Manga creator Hiro Mashima spent a year playing the Kodansha video game. Not only has the rights holder launched several indie game projects based on Fairy Tail’s IP, Mashima has also provided art. With a new original game like Farmagia as well, this year a video game adaptation of Edens Zero, another of Mashima’s works, will be announced. Finally, today’s topic is Fairy Tail 2, the studio’s sequel. RPG Gust is the latest RPG adaptation of Gust, considering the series is approaching its 20th anniversary and has previously had various video games. Going back to the PSP, that was exciting.
2nd half with bonus
Gust, best known for its flagship crafting adventure series Atelier, looks to approach Fairy Tail in 2020 as a bit of an experiment: it’s a relatively simple turn-based RPG with a few twists. But it’s nowhere near as involved as the Atelier games, and the production values are pretty cheap with a low rent, too. with limited animations and cutscenes It mostly relies on the voice acting to imitate the anime adaptation of Fairy Tail. It’s not a blockbuster by any means, but fans of the series appreciate its attempt at a grander adventure in comparison. General fighting game
Fairy Tail 2 picks up where the first game ended. Heading towards the conclusion of the original story. The most interesting thing about the first game is the beginning. Instead of a starting point, Gust chose to start the game halfway through the series. Choosing to start from a point in the story that makes the most sense for a video game, Fairy Tail 2, on the other hand, has an interesting conclusion. A curious bonus includes an original story at the end. An epilogue adventure that makes the sequel’s narrative stand out for a different reason. It is considered something new for fans. And in a way, it makes up for the strange beginnings of the previous outing.
More bang for your money
In addition to the story There are also two key differences between Fairy Tail and Fairy Tail 2. First, the production values have taken a huge step up. Sure, this isn’t Final Fantasy yet, but it’s a game that feels more alive. with more character animations during conversations Complete cutscenes More dynamic battles and dramatic CG art during moments that didn’t warrant as many cutscenes. Even the vocals feel recorded with more enthusiasm from the returning anime actors. If the first game disappointed you with its lower budget, The sequel will offer something much better in comparison!
When it comes to fighting The entire gameplay structure is completely different from Fairy Tail 2. There is almost nothing carried over from the first game. With the exception of a few accessories called Lacrima, otherwise combat has been completely reworked into pseudo-real-time. It combines elements of the classic “ATB” mechanics of Final Fantasy and something similar to the ideas Gust had played with in Atelier (albeit much simpler). While I admire Gust for trying something new, the combat Fairy Tail 2’s new take also feels more vague than exciting.
Unconnected home run swing
The real-time combat aspect begins when it’s time to attack. This means that you cannot control your character’s movements. In this way it is similar to ATB; When you’re not fighting You are waiting for your meter to fill up. And may block enemy attacks in the meantime with a basic block function. When it’s your turn You build SP by combining small basic attack combos, then expend SP by choosing from an ever-growing list of powerful magic attacks. It sounds ordinary. But you can use SP until you run out. To be able to create combos that create more powerful attacks. The intensity of magic increases with repeated use. This creates the opportunity for a cinematic attack that brings the entire party together. give support and other powerful techniques that limits its use All of this rewards you for getting your hands dirty and playing aggressively.
There are some great aspects to this system. But it ends up feeling slow, awkward, and clumsy. Those basic attacks deal almost no damage and are mostly used to generate SP and don’t have much impact or style. It makes attacks feel like pointless button presses to impede actual attacks to add “depth” to combat. In fact, it feels like laborious padding trying to trick me into thinking There’s more going on than there really is. As someone who has no problem choosing a good turn-based menu. It felt like this game scared me to the point of boredom. Because the keys were vibrating in front of me. But the buttons are all the same color and made of rubber, so that’s annoying.
Meanwhile You can switch active controls between your group of three. and the other two perform their own duties automatically. But because there is no real difference in how the characters work. Therefore, I felt that there was no point in doing so. Unless you need to switch to a secondary character to heal or access another element. Weaknesses are a key factor in boss fights. Especially since you can block a big attack if you’re fast enough. But the iteration hasn’t changed significantly, even with a few other tricks thrown in. If you look at the last few Atelier games in comparison, You will see similar concepts. But those combat systems are more flexible. move quickly And it just does a better job of convincing you that something is going on than pushing a button.
The awful combat feels like a lot of swings and misses. Because everything in Fairy Tail 2 feels like it has been developed from the first game. It is a more immersive and dynamic experience. This is important for some adaptations like beloved anime series. The playable roster is larger. And the multi-pronged skill tree system allows for extensive customization of each character’s skills and passive abilities. That being said, fans of Mashima’s fantasy epic will probably still have a good time seeing this version of the story through. (And check out the new epilogue!) But Fairy Tail 2 doesn’t come any closer to must-play status than the last game, and oddly enough, for different reasons.
Fairy Tail 2 will release on December 11, 2024 for PC, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4 and 5. The publisher provided a code for the PC version for review.
