Back during the PlayStation 1 and 2 eras of gaming, turn based RPG’s were common place and brought classics such as Final Fantasy VII, The Legend of Dragoon, and Persona 4 to name a few. However, as time has gone on, and the focus has shifted to more action-RPG combat styles, the turn based genre has faded into the niche consciousness of gaming. Fairy Fencer F is one of those turn based games you should check out if you are a fan of the genre.
Many years ago, there were two beings: the Goddess and the Vile God. They fought each other over light and darkness until there was so much of a stalemate that they were sealed away into another world. Magic, however, has remained in the world of Fairy Fencer F with many furies from the war left in weapons. Like the story of The Sword in the Stone or Thor, if you are worthy enough to pick up the weapon, you gain a power, and inside is the fury. By collecting all of the furies, a wish can be granted to the beholder, and the main characters, Fang and Eryn, want to bring back the Goddess, so there would be world peace. Fang is a lazy, man who wants to eat as much as possible and upon picking up a weapon, Eryn appeared before him. The banter between them is funny as Eryn, a persistant fury (fairy) is trying to stop Fang’s lazy behavior.
The characters throughout the story have plenty of personality and bring many laughs along the way. They’re very likable; they all have weaknesses to show, and from their misery, comedy arises. The voice acting is solid throughout the game, except for one character called Galdo, who puts on the stereotypical Canadian accent. He’s annoying and portrays an irritating buffoon who you just wish would shut up a few sentences into his lines. Other than that, the voice actors did a great job with the delivery and tone of their lines. If you’re not into English dubs, there is also the option to switch to Japanese.
The story is not ground breaking, but Idea Factory did well with localizing the script. There are many comedic moments that make you grin, but the villains are not developed enough for them to be good antagonists. Surprisingly, the story of Fairy Fencer F also includes some truly heartfelt moments for the main characters and a few side characters. Overall, the game has an addicting narrative that will keep me coming back to Fairy Fencer F.
When Fairy Fencer F first released on the PlayStation 3, it was almost unplayable due to the atrocious frame rate. However, with the PC version, the game rockets up to a rock solid 60 frames per second, and the animations within the game triumph within the mediocrity of the combat. All of the attacks, special moves, and “Fairize” transformations look incredibly flashy with elaborate animations and lighting effects added in. Every hit feels meaningful. The cut scenes between characters are also animated as you see them breathing and making the correct facial expression to the discussion they are having. Despite being repetitive at times, the winning animations also exemplify the personalities of the characters with a triumphant sound of the trumpet.
The menus have cogs running through the user interface, and before you go to each location, a video is displayed showing what it looks like. The anime inspired graphics despite being pseudo PS3-level are used well with its colorful pallet and interesting outdoor environments. The characters also exhibit plenty of personality through its anime art style. However, the indoor environments are lackluster with its bland warehouse-esque/dungeon design. Despite the indoor environments, the presentation of Fairy Fencer F is outstanding and reaches the mark that most mainline Final Fantasy games hit.
Unlike the Final Fantasy games though, the gameplay suffers from a lack of complexity and difficulty. Throughout much of my play time, all I needed was the standard attack and nothing else. It is also unclear whether or not the weapons your character use are a weakness to the enemy. It’s not like Pokemon, which has fire types being super effective to grass types. Your sword works against bird types? Great. I don’t know how though. It’s also a breeze to go through the game. The bosses are easy to beat with your abilities and fairize transformations. They’re so easy in fact that when there is a cutscene that interrupts the game to say that the boss is too difficult to finish off, I could have easily overwhelmed him/her/it. The interface during battle is a bit odd too. Time and time again, I have the character facing the enemy, thinking he/she will attack it, and then it will focus on a different creature/character. It’s frustrating, but by pressing the arrow button or hovering the mouse over, you can see what you’re focusing on. You just have to take extra care before initiating the attack.
What adds to the turn based combat system of Fairy Fencer F is the ability to combo. Instead of simply attacking the enemy once with a bland strike of the sword, you are able to follow up with another attack like swiping the enemy up in the air. Another addition to the usual J-RPG formula are the “Fairize” transformations; with the power of each character’s fury, there is a special form that you can activate that increases his or her damage and defense. The “Fairize” transformation also starts a hype-filled rock theme that makes the form exciting to play. It can be activated too easily due to a bar that is added by damage either given and delivered, but it’s an exciting addition nonetheless. The leveling system is different too. There is the traditional leveling system which upgrades all of your characters’ statistics, but there is also the Weapon Boost system. From earning experience from battling, Fang and the gang can get new abilities, improved stats, and new combo attacks. There are also challenges that increase the characters’ stats; for example, you can gain attributes by jumping ever-so-much, running for so long, or battling with the same party leader for “x” amount of minutes. These two additions are needed due to the mediocrity of the combat.
Despite the rock theme of the Fairize transformations, the music is a low note for the game. The battle theme is generic, the field themes are just in the background, and the music during cutscenes is irritating at most points. The music is also not orchestrated. The world and town themes are the only tracks that stand out. The world theme sounds triumphant with its use of strings and percussion. During the calm sections of the song, it has a pleasant melody that brings me back to when I played Tales of, Final Fantasy XII and Kingdom Hearts as a kid. The acoustic guitar notes of the town theme also give a welcoming vibe.
Overall, Fairy Fencer F is worth checking out if you’re a J-RPG fan. If you love a funny (and sometimes cheesy) J-RPG story with a few dark elements here and there, beautiful anime inspired art design, and a turn based combat system, Fairy Fencer F may fit the gap that current gaming generations have been missing for you. It’s just too bad that the combat is lacking complexity, and the music, other than the world and town themes, is as generic as it gets.
A Steam code of Fairy Fencer F was provided by Idea Factory for review purposes.