Bandai Namco packs an anime-style action RPG with a combat system that is based on chase psionici to master and the strong bond between the characters that make up the party. A sci-fi storyline and uniquely designed enemies complete the package.
Scarlet nexus is the return to the most classic action role-playing game by Bandai, after a brief inspection that the Japanese company has operated in the world of souls with its Code Vein. Could it have been a happy return? Find out by reading our review.
A Stranger has appeared
New Himuka is a city in Japan that has lived through better times, the future has made possible extraordinary scientific discoveries, especially in the field of human biology. In fact, in some people's brains, a hormone which if activated is able to unleash in them psionic abilities very powerful.
But as we have said, in New Himuka the future is not only holograms and neon signs, but also and above all the invasion of Strangers, grotesque creatures from who knows where who destroy everything they encounter. What better time, then, to take full advantage of the psionic abilities of certain individuals? Thus was born the FSE, a special forces corps trained to fight White Walkers.
At the beginning of the game, we are asked to choose between two characters: Yuito Sumeragi e Kasane randall, the first is the son of one of the founders of the FSE, the second is a young girl who immediately distinguished herself on the battlefield. The stories of the two protagonists do intertwine several times during the adventure, giving the player two different points of view, but always focused on a war that will prove more personal than they imagined.
Scarlet Nexus features a distinctly in anime style (with a lot of opening every time we access the game), with a plot that is proposed to the player both in the form of classic cutscenes and dialogues and screenshots by way of visual novel. In this second case, the narration seemed a little more static, but here personal tastes come into play: if you are anime lovers and how they propose stories and characters, then nothing will be out of place, if you prefer a less style… otaku… the story could be heavier to follow.
Generally speaking, Scarlet Nexus uses classic sci-fi anime stylings with a hint of introspection, dramatic transformations and the cliché that pits us against our own allies in some phases of the experience, through narrative devices that convert a common cause into a reason for conflict. As for the maturity of the drawings and situations, we are on very good levels, although we never reach the gloom of productions such as Ergo Proxy and Psycho-Pass.
A psionic RPG
Whether you like the anime style or not, what will make you agree is the combat system. The strong point of the Bandai production is undoubtedly that, and thank goodness we allow ourselves to add, since we are still talking about an action RPG in which you will rarely stay still.
Firstly, Scarlet Nexus works like most RPGs, with characters having upgradeable stats by leveling up, learning skills, and finding better gear. On this last point it must be said that we feel entitled to retain the game a softer rpg, less prone to finding powerful loot and useful for subsequent battles. The best weapons can be bought at the street shops that also act as checkpoints, while the slaughter of enemies, in addition to experience points and money, does not offer the gratification of finding new tools to use in combat.
The exp points are called neural points and can be spent on neural map, a classic skill tree that allows you to learn combat, support and technique improvement skills.
As in every RPG there is a party that can be changed at any time, in order to make the most of the characteristics of each one, in addition to each support character can be given a task such as "attacking relentlessly", "staying on the defensive" or "always attacking different enemies". Varying these settings allows you to make the AI adapt to your style of play. Another way to improve stats is to add gods plug-in which increase attack, defense, power of powers, etc.
SAS System and neural annimentation
The combat system has many arrows in its bow. The player has the opportunity to use basic close-range, area and air attacks and, of course, the psychokinesis, the psychic power that unites Yuito and Kasane. By pressing the right trigger, the objects in the scenario can be picked up and thrown towards the locked enemy, an action that decreases the PSI bar to always keep full by attacking hand to hand. This causes the player to never wait, but to combine basic attacks and psychic powers in order to always have enough psionic energy.
With the left trigger, however, they can only be picked up specific objects that are made available to the player during some battles and boss fights. These do more damage especially if you complete a QTE. The enemies, in addition to the HP bar, have the neural bar, if this is reset with powerful combos on the weak points and powers that go to attack their vulnerabilities, the player can perform theneural annihilation, a special and visually spectacular shot that can kill the enemy instantly.
