54) Chained Echoes (2022)

Made over the course of seven years by German developer Matthias Linda, Chained Echoes is a passion project that serves as a love letter to classic JRPGs. Influenced by games such as Suikoden 2, Xenogears, Final Fantasy VI, and Secret of Mana, among others, Linda was mindful to not just copy the games that inspired him. Instead, he sought to capture the experience of playing them, to make it feel like how one remembers they play, even if they exist better in your head than in reality. After a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2019, the game was finally published in 2022.

We begin the story playing as Glenn and Kylian, members of a mercenary group known as the Iron Bull. The three kingdoms of the land we explore have been at war for generations, and the Iron Bulls have been hired to attack Gravos, another of the kingdoms. In the course of our mission, Glenn shatters a crystal which causes a massive, continent shaking explosion. After the catastrophe, none of the three kingdoms claim involvement in the attack, and a peace treaty is signed. We then cut to one year later, where a celebration is being held to commemorate the end of the war, and we're introduced to the majority of the other characters that will make up our ragtag group, including meeting up with Glenn and Kylian, who somehow survived the explosion that killed tens of thousands.

After an inciting incident which draws our party together, the group is separated, which gives us a chance to learn more about the people we're travelling with. We have a princess pretending to be a commoner and her loyal, if a bit creepy and rude servant. We have a world renowned thief, and a scholar and playwright belonging to a race known as the Aar, known for naturally living for centuries. The group, initially wary of one another, come to rely on each other in order to survive, each with their own goals and motivations. Eventually we make our way to capital city of Taryn and learn that Frederick, the brother of our wayward princess Lenne, plans to instigate a war using the power of the Grand Grimoire, which we come to learn is the crystal from the beginning.

The story is well written with a rich lore for the world we inhabit. When people die, their souls go to the Maelstrom, a whirlpool of ether that eventually recycles souls into new bodies, reincarnating them. There's a limited amount of ether, and if more people are born than die, the Maelstrom weakens. In addition, there are people who retain memories of their past lives, though it's usually faded and not easy to recall. Thus we learn of a great cycle and death and rebirth with a couple of our characters playing a pivotal role. While I won't spoil things, there are a few twists and turns, and even when you think you know what's going on, there's always more information that recontextualizes things.

Combat is divided into two distinct sections. There's the normal combat, which sees us using four characters in a turn-based fashion, but each party member can be linked to another. Linked characters can swap in and out at the cost of a turn, but this effectively gives us eight characters to use in combat. Further, there are a few different gauges to watch, with one being for a super move that varies depending on who uses it, and the other being an overdrive gauge. The overdrive gauge is where the combat gets extra strategic, as choosing your moves to manage its position can sometimes be critical, and the hardest bosses tend to directly affect the gauge. It sounds a bit complicated, but it feels natural and satisfying to use.

The other type of combat is in Sky Armor. Sky Armors are large mech suits that only a select few can pilot, but they are fully customizable. When using Sky Armor, you only have the four characters in battle, and the over drive gauge is greatly simplified, but also doesn't bestow the same bonuses. Each Sky Armor can shifted between three different gears, with higher gears doing more damage but also depleting energy faster. I found the Sky Armor battles to be a fun variation at first, but they lost their appeal as they became more and more mandatory.

Outside of combat, there are a ton of small quality of life features that help streamline the title. Leveling is boiled down to earning Grimoire Shards, which you most often get from bosses. Once acquired, every character levels up, and the only choice you have to make is what skills to invest in. It defeats the need for grinding and allows for a more focused experience, as the developer didn't have to account for people being over or under leveled. There's also a reward board, which grants different rewards for various tasks, such as completing side quests, defeating optional bosses, and generally exploring the map. There's also the time honored tradition of the party healing after every encounter, meaning you don't have to go overboard stocking up on healing items.

Chained Echoes is an absolute gem of a game that brought to mind some of the absolute best of the genre as I played it. I could see the influences from different titles, but it never felt as though it was pandering or relying on nostalgia. The characters and the world are richly written, and most of the jokes work well, especially as a contrast to the more serious matters. I also appreciate that there are a few things the game doesn't spell out for the player, a few mysteries still exist in its world. While I feel the ending of the game is likely controversial, I appreciate its finality and adore the large narrative swings it takes. If you're a fan of the genre, there's no reason not to experience this masterpiece.