Hello all! This is my review for the Playstation Vita game, Sword Art Online -Hollow Fragment-. Before I begin, I ask that conversation pertaining to how much you hated/loved the anime please stay out. This is discussion for the game only.
With that out of the way, onto the review.
SAO -HF- is an Action RPG that starts immediately after the events of the first arc of SAO. You being with your own version of Kirito (you are allowed to edit and make your own character, plus name, but everyone refers to you as Kirito), right after the defeat of Heathcliff. However, the game glitches up, and you are forced to climb the remaining twenty-five floors. There is also the Holllow Area, a mysterious extra world that houses many powerful enemies, and a mysterious girl named Philia. The game has you going between these two areas, where you can conquer each one individually, or tackle them at your leisure. The plot goes into two different directions, based on the arc you are doing. These is the Aincrad arc, (which introduces two new characters), while the Hollow World Arc involves the deadly Laughing Coffin, and relates to Philia's own past.
After a brief tutorial, you find yourself in Arc Sophia--the main town for the seventy-sixth level of SAO, and your main base of operations. The town itself is small, but houses everything you would need. The town is bustling with life, as randomized NPCs act as other 'players' in the game. These players will wander around, talk, interact with the world, and essentially give life to the town. You can even find said players out in the world, fighting off the many monsters.
The game itself is colorful and vibrant, with decent animations representing the many moves and attacks from the original anime. The graphics itself is alright; while not the best I've seen on the Vita, it certainly is a decent looking game. The sound is decent as well, with a few really good tunes to listen to, with my favorite being Arc Sophia's main theme. The game is voiced in Japanese, but everything has been subbed with English translations. There are a few issues graphically, like pieces of clothing that clip through chairs and such, but nothing horribly marring. Another slight problem is entering new areas in town, as you can notice a bit of slow down that only lasts for a few seconds. Load times themselves are quick and snappy--you'll never be waiting for too long.
A big problem I did have was the AI, which isn't exactly the smartest. They'll walk up to chairs you are already sitting in, get stuck in some areas, but in combat you won't see much of a problem.
Combat in Hollow Fragment involves you using a burst gauge, where you press a single button to go through a combo, before unleashing a finishing move that you can set yourself. There are several 'Sword Skills' that allow for extra ways to combat enemies, and all of your skills can be set to three different palettes. These Sword Skills work similar to skills in MMO's. Activating it allows your character to pull off a heavy combo, with extra buffs and status affects applied as well.
Timing is key to the combat, as you can have a single partner along (your partner can be any of the series' characters, or even random NPC Players you encounter), and they will occasionally ask you to pull off a certain attack or ability. Doing so at the right time can decimate enemies, as you and your partner will combine a combo for extra damage.
Now, while you may have fun tackling the dungeons and dealing with the Hollow Area--there are plenty of things for you to do. Like a traditional MMO, there is a quest giver who will dish out basic quests which rewards money, experience, and random items. Along with that is the Blacksmith shop, run by the character Lizbeth. Here you can upgrade equipment, or create new ones.
Along with that, is the ability to make friends with the series' established characters. You can chat with these characters and increase their affection towards you, which also gives other benefits as well.
There's a lot one can do in this game, and it gets hard for myself to explain it all accurately. There are special missions one can complete for bonuses and such, but the game doesn't do well in explaining everything.
To sum it up, SAO Hollow Fragment is a decent RPG in itself, and a great nod to the series. With little things like Sachi's Crystal and the presence of an unusable Log Out button, the game does extremely well in making you feel like you are actually playing Sword Art Online. While there are minor issues, which include a few graphical bugs and translation errors, the game feels complete and almost bursting with things to do. I would also note that next month would see the release of a large patch that fixes many of these errors and adds extra content as well, so it may be wise to until then.
If you're a fan of the series, I highly recommend this title. It emulates the world of Aincrad almost perfectly, while adding several new things to do. If you aren't a fan, the game may not be as great, but I still feel it is a solid title none the less.
