Nobody anticipated a sport like The DioField Chronicle earlier than its shock announcement at a PlayStation State of Play earlier this yr. Square Enix has a variety of IP underneath its belt, with a number of beloved franchises sitting dormant amidst followers’ eager for reboots, revivals, or sequels. DioField is, clearly, none of these items. In reality, DioField isn’t actually very similar to the rest with Square Enix’s title on it.

Let me set one factor straight. For concerning the first minute of DioField’s debut trailer again in March, you would possibly get the impression the sport is akin to Final Fantasy Tactics with its medieval setting, a backdrop of conflict & political strife, and the SQUARE ENIX branding. After seeing the primary little bit of gameplay, although, it is fairly evident that The DioField Chronicle isn’t very similar to Final Fantasy Tactics in any respect, no less than in the way it performs. Truth be instructed, the narrative parts do not actually emulate FFT both.

As it seems, in all probability the most effective attribute of The DioField Chronicle is how distinctive it’s as an entire, and the way refreshing it feels in comparison with its many fashionable RPG contemporaries.

To set the stage, we’re launched to the primary characters of The DioField Chronicle – Andrias Rhondarson & Fredret Lester – who as youngsters befriend Levantia Shaytham, the 4th prince of Alletain and 2nd-in-line to the throne. Many years after a tragic occasion of their childhood, Rias and Fred (as they prefer to name one another) make use of themselves as mercenaries and shortly be part of a unit generally known as the Blue Foxes. The DioField Chronicle recounts the undertakings of the Blue Foxes throughout a turbulent time in Alletain’s historical past.

Developed by Lancarse, The DioField Chronicle might be greatest outlined as a method RPG, but it surely does not use a tactical grid generally discovered within the style. You as a substitute management a squad of 4 items in real-time, transferring them with an isometric digital camera angle in short skirmishes. When you encounter enemies in these phases, your squad will start to assault – nonetheless in real-time – till you pause the motion to pick a fight talent.

If something, DioField performs extra like a real-time-with-pause RPG like Baldur’s Gate, or you possibly can even draw comparisons to RTS or MOBA titles. There is a variety of start-and-stop to the sport, as you may continually be choosing items to maneuver and actions to take, all of which can pause the motion for every of those choices. It could sound troublesome on paper, however when you get aware of your squad and their talents, your expeditions out onto the sphere turn out to be will turn out to be fairly fluid in movement, and you may quickly grasp navigating your workforce by way of quite a few missions.

Along together with your 4 major items, every will also be accompanied by a supporting ‘adjutant’, which means that eight items will be current in anyone skirmish, no less than in some kind. These adjutants do not take part in fight immediately, however they do supply an extra set of abilities added to your workforce composition. With unit functionality starting from defensive efforts, to status-altering magic, to pure harm dealing and in any other case, there is a honest quantity of flexibility in play regardless of the small workforce measurement.

In common, DioField’s slim finances is obvious, however not at all times in an unfavorable means. Many story scenes are usually not instructed by way of totally choreographed cutscenes with elaborate character fashions, settings, and animations. Instead, a lot of the sport’s narrative is instructed by way of nearly comic-like illustrations, or by way of summaries given by the articulate narrator in between missions.

I can not deny it, in a means I really desire this stylistic method over conventional cinematics, particularly if finances constraints would solely convey comparatively easy scene route in any other case. Of course, DioField’s artwork fashion alone is incredible and does a variety of heavy lifting – with DioField dropped at life by a mixture of artists reminiscent of Isamu Kamikokuryo and Taiki.

DioField’s fashion of storytelling is a little bit of a distinction to what some could have come to count on from fashionable RPG narratives. To put it succinctly, every part from exposition to character interplay is delivered in a considerably abbreviated style. Events transfer at a brisk tempo, characters are sometimes fast and to-the-point, and no single growth lingers for too lengthy earlier than the narrative shifts to the subsequent one. Dialogue can really feel terse, and I imply that in one of the simplest ways attainable. No phrases are wasted on characters circularly explaining the plot to one another. For somebody like me, with an allergy to overwrought exposition, I drastically appreciated this. 

