Nintendo World Report (9/10):
Little Town Hero is a decidedly peculiar game, with an involved battle system occasionally interrupted by a mostly adorable story. The complexities of combat can get exhausting, especially during some hard, slow-paced bouts, but the spectacular style and vibe found in the visuals and the Toby Fox-led soundtrack help to paper over some of the maladies. This Game Freak game might not be for everyone, but if you're looking for an adorable aesthetic amped up by hardcore CCG-inspired combat, Little Town Hero might be made specifically for you, because it seems like it's that way for me.
IGN (7/10):
Little Town Hero exudes charm from every corner of its adorable little village, and couples that personality with an absurd and utterly unique combat system full of combos I loved discovering. Its knack for turning exciting fights into slow-paced battles that sometimes hand you frustrating losses based on random dice rolls may have worn on me at times, especially before I unlocked some of my hero's stronger abilities, but it's still a town I was happy to have visited.
RPGSite (6/10):
Even though its severe issues with optimization and gameplay balance have soured me on it, Little Town Hero is a neat game that I don't regret checking out. Listening to the amazing tunes of Hitomi Sato and guest composer Toby Fox of Undertale fame throughout my 15-hour playthrough made for an enjoyable experience after all is said and done. There are a plethora of creative ideas inside Little Town Hero and I wish it came together more cohesively. Several performance and quality-of-life enhancements will go a long way for this game if it ever receives those patches.
SeafoamGaming (9/10):
It's a game I recommend with no hesitation, but I also won't act like the battle system may seem like a jumbled mess to outsiders even after all I described. The game does mandate helpful tutorials that made it easy for me to pick up and understand, but even when you know what to do the battles are super reliant on strategy, so if you end up losing to a boss then you only have your own strategies to blame and need to plan another course of action.
Gamexplain (Hated):
If I weren't reviewing this game, I would have dropped it after the first chapter. It pains me to say it but I hate Little Town Hero. It feels like a tech demo wrapped around a kernel of a good idea and executed in the worst possible way. If you're looking for a RPG on the Nintendo Switch, buy Dragon Quest XI S instead.
Kotaku:
Like the little town Axe works so hard to protect, Little Town Hero is straightforward and earnest. Comical moments between characters and a Toby Fox-made soundtrack keep the boring parts manageable, and the battle system's mix of a simple core with a variety of ways to execute makes the game work. You have a finite level of actions you can take and a clear layout of your enemy's attack options. It's the type of game that makes you feel clever for doing exactly what it's designed to allow, and that's always a great time.
The Digital Fix (9/10):
Little Town Hero is a refreshing take on the turn-based RPG genre, with gorgeous visuals, a perfect soundtrack, and endearing characters. If the tedium of combat was tuned a bit, this would be a 10 out of 10 hands down.
Nintendo Life (7/10):
In an era where every RPG - and every genre that's assimilated roleplay mechanics into their DNA - have used grinding and oversized maps to extend their playtimes into figures only a select few can truly undertake, Little Town Hero has confidently opted for a shorter experience that's more akin to the pace, style and sedate pace of Animal Crossing than a traditional RPG or JRPG. However, with a battle system that trades XP levelling for a purer sense of tactical planning and experimentation (albeit with an unpredictable spike difficulty), Game Freak proves that a 'casual' game can still have plenty of imagination, even on a smaller scale. It's far from essential, but if you love CCG-style combat and can't stomach another 100-hour RPG, there's much to like in Little Town Hero.
MSPowerUser (6.5/10):
Little Town Hero is a very unique RPG. It's short, unadventurous and not that grand, but its quaintness is admirable. It's enjoyable enough, and for a budget price-point, it certainly is worth the price of admission. For players who were hoping for a grand adventure similar to Pokémon, Game Freak isn't aiming for that. This is a smaller experience, and it's far from perfect, but it's at least a refreshing entry in a crowded genre.
