Good Game Get! Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
CyberConnect2 is mostly known for the popular PS2 dot Hack series and various Naruto titles. A little known title they made was called Tail Concerto,(for the PS1) which featured very similarly styled art and characters to Solatorobo. It’s fantastic to see the company still intact, and still making games that are their own.
Solatorobo aesthetics are some of the most whimsical and intelligently designed on the DS. The hardware limitations gives us beautifully crafted 2D/3D backgrounds with polygons and sprites blending seamlessly together. It feels like a Playstation One game, and not just technically - It really feels like an adventure that could’ve loved as a ten year old, and still love today; even though I’m more than a decade older than that.
The game is mostly comprised of a quest/rank system, but has a truly magical battle system that I think accomplishes with smart finese what every action RPG title wants to have.
The magic in the battle gameplay is brought to life through a cleverly designed and simple combat system. The system really only involves one mechanic and develops it through combo systems and an enjoyable upgrade system.
Throwing.
That’s right! You throw things, and enemies to damage them. With your robot of course! It’s really fun and makes combat a bit more endearing than your typical adventure RPG combat of button mashing, and/or developing spell strategies or what not. It has a simple, but endearing combo system that involves jumping and throwing in different combinations to effectively keep enemies toppled long enough to do big damage.
It’s an adventure, and not only does it feel grand - it feels manageable, which is very important to me when it comes to games these days. On top of that, as a dog lover, It’s really cool to see a world mostly comprised of dog-people. It’s kind of silly, but it works, and I love it.
Solatorobo is not ground-breaking, but it does have something that most games lack, and it isn’t vision or creativity. It’s pure love and polish. Solatorobo has both. No one was trying to be impressive with this game, but they were trying to be perfect, and they’ve accomplished that quite well.
The bottom line here, is that just like Andy was saying’, the DS is far from dead and in fact is getting some of its best content right now.
Solatorobo is one of the best titles of the year. It’s delightful.
- Kyle