PixlBit

Pandora's Tower is the worst of the 3 JRPGs games from Operation Rainfall but it's by no means bad, it's unique, different, creative and incorparates many new and old troupes to give a full experience. This is the gloomiest and darkest of the games and unlike the others this one encourages multiple playthroughss for the endings, though it apears to fall far more to the Action RPG style of say the Legend of Zelda it - in a way - does more RPG related things better than Zelda or at least what Zelda should still be doing. Expect a lot of Zelda references.

This is wordier than i expected, sorry

Graphics

I'd say it's on par with the Last Story but just as detailed as the rest, If I had to describe the overall art direction it has a hint of rustic and greek (what gave that away?) and Arthorian-like style. the clothing is decorative if you compare the the 3 styles you can see a difference. Three of the main characters come from 3 seprate nations and you can tell beyond how they actually look I mean, it would have been easy to give them a more harmoginized look but the direction they took was better.

The Characters are pretty expressive well two of them at least Aeron the leading man and semi-silent protagonist like Link often uses his facial expressions to communicate you'd mistaken him for being vapid but it suits his personality. Elena the person you interact with the most is by far the most expressive it's as good as in anygame if not better because of how it adds to the overall story. It's not spectacular just good. Mavda ohm Mavda she's like that old women in a rocking chair you know down the street or that grandma that gets away with everything, she sounds very cheeky talks slow methodically and at her own pace

It has a hint of Evangelion in the monster design which are surprisingly creative but at the same time bear a clear resemblance, helped by their animation they do seem "alive" and not everything has a face, emphasis mostly around the mouth. The Bosses look great given their origin, they both look natural and artificial and if you have a keen eye you’ll notice how opposite they are *wink*, you won't notice with many because some attack as soon as you get to the centre of the room which is cleverly linked to the element and god of each dungeon.

The dungeons look great at first they all look the same and representative of their element of course but they vary on style  and layout as drastically like any other Zelda Dungeon some look old, weathered, brand new, or grimy, when you enter you are met with a God representing the dungeon and Element in a circular room, the Dungeons feel huge and intricate but mostly designed with purpose you know how you always go in a legend of Zelda dungeon and you say to yourself "Who'd design places like these?!" You don't get that much here you can imagine it being used. Each dungeon though feels big it has a real sense of scale, high ceilings and the lack of landscape when you look out to the sky.

Cutscenes are nice, there aren't many hi-res ones but the ingame graphics are good enough. That might not be saying much but if what the Wii is capable of it shouldn’t bother you too tough.

 

Music

As good as it is there's not much of it, the dungeons have the exact same music, I'm pretty sure the bosses on the other hand have different songs for (almost) every fight. The soundtrack is fully orchestrated and choir belting out the epicness and it really gets you pumped when fighting, like all good music should do. I think it stands out more than the Boss music from the other Xenoblade or The Last Story where it usually sounds familiar.

The games Hub (The Observatory) has 3 songs that play, the first is the Normal song which is an instrumental version of a song Elena sings, a slow, romantic tune, whenever you enter Mavda's shop you here a slightly more lively flut driven song with some horns in there. The last is a much moodier version of the Hub song that only comes when the clock to the bottom left is at a quarter finished (more on this in gameplay), this when Elena starts to transform and it's both unsettling but fits. 

The game kinda cheats by using stock music as in the typical dramatic tunes you'd hear in an advert or old movie melodramatic movie, this isn't the first game to uses licensed let alone stock music but you do notice and it's a little jarring however it isn't used quite enough to be annoying or anything.

Elena sings in this, I have a soft spot for Opera and the Woman that sings is fan-bloody-tastic! It's really nice to listen too, it's comes from a scene where she sings as part of a ceremony and is afflicted by the curse.

The SFX are surprisingly weighty, I can't quite describe it but they each sound has a degree of impact especially since many of it comes through the Wii-mote (again Nintendo proving how great a simple idea like that is).

 

Story

I won't give away too many plot developments away. But in Short “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World”

It's straight forward but it has depth, during a war with 2 nations one young soldier of the opposing nation sneaks insides the enemies city to hear his lady love sing but then (dum dum dummm) they get attacked by beasts and just as random as that Elena gets a curse that frequently plagues people. Aeron being his nice-self immediately gets her but knowing that she will be killed by the army if they don't leave he attempts to escape at which point he runs into the enigmatic Mavda, an old woman who knows far more than she lets on offers to lift the curse by going to the "The Scar", held together by chains connected to 12 Towers in the centre.

