I didn't realize Carpe Fulgur released their latest translation this week. Looks like I'll be reviewing Fortune Summoners next, even though at $20 (currently $15) it's a tad over the $10 price limit I set. Ah hell, I'd buy it anyway, I might as well review it as well.
So, first impressions:
Gameplay feels like old 2D Tales of Phantasia. You control one character in a party to fight monsters, trying to chain combos together to keep them staggered and increase your damage. Controls are extremely hard to get used to; I'm 3 hours in and it still feels awkward. The characters handle like greased trout and if you hold certain buttons too long, they don't do anything. Best advice I've gotten on the controls is treat it like a fighting game: quick, precise commands & wait for an opening. The jumping, which doesn't have much control, wouldn't be so bad if there were sections you had to leap between moving platforms. The nastier ones add a bat or two.
Plot seems to be a "kids save the world" setup, and the translation is good so far, except for 2 (so far) maddeningly vague hints what you should do next on the main quest. Two other things stand out to me so far:
1. The elemental rock-paper-scissors system seems complex, but you can actually practice it out of combat by playing Elemental Rock-Paper-Scissors with your classmates. Definitely a neat idea.
2. The Options screens are subpar. The keyboard controls don't let you rebind the movement keys, several keys (like 0-9 across the top of the keyboard, Shift, and Tab) are off-limits, and some screens require you to press Esc to exit them, while on others you need to select "Save Settings and Exit". That was aggravating, since I completely changed around the keyboard shortcuts after the first hour of gameplay. My hopes for a WASD movement setup were dashed.
I'll keep playing to see if Fortune Summoners picks up & becomes something special, but it's currently my least favorite of their 3 releases.
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