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PLATFORM
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PS4 PSVita
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BATTLE
SYSTEM
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INTERACTION
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ORIGINALITY
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STORY
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MUSIC
& SOUND
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VISUALS
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CHALLENGE
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Hard |
COMPLETION TIME
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40-60 Hours
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OVERALL
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+
Deep and challenging battle
system
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Fantastic character skill
mechanics
+
Varied battle scenarios keep
things fresh
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Frustrating magic point
system.
-
Battles too slow at times
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Undercooked story and setting
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Click
here for scoring
definitions
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Natural
Doctrine is the first game to be developed
solely by Kadokawa Games. Taking a vastly
different approach to the strategy RPG genre, Natural
Doctrine proves to be a fresh and
challenging adventure that doesn't play quite like
any other game on the market. There are, however,
a number of things about Natural Doctrine
that may turn off players. Not necessarily because
they are bad, but largely because of how different
they are from the average strategy RPG. To put it
simply, Natural Doctrine is not a game for
the faint of heart.
Natural
Doctrine's story would best be described as
undercooked. Nothing about it is particularly bad,
even if its premise of an invading army of evil
bugs is a bit cliché. Instead, the issue is that
nothing gets developed with any degree of depth.
The story focuses on a warrior named Geoff and his
companions as they try to become explorers, which
will allow them to become official citizens of the
city of Feste. While exploring a goblin mine they
come across the bugs for the first time, and from
there set off on adventure that has them at odds
with Feste's officials, Orcs, and other creatures
before eventually directly tackling the bug
threat. There's a colorful cast of party members,
but the backstories, world history, and character
motivations are all glanced over quickly to the
point where the player will likely think they've
missed something. The localization and the
characters' voice acting are all very well done.
It's just the original source material that is
clearly lacking. It's a shame too, as the world is
interesting and what story there is keeps things
moving along nicely. There just isn't enough for
it to be anything more than window dressing.
Natural
Doctrine does not take a traditional
approach to strategy RPGs. Battlefields are
three-dimensional and are broken up into various
squares of space, however movement within these
squares is free-form. This means that though
characters can move only within a set range of
squares each turn, they are free to move anywhere
within these squares, taking advantage of cover,
line of sight, and other environmental factors.
Playable characters include several close-range
fighters, gunners, and magic users. The most
important member of the party, however, is a
somewhat cliché young girl who controls a giant
golem. This golem can serve as a movable wall from
which the player's long range fighters can work
behind. This is vitally important in dealing with
Natrual Doctrine's most daunting challenge: if
even a single character falls in battle, it's game
over. This makes the game sound incredibly
challenging, and it is at times. Thankfully, for
the most part there are many tools available to
the player and checkpoints in battle so that this
difficulty is largely mitigated.
No line
of sight troubles here.
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One of the
primary tools at the player's disposal is Link
Turns. Each round, each character only has one
guaranteed turn. However, each action aside from
just ending a character's turn allows certain
other party members to act as well. For example,
attacking an enemy will allow all characters in
attacking range of that enemy to act. By carefully
reserving a few characters, smart players will be
able to have party members act many times each
round. Of course, the flip side is enemies have
this same ability, so they can and will do the
same. A turn order list is displayed at the top
the screen, allowing careful planning to take out
the next enemy to act or prepare appropriate
defenses. In addition to the controlled actions,
player characters and enemies will counter an
action against them with one counterattack, and
even more importantly gunners will fire on nearby
opponents before they act. This makes placement of
these characters, and noting the placement of
enemy gunners, vitally important.
Skills for
characters are about as would be expected.
Warriors have various strike types, gunners have
skills that add more damage or more shots, mages
have both offensive and defensive magic, and the
golem can smash things a good deal. Some
characters also have buffs that can power up the
entire party, wherever they are, and also create
Link Turns for all of them. Characters gain a
skill point each time they level up, but
interestingly they can re-spec between battles as
often as the player likes. This allows for lots of
tinkering and readjusting party specialization to
change strategies for tough battles.
There are lots
of places where the readjustment options prove
very handy, as Natural Doctrine is not
content to throw the player into simple scenarios.
Though the ultimate goal is generally to take out
all enemies or a boss, the way the game does this
quite varied. Surprise reinforcements, bosses that
require constant fire and retreat tactics, and
even one battle that gives the player just two
gunners, one warrior, and a mage to face an army
are the name of the game. There are a number of
battles that also require careful retreat,
guarding certain areas, and other objectives as
well. If the player needs to grind, there also
goblin mines to explore which provide hidden
treasure and plenty of enemies to fight. These
mines can prove necessary to explore to some
extent, as there are no shops in the game to
purchase provisions from. Treasure chests will
contain equipment and also the game's form of
magic points, which is where one of the game's
biggest issues come in.
Teaming
up to take down large enemies is
vital to success. |
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Instead of a
traditional source that regenerates, magic uses
Pluton, a non-regenerating resource that is shared
across the whole party and can only be acquired
from treasure chests. The player will only have
one wizard most of the game, but other characters
eventually get skills that use this resource as
well. Maintaining a decent supply quickly gets
troublesome, requiring repeated visits to goblin
mines to restock after a few battles. It's a
strange design decision that cuts into the game's
fun. Almost as if the developers realized this
mistake, healing potions are a resource that
restores between battles, and the number of
potions is based on skills characters can acquire.
The game does throw the player a bone late in the
game in a few respects, but grinding for Pluton
will still be a oft-repeated task by the game's
final chapter.
Visuals are not
traditionally the strongest point of strategy
RPGs, and that continues here. There's nothing
strictly wrong with the graphics. Character
portraits are colorful, if a bit generic, and the
whole game looks and animates relatively nicely
even on Vita. There's just nothing particularly
special about anything. The bugs and other
creatures have stereotypical designs, and the cast
of playable characters wouldn't look out of place
in just about any anime-inspired RPG. Similarly,
the music is mostly forgettable but never bad or
bothersome enough to become a distraction. It's a
shame there isn't much distinctive about Natural
Doctrine's visual style, as its unique and
interesting battle system feels like it deserves a
more distinctive look. Still, the graphics and
music work and there's nothing that will really
bother players.
Natural
Doctrine is a tough nut to crack. Having to
keep the entire party alive is a big style shift
from the average strategy RPG that makes the game
extremely tough to get used to. This is
exacerbated by its slow pace and the odd
requirement at times to move the entire party,
turn by turn, to a battle's exit. Those that can
survive the natural selection process, however,
will find a smart and thrilling strategy RPG
requiring players to think carefully about all
aspects of a battle from character placement and
line of sight to turn manipulation and potion
supply. Battles are incredibly rewarding and the
character skill trees are fun to experiment with
thanks to unlimited respecing. There are even post
game challenges for courageous players to
challenge. If not for some rough spots like the
ho-hum audio-visual department, and non-factor of
a story, Natural Doctrine could have been
an instant classic. As it stands though, it is a
fascinating strategy RPG that anyone who loves
strategy RPGs needs to play.
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