Phobos Children's Fun JRPG-Infused Tap Battles

When a friend recommended me indie studio Mirai Labo’s smartphone game Phobos Children, I was pleasantly surprised to see their take on a JRPG-inspired battle system as it was said to be an action-puzzle RPG. Interestingly, Phobos Children makes its own combat style that combines ideas from JRPGs and puzzles with the handy touchscreen to make an involved experience that relies on tapping bubbles to attack in a fun and unique way. As a fan of JRPGs and rhythm games, Phobos Children’s combat reminds me of both in an addictive way that makes me want to keep playing it.

Review - Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan (PC)

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is one of the most unique JRPGs I’ve ever played for a lot of reasons. It’s from Kiro’o Games, a game studio in Cameroon, Africa, and it’s based on African mythology, something that I don’t think I’ve ever seen explored in a JPRG world. Reasons like this are probably why it was successfully Kickstarted years ago and would make it a one of a kind experience for any JRPG player looking for something different. Aurion has many highs, such as a deep story that challenges its player to think profoundly throughout the King and Queen of Zama’s story, a fun active battle system and its own different kind of class system. A lack of polish stops Aurion from being a great game, but the variety of gameplay mechanics and philosophical story do make it pretty good.

Aurion centres around King Enzo from the isolated city of Zama, whose world is turned upside thanks to his brother-in-law attacking Zama just after Enzo is wed with his childhood friend and new Queen Erine. This attack results in Enzo and Erine awaking suddenly exiled from Zama and having to find the answers, along with exploring the outside world for the first time. Aurion’s story explores existential questions and the growth of the individual and a relationship, together creating a great sense of purpose throughout the story and the true feeling of going on a journey. The story isn’t afraid to go deep, with the script describing some profound topics such as embracing anger and living with honour. Some of these story moments were let down by a lack of proofreading or varying pacing, but other times there were incredibly strong story moments with such inspiration dialogue that kept me going on my Aurionic journey.

One of the things that drew me into trying Aurion was the mention of a battle system similar to some Tales of games. Aurion features an active battle system in a platforming, brawler-like style that's fun to play if you take the time to master it. There is a variety of shortcuts for commands to perform, whether you're using a regular attack, transforming your class with Aurions or getting help from Erine, who packs just as much of a punch as her husband. These commands can be implemented very quickly in battle when used, but I had trouble sometimes since the commands were so similar instead of getting Erine heal me, I'd make her attack instead even when I was using a controller. I know this problem would’ve been worse on keyboard though, so I definitely recommend using a controller to anyone who plays.

While I found the controls a little tough at time, there’s a fun class system to use in the form of Aurions. An Aurion gives Enzo a set of moves to use, boosts his power and allows him to perform special attacks. Special attacks provide the kind of Dragon Ball Z attack realness that excited the anime fan in me and made Enzo feel like a really powerful character to fight as. The best part is there are so many Aurions to unlock that I was able to find multiple for different purposes, whether for exploiting weaknesses, hitting a bunch of enemies at once on the ground or raining down attacks from above. The best part of Aurions is how they're unlocked, which is either through story moments or by combining them. Even though I couldn't get the battle commands right every time, I was able to get around this by taking advantage of the many cool Aurions at my disposal.

To do battles and experience the story, Aurion’s world full of beautiful art and music must be explored. Exploration is done in many ways: there's platforming, puzzles to unlock blocked areas, the occasional dialogue-effecting choice and even visual novel-style moments to fill in story gaps. Aurion incorporates a lot of different styles into it, which reminded me of older JRPGs featuring puzzles and challenges to move forward. Certain things I loved, such as the interesting and challenging puzzles that used pattern memorization well, but other things were let down by the lack of polish in Aurion. There are certain sweet spots to buttons needed for puzzles and chests that caused to me to be running around in one spot until it let me press the button, text going outside the box and a regularly featured difficult wall jumping mechanic. These small things were regular enough for me to find them in almost every one of my gameplay sessions and while I love the variety in Aurion, I wish the quality of these many mechanics was made a little smoother and better.

Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan is a good first effort for the Cameroon studio, even if it’s a little unpolished. Its profound story features some of the deepest philosophical ideas I’ve seen in games for awhile and unlocking Aurions made its active battle system even more fun. If you can look past the lack of polish, there is a story like no other JRPG in Aurion and a variety of gameplay mechanics to keep things interesting. Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan may not be perfect, but its uniqueness may interest those looking for a new kind of JRPG.

Score: 7.1/10
A unique, unpolished JRPG experience away from the usual JRPG story content complete with Dragon Ball Z attack realness.

