Dungeon Encounters - Review @ RPG Site

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Dungeon Encounters Review

Ever since directing Final Fantasy IX and taking over for Final Fantasy XII, not much has been seen of Hiroyuki Ito in the last decade or so. Know for his seminal gameplay design concepts and conceiving long-lived battle mechanics such as Active-Time-Battle (ATB) all the way back in 1991 for Final Fantasy IV, it's easy to declare Ito as simply one of the most influential game designers of the genre.

Ito is somewhat of an unsung founding father of the Final Fantasy series, being more technically-minded and placing gameplay over narrative, whose own stated philosophy is to incorporate game concepts so smoothly that narrative designers can focus on story elements without worrying about how the game will play alongside.

After such a long absence, it was quite a surprise to see Ito make a rare appearance during Square Enix's Tokyo Game Show stream event earlier this year. Here he announced minimalist ATB RPG Dungeon Encounters, which would be released only a few weeks later. Eschewing storylines & character arcs for battles & numbers, Dungeon Encounters is an interesting little project from one of the all-time genre greats.

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I'm glad Dungeon Encounters exists. It falters in a few ways and it is definitely not for everyone, but overall it offers a satisfying dungeon crawler with simple rules, subtle depth, and just enough teeth to remain engaging. 

Score: 8/10