The story of Fragile is an interesting one, as it seems to have the same level of mystery and vague beauty as the story of ICO. The game revolves around a lone stranger named Seto, who is one of the few remaining survivors in his world. Almost everyone in his world seems to have vanished and he now travels in search of answers and any other beings that have survived. Thankfully, he soon meets a mysterious girl and a female spirit. That is not all though, he also faces other mysterious ghosts and demons as adversaries. Fragile basically tells a tale of a world that has now been reduced to ruins, and a lone wanderer lives on to learn the truth about it.
I stand alone.
In terms of gameplay Fragile looks to be an adventure title that even has an element of supernatural horror. Seto explores haunted remains of a once bustling world, where he must solve puzzles and riddles, carefully explore his surroundings, study objects and battle ghosts and demons. Seto’s main tool is a flashlight, which he must use to study his surroundings, detect and even damage ghosts. This will certainly remind gamers of the Nintendo GameCube launch title, Luigi’s Mansion, which also featured a similar flashlight gimmick. Later, Seto will be able to use other gadgets and tools that will assist him in combat, exploration and puzzle solving.
The game will also feature combat and of course boss battles. The combat system does not seem to be very elaborate but is serviceable enough to add some variety to an epic adventure. It’s much like how combat isn’t the main selling point of a Zelda game. Seto can use simple weapons such as a stick to dish out a simple 3-4 hit attack.
Visually, Fragile looks nothing short of amazing as it is on par with the anime style cel-shading we have seen in recent games such as Tales of Vesperia and the stunning Eternal Sonata. The character models look gorgeous, the colours and lighting effects are wonderful and very detailed with the only minor problem being the animations, which seem a tad bit primitive. From an artistic standpoint, Fragile looks like a work of art, and much love has gone into creating a unique and compelling in-game world that captures those genuine feelings of solitude, surrealism and serenity.
When this game gets released here, you all better support it!
Musically, the game sounds lovely based on what we have heard in trailers. There is no background music in the actual game for the most part, what you have instead is silence. The silence however, compliments the mysterious and solitary mood of the game, giving it a bit of a horror feel, similar to the Fatal Frame games.
Fragile: Farewell Ruins of the Moon looks to be a compelling and immersive adventure game with plenty of heart, soul and emotion. It is one of those games that must be experienced to be understood, as it is too ambiguous to articulate. We are glad that this unique gem has a confirmed PAL release and it certainly looks to be an experience like no other.
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