Tuesday, November 22, 2016

A mobile RPG with a twist - Guardian Codex Reader's Review

Role-playing games being made for the mobile have a ton of variety incorporated to it; which is both have its pluses and minuses.

The good thing about these is that this can allow old players of the genre to find something new. However, the bad side here is that it figuratively destroys our perception on what RPG is about; especially with many innovations associated to it. Also, there is a chance that new players will be entirely confused to the concepts those games.

Thankfully, people at Square Enix hasn't totally forgotten about it, and they made a game that caters to those people who miss playing old-school RPGs that is very fun to play... if only if it properly works.

This is my Reader's Review of the unspectacular yet enjoyable game; Guardian Codex!

Title: Guardian Codex
Date Released: November 4, 2016
Company: Square Enix
Genre: RPG
Platform: Mobile
ESRB Rating: None (My guess it would be E10+ or Teen)



Brief Background: Guardian Codex is a spiritual successor of two previously released games; Deadman's Cross (part zombie shooter, part collectible card game) and Guardian Cross (an RPG/card battler hybrid) both of which were designed by Hiroyuki Ito, the progenitor of Final Fantasy's Active Time Battle system.

What do you do here?
It was the year 2030, and the world was divided between the malevolent Empire and the Resistance. Outmatched and outgunned by the Empire's forces, the Resistance have no other choice but to send their agents to a mystical realm known as the "Codex", which was essentially a virtual representation of the real world during the ancient times. From there, they must retrieve Guardians, legendary beings of strength and beauty, and transport it to the real world so that the Resistance can have equal ground against the Empire. You are an agent assigned to retrieve Titan, a legendary Guardian that possesses the strength of a thousand men. However, it is not going to be a cakewalk as you must thwart the hazards of the Codex, and help its denizens, as you walk along the path towards your ultimate mission; to retrieve the Guardians and oppose the Empire's tyranny.

What makes the game interesting?
Guardian Codex is typically an online RPG where you travel around the world and fight some Guardians, get their fragments, and create said Guardians. It is a pretty long game, especially if you want to complete your Guardian Guide or you just want to explore and play around.

The presentation and premise of the game is very reminiscent to the Shin Megami Tensei games, however, unlike SMT, this game has a rather light-hearted story and quite easy to pick up and play in contrast to the very mature story and unforgiving gameplay of the MegaTen games.

There are two kinds of quests: main quests (represented by red marks) and sub-quests (represented by blue marks); both of which are very engaging and their a ton of them so be sure to be on the look out for these quests and take them as soon as the opportunity arises. The game has been recently released so the content isn't that much to boast, but there will be updates.

There are many Guardians to choose from; each possessing one of six elements; Fire, Nature, Water, Light, Dark, and Machine. What is interesting here is that these elements have a separate elemental triangle that goes like Fire>Nature>Water>Fire and Light>Machine>Dark>Light; meaning that an element from a certain triangle can never be weak or strong against an element from a different element triangle. This adds some strategy and depth which is highly beneficial for your party, as certain event Guardians can be effectively dealt against when using a certain element.

Speaking of events, there are certain Guardians that only appear throughout a certain day which adds diversity to the already interesting concept. What's good here is that you can see a rotation schedule meaning that you can properly prepare your team depending on the Guardians that will appear during that particular date.

The main draw of Guardian Codex is the multiplayer. You can team up up to 4 people from all over the world to beat bosses using your lead Guardians. This is the most fun part of the game as you can show off your Guardians to other players and use it to help them in missions that they otherwise cannot finish alone. Take note that you can only be able to use this feature in final areas of dungeons and in event quests.

What are the flaws you find in this game?
Despite the many things that this game offers, the game itself is entirely unstable to the point of frustration. There a ton of these problems; game freeze, prizes in quests being less than intended, among others.

The most notable instability that this game suffers from is the multiplayer itself (such as lag, sudden halts, and getting kicked for no reason) which is extremely annoying for a lot of players.

The story mode itself is quite short and the battles can be very repetitive. People who got used to old-school RPGs will like this, otherwise it is just downright boring. I, for one hand, managed to appreciate the game due to its presentation. While the combat can be tedious, it is nevertheless interesting.

Can you consider this game a rip-off of Shin Megami Tensei? Or Pokemon?
Neither. Both games mentioned are two different games with defining mechanics that made them unique. Guardian Codex, while its game-play and theme can be relatively compared to the two games, also has unique features going for. The only notable differences here is that the two games work properly like ALL the time, while Guardian Codex don't... and it sucks.

Can you recommend this game?
If you can bear the unnecessary glitches and constant crashing that this game offers, then give it a go. Otherwise, wait for the servers to stabilize and play other games instead. The game offers a nice experience... if you can get it to work.

Overall Rating: 6.7/10
Guardian Codex is a a decent mobile game that offers too little yet makes up for being interesting. Unfortunately, it's greatness and potential is greatly hindered by technical problems that can never be avoided. While the people at SE are doing their best to normalize the servers while providing more content for players to enjoy, Guardian Codex remains to be as mediocre for as long as these hindrances are not fully addressed. Don't get me wrong, I really like the game, but it could have been a whole lot better. Oh well, let's wait for things to unfold. Who knows? It may even change my perception for this game.

--END OF REVIEW--

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