[3DS/PSP] Unchained Blades

[Tickles]

Genre: RPG
Players: Single Player
Wifi: No
Release date:

(PSP) June 26, 2012

(3DS) Jan. 3, 2013

Metagame score: 6.1

My score: 5.5

Yet another game I chose to write a small review for, I bought this game on the release date for 3DS from the E shop, and I must say, it is interesting. Unchained blades follows a series of story arcs that tie into each other, as well as bringing an anime feel to the role playing element.

Gamplay:

The game is a first person dungeon crawling game. The movement takes some getting used to, but navigating is not impossible. Dungeon maps are revealed with each step, and random encounters may happen from time to time. There are quests you can take to make the dungeon crawl seem more productive, but there are too few at times, and you must do certain events to unlock more. Over all, it feels like a constant level grind, and thus, takes away from the experience.

The skills system is not too complicated, but acquiring a skill does not mean you can use it immediately. Some skills require the right Anima, which is only provided by followers you can recruit during your dungeon crawling.

Though the game play is tedious at times, it does have it's moments. The comic relief can is enough to make you want a little more, and winning a fight when on the verge of death can feels satisfying.

Battle:
The battle system is turn based, where speed is the deciding factor on order. In it are many options, and real strategy is taken into consideration. The skills a master can learn can decide a battle. There is also a chance to "Unchain" and enemy, which is like catching a pokemon, but needs to meet certain conditions before it can commence. These unchained monsters then become followers, who have anima to make other skills usable.

At most times, a battle will not yield any experience. This is due to a simple leveling clause. If you're too high a level, you can't get experience from weaker monsters. This almost forces you to seek out stronger mosters, which often can rip your party apart easily.

Death is not forgiven in this game. If every master in your party dies, it's game over. If you didn't save often, you have to go back from your last save point, which can make hours of progress lost easily. If one of your masters die, then you must take a walk back to town to revive them early on in the game, as items to revive a person from death are pretty much reserved for later in the game.

Battling can get tense, but is still enjoyable in itself. I'm not saying it's all bad.

The game is not perfect, but it is a good way to pass the time. You can overlook the many flaws within the game, and once you figure it out, things seems to get easier. Defeating tough enemies is satisfying, and actually recruiting them is even more so. The story is well written, and the characters are enjoyable. I recommend this as a casual game to escape to while waiting to do something else.

If you already have the game, how about sharing strategies, or rave about it as well. If you don't have the game, take some time to think about it.

[The-Blades-slave]

A.) Who da fuq unchained me?

B.) Did you mean unchained? (Should have asked this first.)

C.) Sounds pretty interesting. Might check it out.

[WhatThePumpkin]

hey, any game that allows me to recruit strong enemies is automatically on my "To Get" list.

It seems pretty interesting. Once Again, though, I don't have either system. My uncle has the PSP, though...

[GrizzlyEatsKids]

Really seems cool. I'll look into it.