The unique Ways Ogre proved that RPG chess was not solely enjoyable, it may be morally ambiguous, fantastically written, and deeply compelling. Practically 30 years later, Ways Ogre: Reborn has managed to soundly transport a masterpiece into the trendy period whereas sprucing it up sufficient in order that it’s nonetheless a pleasure to play. I used to be apprehensive the remaster, with its smoothed-over pixel artwork and different tweaks, would tarnish what I like in regards to the basic ways sport. As an alternative, I’m hooked over again.
Ways Ogre: Reborn, out Friday on PlayStation, PC, and Change, is the grittier, extra granular predecessor to Ultimate Fantasy Ways (each had been directed by Yasumi Matsuno of Vagrant Story and Ultimate Fantasy XII acclaim). The place Ultimate Fantasy Ways—launched within the U.S. in January 1998—targeted on manipulating an over-powered job system to interrupt the sport with dual-wielding ninjas and large summons, Ways Ogre (which hit U.S. shores quickly after regardless of first releasing in Japan a number of years earlier) reveled in slower-moving battles of attrition the place positioning and terrain matter as a lot as character lessons. And whereas each provide surprisingly mature tales of sophistication politics and the corruption of energy, Ways Ogre lets gamers make a handful of decisions alongside the best way after which sit with the implications on the finish of the sport. It’s not as approachable as Ultimate Fantasy Ways, however its Realpolitik method to conflict and revolution resonate as strongly as ever.
In case you’re utterly unfamiliar with the sport and the tactical RPG subseries it hails from, Ways Ogre spends most of its time on isometric battlefields divided into squares. Models on one aspect, consisting of knights, archers, wizards, dragons and different lessons, battle in opposition to enemies on the opposite. You play as a trio of downtrodden youths attempting to take again their land from neighboring occupiers, tinkering together with your roster of troops and feasting on splendidly written scenes in-between battles as dukes, kings, and different leaders resolve your destiny like pawns on a chessboard.
You’d have gotten most of this from the unique sport as effectively, however Reborn is a remaster of a remaster, constructing on the enhancements that had been already made within the PlayStation Moveable model launched in 2010. Every scene is totally voiced now, and with minimal cringe as effectively. Whereas I in the end most well-liked to stay with the Japanese voice performing, the English forged is surprisingly glorious and a worthwhile addition that helps add an entire new dimension and emotional subtext to the story.
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Reborn additionally introduces orchestral preparations of all the unique music. On paper that appeared like a neat addition, however in observe it’s transformative. As with the voice performing, it brings out an entire new stage of depth in Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata’s incredible rating. Every battle feels heightened, every betrayal extra sinister. The returning Wheel of Fortune system, in the meantime, let’s you revisit earlier factors within the branching story.
The remaster makes a lot of different adjustments and additions as effectively. Not like within the PSP model, characters stage up moderately than their lessons, liberating you to mess around extra with completely different occasion compositions and loadouts. Random encounters on the map whereas touring from one story beat to a different are gone. As an alternative, the coaching mode has returned the place you may set your troops to spar on auto-pilot. However don’t assume you may grind your approach to success. A “occasion stage” limits how far anyone unit can stage up till you progress additional within the sport.
One other massive departure is the tarot card system. Along with vanquished enemies dropping inexperienced playing cards that completely enhance a unit’s stats, blue and purple playing cards additionally randomly spawn all through a battle. The blue ones bestow buffs like greater crucial hit charges, stronger magic, or greater protection, whereas the purple playing cards take away them. The cardboard bonuses solely final so long as every battle, and might swiftly flip the tide relying on who will get them first.
It’s a method to assist make Ways Ogre’s fight hit heavier and resolve extra shortly, serving to you dispatch an enemy in three hits moderately than six (not like, say, Fireplace Emblem the place it nearly by no means takes greater than two). On the entire, it may possibly assist minimize down on a number of the sport’s extra tedious moments as you attempt to break an enemy’s maintain on the excessive floor or take down an particularly highly effective boss unit (a flip do-over system and fast-forward possibility additionally assist). On the similar time, as a purist with a smooth spot for Ways Ogre’s slower tempo and longer battles, I want there was a approach to flip it off, as you’ve the selection of doing with the voiceovers.
A lot of the adjustments are clear enhancements although. Now you can scout battles forward of time to see what items and terrain you’ll be going through and the way finest to counter them. You can even customise as much as 5 battle rosters, letting you simply swap from one staff to a different relying on the state of affairs. Character customization has additionally been streamlined, with every unit allowed to equip 4 objects, 4 expertise, and 4 magic skills relying on their class and repertoire (character stats have additionally been rebalanced to scale extra rewardingly). The geared up objects even robotically restock out of your reserves after every battle. It sounds small, but it surely’s an enormous time saver that allows you to spend extra time specializing in the cool stuff moderately than continually fidgeting with therapeutic herbs and resurrection stones.
The one a part of Reborn that doesn’t really feel like a coup is the pixel artwork, which was notoriously lampooned when it first leaked on-line. That is the primary model of the sport in HD, and the sprites and environments have been blown-up to compensate. The result’s a “smoothed over” look that may make issues look barely muddy or washed out. The impact is very noticeable at shut vary. Zoom in and issues will sometimes look, on the very least, not nice. I don’t understand how possible it could have been to try to give Reborn the Octopath Traveler or Triangle Technique HD-2D pixel artwork look, however I want the sport felt as stunning to take a look at as it’s to play and hearken to (or at the least included the choice to revert to the previous look).
Fortuitously, I spent most of my 5 hours with the Change model to date simply overlooking it. In movement, it’s hardly noticeable, particularly if you’re busy calculating hit percentages and harm tradeoffs. As with every part else on the OLED display, the colours actually pop, and the bundle as an entire feels meaningfully improved from the PSP model in each different method. Some previous video games take you again to the previous, however Reborn feels prefer it’s transporting Ways Ogre into the current, the place it belongs.
