How did a JRPG with a partial focus on the life of Frederic Chopin, my second favorite classical music composer, escape my notice until now? I heard about this game not too long ago, so I went to Amazon and got a copy. This game is such a surreal experience, and it has joined the pantheon of my favorite JRPGs. I have no idea where the concept of this game came from, but you know what, I’m glad that it’s a thing. This game has all the components one would expect of a Tales game, without any connection to the franchise. Let’s talk about it.
The story is told from the perspective of a dream that Frederic Chopin is having on his deathbed. Inside the dream he is in a world of music, where everything is named after music in one form or the other, even though some of the names don’t make sense, as they weren’t around during Chopin’s time. Musical puns aside, the story goes that this world is one where the only people who can use magic are the ones who are dying. We follow Frederic and a team of companions as they go from place to place looking to find a way to save the lives of this world, and their friends within it. Along the way, they learn about themselves, and their place in this strange reality that Frederic has told them is all in his mind.
First things first, this game looks absolutely amazing. The visuals here are really something, especially for the time in which it was made. Every environment is meticulously detailed in that cell-shaded Tales style. This fact does partially work against the game, as the enhanced level of detail means that they had to cut side content to a certain extent. Which means that this game is pretty linear. But there is never a segment of the game that something doesn’t pop your peepers a bit.
Another thing is the characters. More specifically the voice-work for them. You have some hardcore veterans of anime voicework here. Almost all of them, really. Patrick Seitz voices Frederic. You have Johnny Bosch, Mona Marshall, Mary McGlynn, and pretty much everyone else from the best days of anime dub work. Every character has a ton of personality, no matter how minuscule their role is. The villain is just the best. Count Waltz is just chewing the scenery so freakin’ hard. It’s pretty great stuff. Frederic is my favorite character. Patrick Seitz brings him to life as he is on a mission to figure out what his life has been about and what the meaning to everything was as he knows that the end is near. This game is very bittersweet, as there is another character named Polka, who is able to use magic and is trying to make the most of the time she has left.
Combat in this game is turn-based, with characters able to move around a space and engaging in active combat. But you have a few seconds before moving where you can plan your attacks and what you will do next. Combat in this game is deceptively simple, but it grows on top of the base it lays down, bringing in combos and chained special attacks. By the end of the game, you are able to chain combos and special attacks between characters and really rack up some damage. But the enemies are no slouches. This game has a steep learning curve, but once you get good at it, it feels pretty spectacular.
The linearity of this game is the biggest thing holding this game back. See, one of the things you do in the game is collect Score Pieces, which allow you to do performance sessions with other characters. However, you really have to look around for these things, and sometimes you don’t have a piece that goes with the person you are performing with. And doing these sessions is a worthwhile thing to do as it will allow you to get some pretty great stuff. However, if you don’t have a piece that compliments the person you are performing with, then you’re just screwed as dungeons that you cannot revisit will have these people and if you miss out, sucks to be you.
One thing that’s worth mentioning is that the game will take times out of it when it is thematically appropriate during the story to perform pieces by Chopin, along with give you some actual history of the man himself. Given my love of his music, for me this was great stuff. The imagery included during the scenes help tell some stories about the life of a man who died young but lived quite and austere life. If you don’t like this kind of music, it will be something you hate, but for those like me who do, I found this to be fantastic. Between this game and the little vignettes about Upik and Aleut culture you can unlock in Never Alone, it makes me wonder if there is something to the idea of video games being potential good tools to teach people. Especially young people. Call me crazy or an old timer, but I genuinely find it engaging stuff.
Overall, this is a fun game. It’s got its flaws, and the message of the game can feel REALLY ham-fisted sometimes, beating you over the head with the obvious moral lesson. But if you can see past that, there is a really fun JRPG here that will feel right at home to people who enjoy the Tales franchise. I’m glad I heard about this game. It has been well worth my time.
Final Verdict
8 out of 10
Peace out,
Maverick
Lucien Maverick's Den 