Gaming Trend (60/100):
Little Town Hero boasts a unique, strategic battle system that draws heavily on card game mechanics. Despite the fact that the story and art design seems to be aimed at a younger audience, combat is far too slow, strategic, and challenging to keep the attention of most kids. It's an interesting combination of traditional RPG storytelling with Heartstone-like mechanics and difficulty that's sure to captivate some, but will likely miss the mark for most.
GamesRadar (3/5):
If you can swallow the uninspired storytelling and framerate drops, there's a lot of fun to be had taking down monsters in Little Town Hero. An exercise in battle strategy and patience for its flaws, Little Town Hero knows where its strengths lie, and thankfully you'll see more strengths than flaws if you invest in them.
Nintendo Everything (Thumbs Up):
Little Town Hero is a much bigger game than it may seem at first. Its beautiful visuals, charming story, and fantastic soundtrack may make it look like a friendly little RPG, but this first impression hides its true nature as one of the most overbearingly complex RPGs I've played recently. While this complexity is certainly more than I bargained for when starting up the game, I can't deny that it's an exciting, thrilling RPG unlike much else I've ever played, and this very complexity makes it that much more thrilling. Of course, those hoping for an RPG akin to Pokémon or Undertale will likely be overwhelmed by the game's incredible density; however, if you're willing to march into the strategic fray, this little town will provide big payoff.
Bonus Stage (9/10):
Overall, Little Town Hero brings something new to the genre of role-playing, with a more concise and bite-sized feel to its mechanics, yet contains a mass of depth to keep you invested. It's utterly charming in everything that it does, looks great and sounds fantastic. If there's one slight misgiving that I'd give the game, it's that the combat sessions can feel a bit overdrawn at times and each bout can last a while; especially if you haven't completely figured out the mechanics of its combat. There's a real AAA quality to the title and overall, should last you anywhere between ten and twenty hours; depending on your skill level. It may not be as big as some of the journeys we undertake digitally, but it's all the more better for it and the truth is, this is one of the most enjoyable titles that I have had the pleasure of playing this year. It may be little, but it's certainly heroic.
Jack of All Controllers (8.5/10):
My time with Little Town Hero was one that I have been anticipating for months, and it did not disappoint. The mechanics may be a bit different than what was expected, but it still delivered a fantastic experience. The game does have its flaws, but the good greatly outweighs them. The game was made by an incredibly small team of just 5. It stunned me to learn that such a game of quality could come out of such a small number. It may not be for everyone, but it impeessed me and kept me attention thoroughly. The team did an amazing job and Game Freak should be proud as they now have another game to add to the studios catalog that proves they can do more than just Pokemon.
Vooks (4/5):
Little Town Hero is a masterclass in experimenting with genre. It does have some technical issues on the surface, but underneath that is a beautiful, complex game packed with charm, depth, and most importantly, fun. It won't be for everybody, but if you like card-based RPGs, you're bound to have a great time.
Daily Nintendo (7.7/10, review in dutch):
Little Town Hero is a masterclass in experimenting with genre. It does have some technical issues on the surface, but underneath that is a beautiful, complex game packed with charm, depth, and most importantly, fun. It won't be for everybody, but if you like card-based RPGs, you're bound to have a great time.
Noisy Pixel (7.5/10):
It's best to think of Little Town Hero as a bite-sized RPG. What makes this game a fun adventure is its unique and challenging battle system that's unlike anything else in any other RPG released this year. While the experience has plenty of charm, unfortunately, it suffers from issues that make it not as grand as it could've been. If you're dreaming of playing an epic RPG, it's best to look elsewhere, but if you can look past its kinks, Little Town Hero is worth playing through.
