It"s a bit of a shame, too, since the interactions between the cast are well done, but there"s just this pervading knowledge that they are, ultimately, just a bunch of teenagers playing a đoạn clip game. That said, the kind of behaviour that"s perhaps stereotypical of MMO players is represented well, và anyone who"s dabbled in the genre will probably nod knowingly at some of the writing that highlights this.
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With a narrative that"s slightly difficult khổng lồ become genuinely invested in, it"s a good job that Lost Song"s game play holds up. Unlike in Re: Hollow Fragment, the game"s world is split up between different floating islands, each of which are vast & open. By completing chapters of the story – which you can tackle at your own pace – you"ll gain access to lớn the next island, which creates a kind of stage-based structure. It"s a departure from the connected areas of the last title"s sprawling setting, but there"s still a nice sense of adventure và exploration – especially since there are treasure chests and points of interest scattered about each map.
Traversing these locations is a breeze, too, thanks to the fact that Kirito & his buddies now have wings. By tapping right or left on the d-pad, you"ll be able to lớn hover in mid-air, and by tapping up, you"ll shoot off into full flight. Zipping around the world from the very beginning of the trò chơi is a refreshing change of pace when it comes to lớn RPGs in general, & although it can take a little while khổng lồ get used to, switching between standard ground movement và flight is just simple fun.
Whether in the sky or with something solid beneath your feet, monsters will almost always populate the immediate area – và there are a lot of them. You could quite easily fight your way from one kết thúc of the maps to the other without much pause if you so desired, which is great for grinding experience & items, but it makes it feel like you"re never không tính tiền to wander around và take in the pretty scenery.
Thankfully, combat is largely enjoyable, which at least means that hacking and slashing your way through hordes of foes to reach the next dungeon doesn"t feel like a chore. Distancing itself from the strangely compelling hybrid of Re: Hollow Fragment"s button tapping combos & MMO-like ability cooldowns, Lost tuy vậy goes full action, allowing you to lớn mash square & triangle lớn make mincemeat out of your foes while either dodging or blocking incoming blows.
All in all it"s a standard 3d fighting system that"s easy to lớn get to lớn grips with; its complexities over at keeping an eye on your stamina và magic bars, which are used up when you perform special attacks or spells. Consequently, combat doesn"t offer a huge amount of depth, but its real-time action is enough khổng lồ keep you engaged. Likewise, surrounding RPG mechanics such as levelling up, learning new skills, & discovering better equipment are nothing out of the ordinary, but they still make for a rewarding sense of progression – especially when you hunt down previously tough opponents & clobber them with your powered-up party.
Speaking of buổi tiệc ngọt members, you"ll always be accompanied by up to lớn two of Kirito"s friends, và you can even choose to control one of them this time around, which can add a little bit of variety to lớn your adventures. The artificial intelligence is competent in battle, và your buddies will sometimes casually chat among themselves, often providing commentary on your current task. The additional dialogue is just a small touch, but it"s a welcome one, sprinkling some flavour on quests that otherwise don"t bởi vì much lớn differentiate from the typical formula of "go there, kill this".
Side quests và generally tougher extra quests are usually worth following through for the rewards that they offer, though. Loot is reasonably common in Lost Song, but stumbling across a rare weapon after a lengthy quái dị fight feels every bit as good as it should, and taking your goodies back lớn town in order to identify them creates a very addictive game play loop.
And if questing for precious gear with virtual allies isn"t your cup of tea, you can always hop over khổng lồ the multiplayer side of things. This time around, you can either take on powerful quái vật monsters with a các buổi tiệc nhỏ of up to four other players, or you can chạy thử your skills in competitive fights. The former is a decent amount of amusement if you team up with people who actually know what they"re doing, while the latter jumps between two extremes: it can either be quite tactical with teams of four bolstering each other"s abilities, or it can be absolute chaos, with players flying all over the place và unleashing every kind of technique that you can imagine. In short, it can be a bit of a mess, but there is some fun to be had.
Conclusion
Sword Art Online: Lost tuy vậy plays it safe, but there"s nothing necessarily wrong with that. Combat and quests could stand khổng lồ offer a little more depth, but there"s still an enjoyable, addictive RPG khổng lồ be found here, và it"s topped off by a refreshingly pleasant means of traversal in your ability to lớn sprout wings và take to the skies. Primarily a trò chơi for fans, Lost tuy nhiên obviously won"t appeal khổng lồ everyone, but those who vị enjoy the source material will certainly appreciate its colourful & inviting world that"s packed with things to lớn do.
Good 7/10
Scoring PolicyReview copy provided by Bandai Namco
Robert"s been a dedicated PlayStation fan since the days of Tekken 2, & he still loves a good dust up. When he"s not practising combos, he"s usually getting lost in the latest 100-hour RPG, or, y"know, replaying The Witcher 3.
Tue 17th Nov 2015
Sweet reviews man! Picking this up tomorrow & can"t wait. Even after watching so many gameplay vids I didn"t really know what lớn expect, but your review has given me an idea. Thanks!
Tue 17th Nov 2015
Cool, pre-ordered this khổng lồ get Hollow Fragment for free. Glad khổng lồ heard you enjoyed it!
Tue 17th Nov 2015
Great review, spot on.
I"ve pre-order it lớn get the discount by having the Hollow Fragment.
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Tue 17th Nov 2015
Are the voice overs still Japanese only? It"s one of the reasons I had a hard time play Hollow Fragment. If I had watched the anime in Japanese, it wouldn"t have bothered me, but I watched the dub so the Japanese voices are way out of place.