Hello all! This is my review for the Playstation Vita game, Sword Art Online -Hollow Fragment-. Before I begin, I ask that conversation pertaining to how much you hated/loved the anime please stay out. This is discussion for the game only.
With that out of the way, onto the review.
SAO -HF- is an Action RPG that starts immediately after the events of the first arc of SAO. You being with your own version of Kirito (you are allowed to edit and make your own character, plus name, but everyone refers to you as Kirito), right after the defeat of Heathcliff. However, the game glitches up, and you are forced to climb the remaining twenty-five floors. There is also the Holllow Area, a mysterious extra world that houses many powerful enemies, and a mysterious girl named Philia. The game has you going between these two areas, where you can conquer each one individually, or tackle them at your leisure. The plot goes into two different directions, based on the arc you are doing. These is the Aincrad arc, (which introduces two new characters), while the Hollow World Arc involves the deadly Laughing Coffin, and relates to Philia's own past.
After a brief tutorial, you find yourself in Arc Sophia--the main town for the seventy-sixth level of SAO, and your main base of operations. The town itself is small, but houses everything you would need. The town is bustling with life, as randomized NPCs act as other 'players' in the game. These players will wander around, talk, interact with the world, and essentially give life to the town. You can even find said players out in the world, fighting off the many monsters.
The game itself is colorful and vibrant, with decent animations representing the many moves and attacks from the original anime. The graphics itself is alright; while not the best I've seen on the Vita, it certainly is a decent looking game. The sound is decent as well, with a few really good tunes to listen to, with my favorite being Arc Sophia's main theme. The game is voiced in Japanese, but everything has been subbed with English translations. There are a few issues graphically, like pieces of clothing that clip through chairs and such, but nothing horribly marring. Another slight problem is entering new areas in town, as you can notice a bit of slow down that only lasts for a few seconds. Load times themselves are quick and snappy--you'll never be waiting for too long.
A big problem I did have was the AI, which isn't exactly the smartest. They'll walk up to chairs you are already sitting in, get stuck in some areas, but in combat you won't see much of a problem.
Combat in Hollow Fragment involves you using a burst gauge, where you press a single button to go through a combo, before unleashing a finishing move that you can set yourself. There are several 'Sword Skills' that allow for extra ways to combat enemies, and all of your skills can be set to three different palettes. These Sword Skills work similar to skills in MMO's. Activating it allows your character to pull off a heavy combo, with extra buffs and status affects applied as well.
Timing is key to the combat, as you can have a single partner along (your partner can be any of the series' characters, or even random NPC Players you encounter), and they will occasionally ask you to pull off a certain attack or ability. Doing so at the right time can decimate enemies, as you and your partner will combine a combo for extra damage.
Now, while you may have fun tackling the dungeons and dealing with the Hollow Area--there are plenty of things for you to do. Like a traditional MMO, there is a quest giver who will dish out basic quests which rewards money, experience, and random items. Along with that is the Blacksmith shop, run by the character Lizbeth. Here you can upgrade equipment, or create new ones.
Along with that, is the ability to make friends with the series' established characters. You can chat with these characters and increase their affection towards you, which also gives other benefits as well.
There's a lot one can do in this game, and it gets hard for myself to explain it all accurately. There are special missions one can complete for bonuses and such, but the game doesn't do well in explaining everything.
To sum it up, SAO Hollow Fragment is a decent RPG in itself, and a great nod to the series. With little things like Sachi's Crystal and the presence of an unusable Log Out button, the game does extremely well in making you feel like you are actually playing Sword Art Online. While there are minor issues, which include a few graphical bugs and translation errors, the game feels complete and almost bursting with things to do. I would also note that next month would see the release of a large patch that fixes many of these errors and adds extra content as well, so it may be wise to until then.
If you're a fan of the series, I highly recommend this title. It emulates the world of Aincrad almost perfectly, while adding several new things to do. If you aren't a fan, the game may not be as great, but I still feel it is a solid title none the less.
Edited by Silver Kuroi