Return to Popolocrois a Story of Seasons Fairytale Review

April 17, 2022 Post a Comment

Packed with random encounters, a straightforward story and plenty of amuse, Return to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale manages the catchy task of mixing ingredients from ii unique series in order to create a refreshing new experience that, for amend or worse, feels like a render to classic gaming.

Mixing a JRPG like PopoloCrois with Story of Seasons (Formerly known equally Harvest Moon) is basically a no-brainer at this point. Office-playing mechanics take already been blended with farm management in games like Rune Factory, so it makes sense that the tradition would exist continued with a known property like PopoloCrois, a light and fun RPG romp that fits the themes and tone of Story of Seasons perfectly.

Return to PopoloCrois isn't without its faults but, after all of the bullets and explosions I've been subjected to lately, this Story of Seasons Fairytale entered my life at precisely the correct moment.

Our hazard starts with a immature Prince Pietro in grooming to become the ruler of the PopoloCrois kingdom. He'due south currently courtship his witchy friend, Narcia, and otherwise living a carefree life.

Unfortunately, Blackness Beasts have started popping up around the kingdom, despoiling the fertile lands. A mysterious woman from the distant kingdom of Galariland arrives just in fourth dimension to offer a hand, explaining that Prince Pietro must travel to her abode and learn unique skills if he is to help rid his own kingdom of this new threat.

One time a few narrative twists pb Pietro to Galariland, he discovers that a pretty big chore stands earlier him. Earlier he tin can ever hope to salvage his homeland, he must starting time assistance relieve the people of Galariland, likewise.

Pietro's adventure will unite him with companions new and old, with a rotating political party constantly introducing fresh faces as well as PopoloCrois mainstays similar Gami Gami Devil and the legendary White Knight.

While in Galariland, Pietro learns that he has the ability to cleanse the land that has been ruined past the Blackness Beasts, which can in turn be utilized to grow produce. That'due south where the Story of Seasons elements come up into play. Unfortunately, it takes a pretty long time for the gameplay to actually reveal itself here. You'll spend the showtime several hours of Return talking to people and running small errands. Even when you lot get to Galariland, you'll demand to put in a bit of legwork before you uncover the second half of the game's focus, the farming.

Just while the proceedings take a bit longer than expected to get rolling, at least the characters and story are whimsical and engaging enough to pull you lot along. I'one thousand doing my best non to utilise the word "charming" over and over again, but it's a characteristic that'southward crammed into just about every aspect of this delightful little 3DS take chances.

I was about five hours into Return to PopoloCrois before I felt like the game had finally opened upwards a scrap and unleashed me on its world. That's really virtually par for the course for a JRPG, which is one of the many aspects that brand me point out how being and then firmly rooted in the classic genre can be something of a double-edged sword. If you're not picking upwards what this game is putting down right off of the bat, you might not be willing to stick around for the feel to actually open up.

The adventuring side of PopoloCrois is JRPG through and through. You've got a straightforward path to follow, with new areas becoming available as the plot progresses. You'll run around pretty simply extremely linear maps, with random encounters pitting y'all against enemies ample. Fifty-fifty the dungeons are extremely directly, with brusk mazes leading to bosses without a lick of platforming, puzzle solving or the like to change upwards the footstep.

Equally for the gainsay, once more, you're looking at sometime-school turn-based throwdowns here. You and your party will square off against enemies on a grid-based field. Your options are to move and attack, actuate an ability, use an particular or, if you become into trouble, flee. That's pretty much the extent of your options. Positioning on the map can exist of import in a few of the tougher fights and abilities might change based on who is in your party, but don't expect to accept to dig as well deep in the area of combat here.

The farming simulation is similarly streamlined, which is actually a positive in this example. I admire the Story of Seasons series, but those games can put me into a panic trying to manage all of my chores on a daily basis. In Return to PopoloCrois, you'll exist able to tend your farms, catch bugs, mine rocks, synthesize items and forge relationships, simply the game never actually puts an emphasis on fourth dimension. When your crops demand h2o, yous can head over and take care of it when you lot have the opportunity. Yous can fill upwardly your feeding trough and let the animals basically accept care of themselves, and all of the resource gathering takes place at stock-still locations you'll come across naturally in your travels.

If ever I felt the dungeon crawling was getting a chip too repetitive, I could break up the grind by visiting my farms and managing a few chores. But you're never left feeling like yous have an impossibly long listing of tasks that demand to be finished before sundown.

Then while the PopoloCrois side of this packet sticks to classic JRPG tropes most to a fault, the lighter Story of Seasons elements do a nice job of complementing the questing while breaking upward some of the monotony.

What we're left with here is a classic instance of peanut butter and jelly. Render to PopoloCrois: A Story of Seasons Fairytale takes two great tastes and mixes them in a way that creates a third, every bit delicious concoction. Add on a stellar soundtrack and nice touches like the ability to choose betwixt English and Japanese, also equally the frequency of random encounters, and you've got yourself a solid, brisk gamble. If you need a pause from all of the dark and serious RPGs that are more than mutual these days, then this will provide you with a nice, heartwarming palate cleanser.

This review based on a 3DS re-create of the game provided past the publisher.

Players: 1

Platforms: Nintendo 3DS

Developer: Marvelous

Publisher: XSEED

ESRB: Everyone 10+

Rating: