Coming from Square Enix we have a brand new SRPG (Strategy Role Playing Game) in the form of The Diofield Chronicle. A game showcases an all-new combat system, which in all honestly just feels like real-time combat with a pause. This game is all-new from Square Enix, but when I first dived into the game I got to summon Bahamut from the final fantasy franchise. So obviously I googled and asked does The Diofield Chronicle have anything to do with Final Fantasy and I got my answer NO. So I sat there scratching my head, for a while then, moved on.
STORY
The Diofield Chronicle is set on an island called Diofield, where a battle is rife between two opposing factions the Trovelt-Schoevian Empire and the Rowetale Alliance. Once the battle ends with the empire being the victors, they turn their attention to the Kingdom of Alletain. You might be asking why the wars? Resources, jade being the main one, the source that creates magic.
You get to play and lead a band of mercenaries called the Blue Foxes, which consist of the following characters Andrias Rhondarson, A soldier class, Fredret Lestera a Cavalier class, Iscarion Colchester archer class, and Waltaquin Redditch a mage class. You might be thinking, will I gain access to more playable characters that answer is simply yes, as you progress through the game more join your team.
The Diofield Chronicle is filled with twists and turns, political intrigue, great writing, along with good voice acting. Yes, you read that correct, there is voice acting and it’s not like some of Bandai Namco’s games where they use a voice acting to start a sentence then you have to read the rest, personally, for me, that type of voice acting sucks, and it just feels lazy.
Characters, Lore and…
There is a lot to take in from the start to the very end, plenty of characters, places, organisations and more. But you do have a library that you can use to better understand what’s happening, the character around you with biographies and other things you would expect to read in a library. Yes, there is a lot to understand, and things going on, but do not worry this is not like Game of Thrones, where you had more WTF moments than I could shake a stick at.
As I read over character biographies and got far into the game I did feel and care for my team, the struggle, the war, their reasons for fighting, their fears, and their aspirations, everything. I even felt compelled to choose certain characters all the time due to the underpinning story narrative and good voice acting. It was hard for me to place any one character that stands out because in a way they all did, and they all did a good job by bringing me into their world.
Building friendships, and doing random tasks at your HQ or makeshift campsites make up some time and build upon the story. Running these short quests will gain you the game’s main currency, GULD which in turn allows you to purchase weapons, accessories, materials or upgrade Magilumic Orbs etc. More on Magilumic Orbs later on.
COMBAT
I found the combat truly inspiring, engaging, challenging and bloody good fun, with you always paying close attention to what is happening to your team and the battlefield.
Your team will consist of 4 members, which will include Soldiers, Cavaliers, Sharpshooters, and Magickers.
- Soldiers are the tanks of the game, front and centre, damage takers, the ones that will protect the group. Theuse Sword & Sheild, Daggers or even a lance.
- Cavalier are quick on their feet, can get around fast, and are great at crowd control with a horse or wyvern.
- Sharpshooters fight from afar to do single or multiple damage to the enemy, using bows and arrows or guns.
- Magickers are the mages/priests of the game, they can heal, single damage or do AOE damage
For me, I always had a healer on hand, because finding healing potions on the battlefield, is hard to find. I also had a tank, this is obvious and depending on the battle I would swap out the cavalier for a sharpshooter or visa versa, or just keep a varied group and see how it goes. But ultimately you can choose who to take into a battle, you can take all soldiers, or sharpshooters etc, what makes the difference would be how you approach a battle, its conditions, the skills you get use to and those quick on the fly decisions, you will be making all the time on the battlefield.
Skills are key to success as always, and as you level up you will be thinking about how best to improve your team members, weapons are key as it’s the weapon you assign that controls access to said skills. Confusing yes, but you will get to grips with it in time.
REWARD ME PLEASE
One thing I found in some games, is a lack of reward when you win a battle, a score, a bunch of stars, big whoop give me loot please, The Diofield Chronicle has you sorted here.
Winning a battle while fulfilling its conditions, like not getting your party killed, or some of the party etc will reward you with skill & agility points (nothing new), XP (obviously) resources to help create new weapons, upgrade Magilumic Orbs which allow you to summon Gods, which I am sure most are from or taken inspiration from Final Fantasy. I always took note of the conditions of the battle and did my best to fulfil them as this was the best way to experience the game, in my opinion.
CONTROL OR NOT TO CONTROL, THAT IS THE QUESTION.
Now you could go into any battle all guns blazing and allow your team to do what they wish, this, in turn, will see you, DIE, end of. I did this for shits and giggles, but not recommended.
You can control the whole party or control individuals, always look at the battlefield and then decide, use a sharpshooter and garner the attention of the enemy from afar, approach the enemy from behind and do more damage or grab your whole group and pretend you are William Wallace and scream FREEDOMMM and run towards the group and hope for the best. Just remember all classes have different skills along with group setups.
Just remember this, watch your enemy, learn their patterns, watch and use status effects as and when you can, and be mindful of bosses as they will surprise you.
IMPRESSIVE, BUT FINAL FANTASY, REALLY?
Now the most impressive part of a battle is the summoning, the FIRST SUMMON being Bahamut. You do this by filling up your TP gauge and letting loose the tides of war, well a giant beast to kick some enemy butt, heal you and more. These summonses are bloody awesome and can be improved by levelling the up. Summons include the following, Bahamut, Goldhorne, Fenrir, Salamander and Coeurl.
Graphics, Sound and overall
I was very impressed by the visuals in the game from the very start, OK the mouth movements to voice acting was a little off, but that did not in any way put me off watching the cut scenes and battles. As I said above the most visually impressive scenes are the summonings of the gods (yes I call them that).
I never got bored and I never wanted to turn down the volume of the game, even when battles were long and I seem to be using the same skills over and over. The voice acting was excellent as well, dragging me into their lives, wanting to like them, choose them, and help them. This was also done thanks to the great plot and story, which is well written and implemented.
There is so much to do, learn, improve, understand and fall in love with when it comes to The Diofield Chronicle even when it seems there is no real change to the battlefields, or you seem to be fighting the same enemies over and over. This game for me is a must-own.
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft Windows
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