INTRO
Many years ago, I remember stumbling upon a curious title at my local videogame store: its title and cover quite stood out to me, but upon turning the box I got the idea that it was some kind of RPG, and because of my younger self's lack of interest in the genre (and well, money), I put the game back in its place and never seriously entertained the idea of purchasing it.
Roughly 10 years have passed since then, in that span of time I heard how that game was pretty remarkable, and EXPENSIVE. Thankfully, PAL copies aren't actually that sought after, so a few weeks ago I finally took the plunge on buying what could have been part of my younger years.
And that game was: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
(and now I'm going to talk about it)
THE RED HUNTER (actual misinterpretation of mine for a long time, oops)
Before we begin, my younger self is an idiot, because this game ISN'T a pure RPG, it's more like an action-RPG with adventure sprinkled in. So that's an L on my part, because I would have probably ended up liking it 10 or so years ago.
Anyway, as soon as you boot up the game and start a new file, the one thing most of you already know about the game rears its head: the production value.
I'm no expert, but the game boasts some gorgeous in-engine(?) 3D(??) cutscenes, they are certaintly not the norm throughout the game, but right from the get-go, I was very impressed.
THE GRAPHICS/ART STYLE
To get this out of the way, if you couldn't tell, this game featuresmainly anthro designs, this is apparently a turn-off for some people, only things I'll say is that I very much enjoyed them and I think they add a LOT of charm to the game, ok, moving on.
If the intro didn't convince you, yes, the game is very, very pretty.
Most shocking of all, it's one of the most 3D-reliant games I can remember on the system, and it pulls off its mix of 3D and 2D assets exceptionally well: the models are simplistic but charming, and the 2D art and quite sleek UI make for a surprisingly cohesive presentation.
As for the art style, I can't in good faith try to critique it, but I can say that it reminds me of Hayao Miyazaki's works, especially Castle in the Sky, but with more modern mecha design sensibilities; and I think this also applies to the game as a whole.
THE STORY/PACING
I've included talking about the pacing because I don't want to delve into the story too deeply, but the 2 things are connected.
If you're wondering why I included such subtitle to my OT, it's because I kind of consider this game as a "babies' first Xenoblade".
The writing and characters are very enjoyable and charming, but the plot, while at first pretty standard, goes into pretty "interesting" directions that personally remind me of my experience with MonolithSoft's franchise, I won't elaborate further, but I consider the plot (and its presentation) one of the game's most commendable assets, so much so that I retroactively would have wanted to pick this game all those years ago.
One slight some people have against the story it's that it's too "wordy", while I don't disagree, for me the writing and (main) characters made up for it.
(too bad there is no way to skip dialogue quickly, that's inexcusable)
Now, the pacing I do have some things to say about, because it felt rather "strange" to me.
Basically, the game is divided in 2 parts, each 10 chapters long, for a total of 20 chapters, and the thing about these chapters is that they're SHORT, you would be hard-pressed to find a chapter longer than 45 minutes, and I guess it felt so weird because I'm too used to Xenoblade's idea of chapters (I've been playing them a lot recently), that are basically hours and hours long.
It took me roughly 15 hours to finish the game's story, and you might think: "that must have felt like a comfortable breeze!". Well...
THE GAMEPLAY
The game mainly revolves around exploring 3D-ish locales, platforming on foot (rarely) or aboard your crimson mech, taking on various missions (story related or "optional") and combat; before I talk about the fighting, there's 3 other sub-gameplay styles I've failed to mention.
- Model Racing
This is basically the game's excuse to get you to partake in the multiplayer racing minigame to potentially play it in the future with your friends, it's fine if not a bit obtrusive and unwanted, but the story proper forces you to play it a couple of times tops, so it's not a tragedy.
(you also get to meet some characters of the game Solatorobo is a spiritual succesor to: Tail Concerto)
- Floating Island Exploration
Now this is weird: in some early-ish missions (and in ONE area in the latter half of the game) you are granted the ability to hover and FLY to explore a small sandbox comprised of scattered floating islands. I kind of wish there could be a separate mode dedicated to this one mechanic, because it was quite novel and fun to be given such relative freedom. But sadly these parts show the limitation of the DS, as the camera is iffy and the framerate a bit shaky, still pretty fun though.
