Depending on how you perceive the story telling, I can say that the rating for the story can go from rock bottom 0 to almost full marks 10. Really,
Resonance of Fate uses unique approach to tell the story. In jrpg, we often see how the plot-driven story emphasised on character development, journey and interaction with the antagonists, and in the bigger picture, how they are related to the world's crisis. This is not the same with
Resonance of Fate. The story can be very confusing. Each character's background was vague, and even what's actually happening throughout the game were not explained properly, making things rather confusing to players. From the way I see it,
Resonance of Fate is a sort of Slice of Life - not plot driven, lacks in-depth story and everyone is a winner in the end - pretty much what you saw in most slice of life tv show. The story focus more on the actual characters itself rather than the theories behind the world - the likes of Basel's existence, Zenith and quartz, and pretty much what's been told to you during each chapter. They are all significant in giving the rough idea of the character's background, but in the end what's importantly they are all live happily together - even though we never know how the world surface is restored, what's Rebecca (the loli demon girl) really is, and many more. We are free to speculate what's actually happening rather than seeing straight, linear plot-driven story. Hence, although the story might be poorly presented, the way it was told and how Tri-Ace made the main three characters revolve around the story without delving too deep into the matter were rather fascinating for me. I would love to see some kind of sequel where Tri-Ace would actually put more effort in explaining the story.
On top of that, Tri-Ace made up for the lack of story with funny and interesting characters, and a lot of comedies, on and off the scenes. All three of them are likeable, although I would argue that sometimes Zephyr can get on my nerve with his emo attitude, slightly. Vashyron with his pervertness and tendency to tease the other two; Zephyr with his "night vision" but always with that serious look on his face, while the cutie Leanne is, well, do I really need to say? She's almost always become the victim of the other two's teasing, even in battles. Hilarious stuff. On top of that, they are all so close and cares a lot to each other.
p/s: as I mentioned previously, there is a very good topic on gamefaqs board discussing and speculating about the story, which can be found here.
http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/genmessage.php?board=959317&topic=54076899
Gameplay: 9.5/10If anything, the gameplay is probably one of the most memorable features of
Resonance of Fate, and quite simply one of the most enjoyable combat system I experienced in awhile. The game applies a unique modification of Turn-Based concept similar to what you might see from Valkyria Chronicle, and another Tri-Ace game, Valkyrie Profile Silmeria (opps..). In short, you control 3 (and the only available characters in the whole game) characters in battle. Each characters take turn to attack, either by charging standing still and charge/shoot or perform what is called "Hero Actions", where they run along a pre-determined path, shooting and performing various acrobatic maneuvers. There's more to that. There are more features to the gameplay, like Bonus shots, Smackdowns, Tri-Attacks (where all three characters attack in unison), Hero gauge, Resonance point, many of which are probably only made sense if you personally play the game or watch it on youtube or something. Simply put, memorable and enjoyable.
In battle, you can wield either handgun, machinegun or grenades to attack enemies, with additional MG rounds to deal extra bonus effects/damage. You can even dual-wield HG or MG for some extra kicks. Handgun allows you to deal direct but weaker damage, while machine gun deal regenerative but stronger scratch damage. While there are many types of grenades you can use - poison, electroschock, freeze, oil, simple hand grenade etc. Leveling in
Resonance of Fate is unlike normal rpg - characters have their own guns/grenade levels, and a character 's level is the sum of each of their weapon - HG+MG+Grenade. Each maxed out at level 100, making it possible for each character to go to level 300 max. To add efficiency in battles, you can customize your HG and MG by adding numerous parts - scope, extra magazines, adapters, barrels to the point that the weapon looks ridiculously over-customized. Too bad these were not shown visually in battle. Anyhow, since the combat system really revolve around MG scratch followed by direct damage clean off with HG, hence only Machinegun is worth leveling to the max level because of the full scratch bonus, and the only reason you want to level the other two weapons is to get some extra hp (veeeeeeeery crucial for bonus dungeon Neverland). I'd like to give the gameplay a full 10, but minus 0.5 point because after awhile, the strategy for each battle become stale and you'd pretty much stick with one method - full scratch enemies with machine gun, then finish off with handgun or grenades.
