by Ever been thrill-baited into thinking that you’ll finally get the chance to be a magical girl, only to have it taken away from you at the last minute and have yet another dim-witted sword-wielding antagonist thrust upon you? Ah, then you too must have played…
It’s okay. I’ll admit it. I’ve always wanted to be a magical girl. Who wouldn’t? They’re basically like power rangers only pretty, fight with their heart and inevitably fall in love with their crush by the end. What’s not desirable about that? Fortune Summoners dangles this carrot in front of me as I begin to play the game but its sinister wiles whisper dark chants, bits of which I can only make out as “traditional main character uses a sword…” Yes, Arche, young girl at the prime age to be magical, just-moved-to-a-new-town, attending a school of predominantly female occupation that teaches magic… is doomed to be the elemental stoneless, sword-fisted, brainless, muscle-bound power-house that can’t use magic. I can’t be too mad though. She’s freaking adorable.
So for the hour, I lived out the life of Arche, adorable hyper-child, by doing what any 8-year old girl would do.
Doing cartwheels like mad around the house…
…And holding up Mom at sword-point demanding that supper be ready.
Yep. That seems pretty accurate.
Jokes aside, Fortune Summoners has some great sprite-work in it, especially when it comes to the three protagonists who are portrayed with the cutest animations.
The game functions as a traditional RPG in a non-traditional 2-D format, whereas you can tumble, dash, run roll and launch little Arche nearly 15 feet up into the air with her jumping skills. During my first impression run, that part just didn’t get old for me.
The combat is fun if a bit simple. While you do have several different slashes at your disposal when it comes to fighting enemies, typically the best strategy is to just murder them as fast as possible with a barrage of swings. Player accuracy is important, but if my instincts tell me anything about it, it’s much like Tales of Phantasia; very fun and light-weight at the beginning of the game, very old and repetitive by the end of the game. I did get a party member along the way in support of my school shenanigans, and to my delight I was allowed to swap over and play as her… but her not being the protagonist inevitably led to her departure and me being stuck with the avatar of a sugar-infused jittery hyper-child again.
I want to put this in Tier 1, except that I know better. The pacing compiled with the charming but simplistic plot is likely to lead to a game that is less about meaningful progression and more about grinding. In Dark Souls, I know I can beat an enemy if I’m clever enough. I’m certain that in Fortune Summoners, I would be able to overcome all enemies if I level enough. I fear that in my older age, I’ve outgrown the illusion of progression and instead prefer actual progression. This is why games like Unepic, a game that could have just as easily fallen into the same trap, will always be more impressionable to me. In it, winning comes from a combination of not just stats but also overcoming very clever boss designs. Maybe I’m reading too much into Fortune Summoners from just an hour of play, but it is so seldom that a JRPG diverges from this artificial extension/progression formula. Even the Shin Megami Tensei and Persona series which are some of the best JRPGs created to date rely on the ol’ grind eventually. Seeing nothing else that sets Fortune Summoners apart has me awarding it Tier 2.