The most interesting mechanic of the Scarlet Nexus combat system, however, is the SAS, thanks to which Yuito and Kasane can absorb, via neural connection, the powers of the other party members. By acquiring a skill, it will also be allowed to combine more than one power at a time. Is the enemy weak to electricity and too fast? Electrokinesis + Hyper speed they will put him at bay. Is the Stranger invisible and weak to fire? Clairvoyance + Pyrokinesis and it will no longer be a problem. At the bottom right, a handy menu shows the available powers that the player can absorb by pressing R1 (RB) + the corresponding front button.
To these dynamics is added the Brain Drive, an attack mode that is activated automatically after taking various actions in battle, making us stronger and faster. On PS4, the version we played for the review, the frame rate is stuck at 30 fps that guarantee adequate performance for such a frenetic experience, in fact we have not noticed evident drops in performance during our run. The game flows smoothly for its entire duration which settles on 15 hours in the countryside. So, if you want to play with both Yuito and Kasane, 25/30 hours are guaranteed, plus those to spend on secondary missions.
Everything beautiful and fun, then, without a hitch? Not really, now we have to start hitting ourselves a little too. There are problems and in some cases there are naiveties that could have been avoided or filed away. There camera, eg, he doesn't always follow the action well, forcing us to make sudden movements and changes of shots to understand what is happening.
We must also note that i dungeon they are not the epitome of freedom of movement, many of them they are real corridors and there is no shortage invisible walls which in 2021 really make an impression. Another problem to note is the recycling of scenarios, in fact, it will happen that you have to cross the same dungeon over and over again at different moments of the adventure. Even the in-game map seemed inaccurate to us.
The gameplay remains fun and enjoyable, but if Bandai had fixed these flaws, it would have been even more so.
Whoever finds a friend finds a power
The SAS, as we said, is the most interesting and successful mechanic of the game because it allows you to combine the powers of the party components, but what if we wanted to make them more effective in battle? It can be obtained by completing the bond events, missions that are activated in the shelter, between one chapter and another, by talking to our allies. This system is vaguely reminiscent of the one found in Yakuza: Like A Dragon.
The higher the level of bonding with a character, the more he will intervene in battle, save us by healing us and unlock unique abilities. The bond events are mostly cutscenes in which we are engaged in confidences, walks and dates in clubs in New Himuka or involve fairly short combat missions.
A "monstrous" design
The care for locations in Scarlet Nexus has its ups and downs, with city centers offering the player a remarkable glance, thanks to aestetica cyberpunk very well defined which has been well blended by Bandai at the Japanese culture, and more peripheral environments, on the other hand, which seem to be only a backdrop to the battles, set up with less refinement, while maintaining a style that is pleasing to the eye.
New Himuka, in particular, is full of colors which, however, appear, for narrative reasons, more faded because the fierce threat of the White Walkers has also brought destruction, plunging the city into a post-apocalyptic climate which is constantly broken by the lights of signs in the form of holograms. Exploring the city map reminded us of the Yakuza series, but alas, we had to find that the interaction level is really very very low.
Aside from talking to a few citizens and accepting side quests, there is next to nothing that can be done. Forget therefore the crazy mini-games of the Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio titles or being able to enter restaurants and arcades. From a narrative point of view, this shortage of activity is coherent because the world is in constant alert, therefore, the main activity is the war against the White Walkers, but a greater interaction, well inserted in the story, certainly would not have bothered us.
On the other hand, what really struck us positively is the monster design. These are grotesque and particularly strange, we have rarely seen enemies of such shape and nature. The common point of White Walkers is to have body parts covered with flowers, plants, fruits and branches, as if nature had become a parasite. Among the first monsters we faced are literally gods rose bouquet with legs and stilettos (a floral variant of the Silent Hill nurses), we then had a hard-nosed fight with giant moose whose horns are intertwined and very hard branches, and we certainly cannot forget when, once the metal shell of some creatures, we found that this protected a juicy ... fig ... yes, the fruit.
Final comment
Scarlet Nexus is an action RPG that is pleasant to look at and enjoyable to play thanks to a fun and layered combat system, but which can be mastered in a few minutes. Neural annihilation and the SAS System are compelling mechanics, psionic powers are well diversified, and gameplay runs smoothly on PS4. The ingenuities, however, are there and do not allow the Bandai title to reach a higher level despite the combat system at the height and the very inspired design of the White Walkers. A camera not always on the spot, invisible walls, dungeons that are too linear and recycled scenarios are flaws that weigh a little on the final response.
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