RPGWatch Feature - Battle Chasers: Nightwar Review

Myrthos

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Forgottenlor checks out Battle Chasers: Nightwar to find out if the beautiful animated game is also a beautiful game.

Battle Chasers: Nightwar is an interesting marriage of an obscure fantasy comic book with the sort of gameplay one sees in early Final Fantasy games. Since JRPGsand comics are character driven, it seems at first glance to be a good fit. Battle Chasers disposes of the anime style art and child like characters of Japanese RPGsin favor of a hand drawn and painted comic book style which appeals to players like me, who play JRPGsdespite their art direction. And even though the game has procedural dungeons, crafting, and random loot, it is in many ways a nostalgic game.

I've never been one to put all too much value on presentation, but Battle Chasers really stands out here. Whether one finds the comic book style appealing or not, its well executed. The characters run across beautifully hand painted backgrounds. Story segments are presented in scenes that actually look like they could come from the pages of comic book, and both the character models and monsters are skillfully brought to life. Also the animations are dramatic and memorable. Even after you've seen Gully's quakefist or Red Monika's assassination attacks 100 times, they still look good. The game's cut scenes also look like frames of a comic book. Since World of Warcraft we've seen a lot of comic style art, but few games actually seem to even come close to the quality of artwork of a modern comic book or graphic novel. Battlechasers presents some of the best comic book style art I've seen in a computer game.
More information.
 
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Thanks forgottenlor.
 
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This is a pretty solid title. Yes, it has some creatures that repopulate, but you can avoid most of them, and sometimes the dungeons can feel a bit repetitive, but overall I really enjoyed this game. Like the reviewer said, I found the art style very compelling and would pick up a sequel to this game in a heart beat.
 
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Agree this is a pretty solid game. It's beautiful to look at, character customization is pretty good. Loot and crafting is decent too. Story is just so-so at best. Combat is pretty fun... though it can get a little grindy. Still, worth a play I'd say.
 
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Thanks for reviewing the game, forgottenlor :)
 
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Awesome, thanks foregottenlor!

I really tried to enjoy the game, but I suppose my biggest issue with it didn't do much to stand out. I had a hard time really being able to understand the characters I was playing or really sympathize with them. This made it hard to get invested in the story, because I like my RPGs to be very story driven. If there's little character development, that hinders the experience for me.

I think another thing that bothered me were the random battles. Perhaps they seemed a bit excessive at the time.

I may return to it at some point in the near future, but lately I've been bombarded with games and I'm not sure how soon it would be.

I really adore the comic book style of Battlechasers and the combat was a blast, though.
 
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Love the look of the game, and might pick it up somewhere down the line. But with so many good games released lately I've a hard time finding the time for playing JRPG's which is never my first choice.
 
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Had a blast with the game although combat did feel a bit dull towards the end and I did not feel like farming the ultimate weapons for everyone before I went for the last mission.
Will most likely replay it someday as new game+.
 
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Had a blast with the game although combat did feel a bit dull towards the end and I did not feel like farming the ultimate weapons for everyone before I went for the last mission.
Will most likely replay it someday as new game+.

I agree, but this unfortunately has a long tradition in JRPGS. The final boss in most JRPGS is almost impossible for your average player to beat without grinding. While I'm all for a dramatic final battle, in JRPGS I often find the final battle frustrating, and after playing for 30-70 hours don't usually have the patience to grind out another 3-4 hours just to win the game.
 
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Thanks!

It really sounds like I would have loved this game when I was younger. For some reason, the style doesn't appeal to me anymore. Am I getting old and grumpy? Too stuck in my ways?

No idea, but it does seem like it's well worth picking up for anyone who's into that style.
 
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Thanks!

It really sounds like I would have loved this game when I was younger. For some reason, the style doesn't appeal to me anymore. Am I getting old and grumpy? Too stuck in my ways?

No idea, but it does seem like it's well worth picking up for anyone who's into that style.


I'll be honest, I thought the exact same thing before I started playing it. It was MUCH more enjoyable than I expected.
 
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I agree, but this unfortunately has a long tradition in JRPGS. The final boss in most JRPGS is almost impossible for your average player to beat without grinding. While I'm all for a dramatic final battle, in JRPGS I often find the final battle frustrating, and after playing for 30-70 hours don't usually have the patience to grind out another 3-4 hours just to win the game.

I failed to make clear that I beat the game without that last grind and still did not struggle with the last boss.

Replayed most dungeons on hardest difficulty just for fun so my party where fairly leveled. For those new to the game the highest difficulty is locked until you have completed the dungeon once.
Also Monika had insane damage which I heard would receive some nerfs, but was not live while I played anyhow.
So never had the sense that I did grind in the game but personal experience may wary.
 
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I failed to make clear that I beat the game without that last grind and still did not struggle with the last boss.

Replayed most dungeons on hardest difficulty just for fun so my party where fairly leveled. For those new to the game the highest difficulty is locked until you have completed the dungeon once.
Also Monika had insane damage which I heard would receive some nerfs, but was not live while I played anyhow.
So never had the sense that I did grind in the game but personal experience may wary.

I only replayed one dungeon, and that was on the middle difficulty, and I made it to the final boss, but didn't feel I had a chance. I also didn't have most of the legendary weapons. I think if I replayed the Mana Rifts on medium and hard, I might have succeeded, but I didn't really have the motivation to do so.
 
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Thanks for the review, Forgottenlor! I'm so glad you wrote this - I'd tried BCN and something must have been wrong with me that day or something because I got bored pretty quickly. I don't know what my problem was. The art style has always appealed to me, the characters, the look and feel of the game. But when I started it that day, it just felt...I dunno, empty and repetitive. I should have stuck with it, since it looks like it gets a lot more fun.

Awesome review, as always, and so helpful!
 
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I'd suggest giving it another try, Aubrielle. I fondly remember how this game grew on me and how exciting it was exploring each and every new area as it opened up, and then delving into the dungeons. Give it another shot, you might find yourself pleasantly surprised!
 
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Thanks for the review, Forgottenlor! I'm so glad you wrote this - I'd tried BCN and something must have been wrong with me that day or something because I got bored pretty quickly. I don't know what my problem was. The art style has always appealed to me, the characters, the look and feel of the game. But when I started it that day, it just felt…I dunno, empty and repetitive. I should have stuck with it, since it looks like it gets a lot more fun.

Awesome review, as always, and so helpful!

It does get more interesting as you get more characters and skills. One also starts on the world map, which is one of the most boring parts of the game. Most JRPGs are carried at the outset by their story, but since this one of the game's weaknesses, it doesn't really pick up until you get to first big dungeon.
 
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Then I'll definitely give it another go. :aww:
 
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You're definitely right about the game fading from memory.
I enjoyed to game for a while, but didn't even finish it and then forgot about the game until I read your review.
 
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Amazing how the graphics artists were so talented on this team and about everyone else, the map designers, UI-makers, game-mechanics designers SUCKED ARS !!! :biggrin:
 
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