![]() The many NPCs in each part of the world often throw up collection quests, and while those that are ongoing mark the relevant inventory items to avoid mistaken sales, it's wise to try and guess which items will be required later on. There are limits to your inventory space, so you'll find yourself assessing descriptions of animal hairs and scrap parts to try and figure out whether they'll likely be required in the future if not they're useful for getting quick cash. You can earn or acquire manuals that boost your Arts levels - more on them shortly - or collect all sorts of odd items that you can sell or hoard. On top of that there are more items besides. There are a host of statistics to accommodate, along with debuff and critical hit percentages, and these can be supplemented by linking Crystals to specific equipment naturally you collect gems that you can fuse into crystals, for that little bit of extra complexity. Our heroes level up, naturally, while there are various weapon and armour categories to manage for each crew member. Beyond the core of exploration and combat Monolith Soft developed a truly impressive set of foundational mechanics. Two things define this experience, then - the extraordinarily large and vibrant world is one, but the gameplay and depth on offer are also fundamentally important. Time will tell if this gets added at a later date via an update, but with the game already proving too much for the microSD card which ships with the New Nintendo 3DS, we're not holding our breath. It can get wearing after a time, and sadly this New Nintendo 3DS version lacks - at launch - the original Japanese voice-track that provided a welcome alternative on Wii. Cockney 'geezers' cackle their way through proceedings as deadly mechon with faces, while Shulk's "I'm really feeling it" and Reyn's "It's Reyn time" loop ad-nausea - those particular examples have since become chuckle-worthy internet memes. It comes across as largely charming, especially as an accompaniment to primitive character animation that was inevitable for a game of this scale on limited hardware, though our view remains from the original that the almost exclusively south-east England voice cast can fall the wrong side of trite. It's excellent writing in that structural sense, though as with the Wii original there's plenty of clunky dialogue in the localisation. ![]() It's easy to forget how borderline outrageous the overlying concept is due to some respectable and earnest writing, in which you're likely to care more about main protagonist and Monado-bearer Shulk and his various colleagues - such as Reyn and Dunban - than the fantastical complexities of the world and its conflict. There's some dramatic lore and backstory here - with the iconic Monado weapon integral to that - but the focus of the storytelling is admirably character-driven. ![]() The initial setup for the plot is relatively simple - there are two inactive, enormous and once-warring mythological beings called Bionis and Mechonis the former is home to a range of creatures and human-like races, while the latter is the source of Mechon, mechanical villains that lay siege to those on Bionis. When you throw in the occasionally vital side-quests and tasks to the main campaign, you have a title that'll occupy most players for months, not days. ![]() In moving through a number of vast areas that encompass one enormous world, you embark on a quest with plenty of twists and turns, a sprawling plot and a legitimate sense of wonder. Many modern development trends strive for linearity and deliver experiences that are over in a dozen hours or less, but this subscribes to an entirely different model. For those unfamiliar with this Monolith Soft title it fits snugly into the JRPG category, particularly that group of games that demand full commitment and dedication in order to see the credits. ![]()
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