In a means, “The DioFIeld Chronicle” is a really acceptable title for the sport and is emblematic of DioField’s methodology of storytelling. DioField usually provides a historically-tinged account of a prolonged collection of occasions that occurs not solely to the Blue Foxes, however to their resident nation of Alletain as an entire, as if it was a document of previous occasions. Some main, narrative-turning occasions are solely given just a few descriptive strains, as a result of they do not want greater than that. Some folks & locations necessary to the in-game lore are solely talked about by correct title as soon as, and by no means once more, as a result of they do not should be. On many events, DioField offers you precisely what it is advisable know, and never rather more than that, which leaves among the narrative nuances to be discovered between the strains.

Even with a comparatively brief runtime of fewer than 30 hours, quite a bit occurs inside DioField’s narrative. From assassination makes an attempt to coastal invasions to episcopal conspiracies and democratic uprisings, DioField’s storyline is at all times transferring together with its chronicling fashion. Even the sport’s mission design likes to maintain issues bite-sized, with most excursions doable in only a few minutes. However, not solely is DioField narratively and mechanically refreshing, however its composition finally progresses in a means that’s fairly daring for the style, and it actually does not play it protected with its narrative design. I believe the sport’s ending is an ideal encapsulation of this, personally. Of course, I can not share extra particular particulars on that right here.

Despite my adoration for a few of its stylistic parts and design decisions, DioField has loads of shortcomings. If I needed to grade The DioField Chronicle on some hypothetical rubric, there are many locations the place I might feasibly ‘dock factors’, if you’ll. The character fashions and animations are fairly fundamental. The missions are all form of brief and samey. The sidequests are considerably cookie-cutter and forgettable. The talent choice is not very balanced. The enemy selection is severely missing. Character constructing is relatively streamlined. There’s a base-building mechanic, but it surely’s comparatively barebones and arguably a glorified menu.

So, relying on what precisely you’re searching for in a method RPG, DioField will not be the sport to fit your wants. It’s extra of an unorthodox experimental tactical RPG than a conventional grandiose epic. It helps to method Diofield with correct expectations, I believe, to understand the sport for what it’s — although Square Enix actually did not do a terrific job selling their new IP to start with.

The DioField Chronicle can also be a straightforward sport, no less than on its default problem settings. As you make your means by way of DioField, you may inevitably develop your most popular celebration with some talent loadout changing into an ‘engine’ that’ll possible decimate every part the sport throws at you. I did not thoughts this a lot personally, because it wasn’t a way of problem that endeared me to DioField’s mechanics. Instead, it was the will to create as environment friendly and highly effective a talent rotation as attainable. I loved theory-crafting celebration builds and talent combos that may fully bulldoze any enemy formation. There is a more durable problem choice obtainable, for these searching for a more difficult expertise, however I relished creating my unbeatable lineup as a substitute.

I sometimes do not touch upon these types of issues, however I wish to give particular point out to DioField’s consumer interface. In a sport that is comparatively dense with mechanics, items, abilities, and objects all requiring descriptions & particulars, I felt that DioField does an admirable job in organizing all these items for the participant. The font may be very legible, icons & colours are well-implemented, and the usage of colours make navigating DioField’s many menus really considerably nice. Even the UI animations and sound results are all very satisfying, as a lot as UIs will be, I suppose. Even the sport’s keyboard and mouse controls are fairly intuitive to make use of and completely suited to this fashion of sport. I even have to offer props to the work completed by Side UK, who did an distinctive job with The DioField Chronicle’s English voice work and route. The musical rating by Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell additionally suits the sport completely, too.

Despite its numerous shortcomings, I got here away from The DioField Chronicle glad with its uniquely refreshing tackle technique RPGs. DioField’s storytelling fashion was particularly a spotlight for me, and its tackle tactical fight provides one thing totally different from its contemporaries. While its mission design, sidequest selection, and a few talent methods maintain it again, DioField is value a strive for anybody searching for one thing only a bit totally different of their tactical RPGs.

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