by Tokyo Game Show 2024 (TGS2024, business days are September 26th and 27th) is being held at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture from September 26th to 29th, 2024. Here, we bring you a review of the trial version of “FAIRY TAIL 2” (after this “Fairy Tail 2”), which is exhibited at the Koei Tecmo Games booth and is scheduled to be released on December 12th, 2024, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC (Steam).
It is an ambitious work that aims to balance the original anime’s charm with the game’s depth! The story unfolds in the ” Alvarez Empire Arc,” which was the climax of the original anime. Various battles unfold in the Fiore Kingdom, where the main character, Natsu, and the guild “Fairy Tail” members live. In this demo, I was able to play from the battle with Ajeel (one of the powerful “Spriggan 12”), which also serves as a battle tutorial, to the achievement of the first event in the prologue, “Rescue the Children.”
The introductory part starts with an event scene (you can skip it). I’ve always felt that the characters drawn by Hiro Mashima and the cartoon-like graphics go well together. Still, the quality is as if the world of the original anime was reproduced precisely, and it gets you in the mood even before the free action starts.
The dialogue is fully voiced, which is a nice feature for those who want to enjoy the story thoroughly. After the event (the escape after rescuing Makarov), you go straight to the battle.
There is a tutorial, so it’s okay even if you start immediately. It is a real-time command battle (icon selection type), but the essential operation is simple, and you won’t have any trouble in the early stages. Although flashy productions are incorporated here and there, the tempo is not wrong, and I felt it was easy to get into.
On the other hand, multiple gauges can cause significant damage to both enemies and allies, and there is also attribute compatibility, so there is a lot of information to process and many buttons to use during battle. People familiar with the game should have no problem, but as the story progresses and the game’s difficulty increases, it may feel a little tricky, depending on the player’s skill.
The tutorial ends when you attack as instructed and deal a certain amount of damage. You move to Magnolia, the setting of the prologue. The character you control will be Lucy, but you can switch to other members when you go outside. Then, you can freely walk around the city, open treasure chests, talk to Fairy Tail members and townspeople, and head to the event occurrence point.
After the conversation event, you will immediately go to battle. The transition from field movement to fighting within the same map is seamless. No roughness was expected in old character games, and it is appropriately designed to allow comfortable play.
In addition, when I played for the first time, I carefully listened to all the voices, and 20 minutes of trial time had already passed here. If you are going to try out the game, I recommend that you swallow your tears and save the dialogue for the final version if you want to enjoy the game’s system and action. So, I started over again, and this time, I’m going to proceed smoothly. Since this game is based on the climax of the original anime, it’s nice that almost all the members are gathered from the beginning. Even in the prologue, members such as Erza, Gray, and Juvia will join you at this event. Natsu and his friends defeated the Lizard Guardian, but the Lizard Guardian kidnaped the merchant’s son. Next, they will explore the forest to rescue the child.
Enemies are swarming in the forest, and they will attack you if they find you, and if you come into contact with them, you will enter a battle. Since you can see the enemies, you can proceed while avoiding them all, but according to the screen information, the aptitude rank for clearing the quest is 7. Since the current rank is 4, you must fight a little and raise your rank.
This is valuable information. Also, in battle, the skills of the enemy’s weak attributes are displayed as “WEAK.” Furthermore, blue lines are displayed on enemies that you are targeting, and red lines are displayed on characters that enemies are targeting. This is also a helpful feature. Along the way, objects that can be destroyed with “field attacks” also appear.
There are not only pots containing items but also obstacles that block the path. Also, for those who are directionally challenged and don’t know which way to go after a battle, there is a function called “Traces of Guidance” that displays a signpost to the next destination when used. Once again, this is very useful. Conversations with friends and ” field tweets” occur frequently while walking.
