back in 2003. With other titles such as Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure (1998) and LaPucelle Tactics (2002) both part of the upcoming Prinny Presents: NIS Classics Vol 3, their resume speaks for itself. So Why bring up history? Because with so many epic titles under the hood including the recently re-released Phantom Brave, Soul Nomad and the World Eaters, Makai Kingdom which are all SRPGs, there’s going to come a time that a shift needs to be taken and Disgaea 6 may have been it.

Jumping back in, there were a few things that once worried me that this time around I took for granted. Super high numbers that make it pointless to do the math? Check. Auto battling system with adjustable AI features to take care of healing, item acquisition or full on mayhem? Check. Awesome story to sit through for a second time now knowing about certain plot points? That last item is also a check as long as you have your popcorn as Disgaea 6's dialog and back to basics story is worth revisiting.

So taking it from the top, Disgaea 6 is a story of love and vengeance told through the protagonist Zed. Having busted his way through level 999 guards, Zed walks right into the Darkest Assembly and states that the God of Destruction has been defeated and it's all by his hands. Breaking the tale into chapters and stages as is the series staple, there will be plenty of twists and turns as you unlock new story characters and create new custom ones.

Starting off in a hub like area that contains everything you could need, equipment shops, evility (evil ability) shop, a juice bar, access to the item world, Darkest Assembly and the DLC shop, Disgaea 6 took this and simplified it further. You can easily walk around and enjoy the sights of the hub, or, with either “L2” or “R2” triggers, you can quickly navigate to their functions to get what needs to be done, done, and then get back out on the field. Further improving the efficiency is that the hospital which has been a long series staple no longer makes it necessary to manually heal your units, or even pay for the services. Instead, it’s now done free of charge and you will receive rewards for how many hit points (HP), skills points (SP) have been restored alongside how many times your units have been revived.

Moving out from the hub into the first, second, third, fourth, tenth chapters and selecting your stage, you’ll be treated to cutscenes both before and after on your first time through that particular stage. Generally played like a visual novel, these voiced cutscenes are what probably half the players are here for because there isn’t a single Disgaea that has been “boring”. The characters are well written, the story is generally ridiculous and the supporting casts are always on their “A” game. Even the DLC characters come with the same treatment in Disgaea 6 from Adell and Rozalin, to D3’s Mao, D4’s Vavatorez (Sardines!) and D5’s Killia which need to be defeated before they can be recruited.

From these story segments, you’ll be diving into a world of strategy where the stakes are high and the numbers are now insane especially when you start throwing around NIS’ mascot exploding peg legged penguins known as Prinnies dood. Starting from a “home base” point, you’ll be moving your characters out into the field through a square based format. Each character can by default move “X” amount of squares, have attacks that affect “X” amount of squares and can be equipped with items to move out even further if needed.

Once you’ve moved your troops out and into place, if there are enemies in range you can decide to either assign characters to do standard attacks or more special ones if they have the SP for it. Once all of these actions are done and there’s nothing more to be done, you can end your turn and it’s the enemy’s turn to do the same. From there, it’s a rinse and repeat until you come out victorious and move onto a new cutscene and then back to the hub. The best part about this format is that as you progress through the story either the enemies become stronger or the complexity of the stages increase. Or both making you really have to get into the nitty gritty of your characters, their levels, their abilities, and finally, how much time you’re going to be grinding out experience and mana to make it all work.

The fun part of all of the above will be taking trips to the Darkest Assembly in order to get bills passed in order to do more. While the format of the “Dark” Assembly has changed over the years, the core premise has brought us to the latest Darkest Assembly. Want to gain triple experience in the next battle? Want to unlock better items in the shop? Want to increase your relationships with certain class types or species of Senators within the Darkest Assembly? You’re going to need mana to bring the bill forward and then hope that those voting on the bill give you what you want.

If the Darkest Assembly’s Senators vote against you though and the bill fails, you have two options. Walk away sad that your hard earned mana is now gone, or, do what Disgaea does best and be evil by taking the fight to the assembly. Option 1 just means that you’ll be out of mana. Option 2? These will be fights for the ages as oftentimes Senators will be leagues above you in terms of power and will wipe you from existence. As you get more powerful however and are rocking level 6000 or 9999, chances will be much higher that you get your way and not be out of tens or hundreds of thousands of mana points.

So with all of these par for the course, there were new features introduced such as the Juice Bar which allows you to infuse characters with extra HP, SP, mana, attack, defense, intelligence or resistance for example. While all of these will cost money, it’s a quick and easy way to upgrade your characters before getting into the other new feature of Super Reincarnation which allows you to reset your characters to level 1 but with karma points available to increase your base stats not unlike the Juice Bar. The only difference here is that you need to spend hard earned mana to do it. The more mana dropped, the more karma earned.

For the game changer however is the newly introduced autobattling system. While unsure of this system back in the original demo and for a while within my Nintendo Switch trip through Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, this time I used it for everything that it was worth. Generally SRPGs are all about the thought of your actions and hoping that they work out as well as you’re hoping them to. The hands on is what it’s all about and depending on the harshness of the experience like the original Fire Emblem’s perma deaths, you learn from your mistakes rather quickly.

What makes this autobattling system so great is that it speeds things along for the “modern” age meaning that you don’t need to hang around for an entire afternoon rinsing and repeating the same actions. Instead, you can set your troops loose onto the field and even have them repeat the stage without you needing to lift a finger. This is great for quickly accumulating experience, money and mana, but what if things get complicated? If things get complicated there are a number of extra options that can be combined with an intricate “if / then” chart that can be built from scratch and then tested out. There are core values like, “Go all out”, “Heal when in danger” and “Prioritize opening chests”, but, if you really want control, you’ve got it right here.

Finally, one element that I really didn’t use the first time around having tried to do it the “good old fashioned way”, is that now characters can be assigned classes to help unlock others. Now, you don’t need to create a character, level them up and put in all this effort before no longer using them or switching them up to the next class you need. Now, you can assign these roles to your main crew, core Disgaea 6 or DLC characters, and then create the new character that you want with all of the mana and karma you need to super power them from the beginning.

All of these mechanics roll in neatly together and when combined with the story, the writing of the characters and the stellar cast of voice actors for the latest entry? Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny was good but it had one lacking element on the Nintendo Switch, power under the hood. Disgaea 6 Complete takes care of this on a more powerful console meaning that at all times there are no stutters while moving around the base or within combat and the now fully 3D character models look amazing at all times. 

Summary

While Nippon Ichi Software’s Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny was good, Disgaea 6 Complete takes it that next step for another fantastic, and more definitive, experience. This is especially the case for long term fans of the series that may not have gone over to the Nintendo Switch and stayed with Sony’s PlayStation where this series has always been. So if you haven’t yet had the chance to jump onto this latest SRPG, now’s your chance doods!

Score: 8.5 / 10

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