You can pick up Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan on Steam
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Will you play Aurion? What's the most unique JRPG you've played?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook, Youtube or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list and Youtube Channel for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Disclaimer: I received a code for this game from Kiro'o Games, but I can promise this post is 100% honest and written without bias.

First Impressions: Legrand Legacy (PC)

If there's one thing that can be said about Legrand Legacy, it would be that it has incredible potential. Just from watching its trailer, the well-rendered 3D cutscenes set it apart from a lot of Indie projects and show the tremendous game Legrand Legacy could be. I’m happy to say this potential shines through in the demo of Legrand Legacy, which shows off its gameplay, cutscenes and gives a glimpse into the beginning of the protagonist’s journey. Although it's a pre-alpha version, the 2-hour demo is an incredibly enticing look at a clear tribute to JRPGs, complete with likeable characters, a nifty battle system and a punishing final boss that kept me keen, on my feet and ready for more.

Legrand Legacy is set in the unique world of Legrand, filled with thieves, desert sands and demonic creatures. The protagonist Finn awakens with no memory of his past and having to fight for his life in an Arena. Luckily he wins against the odds thanks to a power from within him, which leads to him traveling with a mysterious mage and starting his journey without any memories to guide him. The characters that he meets and that accompany him on his journey come across as likeable, thanks to well-written dialogue that gives each character purpose and personality from the get-go. While the characters are more serious than silly, small bits of humour are inserted here and there that give the experience a nice balance of light and heavy moments. While I liked all of the main cast featured in the demo, I was particularly intrigued by Finn’s trusting nature and softness. I was a little critical about him initially as he goes from being the tough guy in an arena fight to being a really soft-hearted character, but his subtle caring nature is a nice contrast to his strong-willed sub-characters. All of the characters had very different personalities and I found myself intrigued by each of them in different ways.

Complementing the interesting story are the beautiful 3D cutscenes and visual novel scenes that tell it. I don't play many PC games but I can say the graphics, particularly the 3D cutscenes, aren't far off what I'd expect from a console game. The version of Legrand Legacy available on Steam is a pre-alpha build, so outside of the cutscenes the graphics aren't perfect but all graphics look good at worst, with the gorgeous cutscenes feeling like a fresh cherry on top. The game map and landscapes are also nice to look at and the desert world is complemented by good music and sound effects. It's the combination of all of these quality aspects that make Legrand Legacy stand out as an indie experience and while it's not completely the same in smoothness and polish as bigger games, for a pre-alpha experience it's doing a pretty good job.

The combat system in Legrand Legacy is a turn-based one that smartly takes advantage of the system its played on to make it unique. Accompanying the usual spells and physical attacks featured in usual JRPGs is Legrand Legacy’s Action Circle Tempo mechanic, which involves hitting a direction key indicated in a circle at the right time to either get a Perfect, Good or Poor attack. While I’ve seen this kind of mechanic in other games (namely the mobile game X-Tactics and most rhythm games), in Legrand Legacy the mechanic adds a nice bit of flavour to a familiar system.

Adding more uniqueness to making the most of combat are Grimoires, which are basically magic. Magic will be familiar to most JRPG players, but the way Grimoires are gained is what I found most interesting. They're unlocked through earning points in battle and giving them to the appropriate skills. For instance, a powerful water spell may involve raising your strength or intellect stats, and another power skill may need strength and luck raised instead. This creates an interesting choice between making your character the most skilled or most powerful and while I couldn't work out which was the better choice (and my inner completionist picked having all of the skills anyway), it was certainly an interesting choice that I liked having.

My feelings about Legrand Legacy are mostly pretty positive, but one thing I did find questionable at times was its difficulty. While I initially found the random battles difficult until I got the hang of the ACT system, the real thing I found difficult was the final boss. Don’t get me wrong: as a JRPG fan I love a good final boss battle, but this one kinda felt borderline cruel. The group attacks and the amount of damage that boss is capable of is seemingly much higher than any of the random battles prepare you for. I found myself having to go grind and really get the hang of the ACT system in order to have any chance of winning. In saying that, I did feel determined to take on the challenge (and I won!) but other players, particularly of more modern JRPGs, may not be used to this kind of difficulty. Legrand Legacy does describe itself as a tribute to classic JRPGs and this tough fight certainly echoes the tough boss fights of old JRPGs and ultimately I felt a huge amount of satisfaction when I won, so I wasn't that bothered by it in the end.

