HomeVideo GamesFragile Dreams ~Farewell Ruins of the Moon~ Review

Fragile Dreams ~Farewell Ruins of the Moon~ Review

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Fragile Dreams ~Farewell Ruins of the Moon~ Review 1

At the very end of a summer that was all too short.
The old man I was living with passed away.
Even after all the years we spent together, I never knew his name.
Later that evening.
I dug a shallow grave in the front yard of our home and buried him there.
At that moment, I was truly alone in the world.

– Seto (Introductory Scene)

This is another game of many that have been released over the last few years set in post-apocalyptic society, this time in Tokyo, Japan. It does not have the violence as seen in other games such as Fallout and Nier, but instead focuses on the storyline to portray a great gaming experience. So what is the storyline like you may ask?

Seto may be the last human alive.
He buried his grandfather at the end of the summer.

Desperately lonely, he decides to search for other survivors on this ruined and dying planet. But he will have to fight off the demons and ghosts that haunt this forsaken and crumbling world, while piecing together the mystery of mankind’s disappearance.

The storyline starts off very vague, with the task of a single young boy hunting down any sort of man kind remnants that he can after being supposedly the last human on the planet due to some disaster which is not detailed as a backstory. After a short trip away from his safe haven on route to Tokyo Tower where there is believed to be people, he finds a girl singing who runs away after noticing him. So the story is essentially about him chasing down this girl, and meeting individuals on the way. Overall through, this is a very melancholic experience and it does have numerous references to death, possible suicide and many other traumatic experiences throughout the storyline, however if you look past that, you will find a very well written storyline that whilst seeming a bit slow at the start, is definitely one that will keep your attention all the way through. Also this game actually manages to have the most innocent Yaoi scene I think any game has been able to implement.

The only character that is used in the entire game is Seto, the main character who has a very shy and quiet personality, often looking towards others for support. He is a likable main character overall however his silence during periods of time when you are without others really gets annoying after a while. The other main character of focus is Ren, who is introduced at the start of the game and is chased by the main character throughout the game, often following her childish drawings or messages.

Besides those two, there are a number of temporary characters that are used somewhat as plot devices in the game. The first character is Personal Frame, a backpack machine that is used during the tutorial to introduce the character to the game. However, due to circumstances, she does not accompany him for long during the game. Crow is a boy that is met later down the track and is rude and obnoxious at first but warms up to Seto. He is hunting for information about his past, with his only link being a photograph. The final character of interest is Sai, who is a ghost that follows Seto around, assisting him during the rest of his travels. Usually however, only one character at a time is present, and they slowly help Seto come out of his shell.

The graphics in this game are absolutely stunning, with every outside area in the game being well designed and beautiful. The interior areas of the game rely on a flashlight since there is no electricity and whilst you will be relying on that flashlight a lot, the areas are well designed and show the abandonment of the areas of the game. Taking the example of ‘The Observatory’ for example which is at the beginning of the game, the entire level is very well done with the whole building being dilapidated, so floor boards are missing and there is a musty atmosphere to the interior area. Another thing I liked was the animated scenes… whilst I was not fond of them at first, after re-watching them they were very well done, however if you don’t like 3D Anime style movies, then it might not be for you… of course, don’t take that as a negative factor at all, since there are only a few animated scenes in the game. Character designs were really interesting…. and they used a trendy Japanese style of clothing for all the characters, however unlike everything else in the world, the clothing actually looked clean and non-ragged… also the merchants design was something rather funny, they seem to use a lot of enlarged novelty animal heads nowadays in games (Just like Teddie from Persona 4). I just wish this was on a more HD console…. the graphics didnt look as great as they could have been on my wide screen TV.

First off, I must state that the opening theme of this game is absolutely perfect. I do not usually like any sort of classical/piano based songs in an opening or ending theme, but this one is one of the few exceptions that I shall make since it suits the animation and it is just perfect!

The music in the game is around the same style as the opening, soft and suitable to the overall apocalyptic tone of the game. However to be honest, I found that the music wasnt being played a fair amount of the time, instead the game seemed to opt for normal background noise to add to the atmosphere and suspense. The voice acting was good and I recognized a number of my favorite voice actors in the mix, so I am happy! However that being said, the characters remain silent quite a lot during the normal gameplay, to the point that it is unnerving.

Gameplay in this game would have to be the downfall of the game. The gameplay involves you moving the flashlight that Seto is carrying with the wiimote whilst moving around with the numchuck and button mashing (A) to defeat an enemy. Seto cannot jump and moves slow, therefore making it hard to avoid being hit at times. There are a number of weapons at your disposal ranging from a stick to a lead pipe. However, each of these items only have a certain durability and you may find mid-fight that your recently purchased item was destroyed, making it next to useless in a fight.

There are a number of puzzle like challenges such as chasing after a character that stole something off Seto as well as a challenge where you must run along a roller coaster track without falling off, just to name a few at the start. These were overall fun but could have had more variety to them. All the games make good use of the wiimote speaker which increases in volume the closer you are to the target.

I am not sure the replayability value of this game. It is definately a good play through the first time, however it really depends on your personal preferences to if you play through it again a second time. If you got attached to a character however, you may find yourself going back to play through the game a second time to see them again (Maybe…).

This is obviously not a game for people who are madly addicted to FPS games or anything that involves lots and lots of blood and violence. However, for those that do like the quiet and interesting storyline with some absolutely beautiful graphics and music, this I believe this game will be a gem for you.

Overall Score

Storyline: 10
Characters: 9
Graphics: 9
Music: 9
Gameplay: 5
Replayability: 7
Personal Opinion: 9

Total Score: 8.5

 

Sam
Sam
Founder of The Otaku's Study. I have been exploring this labyrinth of fandom these last fifteen years, and still nowhere close to the exit yet. Probably searching for a long time to come.

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