The Guided Fate Paradox (PS3)

 

Those of you who have been faithful to the Disgaea series will no doubt recall the mention of the angelic realm of "Celestia" during your many playthroughs. While Celestia has never really been shown in all of it's glory it's angels have often times showed up in some form, or fashion within the netherworld of Disgaea. Thankfully the lads, and lasses at 'NIS America' have finally decided to bring to light the world of Celestia, it's many inhabitants, and the mythology that encompasses it with this latest follow-up release. Not only did they flesh out this angelic realm in "The Guided Fate Paradox" by including a deeply involved story, but they also gave the game an art style that is entirely different from that of the Disgaea series making the story more of a unique experience. It's this anime inspired theme that will have Disgaea players gawking in amazement at the display unfolding before their eyes. Everything from the anime inspired intro to the actual gameplay will most definitely prove to the gamers that NIS America has yet to run out of noteworthy ideas in their niche RPG lineage.

The Guided Fate Paradox follows closely the story of a certain unlucky individual named "Renya". Renya, being the lowly high school aged boy that he is has never in his life won a prize of any sort. Often times he wondered when his lucky opportunity would come into play. Whether it was the lottery, online giveaways, or even bingo this poor lad just could not win. As fate would have it though he would soon find luck in the oddest of places. During a routine stop at the local department store young Renya was stopped by one of Celestia's angels in disguise. Reluctantly handing over a previously obtained lottery ticket that he had gotten from purchasing goods at the store he was entered into a drawing that would forever change his life. After years of longing, and waiting for his turn to be the fortunate one, Renya the lowly, and somewhat perverted (he has a sister complex) high school student won a prize that would ultimately make him the God of Celestia. As Renya would soon find out though being a God is not exactly all it's cut out to be. If he doesn't do his job, and do it right the poor boy might lose more than just his new job ...

The Guided Fate Paradox, as it were ...

When you first start up "The Guided Fate Paradox" you will be welcomed by a climactic soundtrack filled with powerful vocals, and an anime intro that is the best I've seen in the history of NISA's many JRPG series. While the animation is obviously more mature in appearance than it's Disgaea predecessors it still has that certain Disgaea vibe about it. As usual for watching the game's entire intro from beginning to end you will be awarded an achievement accordingly. Once you get past the awesome spectacle of the intro you'll happen upon a title screen that is oddly reminiscent of former Disgaea games. Seeing as Celestia is inspired by a part of the Disgaea lore this is absolutely acceptable, in my personal opinion.

Players thinking about getting into the game will be glad to know that there is an initial plot introduction shown before you are taken to the actual main tutorial section of the game. In this initial story introduction you'll find plenty of voice-over oriented narrations, back & forth animated character conversations, and gameplay stylized acting that will filly flesh out the story being told. The Guided Fate Paradox, as it were is an deeply artistic experience that is layered. While a lot of the in-game character dialogue will take place in the semi-overhead view you are familiar with you will find moments where more maturely represented, and animated anime images of the characters pop-up along with dialogue boxes to further flesh out the plot that is currently unfolding within the game's story arch. At times there's even full screen anime art stills accompanied by dialogue giving the game a more artistic tone. There truly is not one dull moment as you play through the game's narrative points of interest.

Gameplay in "The Guided Fate Paradox" on the other hand is actually a lot different than that of the Disgaea series. While the layout will look oddly familiar to you you'll find that dungeon navigation, and various other in-game features are entirely new. During the tutorial section of the game you'll discover that the angel who awarded you the prize of "God" actually doubles as your guide throughout the game, and that she also plays a role as your assistant in battle. This angel named, "Lilliel" will explain to you everything you need to know about your duties as the new God of Celestia. Along with input from the other angels, and monsters inhabiting Celestia home base you'll be able to become familiar with the gameplay at hand, and engage in all the activities necessary to fulfill your Godly role.

As Celestia's new God, you are tasked with the duties of fulfilling the world's most innocent, and worthy prayers, and wishes. Luckily for Renya (You) the job is not as daunting of a task as it sounds since a sophisticated AI system designed by angels weeds out the less important wishes, and prayers. After the AI construct is finished sorting out the massive amount of constantly requested wishes/prayers the angels themselves decide which prayer/wish out of all of them is truly worthy of being answered. That is when Renya is sent on his way to deal with the matter at hand. In order to answer these requests Renya must go through the "Fate Revolution Circuit" alongside his angel of choice, and into the mirrored worlds of the real world. By taking on a prayer/wish Renya will be initially taken to a copy of the real world (Copy World) filled with silhouettes of the individual/s involved, so that he can better understand how to alter certain events/situations in the wisher's/prayer's real world in order to fulfill their desires. Of course as simple as this may sound doing your job not only requires dealing with the 'Copy World", but also a secondary realm called the "Original World" in which your actions against Aberrations (Monsters against change) will ultimately bring the wish/prayer to fruition, assuming you are successful.

