Bright colours and a RPG world of castles and fields, what more could you want.
Return to PopoloCrois is an amazing adventure of exploration and turn based combat and after hours of gameplay a great introduction for the younger generation of gamers to be introduced to RPG’s.
A rather lengthy introduction did have him a little bored and truth be told it dragged on for me too, but none the less we move on. Simple directional pad and obvious buttons make the game simple to pick up and play at just about any time. Way points and directional markers introduce simple yet effective navigation on the second screen and really gave him a simple grasp of the game. Within another ten minutes he was involved in more battles than the whole of the lord of the rings trilogy and loving it.
Easy to choose options and very easy to learn from when you make a mistake and get killed gave him enjoyment from the off, knocking down the goons with his sword and spells
Side quests offer quick and simple distractions for the grind of knocking back the goons and do add to the great RPG hybrid spoken of in the intro, it also also helping the story of these black beasts unfold, as you progress and learn how to defeat this most disturbing enemy.
The biggest bug bear for my son and myself was the immense time spent listening and reading cutscenes.
I understand it’s to help build the story but wow trim it back a bit and keep us moving forwards.
The cutscenes whilst sometimes way too long to make a simple point did offer spells of amusement that younger players might not pick up on.
I can’t fault the graphics sharp and colourful made it nice on the eye no matter where you were be it in a cutscene or travelling through the fields and forests in PopoloCrois, the simple cartoon anime style made for easy playing through without eyesore or tiredness.
Sounds were relevant and subtle, some games will overpower you with strong music but as the basic environment and actions sounds are all you get they were in cohesion with the music it’s spot on for the game type.
Summary
Perhaps not for everyone it’s a slow paced RPG with more reading that a school library but the comic elements and simple gameplay make it enjoyable for both young and old to play.