- Fishing
This mechanic comes out of nowhere in the 2nd part of the game, so much so that I forgot to talk about it.
It's pretty similar to OKAMI's fishing (mash a button, tilt the stick in the correct position), and while it is conceptually awesome (you fish hermit crabs with GIANT WARSHIPS for shell), the story forces you to, again, play it a couple of times tops, to then relegate it to side-content.
THE COMBAT
I want to preface this by saying that I did like the combat, but sadly it's arguably the weakest (and most prominent) link of the chain that is this game.
In short the combat is comprised of 2 parts: grabbing the enemies, and chainyeeting throwing them against one another to rack up the damage.
This is the MAIN way you'll be interacting with the game, and it's just... Okay.
For some it's less than okay, and more "braindead easy"; for example, I died ONCE in the whole game, and that was against the final boss, the last fight of the game.
It genuinely saddens me, because the game in general I find to be really, really great, but the combat just isn't up to snuff, and ends up dragging down the whole game a notch.
The game is so finely crafted, but 2 of its main features play at odds with each other (the wordy story and simple combat) and I just can't ignore that.
CONCLUSION
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter is a game that would have probably left a huge mark on a younger me, a window to a beautiful world full of charming characters, lucious and imaginative locales, and with an intriguing and at times emotionally moving story.
And while I did very, very much enjoy the game, as a more experienced, jaded 10-year-older person, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been so much more, a bonafied classic even, if it hadn't been for its alright combat.
(see you, Red Savarin)
ADDENDUM: "LITTLE TAIL BRONX"
While I'm at it, I might as well give a shoutout to the franchise and its future, because yes, as I already mentioned, the PSX title Tail Concerto and Solatorobo are connected, and both part of developer Cyberconnect2's "Little Tail Bronx" series (I came to discover this while playing the game).
This franchise is to put it mildy, not a great seller, but despite that it's getting a new title fairly soon, called Fuga: Melodies of steel.
The game is not in the same vein as Solatorobo, but now that I know of the series' existence, I'm going to keep an eye out for it (lord knows it will need it).
Many years ago, I remember stumbling upon a curious title at my local videogame store: its title and cover quite stood out to me, but upon turning the box I got the idea that it was some kind of RPG, and because of my younger self's lack of interest in the genre (and well, money), I put the game back in its place and never seriously entertained the idea of purchasing it.
Roughly 10 years have passed since then, in that span of time I heard how that game was pretty remarkable, and EXPENSIVE. Thankfully, PAL copies aren't actually that sought after, so a few weeks ago I finally took the plunge on buying what could have been part of my younger years.
And that game was: Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
(and now I'm going to talk about it)
THE RED HUNTER (actual misinterpretation of mine for a long time, oops)
Before we begin, my younger self is an idiot, because this game ISN'T a pure RPG, it's more like an action-RPG with adventure sprinkled in. So that's an L on my part, because I would have probably ended up liking it 10 or so years ago.
Anyway, as soon as you boot up the game and start a new file, the one thing most of you already know about the game rears its head: the production value.
I'm no expert, but the game boasts some gorgeous in-engine(?) 3D(??) cutscenes, they are certaintly not the norm throughout the game, but right from the get-go, I was very impressed.
THE GRAPHICS/ART STYLE
To get this out of the way, if you couldn't tell, this game features
If the intro didn't convince you, yes, the game is very, very pretty.
Most shocking of all, it's one of the most 3D-reliant games I can remember on the system, and it pulls off its mix of 3D and 2D assets exceptionally well: the models are simplistic but charming, and the 2D art and quite sleek UI make for a surprisingly cohesive presentation.
As for the art style, I can't in good faith try to critique it, but I can say that it reminds me of Hayao Miyazaki's works, especially Castle in the Sky, but with more modern mecha design sensibilities; and I think this also applies to the game as a whole.
THE STORY/PACING
I've included talking about the pacing because I don't want to delve into the story too deeply, but the 2 things are connected.
If you're wondering why I included such subtitle to my OT, it's because I kind of consider this game as a "babies' first Xenoblade".
