Monochromatic and moody is the order of the day.
Resonance of Fate succeeds in creating a fascinating world in which to set its tale; its characters dwell in a steam-punk-inspired dystopia, the Earth having been ravaged to the point of near-extinction for mankind. Those who survive dwell around a gigantic tower called ‘Basel’, which serves to purify the environment and cleanse the air. The blue-blooded aristocrats see fit to dwell in luxury atop Basel, while the underclass slums it at the base of the device. Players assume control of Vashyron, Zephyr and Leanne, being your prototypical orphan youth, cocky veteran of war, and the comely lass, respectively, at a time when Basel begins to malfunction and turn the populace into beasts. While the world and its design are fairly intriguing, Resonance of Fate fails to capitalise on its potential. The plot is virtually nonexistent throughout most of the game, and there is no effective through-line to tie each of the game’s chapters together. Proceedings begin to pick up pace towards the tail-end of the adventure, but overall, there is little satisfying about the game’s narrative. The characters and story are uniquely Japanese in nature, mixing melodrama, quirk and camp into a strange and uneven whole. Broad, silly humour is set off against serious themes in ways which do not always make for a cohesive experience, and overall, Resonance of Fate fails to deliver the sweeping, exciting story so critical to the genre.
On the plus side, this slight and unfulfilling tale is brought to life by some decent visuals and splendid art design. While none of the production values rival the heights of genre heavy-hitters like Final Fantasy, the direction is bleak, evocative and unique enough to overcome some technical shortcomings. Characters are styled with the requisite spiky, floppy locks and androgynous features, but Resonance of Fate is still easy on the eye without ever being technically-astounding. The hexagonal design of the world map is fairly uninspiring, but the detail applied to Vashyron et al is often impressive, including the massive variety of animations, accessories and costumes available for each of them. Voice acting is generally solid, with the ubiquitous Nolan North proving the best of the bunch, and the orchestral soundtrack is suitably handsome and epic, and perhaps more sweeping and grand than the sluggish narrative deserves. Resonance of Fate does not sit at the technological forefront of role-playing games, but it is clear that a lot of love has been poured into its creation; it is yet another testament to the precedence of solid art direction over and above polygon-count or bump-mapping.
Metal Gear?
In terms of gameplay, Resonance of Fate is a bold and intricate beast which is sure to infuriate the uninitiated and test the skills of even the most ardent aficionados of the genre. The game is divided into chapters, and allows players access to nearly all of its mechanics and systems from the outset. Each chapter contains several mandatory and optional missions, and run the gamut from fetch quests to dungeon crawls, the latter of which provides plenty of grinding opportunities. When it comes to battling, which is the mechanic with which you will be spending the most amount of time, Resonance of Fate throws players into the deep end with a minimum of explanation. To cut a long and complicated story short and reduce the unbelievably intricate system to its most basic of elements, players retain control of their party’s individual movements in turn-based arena scenarios where strategic positioning is essential to success. By setting individual waypoints for each of the main characters to traverse, the player can set up a three-way attack whereby each of the party members pummels the enemy in an impressive ballet of gunfire. Couple this core system with other variables such as item management, different types of ‘damage’, environmental obstacles and weapon-switching, and Resonance of Fate becomes unwieldy and intimidating very quickly. The blinding kaleidoscope of statistics, meters and hit-point numbers bursting from the screen and cluttering the HUD makes things difficult to get to grips with for the more-casual player. Not even a cavalcade of text-based tutorials will alleviate the initial sense of bewilderment and flurry of sudden deaths which will be experienced by most.
The most pressing issue facing Resonance of Fate is whether any given player will find the resolve to the master the systems and options at their disposal; it is easy to imagine many players placing the game aside within a few hours of continual pummeling at the hands of their enemies. Admittedly, once the dark clouds begin to part and the battle system ‘clicks’, Resonance of Fate shows just how enjoyable and unique it can be. It is just a shame that tri-Ace could not find a way to ease players into its combat mechanics in a more intuitive, well-measured fashion; but depending on one’s individual tolerance for highly-difficult games, the title still has a lot to offer and can often be extremely rewarding to play.
The game's emphasis on gunplay over melee moves and magic is truly refreshing.
Resonance of Fate is of a substantial length, and will take players approximately thirty or forty hours to plough through. Not of all those forty hours will be enjoyable however, and indeed many of them will involve repeated deaths and grinding. Also problematic is the fact that the game peaks far too soon; the second half of the adventure fails to introduce anything significantly new in terms of mechanics, and as previously noted, the narrative alone definitely fails to propel the adventure and motivate the player to the title’s end. Players who take the time to invest in the battle system will undoubtedly want to see the game to its conclusion, but will only do so in satisfaction of their desire for completion. There is a lot on offer in Resonance of Fate, but only those with the strongest of constitutions will persist.
For a fading genre running the risk of becoming irrelevant to the gaming masses, Resonance of Fate is at once a bold, interesting deviation from the norm and frustratingly adherent to the worst JRPG conventions. Its setting is compelling, its plot piecemeal and flat; for all the depth of its seriously unique battle system, it is a shame that it is so encumbered by needless, obscure complexities and a punishing level of difficulty. Resonance of Fate boasts a lot of bold ideas but fails to contemplate the experience of the end-user; if more attention was paid to narrative coherence and a palatable difficulty-curve, the title would be all the better for it. Sadly, what we have left with Resonance of Fate is a missed opportunity to rejuvenate the JRPG. Hardcore fans of the genre will find it a breath of fresh air and a steep test of their skills, but most others will shake their head in frustration and wonder why the game is daring them to enjoy it.
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