Fuga: Melodies of Steel

A rather cute yet unorthodox little RPG, but one that I can't help but love with all of my heart for what it does. As a game, it may sound random and hard to pitch to your friends, as "furry kids cruise around on a mega tank fighting the 'German' army" sounds very out of left field in theory. But don't do yourself a disservice by not giving the game a shot, as I feel it deserves way more attention that what it ever got. Doing away with a lot of conventions like world exploration and grinding, Fuga strips everything down into two sections. Firstly, the gameplay, where you ride along different paths acquiring items, fighting the "Bermans", and healing up your tank, otherwise known as the Taranis. The other half is the story beats. This either happens when you transition between chapters, whenever an important fight is reached, or is explored during the many different Intermissions given to the player. A lot of your mileage is dependent on how much you enjoy these two aspects, as well as the art and music and stuff like that. If you're a fan of huge open worlds with plenty of side-quests and places to explore, Fuga might not be up your alley In terms of the battles, I think they are a comfortable mix of fun and challenging mechanics. Every one of your units fills into one of three weapon types, each with their own niches and use-cases (and also exploiting weaknesses to delay attacks). Fuga doesn't use a simple system of going from person to person, but rather having everyone sitting on a timeline that dictates turn order. This lets you plan tactically, either using items or blocking when you might deem it necessary, or manipulating different abilities to push enemies down the timeline or force yourself to act earlier. You can also constantly juggle around your units, which is necessary when they inevitably get inflicted with some sort of status ailment. It may also do you well to change formation to place different units with others, to proc different boons and bonuses depending on bonds you develop during Intermissions. Intermissions are the brief moment of respite you get before trudging back into the battlefield. You get to walk all over the Taranis, which has been kitted out with the most luxurious commodities I've ever seen in a tank. A workshop, an entire kitchen, a farm with animals and crops, BEDS?! The whole thing, despite being a soulless war machine with the power to kill anything and everything, feels very cozy and safe in some roundabout way. This is definitely due to the many art pieces crafted up by the team, that are all gorgeous and really well made. Even at the quickest glance, you can tell that these children are still able to smile and have fun despite their (frankly horrible) circumstances. Perhaps its just the hope speaking I'm also using this moment to praise the art and music, as it is a homerun in every sense of the word. A lot of the full art you see is present in either story moments, or in the brief Intermissions I just described. I'm not sure whoever was behind these pieces (it seems like a lot, if the end of chapter splash art is to be believed), but they did great. These scenes can both be haunting and eerie, or comforting and relaxing. The character designs are simple, and yet they really work. The characters are just children, not some battle-hardened soldier or super cool badass, and as such are just lugging around whatever they had on prior to hopping on board the Taranis. Even smaller things that you may miss, like the comic pages, are super soft and cozy. Its all wonderful, and complimented by the music. In the Taranis, during downtime, a soft jingle plays to signify that you are safe. And then, during boss fights, epic songs with lyrics begins to blare out, that can send a shiver down your spine. I'm just rambling here and definitely not giving it the credit it deserves, but just know its good. Especially in the beginning of the game, where the story ramps up. It comes out of the gate swinging with maybe one of the best cold opens I've ever seen utilized in a video game. Right away, you are forced to bear the same weight and grief that these children have. Scared, confused, forced to open fire against any threat in fear of their life. Clinging to the only lifeline they have: the monstrously huge tank known as the Taranis. They are locked in a desperate situation where any decision is the difference between life and death for any and all of them. The depression following a horrible, tragic choice. This opening sets the stage for the game in a near perfect way. I had my jaw on the floor, especially with the way that this melds with the gameplay and haunting yet beautiful music in the opening chapter. Which makes this all the harder to say: I feel like the main story misses the mark during the whole middle of the game. There are plenty of great bits, with the children's motivation waxing and waning and each new kid they find along the way having different motivations for tagging along. You can tell that the damage the Berman army has done is visible and horrible. Their banter is also quite believable, and a lot of the things the characters talk about feel real. But there isn't much in terms of an actual story to sink your teeth into for a lot of the game. It feels like each chapter doesn't get much in terms of story content besides a new party member, some quick comments from the opposing forces, and a talk with some enigmatic entity or voice on the radio. I like the characters, and I think they still get plenty of moments to shine during Intermissions. And of course, there is always the main objective in the back of the player's mind, that being to fight back the Bermans. Its not necessarily a bad thing, I guess? I just think it could be improved with more time spent on the characters, or world building, or something else. Although, around the point where you receive the final party member, I believe that the story quality begins to rise up again. Characters talk even outside of intermissions, and more plot is fed to the character through conversations on both sides of the war. It really sinks in that this is war, with a certain side partaking in blatant experimentation and war crimes for the love of the game. I also think the final characters added to the party are my favourite, with more complexity and nuance due to their circumstances. Its honestly pretty sad, but their plight makes them more captivating than some other group members (although I think every party member is fun and worth exploring). I won't say anything on them, as I feel their introductions are better when you meet them as blind as possible. The story continues to rise in quality for the rest of the game At the end of the day, Fuga is really well made and I'm shocked I never hear more about it. Its got a lot of soul in it, and it can really pluck on your heartstrings if you let it. Give it a shot

This was hands down one of my favorite gaming experiences to date. The opening has you in tears and you feel a sense of dread as you play as kids fighting a war in a giant tank. The themes, characters and world are so beautiful and the music helps elevate the story in every way. Be warned that the game is super depressing but the payoff at the end will very worth the damage to your mental wellbeing. Please support the devs as they're Japanese furries making these kinds of games for no profit, all for the love of the game.

Ignore the playtime I actually have a little over 50 hours on a copy I barrowed from my good friend Amélie Poulain I've now played through this game three times and am surprised at how much I enjoy it, CC2 is responsible for one of my all time favorite game series with the original .hack quadrilogy and although im not a furry I really wanted to see what they were cooking finally making a game that wasn't just a licensed anime arena fighter and I'm really glad I did, sure parts of the game are a little cliche but the game play loop is really fun as someone who's favorite genre is turned based rpgs and the art is really well done throughout. I really miss these basically AA games as honestly AAA these days is normally a soulless mess and the majority of indie games I find slop and a waste of time (how many more friend slop, crafting simulators, or rougelites do we really need?) But this game hits the sweet spot of feeling like a fleshed out experience and although i think full price for it is honestly as little much it goes on sale half off enough that 20$ is totally worth the price for a game that takes roughly 20 hours for the first play through and is fun enough to go through multiple plays.