As such the core gameplay in "The Guided Fate Paradox" mainly revolves around the maze-like navigation of Aberration infested "Original World" locales. Playing as the newly crowned God Renya, you, and another angel of choice will traverse these randomly generated, and multli-level dungeons as you kill off Aberrations, and boss characters with your equipped equipment. Surprisingly it's this very equipped equipment that will also alter your characters' appearances in the game. By combining different equipment pieces you can come up with some truly wacky looking character creations as well as uniquely powerful weapon based attacks. Doubling up on the same ARM weapon for example will allow you to dish out a double dealing "Divine Skill" attack.

As odd as that may seem to a traditional Disgaea player the gameplay in "The Guided Fate Paradox" is definitely different, but in a familiar sort of way. Instead of the traditional method of bringing demons onto the field, moving them a certain amount of spaces, and performing actions you will be able to continually move Renya to different areas until you finally reach the exit of the current level. The catch to this continuous movement is that while you are in continually advancing one space at a time in rapid succession along the way to find the exit the Aberrations located within the current level you are in are also moving in a turn based manner advancing towards, or away from you for every step/action that you take. If you stand still, and perform no actions the Aberrations will act in kind not moving, or doing anything. Learning how to advance Renya in the best possible way to attack/avoid Aberrations, and avoid set traps is a must if you hope to make it far in the game. As easy as the task of traversing the Original Worlds may sound to you you'll find that dying/fainting is an easy thing to do.

As with any RPG, or JRPG experience you'll find that there are stats, gauges, and levels in place to keep you in check as you go about your business as Celestia's new God. Renya, and his Angel companions all have three different gauges that are associated with their actions in the "Original World" stages. These gauges include an 'HP' meter that represents Renya's/the angel's health, an 'SP' meter that allows you to perform 'Divine Skills (special equipment based attacks)' so long as it's filled, and an 'EN (Energy Level)' meter that is used to measure your hungriness in an 'Original World' location. As long as you have meter built up in the EN gauge you'll be good to go. If the EN gauge totally depletes though it will gradually drain your HP until you "Faint". Fainting in the "Original World' will send you straight back to Celestia without your previously obtained equipment, or any of your pouch (on hand) items, so it's best you keep the EN gauge in check at all times as it is the most important of the three gauges.

As far as character stats go you'll be leveling Renya up as you defeat Aberrations within the "Original Worlds' of the game. When yo finally make it to the final level of an Original World stage you will have amassed a certain character level. While this level status will not stick with your character upon returning to Celestia your character will still grow stronger with each dungeon playthrough making their "Total Level" count rise in the process. In other words, even though you are a Level 1 God you can become an extremely strong level 1 God. In this game the usual stat increases include ATK (Attack), DFN (Defend), SPD (Speed), HIT (Critical), and HP (Hit Points/Health Points).

Aside from the usual RPG based methods of increasing Renya's stats you'll find that his obtained equipment, and body can be modified in a such a way as to make them stronger, and that they too will eventually be fitting of his Godly title. When it comes to Renya's, and his angel companion's purchased/found equipment (Head, Arm 1, Arm 2, Body, Legs, Misc.) you'll find that each piece can be upgraded in strength assuming you use them until they reach the "BURST" status. In order for a piece of equipment to reach the BURST state you must use that equipment piece's "Divine Skill" repeatedly (Left Thumbstick Directional Input + X). Each piece of equipment carries with it a Divine Skill that will initiate a special attack animation in-game, and deal more damage than the standard melee attack should you have enough SP meter to use it. Once an equipment piece reaches the BURST state through continued usage you'll be able to take it to Celestia's Blacksmith to be strengthened assuming you still have it after a dungeon playthrough. Along with the appropriate amount of in-game currency, and a BURST piece of equipment you can make some weapons that are truly worthy of a Celestian God.

