Platforms: Playstation 4/ Playstation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC
Release Date: July 29,2021
Fuga: Melodies of Steel is the 4th game in CyberConnect’s Little Bronx series and also acts as the prequel to the overall story of the Little Bronx series. The game is about a band of war-torn children wanting to save their loved ones from the evil Berman empire by using a massive tank they found named the “Taranis.” The game’s setting is in an alternate reality World War II-era France named “Gasco.”
The premise of the story is simple. It is about a team of heroes wanting to thwart the evil plans of an empire which is pretty enjoyable for the most part. What shines in this game is the character interactions among children. They can develop bonds that help strengthen their abilities when paired up with each other. The game does a good job of making you feel attached to the children and each of their stories gives you a detailed look at each of their personalities. What makes this game unique from the other series is through the use of the gimmick that is very prominent in the game’s advertising and it can make you question your decisions in the game and how you will approach each battle from thereon.
The gimmick I am talking about is called the “Soul Cannon.” The Soul Cannon is a devastating weapon the Taranis has that can obliterate any enemy in one shot, including bosses but it comes at a great cost. Every time you use it, you have to sacrifice a child as the Soul Cannon runs on souls. So, if you ever get into a very tight spot fighting enemies, the game does a really good job trying to tempt you to use the Soul Cannon as enemies in this game can be very ruthless in doing damage and making you think as to what your next moves should be. The moment you use the Soul Cannon in the game, it makes you feel the weight of your decision heavily as if you lost a good friend in your adventure.
You really need to plan out all your strategies as you advance in the game. You will need to conserve precious materials for recovery and make sure you are strong enough to beat the enemies that you face in the game as most of these bosses in the game can be ruthless.
The game for the most part is a Turn-Based RPG and each weapon gets a turn to attack through a Grandia-inspired time system. It also combines it with simulation aspects such as Fishing, Exploring, Farming, Cooking, and Socializing. You can have the children do these types of activities to either strengthen their abilities or strengthen the tank for future battles. The simulation aspect does the job really well but most of the enjoyment of the game comes from the combat. Each child has their own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses that bring a lot of opportunities for strategizing and decision making on the fly. If you pair up children that have a good relationship with one another, they can use Link Attacks that can massively damage enemies and provide buffs to the children and “de-buffs” to the enemies as well.
Currently, I am trying to 100% clear the game and it is still enjoyable as there is still a lot of content to do in the game such as upgrading all the weapon parts and getting all the relationships to max, and gathering up the vast amount of lore documents in the game. The one thing though about doing a 100% clear of the game is that the game is very repetitive just doing the same things over and over again to get the level up to the maximum.
I would recommend the game to those that love a good story and enjoy turn-based combat.
Final Score: 8/10
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera
Gabriel Craig Hernal Rivera is an Engineer. A graduate of De LaSalle University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering. He currently works at Accenture U.S. in Metro San Francisco as a Training and Development Specialist. Outside of work, Gabriel enjoys exercising, watching various TV series programs, and especially video games. He also enjoys watching videos regarding Game Design, Game Theories, and in-depth reviews on video games to get a better understanding of the current trends in gaming.
