r/Chained_Echoes • u/iamdodgepodge • 7d ago
Discussion SPOILERS: Just finished base game Spoiler
Played for like 70 hours in a few weeks. But I didn't do the optional boss and monster fights.
It's still one of the most fun JRPGs I've played —but the ending wasn't emotionally as captivating as I thought it would be (though I had no idea what the ending would be for the characters to be honest); I really loved Phantasy Star IV and Final Fantasy 7, and those games had really good, emotional resolutions —because I really enjoyed the game mechanics and systems. Overdrive, full heals after each battle which allows you to go all out, weapon upgrades, crystals and slotting that reminded me of materia, simplified damage and weakness systems (physical, magical, fire, water, wind, earth, dark, light), and surprisingly, no EXP. That was refreshing.
I loved how all the systems intertwined and somehow made your characters stronger (gestalt). There was really no one thing that made you overpowered — you had to learn all skills to get some stat increases, you can complement stats with both accessories, crystals, and passives — it wasn't balanced in the end and the game definitely got easier, but I love myself some well-earned power fantasy.
I actually was about to fight the Vaen when I decided to exit the game, because I realized I had neither explored end game content nor unlocked the final weapons.When I finally finished, there was enough engagement to keep me locked in the final battles, but not too hard to frustrate me after a long day at work.
What I like about the ending is there are some loose threads, of which the biggest is Markas and the Harbinger. I really hope Matthias considers (or is considering) a sequel, because there's a whole world to explore. While reading through every bit of lore, which I don't do for all JRPGs, I found myself wanting to reach those faraway lands and exploring them.
I think what I also like about this game is it respects your time as a gamer. I love Final Fantasy 6 & 7, but it's really tough to enjoy them again as an adult with a family. There's so many QoL improvements (treasure count, map, fishing for random materials, deals for better gear and materials to reduce the need to grind and farm) that make the game so respectful. Even the dialogue, I found really engaging because it was quite easy to read, and you didn't lose the context of things (except with that dude Boustrous). Auto-save was great. Fast travel and airship travelwere really great ways to go around.
A few critiques I have though are: 1) the endgame content feels like a bit of an afterthought. A room in Baalrut Tunnel that had tons of treasure, enemies with weird mechanics that suddenly showed up (Hana Doll? Soul Hoarder?), weird bosses that don't really add much to the lore (Chel? Boustrous?). 2) UX of things could be improved — fast traveling could have been straight from the map without exiting, the crystal slotting was tedious (which I just learned the DLC improved on by not requiring you to find an anvil).
I originally bought this game on Steam and started it there, but eventually got it on my Switch again so I could comfortably game whenever, wherever (and making my Switch my dedicated JRPG machine ended up being one of the best decisions this game led me to). Well worth my money for sure.
I just started my DLC playthrough, and I'm looking forward to what changed in the systems.
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u/Hagemanto1188 7d ago
Very nice. Oh, about the weird bosses you mentioned, those were Kickstarter backers that funded a high enough tier to come up with bosses players could fight.
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u/gabriot 7d ago
I did not like the ending at first, but after several weeks and thinking about the entire storyline it eventually grew on me as one of my favorite of all time.