E3: Threads of Fate impressions

[05.17.00] » Square's "little adventure game that could" managed to turn quite a few heads at E3. Read the GIA's impressions to find out why.

    While Chrono Cross may have garnered high praise at Squaresoft's E3 booth, their impressive lineup certainly didn't stop there. Threads of Fate (formerly known as Dewprism), boasted an extremely competent localization effort combined with a terrific gameplay engine and an attractive visual style. Like in the final game, showgoers were able to choose to play as either Mint and Rue, the game's main characters, and play the title at a variable number of hours into the game.

   Threads of Fate plays and feels a great deal like Square's recent Brave Fencer Musashi; in many ways, it's a direct spiritual sequel, and a much improved one at that. Extremely colorful, anime-style polygonal graphics make up the visuals, while a fast-paced, generally overhead action RPG engine makes up the gameplay. Control is solid and responsive, and each character has two main attacks: Mint swings her halo rings with one button and shoots magical projectiles with another, while Rue usually obtains at least two separate special attacks when he transforms into foes he's previously defeated. While both characters will follow the same basic path through the game, puzzles will vary depending on the select characters' abilities; for example, Rue may need to transform into a certain monster in order to fit through a door, while Mint may need to hit a switch with her magic.

   Of particular note, however, is the effort put into the translation of Threads of Fate from Japanese. A very lighthearted title, Square seems to have taken a great deal of effort to ensure that both the obvious and the more subtle humor found within the game survive the trip across the Pacific. Mint, especially, wins the highest praise; a deceitful, selfish princess who plots revenge against her sister (all behind an irresistibly cute smile), Mint's lines are full of over-exuberant, over-confident emotion. She'll yell, she'll scheme, she'll worm her way into your jaded heart.

   Solid, varied gameplay mixed with a great English script make Threads of Fate an almost certain winner. Action RPG enthusiasts can look forward to the North American release on July 2nd.