SwitchWatch (7/10):
In one form, it's this lovely charming game with beautiful visuals, great writing, nice music and a battle system that's almost a work of art. But then, an ugly side rears its head shows how cruel, annoying and vindictive it can be. That seeps out all of the fun of what should be an essential eShop title. Don't get me wrong, it's playable doable and enjoyable if you have the patience and the guile. It's disappointing they balanced it all wrong in my opinion. This lovely game should have not been a slog or a chore, but at times it very much was.
NMag (No Score):
I really like Little Town Hero, despite the sometimes very frustrating luck factor in the fights. The successful atmosphere alone ensures that I want to advance the progress in the story. The system of ideas, combined with the expansion of fighting on different parts of the village, is quite an exciting element, although it takes some hours of play before it becomes flesh-and-blood. Unfortunately in this context, unfortunately, that Little Town Hero unfortunately only offers English or Japanese text on the screen.
Famitsu (8/9/8/8)
Nintendo-Online.de (7/10, review in german):
"Little Town Hero" is an interesting role-playing game, which can be captivated mainly by its combat system. The long battles may be unusual for the genre, but score with tactical depth. It is a pity that both the story and the quests in the village can not compete and stretch the game rather than inspire as well. At least the soundtrack may be described as perfect and completes an entertaining game whose corners and edges do not prevent the fun of playing.
GameCrash (3/5):
As the most ambitious non-Pokémon project the team has taken on, Little Town Hero is a decent attempt. It would have been fascinating to see what the studio could have delivered here had they put their full Pokémon-level resources into the game. Perhaps the biggest pity of all is that we may never get to see what a non-Pokémon game AAA game from Game Freak looks like – because if it started off like Little Town Hero, it could be very promising indeed.
Nintenderos (8/10, review in spanish):
If you are looking for an original proposal in the genre of the role to carry out gaming sessions that are not too extensive, there is no doubt that Little Town Hero is an option worth considering. Thus, despite some performance problems and its somewhat pronounced learning curve, this new Game Freak proposal has much to offer in the form of a combat system the sea of original and addictive once it is mastered, added to a soundtrack signed by Toby Fox himself and a more than acceptable story that develops both the protagonist and the rest of the cast around him in a more than acceptable way. That way, there is only one question left to ask; Do you sign up to unravel the mysteries of this (apparently) idyllic town next to us?
TrustedReviews (3.5/5):
Little Town Hero is a solid RPG with several unique, ambitious new systems that light up different parts of the brain than you may be used to. However, it also feels like it's still in the prototype phase, and is let down by some awkward visual design choices, performance bugs and a puzzle system that lacks any of the intuition that the developers had clearly intended.
The battle system is fun to figure out, but ultimately combat is so drawn out and confusing that it becomes exhausting, and as the turns start to cloy, you may have to put the game down for a while and play something else. Unfortunately, it's not as snappy and enjoyable in quick bursts as Pokemon, which may be the thing that doom's Little Town Hero's clear potential as a brain-teasing game to play on your commute.
FNintendo (6/10, review in portuguese):
Little Town Hero does what Game Freak has tried to do: a different Pokémon experience in a good-idea RPG capable of pleasing a good number of players. However, what it presents is not enough and Little Town Hero is unable to deliver a memorable experience of the high standards that Game Freak has accustomed to. A game only recommended for those looking for a different and ... short JRPG.
GameSpot (5/10):
Little Town Hero finds some success in avoiding some of the complex systems and tedious menus that can bog down other card games and RPGs, but it ends up suffering for it. Keeping your card options limited allows you to approach encounters with clever instead of relying on luck of the draw, but the deck size is too limited to break the mounting doldrum of subsequent fights. And while I did get to know this town pretty well, that's because of how small and suffocating it feels as it refuses to push outside its own boundaries.
USgamer (2/5):
Aside from its cute art direction, there's not much joy to be found in Game Freak's Little Town Hero. Its battle system has a glimmer of potential, but finds itself muddled in system after system, making what should be its standout boss battles a tedious affair. Even for a budget price, this is a town you probably won't want to visit for more than a day.
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