Graphic/Visuals: 10/10My, who doesn't like steampunk concept?
Resonance of Fate is probably one of THE most beautiful games I've played in recent times. Remember the stunning sceneries in
Valkyrie Profile Silmeria? That's what you see in
Resonance of Fate. The cities and characters were beautifully designed that I really was left speechless the moment I start playing the game - simply amazing. Some of the downside as far as the graphic are concerned is that the the battle field lacks varieties- in the same dungeon, one room and another doesn't really differ much. One more thing, I would love to see the customised weapon to be seen exactly as it was customised, but thinking that at end game you can have something like
THIS, I guess it's better not to show the customised part in battle lol.
What else. Character design. Another magnificent creation from Tri-Ace, far outclassing their work in Star Ocean 4. Imagine the fact that
8,000 polygons were used for Leanne's hair alone, with a total of almost 40,000 polygons for each character. Tell how much details they put on the visuals. Adding to that, you can play Barbie with your characters - A LOT, and I mean A LOT of costumes are available for you to play with. You can switch their tops, skirts, jeans, jackets, boots, belts, scarf, and even hair and eye colors. And the good thing, their costumes appeared in cutscenes exactly as you customize them, except in certain scenes where a character sticks with a white shirt. Beware though, since there are too many options, sometimes you might end up spending hours just to choose the best outfit for your characters!
Sounds/Music - 8.5/10Overall the musics are not really memorable, but Tri-Ace uses variation of musics to fit with the scenes and battles. Something for everyone to listen to, from bass, techno to jazz and hard rock. The musics itself changes frequently in battle into a more upbeat, fast tempo music when you made Heroes Action and performing Tri-Attacks, making the battle even more lively. Talk about the voice acting, again, almost a full score for me. At the start of the game, they allows you to choose either English or Japanese voice, although this can't be changed in-game. Both versions are well casted, each character really comes alive with their voice acting without some fake, misfits voice (*COUGH* STAROCEAN4*COUGH*).
Vashyron (Ken Narita/Nolan North) sounds like a mature elder bro,
Zephyr (Hiro Shimono/Scott Menville) like a rebellious teenager, while
Leanne (Aya Endou/Jessica DiCicco) like a fine but a bit spoiled young lady :3
Quests/Replay Value - 8/10The game is divided into 16 chapters, and you have the freedom to choose when you want to advance to the next chapter. There are 60+ quests in total in the game, some story-related and some are optional, all which are only available in specific Chapter. Given you control when chapter advance, there's really no reason not to complete all quests for a nice Achievement/ Trophy. With that said, the quest lacks varieties and in every chapter, you pretty much do the same odd job - kill enemies in the marked hexes, explore dungeon to fetch something, or just a simple deliveries. Other than that, there is also Arena battles for you to train your characters and get some awesome items, some of which are extremely useful in bonus dungeon Neverland. Speaking of Neverland, it was a typical Tri-Ace end game dungeon, like what you've experienced in Seraphic Gate or Cave of Seven Stars. Except that the enemies in Neverland is extremely nuts. Careful preparation really is needed just to pass your first random encounter in that place - the enemies are so strong that they can easily 1-hit kill you if you are not prepared enough.
Typical of Tri-Ace,
Resonance of Fate do have replay value, depending on how you see it. Remember Valkyrie Profile Silmeria's 50 Crystal run? It's the same with
Resonance of Fate. Everytime you beat a game in higher difficulty, you unlocks and even higher difficulties...until 10 times. Worth doing? Maybe for a challenge. If you re-do the same difficulty run, you keep virtually everything you possessed - levels, money, items, clear hexes... this is not the case if you play through a new difficulty though. Nevertheless it's still worth playing the game a 2nd time for the fun factor, plus you get 2 Achievements/Trophies by completing the game for a second time.
TL;DR - Overall, Resonance of Fate offers a refreshing experience for those who seeks something different in jrpg - addicting gunhappy combat system with slice of life story, coupled with magnificent visual to please your eyes. The game lacks varieties in quests and dungeon exploration, but this downside was covered by the entertaining gameplay; while the lacks of depth in story was complemented by interesting characters and light comedies all around.
overall verdict: 8.6/10 - a worthy addition for Tri-Ace fan
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