Legrand Legacy is certainly a modern homage to classic JRPGs, but it’s also much more than that. With a modern aesthetic which will appeal to fans of modern JRPGs, its characters and unique gameplay make Legrand Legacy its own unique experience, I felt a good majority of my JRPG needs satisfied, with the best part being I also wanted more once the demo ended, which is exactly how I want to feel at the end of any demo. I want to get to know Legrand Legacy’s characters more, see where the story goes and most importantly, play more with the fun, timing-based mechanics. Legrand Legacy has the ambition and execution to be a unique addition to the JRPG genre and I hope that with enough support, whether through its crowdfunding endeavour or otherwise, that this is an experience I will get to play more of in the future.

Legrand Legacy is on its final day on Kickstarter! If you like the sound of it, considering helping Semisoft reach its goal of funding Legrand Legacy here!

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Will you try Legrand Legacy? And if you already have, what did you think of it?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

Notes: In the interest of transparency, this game was requested consideration, but I can promise this post is 100% honest and written without bias.
Also, digital games are regularly updated and changed. My opinions about this game are based on the condition of the game at the time and with the version I played and may not cover any future important changes to it.

JRPGs I Played in Fall 2016

Fall marked the release of three long-awaited games: Persona 5 released in Japan and is now my main Japanese study tool, the delightful World of Final Fantasy and the very recently released Final Fantasy XV. Other than having some of my most anticipated games come out, I'm also really pleased with the amount of new JRPG worlds I explored in Fall. I had a silly curry adventure with Sorcery Saga, deferred moves and made relationships in Lost Dimension and tried multiple Indie JRPGs that all were very different. All these games left me with a really optimistic feeling coming into Winter, particularly with the release of Final Fantasy XV. Here's my list of what I played in Fall, feel free to let me know what you played too!

Final Fantasy XV (PS4)

Status: Only a couple of hours in as of writing this. Hoping to sink A LOT of hours into it!

I've barely scratched the stunning surface of Final Fantasy XV, but what I've played was certainly satisfying. I'm amazed by its giant looking world and while I'm a JRPG fan at heart, I love how it's so far a nice combination of the good parts of WRPGs such as choices and open worlds with typical JRPG’s skill trees, stat-building and unique dialogue. I haven't played nearly enough to give a full opinion, but I hope I remain this positive about it throughout my time with.

You can pick up Final Fantasy XV for PS4 and Xbox One from Play-Asia.com!*

A Story of the End - Revere (PC Demo)

Status: Finished the demo multiple times

Revere serves as a great indie cherry on top of my Fall gaming season as one of the last games I played this season. It was an enjoyable 45 minute experience that involved talking rabbits and bears, sprites and a surprisingly emotional twist in its story. The version I played had some grammar errors and a lack of tutorials, but the new version on Steam fixes a lot of what I talked about, so I recommend checking it out if you think it looks interesting!

You can read my First Impressions here!

You can try A Story of the End: Revere's demo for free on Steam, for download at Itch.io or Game Jolt.

The full version is scheduled for release in Fall 2017.

World of Final Fantasy (PS Vita)

Status: Playing the absolute honk out of it

If my JRPG Appreciation Post didn’t get this message across, let me say it now: I love World of Final Fantasy. It may even be one of the best games I’ve played all year. It combines so many things I love from Final Fantasy and other JRPGs: monster hunting, interesting evolutions, the Final Fantasy battle system and a quirky story mixed in with many characters I love and many new ones that make me want to get to know more about them and their respective games. I’ve been a fan of plenty of games that combine Final Fantasy characters from various series, whether it be Final Fantasy Record Keeper, Final Fantasy Brave Exvius or even Kingdom Hearts, but World of Final Fantasy is pretty much a perfect tribute to the series so far and I really don’t want it to end. Planning to platinum it!

Check out my post about World of Final Fantasy's awesome stacking mechanic here!

You can pick up World of Final Fantasy for PS4 and PS Vita at Play-Asia.com!*

Pokemon Sun and Moon (3DS Demo)

Status: Finished the demo

While I'm not playing the full version of Pokemon Sun and Moon like most JRPG fans, I did take a peak at the gameplay with the 3DS demo. To my delight, the Japanese demo included the English language version so I was able to play my absolute best. While the demo is played with an OP Pokemon, I enjoyed seeing how far Pokemon had come since the last full Pokemon game I played. The Alola Region looks beautiful and I like the idea of the challenge system rather than versing gym leaders. I'd like to revisit Alola in the full version sometime, but with all these Final Fantasy games to play, I may be a little while.

You can pick up the full version of Pokemon Sun and Moon from Play-Asia.com or download the free demo from the Nintendo e-Shop!

