083REVIEW
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FATE/EXTELLA: LINK
This twist on Fate fails to tempt
W
hat if famous, historical tyrants
were actually cute anime girls? And
what if they all might want to date
me? These are the questions asked by this
Warriors-style hack ‘n’ slash with light visual
novel elements. A follow-up to an alternate
universe spin-off of Fate/stay night, Extella
Link is the latest entry to put you in the
shoes of a magical Master who has control
over a selection of servants based on
figures from literature, history, and myth.
Taking place over the course of one
week,^1 there’s a batty plot involving a virtual
world based on the moon and an epic battle
for the wish-granting Holy Grail. Each day,
you choose how you’ll advance your front
line but each battle plays out more or less
the same. Arenas are broken up into smaller
territories with mid-bosses and big bads
scattered throughout and plenty of grunts
to plough through in between. It’s a light,
button-mashing romp with plenty of fluffy
service for series fans and the sort of high-
quality localisation we’ve come to expect
from Xseed.
While you fight as a Servant, Masters
supply support from allied territory. Baddies
can launch special attacks aimed at your
Master from many territories away, wearing
their health down, or even outright kidnap
them. A Servant is nothing without their
Master’s support but this does little to up
the ante of battles. More often than not you
can mosey on over, scooping up power-ups
and territories on the way. Servants’ special
attacks are flashy^2 and their character
artwork lovingly rendered, but
there’s little to recommend to
those not already likely to stare
longingly at Cú Chulainn’s ruddy
great big spear. Jess Kinghorn
FOOTNOTES 1 The single-player campaign is brief but there are
more routes to unlock through replays. We look forward to tucking
into the online modes post-release. 2 Battles are very busy visually.
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THE CALIGULA
EFFECT: OVERDOSE
Escape realityL
eaving its handheld home on PS Vita,
The Caligula Effect – which bears an
undeniable likeness to the Persona
franchise^1 has migrated to PS4 in this
“Overdose” remaster packing oodles of
new content – for example, you’re given the
opportunity to pick your character’s gender
for the first time.
The action takes place in a virtual reality
called Mobius, a high-school time loop
manufactured as an escape for people
struggling with their lives. For most people
school life hardly creates memories of the
carefree sort. However, it’s a valued part
of the Japanese culture which seeps from
the game’s every pore, and along with the
Japanese voice acting, ensures the game
puts an authentic J into JRPG. Beneath the
vibrant dungeon environments and catchy
soundtrack runs the desire for escapism,
which resonates profoundly owing to the
element of choice you’re given, enabling you
to steer towards one of the multiple endings.
Digiheads are your primary enemies,
tackled via a turn-based combat system.^2
What starts as simply executing up to
three moves with a single character
escalates into intricate battles driven by a
timeline mechanic that rewards you with an
astounding sense of accomplishment. With
a party of up to four members specialising
in unique approaches to combat, you’ll have
to exploit your ability to preview fights and
time your attacks to pull off counters and
assaults, or to buff out your comrades when
chipping away at a boss with a
hulking health pool. Eventually
this becomes a satisfying
process, but it can take a while
to get to grips with. Nicole HallFOOTNOTES 1 The likeness to Persona serves as a reminder that
it’s not as mindblowing as recent JPRGs. 2 Combat requires some
serious getting used to and you feel the grind.INFO FORMATPUB BANDAI NAMCO PS4 ETA OUT NOW DEV GANBARION
ONE PIECE: WORLD
SEEKER
Seafaring adventure is C-fareA
fter a prison heist gone wrong and
a scrape with the warden, pirate
captain Monkey D Luffy becomes
separated from the rest of the “Straw Hat”
crew. With his friends scattered and ship
out of commission, it’s up to the cheery
and somewhat oblivious captain to pick up
the pieces – and he ends up helping out the
inhabitants of Prison Island^1 along the way.
Based on Eiichiro Oda’s anime/manga,
there’s enough One Piece DNA in World
Seeker that it wouldn’t be out of place as
one of the movies. A downtrodden populace,
familial discord, conflict between the world
government and pirates – all the elements
that make up One Piece are here, with a
surprising amount of heart in the limited
story scenes.^2 They key difference here is
that by virtue of being an open world game
and not an anime you’re meant to connect
with the island on a different level.
It’s a neat idea to come up with a One
Piece story that plays into the form of being
a videogame. Unfortunately while it contains
a lot of ideas that sound good on paper, they
all come together in a very rough fashion.
Using Luffy’s stretchy Gum-Gum powers to
fling yourself around the island and morph
his body into rubbery punches and kicks to
take down enemies should be much more
fun than it is. The likes of Spider-Man and
Just Cause are many knots ahead of this
one. Even when you upgrade to get more
skills, everything feels oddly stiff. Movement
lacks momentum, and fights are either trivial
or annoying as you’re peppered
with gunfire. World Seeker is an
entertaining take on an anime
open world game, but this ship’s
a fixer-upper. Oscar Taylor-KentFOOTNOTES 1 The island is pretty, but a far cry from Oda’s zaniest
creations like Whole Cake Island (a cake island). 2 This is an original
story, not an adaptation – a slight but pretty good one at that.