I'm looking for opinions of the following:
Resonance of Fate: I was reading a different thread recently where this game was highly recommended by many people. I remember the old PS3 game, but never played it. Did I miss out on a hidden gem? I am interested in the recent PS4 digital release. What makes this game so special that it is highly recommended?
I would appreciate any insight from you folks! I ll try and check a couple you tube videos out too, but I am weary of spoilers in that regard.
I'll tackle this one.
Resonance of Fate is a wonderful game that is simply unique. It's different from most anything you've played. The closest game to it would be Valkyria Chronicles, but even that only has small similarities with the combat. I suppose I'll cover it in parts.
The Story
RoF has a pretty interesting story which is different than the usual fair of JRPGs. You experience the lives of a trio of mercenaries who are just trying to scrape by. They each have their sordid histories and bloody pasts which will be shaded to you for quite a large portion of the game. The story is told in non-standard manner, like that of a puzzle. You get pieces here and there that may seem like they're little things or nothing. Maybe you don't know where they go in the grand scheme of things. Then you get that piece that connects the picture and start to put it all together in your head. "Ah, X was...because Y!" revelations hit me a few times already, and I really love the slice-of-life bits that may come in between some off-site dark drama regarding the concept of God. Everything ties together, slowly but surely. For me, each piece has kept my attention and I've been curious to see how it all ends. There's no giant lore dump or exposition of people just talking at you for hours. You see the important stuff unfold, even if it doesn't make sense to you at the time, it will later.
The World
The world in RoF isn't your standard overworld fare. When you're in town, you're roaming around like normal. When out in the "world", you're controlling a cursor and unlocking different parts of the map using energy hexes and the like. You have different shapes or configurations that will help you get to new areas, or special colored hexes to unlock new places. You can even link up to terminals that provide special effects such as Item Drop Rate x2 or Prevent Burning. There are many levels to the world of Basel - the giant clockwork tower that is humanity's bastion after the world essentially ended. You'll get ever so familiar with particular areas after you cross through them time and time again. One complaint people had was that the game had a lot of areas that were of the same color palette: browns and greys. The games aesthetic is largely steampunk, with gears and steam and combustion and the like. You'll find diesel spewing cars strapped to giant monsters, alongside myriad relics of the past. I still find it a little shocking to see street signs and fragments of the 'old world' in this post apocalyptic haven.
Dungeons feel like dungeons, something you get geared up to go into and explore while facing beast after beast. Dungeons can have their own overworld with different sub-dungeons that may have different enemies or equipment or even a different story piece later. You can get into combat in the dungeon overworld, just like in the standard overworld. When you enter the actual area, you can run around like you do in combat. Some areas won't have a fight for a room or two, while others throw you right into the fray. When you're in a dungeon with many rooms, you can't swap your inventory or change items...so make sure you're prepared. I made sure to check every room for extra goodies, such as new guns or ammo types.
The Combat
Where RoF shines is in the combat. It's a strategy RPG to make it simple, somewhat like Valkyria Chronicles in a sense. The battle system seems tricky at first, but it's actually remarkably simple. You have two damage types. One does high damage but can't kill. The other does low damage but can kill. Build up your scratch damage via SMGs that do high damage and then cash it all in for direct damage via a handgun or explosive. You get elemental status effects from ammo types and different grenades, allowing you to further manipulate the enemy. Planning out your attacks and routes are key to the battle system, as you'll want to take the terrain into account as well as enemy shields, angles, or even when they'll be attacking you. Hero Actions are the flashy John Woo-style cinematic attacks that you perform on the ground and in the air. You're invincible during these, but once you stop your path...you might end your turn in a hornets nest. Combat is all about setting up big attacks with your whole team, or planning when you'll want to kill an enemy to restore part of your action gauge, or when you'll break a shield to stun them, etc. People have struggled with the battle system in the past, but I think it's because they found themselves overwhelmed at first. It's a lot of info to dump on you, especially when the only tutorial is in an optional arena or a flashing point in the guild.
The Characters
The characters are truly wonderful in my opinion. I've really enjoyed how this group of rag-tag nobodies try to hit it big in a dirty and washed up world. They don't really have any particular dreams other than getting money, but eventually they start to share some of their ambitions. They really feel like a family, often joking with one another or propping up each other in their own ways. When you start to learn about their pasts, you really see some lights shining through the cracked masks they seem to wear. None of the characters are the type to give a long drawn out speech about doing whats right, they have no real sense of 'justice', they understand that they're just guns for hire and even just murderers, and they're never the type to try to school you about the Power Of Friendship(tm). They feel like real people who say only what they think they need to say, rather than having Turn Based Conversations that most games have. They're funny, charming, and witty with great voice actors in both languages. Nolan North voices Vashyron, the guy with the ponytail. While he may be a wise-cracking smartass, he's a farcry from North's typical "Nathan Drake" archetype.
The Music
Kohei Tanaka, most recognized in gaming for Gravity Rush, Sakura Wars, and Alunda, is one of the composers on the soundtrack. The other? Motoi Sakuraba of tons of amazing games with beautiful soundtracks. You can really get a feel for each composers style in the tracks. The songs really fit the theme of the world, and give a feeling a kind of... grungy symphonic taste, if that makes any sense. The music rises during the clashing Hero Actions in battle, it flows in a soothing melody during quiet and cold areas, and it just outright shines in most aspects of the game. There was never a track that I disliked, so I've nothing negative at all to say about the sound track. Whipping dual pistols around and lighting up a giant fire-breathing beast while bullets fly and casings hit the ground across sweeping orchestral arrangements paired with grungy guitar riffs is something might sound cheesy on paper, but sounds great on air.
Also, it's a tri-Ace game. They're my favorite developer so I may be a bit biased.
Reasons to play it:
Fantastic characters.
A slice of life story that is pieced together like a puzzle throughout the game.
Unique mechanics ranging from gun customization to simple world traversal keep everything interesting.
Over the top combat that is both tactical and flashy, giving you a treat for the eyes while keeping you engaged along the way.
A lovely soundtrack to go along with your rain of bullets.
It's tri-Ace's best game since Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria.
Things to keep in mind:
The story kind of 'unlocks' as you go through it, so you may not understand why strangers are talking about a machine God for quite a while.
Combat can have a learning curve. For some, it doesn't click. Don't fret though, it's incredibly simple and a blast to play.
The side quests are lopsided in that you'll spend more time doing them than the main story.
Combat can get repetitive once you put together your bread and butter plan of attack. Mixing up who does what or focusing on different styles can help.
Near the end, side quests can feel very grindy. I've faced the same battle configuration 4x in a row for a single quest. The arena is also a grind. It's optional though.
I think Resonance of Fate is a hidden gem and I'd love to see a sequel or some kind of new take on the battle system.
Full disclosure: Resonance of Fate is one of my top ten RPGs, and tri-Ace is my favorite developer, so apologies if this seems like gushing over something I really like. If you wanted to see some of what the game is like, I posted the OT when the remaster launched.
https://www.resetera.com/threads/resonance-of-fate-4k-hd-edition-ot-still-alive.75338/
I'll admit, the game isn't for everyone. Some have just bounced right off it. If you want a game that's unique in pretty much every way with a really interesting and flashy battle system and an unorthodox style of story telling (compared to many other JRPGs), RoF may be that game for you. I say check out some videos if you're curious!