Light Fairytale (PC Demo)

Status: Finished the demo

I played Light Fairytale thanks to noticing the adorable 3D-sprite character designs when the developer tagged me in a Twitter post. I honestly checked Light Fairytale based on the cuteness of its sprites, but I was pleasantly surprised with an interesting little demo experience. While I haven't finished Final Fantasy VII, I have played Crisis Core and I can say the maps and music of Light Fairytale is reminiscent of Final Fantasy VII in a good way. The demo is pretty short, but it looks like an interesting story and world to run around in and I'll definitely be checking this out when it's released.

You can download a free demo of Light Fairytale at Gamejolt!

Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God (PS Vita)

Status: Finished the main story. Still eating curry multiple times a week.

I downloaded Sorcery Saga a few years ago, played the first dungeon and jumped out because it wasn't what I was used to. I decided to jump back in a month ago as I remembered it's quirky dialogue and after a few heavier games such as Lost Dimension and Fire Emblem: Awakening, I was missing silly JRPG humour. Sorcery Saga couldn't have been a more perfect game for this.

Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God is an extremely silly search for curry ingredients in a ruthless roguelike dungeon. As my first roguelike, I had to learn about item management and knowing what fights are worth it or not and had plenty of game overs, yet it was strangely a lot of fun. Now that I've finished it, there are a lot of things I miss about Sorcery Saga. The silly jokes about curry and wannabe heroes gave me a lot to love about Sorcery Saga. In the next quiet gaming point, I’d love to try another silly game like this, whether it’s Neptunia or another series, for some more laughs and good JRPG times. If you know of a good, silly JRPG with interesting gameplay I might like, please comment and let me know!

Check out my review of Sorcery Saga here!

You can pick up Sorcery Saga: Curse of the Great Curry God for PS Vita at Play-Asia.com!*

Dragon's Crown (PS Vita)

Status: Too many boobs?

I really wanted to enjoy Dragon’s Crown. I’d heard so many good things about it, one of my favourite voice actors (Erin Fitzgerald) was in it and although the art style was different to what I was used to, it looked like a deep fantasy experience and I'm always up for trying something different. When I was looking through the character selection screen, I noticed the art style had a lot more….flesh than I was used to, even as a JRPG player. I’m far from a prude, but as I got into the first stop in Dragon’s Crown and noticed the zoomed in cleavage of the NPC, I realised I could not play Dragon’s Crown comfortably in the Starbucks seat I was sitting in. Or the train. Or any public place.

I think most people don’t care what other people do in public, but for me I would rather play this at home without the fear of prying eyes thinking I'm doing something much more inappropriate than playing a video game. Since I’m not the biggest fan of beat-em-up side-scrollers, it’s not high on my priority list after this experience. Let me know your experience with Dragon’s Crown in the comments below and if it's worth playing in the privacy of my home.

You can pick up Dragon's Crown for PS3 and PS Vita at Play-Asia.com!*

Persona 5 (PS3)

Status: Played 40 hours, then started all over again to play slowly with a dictionary to understand the story. Almost at the second save point.

When Persona 5 came out, there was no question: I needed to play it, regardless of my Japanese level. I could sit here talking about how much I love the combat, how I love the delinquent main characters and how I think it somehow improves all the things that were already great in Persona, but the reality is after getting past the first dungeon, I’ve been slugging through with a dictionary and I'm barely through the first month again. Even if it's slow, this is probably one of the most engaging ways for me to improve my Japanese since I want to know every little thing about the story. I know it's gonna take me awhile and I'm okay with that as I'm also excited for the localisation in April. It's definitely a game to be excited for and the language barrier will definitely keep some surprise in store for me in April.

Check out my first impressions of the Japanese version here!

You can pick up Persona 5 in Japanese or pre-order it in English for PS3 and PS4 at Play-Asia.com!

Lost Dimension (PS Vita)

Status: Finished the main story, want to play again for the true ending.

Lost Dimension was a nice way to fill my Final Fantasy XV delay void. I had a lot of fun with its Defer system, the magical gifts and the deeper side of the characters found in the social aspect of the game. The only problem is my experience feels a little incomplete since I didn't get the true ending and I didn't get to know some of my favourite characters (AGITO!) because well, they were pretty much randomly selected to die in my playthrough. I hope to come back to Lost Dimension next time a game delays and truly finish the game. If you want some suspicion mixed in with your JRPG experience, Lost Dimension is pretty interesting!

Check out my review of Lost Dimension here!

You can pick up Lost Dimension for PS3 and PS Vita at Play-Asia.com!*

Mobius Final Fantasy (iOS)

Status: Not playing

I was super excited to try Mobius Final Fantasy, particularly since I was moving apartments as it came out. Only problem is that I didn't like it nearly as much as I expected and now it's just chilling on my phone taking up data because I feel bad deleting it. It's been announced for PC though and I'm keen to give it another try there. I thought it was too complicated and had too many tiny buttons for a smartphone game so I'm hoping it'll be a more comfortable experience so I can try the story out a bit more.