So as it stands it's your basic love story something you'll find in the Shadow of the Colossus, depending on you POV it's far more dire than that.

The whole game is based on Elena and Aeron's growing relationship and the link between them, the 12 towers and the past. According to Mavda in each Tower is large biological weapon called “Masters” if you defeat the Masters and take their "Flesh" and feed it to her the curse will eventually recede and taking flesh of the smaller beasts it's buy some time, this would be bad enough if it wasn't for one thing, Elena's faith forbids her from eating meat.

It's here that we see the most disturbing, unsettling and just down right creepy nature of the entire game, you have to watch her eat this pulsating thing in order to eventually help her be free of an even worse fate and if you think it gets better it doesn't you see both her relief and her suffering as time goes on and it's almost sadistic if it didn't have a point. Everytime she eats the Master flesh she gains even more Knowledge of the past.

Aeron and Elena's growing relationship is very endearing, Aeron dispite being quiet, shy and recluse is very affectionate you can see his unwavering dedication to her with what little he says to what little he does it seems shallow but as the story continues you find he isn't just repaying for how she took care of him but genuinely loves who she is even what she may become (this'll come to light in Gameplay). His personality is a little different from Elena who also isn't your typical female “victim”, she has her own strength to compliment his. Even though all this bad stuff goes on she tries to stay in high spirits she's more out gong and talkative, has her own work ethic and for lack of a better phrase acts like a real girl and woman, she complains about her brothers, writes a diary, and is very motherly. She also helps Aeron with his tasks as well because she is not just talented but smart, she can translate old text, sew many things and provides food and other items to keep his strength up if you didn't know any better they act like an old fashion married couple sometimes.

You may find a hint of Nightingale syndrome in the story but it's hardly that, I’m sure… As the curse takes her she still fights to do what she can for him even though she's going through a lot, it's not shown in a distasteful manner but it does serve to make you work harder to help her because of her own strength of character.

Mavda reminds me of so many old ladies I know, she's cheeky, insightful, knowledgeable but overall suspicious. She is a member of an Old tribe that existed since before the warring nations, she's also very sneaky she doesn't tell you absolutely everything but which stems on being annoying but as the game goes on her action hold true. She buys and sells materials and items. She carries a “Pot of greed” on her back that upgrades weapons. By chewing on it. I'm not joking.

The voice acting is great, technically there's only 2 characters you interact with (not counting the Pot of Greed either), Elena and Mavda talks the most. Mavda has a confident, frail and stern voice but she sounds very playful, especially her little witch-like laugh, she speaks slowly but clear, it suits her. Elena, youthful but mature. She speaks very almost bashfully, but you can really feel her terror and dread during particular scenes, her whimpers might be annoying to some and you might see her as weak in that typical damsel in distress sense but it’s best to see this in context. You know she's comfortable around him (accept near the final stage of her transformation) part of the game is listening to her talk and she sounds rather pleasant. Aeron as I stated doesn't say much but he speaks in a very soft comforting voice, there was a little joke about him not saying much of anything when she found him too.

 

Gamplay

I'll start with the Aeron and Elena mechanic the bond between them is very important to build, represented by a golden “Affinity” gauge by the left on top of the “Heat” gauge, by talking to Elena you gain more affinaty and once in a awhile she'll ask a question so read carefully, in order to increase your bond you - and this made me laugh when I first heard it - give her gifts. I only laugh because it's funny you not only have to save her, talk to her, put your life on the line and you need to give and buy stuff to keep her happy. Oh gawd ,so many bad jokes! 

Anyway, it's important, every gift you give her builds her resolve helps to give you the best ending and whatever useable item you give her increases your affinity. If you give her certain items she will make stuff you will need.

When taking flesh from a Beast or Master and feed it to Elaina it increases the Heat and Affinity guage, Master flesh increases your chain (more on this later).

The Beast gauge (bottom left) acts as a timelimit whenever you enter the Towers, in the Hub it doesn't decrease, when the gauge gets to about a quarter left it'll eat away at you affinity and Elena will be transformed more. This is an awesome mechanic, it's really clever and makes exploring a dungeon more stressful, I really don't like difficult games but this is a clever way to add a suitable challenge. Though there is a way to exit a dungeon without walking but that method is expensive so finding you're self at the very top with almost a quarter time left forces you to drop down at the cost of your health many times. And what happens when time runs out? I'll give you a hint.

It's a very cold end for our protagonists indeed

The hub provides you with a bed to recover health and change from day to night, access to Mavda's shop and a place to store the items you can't carry. Unlike other games you can't carry an unlimited amount of items on you, you can extend your bag twice in the game (maybe more) and even then it get filled rather quickly so you need to manages you're inventory, it seems like busywork but I didn't think that, at least it's different (and realistic).