Body Modification, as it's called is an entirely different deal than BURST upgrades, and RPG stat level increases. Body Modification are more, or less a grid of interconnected spaces in which 'Holy Icons', and 'Holy Artifacts' are placed to make Renya a certain type of God in regards to title, and attributes. Through Aberration defeats, boss battles, and the granting of wishes/prayers Renya will earn what is known as "Holy Icons". Holy Icons are basically tiles with attribute (HIT, SPD, ATK, DFN) specific stat increases that add to Renya's already increasing stats. By placing these around a 'Holy Relic (statue-like feature)' Renya will be awarded a specific title according to his Godly nature. So far I've only managed to make Renya a "Prideful God", but I assure you by grouping different Holy Icons in certain formations you'll find that that title will change.

As far as "Holy Artifacts" go the are statue/like additions that can be bought for a price at Celestia's "RosenQueen, Co." store (Yes, just like in Disgaea ^.^). These are basically additional boosts (Arm 1 Up: S, Arm 2 Up: S, Legs 1 Up: S, Capacity Up: S ...) that will require you to overlap, and render useless currently placed 'Holy Icons'. Often times though Holy Artifact benefits outweigh the cost of losing 'Holy Icons'. Overall Body Modification is just another means to improve Renya's Godly state, and make him more worthy of the title he has won.

When it comes to shops, and merchandise outlets "The Guided Fate Paradox" has a small sample of what the Disgaea series is known for. Of course you'll still find intact the "RosenQueen, Co." general store where health aid supplies, and weapons can be bought for a price. You'll even find a vendor selling assignable music tracks for a hefty price. New to these vendors is the 'Blacksmith' in which BURST equipment can be strengthened as well as a vendor who will allow you to rename your equipment for free. You'll even be able to talk amongst Celestia's heavenly hosts including monsters, angels, and a winged menace called misery. While chatting it up with these delightful denizens is not required to advance the story, it is a good way to find background info on the goings on of Celestia. You'll even find humorous dialogue amongst the character driven commentary found within "The Guided Fate Paradox".

Now on to the Controls ...

For those of you worried about the controls in "The Guided Fate Paradox" they are simple enough to understand, and utilize once you've played for a while. The tutorial spells out everything you need to know about the game's controls in an easy to understand way. If you ever forget something just access the tutorial section of the main in-game menu (Press "TRIANGLE"), and you'll be set for a refresher's course. While you will most definitely be using all of the buttons on the PS3 controller in order to access, and use every feature it'll be the directional DPad navigation that will more than likely throw you off the most. Being the 3D oriented JRPG that it is the game's camera view options that will make for the most awkward experiences in the game. Even with these camera oriented issues the gameplay at hand is still thoroughly enjoyable, and manageable. Once you've spent some quality time getting familiar with the game's controls the directional navigation will become a second nature sort of ordeal for you.

Now on to the art & soundtrack ...

NIS America definitely did this game justice with the art style that they chose to go with. Even though the character sprites are a tiny bit like that of Disgaea you'll be glad to know that through improved facial expressions, animated character sprite reactions, and animated thought bubbles you'll be better able to relate to the characters that are brought to life onscreen. As I mentioned earlier the anime inspired character art applied to this particular JRPG does have a more mature look about it. The fact that NIS decided to incorporate this style art frequently into the gameplay only further improved upon the visual story being told, and made the war between heaven, and hell seem all the more important. As far as the soundtrack is concerned it was amazing! It was definitely more climactic than whimsical. The Intro song for example feature intense vocals, and equally intense instrumentals properly setting the tone for the game's impending epic battle. I loved everything about the experience!

Now on to the Verdict ...

From beginning to end you will no doubt be entranced by the glorious spectacle that is "The Guided Fate Paradox". Everything from Renya's reactions about his predicament to the interesting wishes, and prayers being asked of him will keep your mind totally focused on advancing the game's plot. As far as the visual, and audio offerings go you'll be glad to know that the art, and soundtrack included are truly the best NISA offerings I've seen yet. While the character sprites are sometimes pixelized the overall game will still offer that current-gen appeal that makes NIS America's creations so grand. When it comes to actual the plot material I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Celestia's perspective for a change, and believe you will too. I think the more mature story, and art style will definitely attract more gamers than usual including grown-up male players who were afraid to get into the Disgaea series for it's cutesy appearance. As I said earlier on, there's not one dull moment to be found within this JRPG. If you're a fan of Disgaea, there's no excuse for you to skip this game. Go out there, and pre-order it! For those of you looking for that special introductory JRPG experience, or something noteworthy other than CoD (Call of Duty) you'll be glad to know that this bad boy has it's own standalone story, and that it's a great way to experience the best that NIS has to offer. Either way I suggest you do yourself a favor by buying "The Guided Fate Paradox", and escaping from the norm of causal gaming!