Check out my Mobius Final Fantasy first impressions here!
Mobius Final Fantasy is free and available in both the App Store and the Google Play store.

X-Tactics (iOS)

Status: Playing occasionally

I was pleasantly surprised when I booted up X-Tactics last month as it ran so smoothly it almost felt like a new game. The Gamkin team have obviously been working hard since I reviewed it as they've gone well beyond the version number I played during my review (they’re past version 20, I reviewed up to version 4.4) and it really shows. The gameplay has been slightly altered to remove some of the touch mechanics, but it actually makes the experience much faster and smoother. Speaking of speed, X-Tactics is downright zippy in the speed department. I used to try have 10 minutes aside for an X-Tactics game but I can fit an average mission into about 5 minutes now, which makes me really happy when I’m transferring trains. Also, I finally got my beloved Kuu thanks to free X-Coins and he's adorable. I’m really impressed with how far X-Tactics has come and will be sticking around as it continues to improve.

X-Tactics is available for free on iOS and  Android.

Kingdom Hearts Unchained χ (iOS)

Status: Logging in during free AP events, at around quest 120

While I had a lot of fun with Kingdom Hearts Unchained during it’s beginning no-AP campaign, I haven’t felt as compelled as I did with other mobile games to come back to it. I didn't play it much due to the slow moving story, but I did log back in for a few days during one of the recent no-AP events to try get further through the story. While I only get 10-20 quests ahead and didn’t find any significant story, Unchained is still fun, even if it’s a little repetitive.

Check out my review of Kingdom Hearts Unchained X here!
Kingdom Hearts Unchained X is available for free on iOS and Android.

Final Fantasy Brave Exvius (iOS)

Status: In Lanzelt, slowly getting through the story

Brave Exvius is probably the mobile game I’ve been playing most recently, as its quests are fairly quick and I’ve been playing my Vita at work a lot these days. I had a few good draws from the random unit draw, including a 5-star Lightning but I'm more into the story than collection at the moment. While I’ve been playing extremely slowly, the story has great dialogue and I hope to get through it and I'm glad the charming characters are keeping me interested.

Check out my review of Final Fantasy Brave Exvius here!
Final Fantasy Brave Exvius is available for free on iOS and Android.

Digimon World Next Order (Japanese, PS Vita)

Status: Played an hour or two, not actively playing

When I got Digimon World Next Order, despite playing another game at the same time I was so excited that I had to try it immediately. One of my favourite games as a kid was the original Digimon World and when I saw how similar Next Order was in its trailer, I was filled with nostalgia. Next Order is currently only in Japanese so I had a little trouble understanding the new mechanics, but since it was so similar to what I played as a kid, I was able to have fun doing my first Digivolution and getting a Digimon to come to the city. The only problem is I got a Veemon instead of an Agumon to hang out with my Gabumon and I'm very much an Agumon fan. I will have to fix this as soon as I get back in, but I don't know if I'll play before or after the localisation is released.

You can pick up Digimon World: Next Order in Japanese for PS Vita or pre-order it in English for PS4 at Play-Asia.com!*

Winter Gaming Plan

With Final Fantasy XV having just been released, my gaming plan is pretty simple: play Final Fantasy XV. I expect to be playing it at least until Christmas (but probably well after), so that will take a majority of my console gaming time. It's looking like I'm nearing the end of World of Final Fantasy in my portable gaming life and after that I have far too many things to play. I'm quite tempted buy Pokemon Sun and Moon, but I'm also tempted to pick up an older game. I did make one of my JRPG new year resolutions to play Final Fantasy VIII so that's an idea, but I also don't know how I feel about playing two Final Fantasy games simultaneously. I may try Hyperdimension Neptunia: Re;Birth1, but obviously I'm quite undecided. In regards to my Japanese gaming for my language studies, I'm easily going to be playing Persona 5 for awhile so I'll stick with that. I can't see myself finishing it with three months but I'm enjoying taking my time with it.

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What did you play last season? What will you play this season?

Leave a comment below, send me a tweet at @JRPGJungle, hit me up on Facebook or Instagram and let's talk!

Thanks so much for stopping by!
Make sure to follow the blog here, follow @JRPGJungle on Twitter and Instagram, like JRPG Jungle on Facebook and Subscribe to the mailing list for updates on content and random musings on JRPG news and games. You're awesome! <3

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