Properly, I believe that is most likely the primary and solely time I’ve ever heard British documentarian Adam Curtis seem as an ominous backing pattern in an RPG boss battle theme, however in some ways, I hope it is not the final. Neglect the operatic choral chants of Remaining Fantasy bosses. The brand new rallying cry towards peak villainy is now some no-nonsense British commentary concerning the state of human extinction. It really works surprisingly, nicely, and Small Saga is a sport shot by way of with these sorts of Britishisms, set within the parks, streets and underbelly of modern-day London.
Solely this is not an RPG about people, however the rodents that stay beneath their ft – the mice, rats, squirrels and moles who’ve developed a form of proto-medieval society of their very own constructed from the trash and discarded objects they’ve scavenged from underneath our noses. On this world, people are terrifying ‘gods’, supermarkets with their cabinets of seeds and grain are referred to as ‘Heaven’, and your major mode of transportation is a pigeon with a wicker basket. It is a captivating world solo developer Darya Noghani has created right here, and it could be an exhilarating turn-based RPG, too – if solely its battles did not utterly cheese it in relation to offering any sense of problem.
It is an actual disgrace Small Saga’s fight is such a cakewalk, because it has all of the makings of a strong turn-based battle system. On the coronary heart of this revenge story towards their god-like oppressors is Verm, a younger mouse whose brother Lance will get minced early on by a hazmat-wearing pest controller. Pushed by a deep-seated rage, Verm ultimately acquires his very personal god-weapon – a switchblade that makes him a veritable Cloud Strife amongst his friends. He acts like a Remaining Fantasy protagonist, too, mixing in a few of Squall Leonhart’s standoffishness and penchant for cold-hearted “No matter”s at each out there alternative, and his battle approach is all geared round going berserk to slice up his opponents in a brief and sharp style.
Becoming a member of him on his journey is a various forged of accompanying rodents: there’s an Irish mole noble whose cigarette lighter casts her because the mage of the group; a queer Scottish crimson squirrel who, sure, does get referred to as a “spoony bard” at one level, and whose talents all centre on buffing and therapeutic your allies; and eventually there is a queer, probably Welsh albino lab rat whose crimson cloak and javelin-like scalpel blade make her the spitting picture of Freya from Remaining Fantasy IX. They seem to be a very succesful bunch after they’re altogether, although they’re additionally usually pulled aside by the story to assist convey a heightened sense of drama to a few of its one-on-one fight situations.
You see, battles are fastened and predetermined in Small Saga, occurring solely at set factors throughout the story. It is a refreshing strategy that utterly eliminates having to grind or fear about conserving tempo with its enemies, and it additionally helps to maintain its runtime to a really brisk six or so hours (and that is together with its small smattering of side-quests, too). It’s extremely fast-moving, which is a blessing at the moment, and there is a compelling rhythm to every encounter. Each assault has its personal set of skill factors hooked up to it, for instance, and you may have to steadiness the price of these assaults towards defending to assist replenish your inventory of factors in your subsequent flip. It is a acquainted, if simplified model of different programs we have seen elsewhere in Japanese RPGs, and early on it is compelling sufficient to maintain you hooked as you start to unravel its engrossing story.
The issue, although, is that it is all simply far too simple at time of writing, which utterly robs it of any stakes or pressure. Even its bosses pose about as a lot menace because the toads and cockroaches you face very early on, as lots of their assaults do not even break into double digits. Granted, that is an RPG that likes to maintain its numbers, nicely, small, however when common enemies solely ever deal harm within the area of 1-3 HP, and you’ve got a well being bar of 30+ that mechanically replenishes after each battle, all of it begins to really feel a bit toothless. It additionally would not make a lot use of its animal-based weapon weaknesses, both – a system that will get launched inside the first hour as you deal with a big, foreboding home cat, and is then seemingly forgotten about instantly after. This could have helped apply only a tiny bit extra stress to its ensuing battles, however actually, it is the numbers that want tweaking right here greater than the rest.
If enemies put up extra of a struggle, Small Saga would shine a lot brighter – even when its battle system is, by comparability, comparatively simple. Its story is a gripping one, and it has a lot to say concerning the therapy of minorities, alongside disabled and homosexual and queer tradition. It is also simply full of numerous incidental particulars that assist convey its world to life, from its despotic, vape-puffing gray squirrels and Roman, “Ave!” shouting voles to its grinning bats that do an excellent Resi 4 service provider “What are ya buyin’?” impression. It has such a powerful sense of place you could’t assist however get swept up in all of it, so it is a disgrace Small Saga’s fight would not fairly match up on this regard.
Hopefully, with a little bit of rebalancing, Small Saga would possibly but attain the higher echelons of pint-sized RPGs, becoming a member of the likes of Jack Transfer as one other full of life reimagining of their Remaining Fantasy inspirations in miniature. As issues presently stand, although, Small Saga will get a way more tepid advice – although I might be half-tempted to say the Adam Curtis battle music (and its wonderful rating extra usually) is sort of well worth the very cheap worth of entry alone. It is actually a one-off, I will give it that, so for those who can abdomen its lack of problem, you will most likely nonetheless have fairly a very good time with it.
This evaluate was primarily based on a retail construct of the sport offered by the developer Darya Noghani.
