Ever Oasis

Directed by the creator of the Mana series this game tries to bring back those ideas and mix them with a bunch of different gameplay styles. In a lot of ways, this game felt like an alternate take on a Secret Of Mana origin story. The game begins by introducing a cute chibi looking protagonist who is of a race of Seedlings that tend to live near oases. Since most of the land has been corrupted with Chaos who is some sort of evil being that corrupts all that is good in the world. After getting introduced to the protagonist brother he/she gets quickly blown away from his brother's oasis after giant black dragon attacks. He ends up landing near a small little pond that in inhabited by Esna a water spirit. Since he is a special seedling that can see her they decide to work together to create a new Oasis that’ll last forever. As you might think that isn’t going to be an easy task leading to the introduction of most of the concepts the player will have to master to succeed.

The first concept that is introduced has nothing to do with slashing up foes in an overworld. Other seedlings start to stop by the newly formed Oasis and it is up to the player to complete a simple task to earn their trust. Once they decide to stay it is possible for them to open up a shop that then slowly earns money that can then be used to upgrade gear or open up new shops. Like the rest of the concepts in this game, it is very basic. The only thing that needs to be managed is supplying the shops with certain items that either get dropped by enemies or item nodes. Really feels like busy work but it is an okay way to insert some downtime in between running around the world doing quests. Plus it gets easier to manage as the game goes on since it gives out the ability to micromanage a bit better via a menu. Managing a budding oasis is only one part of this journey. With the other half being a simple action RPG. The main player character isn’t alone since any of the 50+ recruitable allies can be used in a 3 person team. During combat it is possible to switch to them for extra damage depending on what weapon they are using it could be more effective at damaging certain types of enemies. Plus some of them have unique SP skills that could cause a stun state or buff your entire party. They even have a unique item that will be used in dungeons to solve puzzles. Some of the puzzles in the dungeons feel Zelda-like in how you must solve them. Having the right ally is important since you’ll have to warp back to home base if you bring the wrong squad. Which really feels like a big time waster the deeper I got into the game since a number of unique items get to the point where I had to leave the dungeon multiple times to finish it. Having the option to swap out party members at any time would have fixed this issue just like having access to an easier way to manage the town sooner would have been a good idea.

With the other half being a simple action RPG. The main player character isn’t alone since any of the 50+ recruitable allies can be used in a 3 person team. During combat it is possible to switch to them for extra damage depending on what weapon they are using it could be more effective at damaging certain types of enemies. Plus some of them have unique SP skills that could cause a stun state or buff your entire party. Some even have a unique item that will be used in dungeons to solve puzzles. For example, the beetle-like race can break any cracked stone that might be inconveniently placed in front of a door. Some of the puzzles in the dungeons feel Zelda-like in how you must solve them. Having the right ally is important since you’ll have to warp back to home base if you bring the wrong squad. Which really feels like a big time waster the deeper I got into the game since a number of unique items get to the point where I had to leave the dungeon multiple times to finish it. Having the option to swap out party members at any time would have fixed this issue just like having access to an easier way to manage the town sooner would have been a good idea.

No RPG would be complete without a way to synthesize items and weapons. Too bad it’s completely useless other than being able to create a few extra healing items. Some of the later fights were kinda tough but at no point did it feel like I should go out to farm mats to be better equipped to face difficult fights. Just by playing through the mandatory sections it gave me enough to craft a few items. Which seems the reverse of what the developer wanted since by the end the list of craftable items was huge. Really all the different parts that make up this experience is really average even though all the different parts feel like they should make this more unique.

Overall, I mostly feel disappointed about how none of the random elements that make up this game have any depth while still enjoying the 21 hours I put into this release. A lighthearted romp through a magical adventure could have been something more memorable instead of getting put on my list of fun games that will quickly be forgotten. Maybe I just expected a bit too much from a 3DS game. Still, if a cute action RPG with a mix of random gameplay elements sounds fun to you then this is a game you should play.