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Ara Fell 2k3: The Legend of Dirisetsu Hollow Review
Ara Fell 2K3: DS worthy?
Review by Tenchu-San
For those of us who work in the RM universe, we set the bar a bit lower for games because they're not being made by well-paid japanese powerhouses like SquareEnix or Capcom. However, Ara Fell 2k3 is an RM Game that is worthy of at least a handheld port.
Let us begin with the shiny shell around this morsel of RPG goodness. The graphics are Mac & Blue all over, but they are used extremely well. The maps, the cutscenes, almost all of this game is unbearably good looking. The only part of the game that takes a back seat to breathtaking presentation via graphics is the combat, but with features such as "Story Mode" that is essentially a one button skip combat feature, you won't really be bothered by that.
It looks good, but how does it sound? Of matching quality of course! The music, background noise, and other sounds are extremely well done and well used. I'll admit I'm very critical when it comes to sound for a game, but Ara Fell has impressed me with how they used the sound. My only qualms were how some fights didn't have the victory theme play, but that's easily forgiven.
The story borders on cliche at times, but other than that it is very original and interesting. The dialogue is well done and pretty much every single NPC has it's own name and personality, a feature that other RM makers should take note of! Although some parts of the story are needlessly explained to those who are paying attention, it does little to detract from the entire presentation of the title.
As I said before about the combat, it's simple, to the point and can even be skipped using the "Story Mode" feature. If you turn this feature on in the beginning of the game you can pick "Story Mode" from the main characters skills or just pick "Lazy ->" in the battle selection. This will kill everything in one hit and end the battle with all the rewards you would have normally received had you just fought the hard way, but for the "lazy" why bother? Although you get a forgiving reprieve from combat, the puzzles are another story. At times the puzzles can be harsh and difficult to figure out, but they're not impossible and are just challenging. The CMS offers things such as a world map, quest log, help file and other features. For equipment, inventory and other basic Menu features, you just select the "Main Menu" option and you can take care of the mandatory gearing up your characters (or at least, mandatory if you don't use "Story Mode").
If you're looking for an interesting narrative in a gorgeous shell, then look no further. With challenging puzzles, entertaining and skip able combat, Ara Fell is a prime example of what RM RPG's should be like. If you haven't played it yet, then do so now; You're missing out otherwise.
Reviewer's Score: 9.5 / 10, Posted Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:26:46 -0700
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Game Details
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Developer:
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Badluck
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Platform:
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RPG Maker 2003
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Genre:
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RPG
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Status:
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Complete |
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Last Updated:
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2007-09-26 |
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Views:
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18040 |
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Downloads:
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6656 |
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User Rating:
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  49 Vote(s) |
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