The writing and characters are very enjoyable and charming, but the plot, while at first pretty standard, goes into pretty "interesting" directions that personally remind me of my experience with MonolithSoft's franchise, I won't elaborate further, but I consider the plot (and its presentation) one of the game's most commendable assets, so much so that I retroactively would have wanted to pick this game all those years ago.
One slight some people have against the story it's that it's too "wordy", while I don't disagree, for me the writing and (main) characters made up for it.
(too bad there is no way to skip dialogue quickly, that's inexcusable)
Now, the pacing I do have some things to say about, because it felt rather "strange" to me.
Basically, the game is divided in 2 parts, each 10 chapters long, for a total of 20 chapters, and the thing about these chapters is that they're SHORT, you would be hard-pressed to find a chapter longer than 45 minutes, and I guess it felt so weird because I'm too used to Xenoblade's idea of chapters (I've been playing them a lot recently), that are basically hours and hours long.
It took me roughly 15 hours to finish the game's story, and you might think: "that must have felt like a comfortable breeze!". Well...
THE GAMEPLAY
The game mainly revolves around exploring 3D-ish locales, platforming on foot (rarely) or aboard your crimson mech, taking on various missions (story related or "optional") and combat; before I talk about the fighting, there's 3 other sub-gameplay styles I've failed to mention.
- Model Racing
This is basically the game's excuse to get you to partake in the multiplayer racing minigame to potentially play it in the future with your friends, it's fine if not a bit obtrusive and unwanted, but the story proper forces you to play it a couple of times tops, so it's not a tragedy.
(you also get to meet some characters of the game Solatorobo is a spiritual succesor to: Tail Concerto)
- Floating Island Exploration
Now this is weird: in some early-ish missions (and in ONE area in the latter half of the game) you are granted the ability to hover and FLY to explore a small sandbox comprised of scattered floating islands. I kind of wish there could be a separate mode dedicated to this one mechanic, because it was quite novel and fun to be given such relative freedom. But sadly these parts show the limitation of the DS, as the camera is iffy and the framerate a bit shaky, still pretty fun though.
- Fishing
This mechanic comes out of nowhere in the 2nd part of the game, so much so that I forgot to talk about it.
It's pretty similar to OKAMI's fishing (mash a button, tilt the stick in the correct position), and while it is conceptually awesome (you fish hermit crabs with GIANT WARSHIPS for shell), the story forces you to, again, play it a couple of times tops, to then relegate it to side-content.
THE COMBAT
I want to preface this by saying that I did like the combat, but sadly it's arguably the weakest (and most prominent) link of the chain that is this game.
In short the combat is comprised of 2 parts: grabbing the enemies, and chain
This is the MAIN way you'll be interacting with the game, and it's just... Okay.
For some it's less than okay, and more "braindead easy"; for example, I died ONCE in the whole game, and that was against the final boss, the last fight of the game.
It genuinely saddens me, because the game in general I find to be really, really great, but the combat just isn't up to snuff, and ends up dragging down the whole game a notch.
The game is so finely crafted, but 2 of its main features play at odds with each other (the wordy story and simple combat) and I just can't ignore that.
CONCLUSION
Solatorobo: Red the Hunter is a game that would have probably left a huge mark on a younger me, a window to a beautiful world full of charming characters, lucious and imaginative locales, and with an intriguing and at times emotionally moving story.
And while I did very, very much enjoy the game, as a more experienced, jaded 10-year-older person, I can't shake the feeling that it could have been so much more, a bonafied classic even, if it hadn't been for its alright combat.
ADDENDUM: "LITTLE TAIL BRONX"
While I'm at it, I might as well give a shoutout to the franchise and its future, because yes, as I already mentioned, the PSX title Tail Concerto and Solatorobo are connected, and both part of developer Cyberconnect2's "Little Tail Bronx" series (I came to discover this while playing the game).
This franchise is to put it mildy, not a great seller, but despite that it's getting a new title fairly soon, called Fuga: Melodies of steel.
The game is not in the same vein as Solatorobo, but now that I know of the series' existence, I'm going to keep an eye out for it (lord knows it will need it).
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