If we talk about turn-based video games to those who grew up at the dawn of the first PlayStation era (and well before with the PC or Nintendo systems), surely the name that will come to mind is that of Square Enix (at the time Square Soft). Titles that have engraved their course in history such as Final Fantasy, which as you know years ago was a turn-based game, are also Disgaea and Fire Emblem that have been able to bring fun and luster to the category, then resumed in modern times by the masterpiece Atlus Persona 5 (in various declinations). The DioField Chronicle it tastes of the old, transformed into the new. Here is the chronicle of our in-game movements.
An island to be saved
On the unspecified Continent, two immense kingdoms called Rowetale alliance andImpero Schoevian they have been fighting for years for supremacy over the entire borders of the known world. As often happens in battles, there is a dead end: the attention of the two factions turns to the territory DioField, rich in the called matter Jade which in this case is the fuel for modern magic. DioField itself, however, is not that it was a peaceful terrain or without internal disagreements, so in addition to internal power intrigues, it will be our task to defend ourselves also from external enemies mixing politics and war tactics.
In the role of andrias, ex-chamberlain of court became a mercenary, and together with three friends Peacefully, Iscarion the errant knight and the noble Waltaquin, you will found the group of Blue Foxes, winning honor and respect on the island game after game. The plot seems trivial but hides pitfalls and intrigues worthy of a game that bears the brand of that manufacturer, a sign that the developer Lancarsus he knew how to do a great job. At the plot level we are faced with a work capable of rivaling Martin's Game of Thrones.
A tactical “MOBA”?
The fight di The DioField Chronicle looks new, and in fact it could be, but an expert eye will realize that we are dealing with a hybrid already seen, a sum of balanced and well thought out products. It starts from the fact that combat takes place in real time, although time stops when the orders are given to the four members of the group, a bit like it happened for example in the Dragon Age series, in particular in the Inquisition title. Tactical team positioning is not essential, though attack from behind an enemy will actually do more damage. Most of the tactic is knowing how to synergistically mix the individual abilities of the controlled units in order to maximize, from combat to combat, the DPS generated, the effects on a certain combat area (for example, a cannonball from a turret hitting ten or more enemies in the shock wave), and timed buffs or penalties on the enemy.
At normal difficulty, the game is not very problematic for those who have played several in recent years MOBA, while it could be difficult for those who are not accustomed to similar types of games. At higher difficulties, a minimum wage of extra reasoning is required, but nothing transcendental. Fortunately, it is possible to increase the game speed up to 2x so that you don't get bored in the battles. It feels the lack of mouse control playing on console: finding the characters in the chaos of combat and using them with the controller is not the easiest thing in the world, in this they could do much better. Outside of combat you will often find yourself in the base dei Blue Foxes, where you can upgrade weapons, armor and skills as well as deepen relationships with the main and non-main characters, but also throw yourself into some side adventure or go shopping for weapons and items. It all looks very similar to currently cited titles, though lack depth of such productions in terms of discovery of the protagonists and relationship with the latter.
A breaking wave
The DioField Chronicle makes combat its essence, trying in a clumsy way to create an interaction between the protagonists, however disappoints, as the chats with the characters turn out to be nothing more than optional secondary missions, aimed at increasing your virtual wallet and which will give you access to extra weapons and armor, but unfortunately nothing more. There is no relationship system where talking with your companions affects, nor a system of gifts or options on the dialogues that instead flow binary. Much of the information about the game, about power plots and more, is narrated by a voiceover, effectively preventing us from seeing or savoring what happens or has happened in the past.
Field where you will spend part of your days, called Elm Camp it is little more than a few dark rooms and two corridors: the functions that could be interesting such as shop updates or the like are gutted at the beginning of the fight, making our wandering through the rooms in question useless; everything suggests that the developers actually had intention to put his hand to the base and to the field with more vigor, varying their use and purpose, but it seems as if the work has stopped, as if a painter had finished the color and left shadows to cover the remaining black and white points. A pity in this respect that ruins the overall work.
The DioField Chronicle "could have been and instead is not", in the sense that, artistically and soundly speaking, the game could reach excellent levels and yes, the battles are fun even after hours of play, but in the long run it cannot be just that to guide and push a character. Plot and artistic realization at very high levels crash on the mediocrity of the rest of the title and on the lack of soul of the secondary characters that move around us, reduced to lifeless rag dolls.
Review
- The DioField Chronicle (Tested on PS5) 6.5 Final grade
The DioField Chronicle is a tactical RPG that mixes real-time combat without the classic grid and similar to a MOBA, except for the tactical pause seen a few years ago on other productions that Lancarse has been able to mix to the best. Plot, aesthetics and sound are at levels of an artistic masterpiece, but everything crashes on the rocks of a production that barely knows how to manage the interpersonal relationships between the protagonists that turn out to be flat and without purpose (except for unlocking secondary missions useful for obtaining upgrades ). Furthermore, the lack of choices of any kind on the dialogues makes them sloppy and careless. It seems that Elm Camp has been abandoned by the developers, as an artist who has finished the color and uses the black and black gradient to cover their shortcomings. The DioField Chronicle is a wasted opportunity, a real shame.
