After I begin a brand new retro RPG from the KEMCO / Exe Create combo, I achieve this with the data I’ve seemingly been right here earlier than. Their video games are usually reduce from the identical material, however the higher ones carry sufficient twists and allure to assist them stand out. Spirit Valor, sadly, didn’t.
The sport does have a promising begin. We’re as soon as once more on the finish of the standard 100 years of peace after vanquishing an as-of-yet undefined evil, however we’re additionally on the finish of that journey. Spirit Valor begins with what seems to be the ultimate boss battle, solely it doesn’t finish as deliberate. Our hero passes out, two different heroes disappear, and nobody appears positive of whether or not the evil overlord was really defeated.
We find yourself becoming a member of two pairings as they piece issues again collectively. The extra compelling of those is Richard and Alice, primarily as a result of Richard can also be fused with a spirit who’s capable of management his physique whereas he’s sleeping (good factor Richard’s not Roger). The opposite duo consists of Vivian and Finn. They’re all pretty typical, however too broadly drawn. Extra on that in a bit.
Due to his spirit connection, Richard is ready to use magic by default. The opposite forged members, nonetheless, must type contracts with spirits or seize the essences of enemies throughout battle. This enables gamers to customise and stage up the characters’ magic skills as they see match, and you’ve got the choice to take away these skills to make room for extra (4 energetic from a listing of ten). It’s an honest system that helps to allay the redundancy of the random, turn-based battles, which largely play out as you’d anticipate; a timeline dictates when your get together members can take a flip, at which level they’ll defend, assault, use an merchandise, or use/summon a spirit.
Past that mechanic, nonetheless, there isn’t a complete lot to do together with your get together. You stage up as you acquire expertise, and you’ll purchase/buy higher armor and weapons as you go. Most KEMCO titles have been a bit extra ingenious with get together administration and abilities as of late, inflicting Spirit Valor to really feel like a step backwards. It doesn’t assist that the sport can also be fairly simple. Like most KEMCO video games, you should purchase pretty priced DLC that helps you stage up quicker, but it surely’s not wanted right here. The conventional issue spike with bosses shouldn’t be as pronounced, so you may simply push by way of with a bit of grinding or a well-optimized get together setup.
Exploration additionally feels lackluster. You’ve bought your traditional cities to go to and dungeons to discover, each of which have minor drawbacks. The dungeons are fairly linear, so working by way of them doesn’t really feel as adventurous as regular.
I do like, nonetheless, that you could open warp factors in them for later entry. The cities are oddly linear, too. If, graphically, the highest of a tree meets a stump, you must have the ability to stroll behind/underneath the treetop, proper? No, it’s blocked as if the tree has really fallen down. It seems like a lazy option to management entry, and the overall overworld simply isn’t very effectively accomplished.
The battles, nonetheless, look significantly better. The characters have respectable element, and the animations/settings are fairly full of life. It’s bizarre that the heroes have a chibi-like design that the enemies don’t, but it surely’s not off-putting.
All of those little points could be simpler to beat if the story was higher, however I wasn’t capable of get into this one. That is largely as a result of the dialogue felt pressured and juvenile, typically simply making an attempt too onerous to be humorous. The characters are likeable sufficient, however their personalities and interactions at all times felt fabricated.
I’ve really useful quite a few KEMCO RPGs as enjoyable time-fillers between bigger adventures, however I can’t achieve this with Spirit Valor. The battle system seems to be good and performs effectively, however the recreation shouldn’t be compelling exterior of fight. If KEMCO’s subsequent launch returns some urgency, I’m able to go. In any other case, I’m completely happy to take a seat within the inn of the introductory village and await the following adventurers looking for help.
