Video Game Review: Ara Fell

Ara Fell: Enhanced Edition

Stegosoft Games

JRPG

Nintendo Switch

When the world needs a hero to strike back against the villains, the universe creates a force to push back against the forces of evil. Many times, the hero is a brave warrior of legend, who’s ancestry predisposes them to hidden powers and legendary bloodlines to help strike back against the darkness. Sometimes, they fall down a trapdoor. That’s how Ara Fell begins, following 16-year-old Lita LeCotta as she stumbles to become the hero of her dreams.

Ara Fell, developed by Stegosoft Games, is a loving tribute to the classic genre of JRPG games that stretches all the way back to the NES and SNES days. Despite a simple story, charm and character elevate this adventure. While the player follows Lita on her journey, they’ll encounter the suave and seductive Seri Kesu as well as the dark and brooding Doren, who both help to bring some intrigue to this motley crew. The relationships that develop over the course of the game help to supplement the story.

When you start a new save file, a prompt is given to the player asking what difficulty they would like to choose. Normal difficulty allows for a playthrough of the game without a large amount of farming while Hard asks for players to focus on their gameplay choices or choose to farm up to higher levels. Expert difficulty demands the player juggle items, gold, and their level to allow for a successful run. Story difficulty allows for an easier experience if the player demands it, providing a button that will instantly kill any enemy and even bosses. While a player can use this option, nothing in the difficulty prevents a user from simply playing through the game as normal.

The gameplay in Ara Fell is reminiscent of many of its predecessors that it builds on, using a turn-based action system. Each group of enemies feels distinct, with different moves and tactics to keep you on your guard. There’s also a variety of bosses that help break up the space between the different areas of the game with each having a variety of moves and requiring different tactics.

Ara Fell eschews a more traditional equipment gathering and purchasing system with an enchantment and crafting system. Rather than upgrading your equipment by purchasing new gear from shops, the game has you upgrade them with items that you gather from the environment in addition to loot that drops from enemies. This, in combination with the limited inventories that shops have, means that players will have to explore and fight monsters in order to upgrade their equipment. The same goes for items which, while a few can be bought from the stores, are largely crafted from the supplies that a player collects while in the field and in towns. This encourages players to explore the world of Ara Fell, taking in the environments that exist within the game and showing off the well-crafted world.

The world of Ara Fell is bright and cheery, with a 16-bit art style to compliment the gameplay elements. The characters all have distinctive sprites with vibrant moves and unique effects for each. Each of the main areas of the game feels distinct and memorable in their own way, from the snowy wastes to the blistering desert. Each also has different collectables and hidden areas, making secondary playthroughs just as exciting if you didn’t go for 100% in the first run. In addition, the music that plays throughout the game provides a soothing ambiance as you play. The music, while pleasant, lacks a particular memorability that other soundtracks can provide.

Overall, my experience playing through Ara Fell was a fun one. Despite being a game that doesn’t stray much from the formula developed for JRPGs, the quirky characters and interesting world held my interest through the playthrough. An average playthrough will take around 13 hours at a leisurely pace with light farming and some side quests in the middle. Ara Fell, despite some of the flaws that the game has with a lack of diversity for character skills and a relatively simplistic story with few twists, is a game that’s worth playing for anyone who loves classic JRPGs with a modern twist.