That's a shame, because incorporating puzzle-solving into the combat would have gone a long way towards keeping fights interesting.Īry has a fairly generous checkpoint system for combat encounters, so you can usually start the fight immediately after failing. Seasons can be used sparingly to assist you in combat, like using summer to nullify ice attacks or melt ice shields, but these circumstances are not too common. Ary is usually invulnerable during the parry animation, though the occasional attack from other foes can slip in and tag her. Reflecting incoming attacks with Ary’s parry is by far the easiest way to take control of the combat: when an incoming attack flashes white, you parry it to deflect damage and launch a powerful spinning counterattack. Ary is quite the acrobat, capable of rolling, backflipping, and reflecting any threat coming her way, but there is a clunkiness to the action that makes it all too easy to get hit by lingering hurt boxes or multiple attacks at once. It's easily the game's best aspect.Ĭombat is another major gameplay pillar, but it is generally unrewarding. There are four major dungeons to conquer, as well as smaller situations within each zone that require seasonal powers, and they are all satisfying to figure out. The sphere system is fascinating, and lets Ary interact with the world in extremely unique ways. Later, you obtain a slingshot that lets you fire your seasonal sphere wherever you want, adding even more depth to Ary’s puzzles. In addition, you can find amplification crystals that greatly expand your season’s influence on the map. Spring, on the other hand, dries water, and grows ivy over walls for you to climb. Winter, for example, freezes water, builds snowbanks, and summons floating icicle platforms within the sphere. This summons a sphere around you that instantly transforms the environment to the season you choose, which has a radical effect on how you traverse and explore. Early on, you earn the ability to change the seasons on the fly. A clear effort went towards creating this storybook-like world, but the overall lack of flourish or polish is disappointing.Īry’s greatest strength is its season-changing mechanic. This is a genuine shame, because there is a lot of wasted potential in Ary and the Secret of Seasons. With no real reason to fight enemies, no real motivation to explore the maps, and no NPCs worth interacting with, there is no reason not to make a bee-line for your next objective. Side quests are basic fetch errands, and while some flesh out Ary’s world a smidge, they are menial and uninteresting in execution. Still, Ary is plenty capable right out of the gate, so the upgrades don’t feel all that rewarding or important. Chests hold money more often than not, money that can be used for cosmetic purchases and a few rudimentary upgrades. Enemies don’t reward you with anything for beating them, so they aren't usually worth engaging unless they are directly in your path. While each area is distinct enough to feel different from one another, there isn't much to do within zones besides traveling between waypoints. Okami did this wonderfully with its brushstroke magic. Ary’s NPCs are bland and entirely forgettable by comparison, despite the game’s bright color palette and the cartoonish visuals.Īry’s world is no where near as massive as a modern open-world game, but it has plenty of expansive zones to explore, with enemies to fight, platforms to climb, quests to undertake, and treasure to find. It would have been great to see the NPCs react to your weather changing shenanigans, or at least perform different idle animations. Outside of cutscenes, NPCs communicate through text boxes, with generic greetings.Ī few NPCs change their dialogue depending on whether you change seasons around them, but most will idle as if you had done nothing at all. Note that only major story scenes are voiced. Unfortunately, they don’t react to much, either, which makes them even more lifeless. Most townsfolk are cardboard cutouts who don’t say or do anything interesting, and many you can’t interact with at all. Despite the great voice acting, the NPCs themselves aren't particularly memorable or interesting outside of a small few. (Opens in a new window) Living in a Lonely WorldĪry and the Secret of Seasons has a robust cast of well-voiced characters. Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions.
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