Mavda provides items that you can't buy more than once till one dungeon is finished, here you can by many gifts for Elena, provide exposition, repairs and creates items and upgrades weapons. The upgrade system increases the strength of the weapons and adds extra combo attacks, like in Majora's Mask or Skyward Sword you need to find items that can be uniquely found in certain dungeons and time of day. It takes time finding some of them but it has great benefits, many you can sell after getting some fixed or translated.

When you enter a dungeon you must work with a fixed camera, it's surprisingly well implemented, it's close enough to see where you are and what you’re doing but not too jarring or awkward it's not as bad as what GoW can be but saying that often the scenery will get in the way. When you use an item it isn't instant, you have to stand and use it which is quite dangerous because it leaves you open  (no Zelda Style cutscene)  so it means you need to stay a little on your toes.

You'll acquire 3 weapons - almost 5 - a Sword, two Blades and a Sythe you repeatedly press (A) for a standard combo attack, hold down the a Button ad get a stronger attacks (camera will zoom in on release), when the weapons level has increased (and your level I think) you can perform a timed combo attack, as soon as on charged attack lands press the (A) button to continue the combo. The block button (L) acts as the dodge as well which I feel is ridiculously stiff at times, each have their own benefits and drawbacks some weapons regardless of level can even shorten the time of Boss fights or kill enemies faster. 5th weapon are bombs, you can make or buy them to break walls or harm enemies I've only used them once or twice but when you're in a jam they can buy you time.

The 4th weapon and the most important is the chain, a clever way of using the Wii-mote despite a fixed camera you can point anywhere on the screen but can only fire at a target (creates, monsters etc.), you can shoot it like a gun to expose weakspots, hit switches or break stuff. The other use is to tie up enemies, by pulling the chain (heh heh) you charge it for a powerful yank which allows you to take what they have, money, flesh etc. You can do may GoW style moves too swinging throwing not just with beasts but with Items, depending on where you point you can bind an enemy’s legs, face but they can still attack but a clever thing you can do it attach the chain to not just one object to a Beast but to another Beasts at the same time. So when you attack one at one end it's damage travels to the other however like I mentioned you need to charge the chians powers. The Chains gauge (underneath the health) represents how strong the used chain is, by pulling it's strength is increased and you can bind enemies longer and deal more damage, it only increases after every defeated Master and you can only defeat them with the chain.

Boss battles are standard but by no means boring, you do pretty much the same thing with regular beast but in a different way. Later on there is some variation but at the end it's the same. This isn't a bad thing though in order to defeat a Master you basically pull out its heart, you're weapons do little damage but stuns then just enough to expose themselves, then you attach the chain, charge/pull, then /yank! It's not entirely that simple, many Master don't sit still enough or they attack you while you use the chain, you need to climb, pull, run and dodge making the fight rather engaging. After every defeated Master your level and chain and Health increases not just that but the equipment capacity increases, no not the bag for your items rather the weapons and armour you can equipped to yourself so even Armour and Weapons take space.

Leveling up is a very un-engaging affair actually, I mean they don't make a song and dance about increasing your level or actively show you your experience so out of nowhere you can kill a beast and gain level Ten it's a fleeting moment of acknowledgment. This just means it's up to you to monitor your own progression, which is odd change but nothing unwelcomed.

The level design is really good, as I've mentioned before it looks like it was once used but getting to the boss is rather inventive, whenever you enter a dungeon you are greeted with a God holding chains, those lock the doors to the Masters and you must smash the source. It got up my nose when the chains increased to 5 but I think because it artificially lengthen the game, finding these chains are mostly easy and some are just plain tricky not even the map helps sometimes, I wrote that each dungeon has a respective element in twos, fire, water, earth, grass and light & dark. Despite the similar design they managed to be creative, even the dungeons of the same elements look different from one another. Because the dungeons are big you need get shortcuts in the form of Blue doors, this is only so you can get to the Boss faster whenever you made a tactical retreat.

This is longer than The Last Story partly because you'll be doing a lot of necessary backtracking in order to get materials and improve your health, weapons and affinity etc. It’s a dungeon crawler at its core.

 

Overall this is a fun game, a good game, It’s one of the more unique out of the 3 and has a completely different experience, you are alone against monsters, comforted by your love and weighed down by the horror of a curse that’s ever present.

It falls short of being classic but shows effort and the creativity that went into this entertaining game. Well done.