Little Noah: Scion of Paradise | PS4

Cygames' "Little Noah: Scion of Paradise" is very much like a recipe passed down through the generations. Adopted, added to, and fine tuned to perfection for consumption. It's like a pinch of "The Binding of Isaac", a dash of "Diablo", and a flourish of "Devil May Cry". Part hack & slash platformer, part roguelite, and part JRPG "Little Noah" brings to the table a delectable meal of an experience worth savoring. Every moment, and every retry satisfying in the best ways. Never dull, and never frustrating.

Through the story of Noah Little, a tale about an airship pilot and alchemist who is in search of her father, we find a plot that plays out a lot like Groundhog Day of Bill Murray fame. A rinse and repeat trek through a kingdom in the sky wherein lies a cat who acts like Alice's white rabbit. The key to a deeper mystery. Paired with this walking talking feline Noah is bound and determined to not only repair her airship, and find her father, but also explore the ruins she has discovered. Ultimately facing off against a powerful antagonist in the process who also seems intent on looting the ruins for all it's worth.

Lightly narrated, and spoken into existence through Noah's own voice, and the voice of other key characters we find a magical world of alchemy and Lillipots. A world where alchemists can summon, Lillipots/Champs to act as an extension of their efforts. Dependent upon mana these ghostly summons also act as combo potential. Adding a flurry of attacks with cooldowns. Five of them, to be exact. Five, and one or two more that act as skills that also run on a cooldown. It is this system of combos that leads to looting opportunities in branching gated off dungeon biomes with branching and blockaded rooms. You'll find that through Noah, her Champs, and abilities you can earn coin, find accessories, boost stats with gems, and collect more Champs for the perfect party. Champs/Lillipots themselves come in four different elemental types including a neutral type. Star rated, and alphabetically graded according to skill, attack, and damage output. By synergizing them in a lineup, upgrading them through duplicate gains or gifting through a specific airship vendor, their effectiveness and power will grow. Buffing underlying stats, and performative efforts. 

Between Noah, her army of Lillipots, and her ship crew the tasks at hand are made available. Said tasks include dungeon crawling sessions, airship vendor management, the improving of Lillipot relations, and relations with the key vendors such as that feline friend I mentioned earlier. When it comes to dungeon crawling the rooms are sectioned off with room variations in mind. Mostly filled with lesser enemies to be dealt with, treasure rooms, minion lairs, shops, or altars that gift star rated and perk inclusive accessories of elemental types as well as color coded star rated stat boosting gems these rooms leave how you traverse them up to you. You can clear them all or go almost immediately to the gate/s. Gates, as they were, act as the exit and entrance point to the next branching biome on the kingdom map. Their offerings dependent on ship repairs. Complete with different looting opportunities per gate including things like more treasure, more Lillipots, or more accessories ... among other things.

When it comes to facing enemies lesser mobs is what you'll face first, and most often. These lesser minions are divided up into three different types. They include ones beholden to challenges that reward a special chest of loot for correctly achieved clearing feats. That and simple mob rooms. You'll also happen upon minion lairs where you'll summon a blackened Lair mob through a special stone which are more powerful, but reward Noah with a special Lillipot if cleared. Beyond that, and back on the kingdom biome map lies intermittent sub-bosses, and a final boss. These bosses are the endgame of a dungeon run, and also reward your efforts handsomely when defeated. A massive treasure chest filled with coins, and Lillipots are gifted for besting a boss fit of a Soulsborne experience.

Back at the airship ...

While the collective of objectives are demanding of your attention if you survive long enough in a dungeon run to collect some prime loot you can transfer that loot into your mana pool according to item rarity value. A bank which acts as the holder of said currency. Something with which you will fix/repair your airship's three sections. This includes what amounts to three different upgradeable skill trees or ship components/service areas. A set of skill trees for added stat boosts, Noah skills, and potion upgrades as well as one for starter items to give you a jump start on your next try. There's even unlockable accessories to obtain for the price of mana. Lastly, there's an added statue system that gives bonus perks for statues of different star and metal ratings placed on pedestals on the airship's deck alongside the other vendors. Speaking of vendors there's a tutorial listing that explains everything from dungeon exploration to Noah's key mechanics as well as one for avatar outfits, Lillipot gifting, Zipper gifting (your feline companion), and airship repairs. New vendors are also added through part of the repair vendor's skill trees. 

No matter how many times you try your progress will be governed by your ability to apply combat effectively through Lillipot management, and how well you mind Noah's HP, or health. Noah begins with a set amount of HP dependent on how much you've repaired certain parts/areas of the airship. You'll also find that Noah has a limited supply of HP potions dependent upon the same airship repairs. Though you can find the occasional health refill, and buy one from shops for looted coin death will come when your HP and potions are fully exhausted. Death isn't the end though. With each death comes another chance to complete a dungeon run, but with all the bonuses you've managed to unlock from your previous run's spent mana. Giving you a progressively better chance at completion with each run. 

Learning how best to lineup your party of Lillipots, and how best to compliment them with equally elemental focused gems and accessories will in turn determine your odds at finishing the given playthrough. That said though you will find there's a certain element of randomization as the game is a Roguelite. No two dungeons are ever laid out the same, so the looting, and enemy opportunities will also vary. Making your preparedness beforehand the only thing that's advantageous in your favor. Thankfully character skills added to Noah's arsenal such as her more powerful altar state can provide boosted damage for harder to deal with enemies. The more your fix/repair the airship the more mechanics like these will be made available adding to Noah, and her Lillipot's options.

As you continue to play you can, if you so desire, save at any point so that you can pick back up later for another try. Obviously to see the game through to it's end without having to start from scratch. Replay value, and there is some, comes mostly from upgrading and building upon your relationships with all your Lillipots. That, and upgrading the airship to a point that you are fully prepared for all new attempts at a playthrough. Beyond this there's little else to incentivize your return other than the roguelite elements of the dungeons. Not bad for a budget priced indie though.

Graphically it's a beautiful game done up in a sort of Square Enix inspired art style with 2.5D animations. There's no noticeable hiccups in framerate, and the combat as well as gameplay feels smooth. The soundtrack includes Japanese voice overs with English text. It's what you'd come to expect from such a JRPG-like experience. Both graphics, and soundtrack are complimentary as well.

The Verdict ...

I'm not lying when I say this could be a new standard for roguelites. It's combination of new mechanics and features alongside older more inspired mechanics and features makes for the perfect blend. It is a proper action oriented combo combat inclusive dungeon crawling roguelike with it's own creative and innovative flair. Everything about it comes together cohesively, and in a truly complimentary fashion. The main character is adorable, and likeable as is her feline companion. Her story, as short and sweet as it might be, is filling enough for return playthroughs. Replay value is limited in the long run, but at the same time good enough to be considered a proper roguelite experience. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game, and loved the grind. It never felt repetitive in a bad way, and the drive to continue kept me invested. I hope you too give this gem a try. It is very much worth the asking price! Don't miss out!!!