Game Reviews

 Mugen Souls is the latest Japanese RPG offering from NIS America, and one that will look instantly familiar to those who have followed franchises such as Disgaea. Scratch beneath the art style, however, and players will uncover a few novel ideas, albeit ones that perhaps don’t fully pay off.

The game’s protagonist is Chou-Chou. Despite looking like a ten year old girl with pink hair, Chou-Chou has declared herself an “Undisputed God”, and is on a mission to conquer the seven worlds. Accompanied by interstellar ship pilot, Ryuto, and demon-turned-angel, Altis, Chou-Chou must tackle both the hero and demon lord of each world and turn them into her Peon. We will get around to discussing Peons a bit later on.

The story is interesting enough to keep you going, although the humour is rather risqué. When I first saw the PEGI 16 rating on the box I was surprised – surely such a bright and cheery looking game shouldn’t command such a rating? Within a few minutes I understood perfectly; the first scene shows Chou-Chou and Altis dancing, with plenty of boob and knicker shots. The innuendo can also be off the charts, so this is definitely not one to play whilst the kids are about.

There are some more traditional elements of humour though, which are genuinely amusing. The first being your initial encounter with Sun World’s hero, Soul Skyheart. He makes himself known by randomly smashing vases on the floor, before looting peoples’ houses and running off. Chou-Chou comments that surely he must be a villain, before Ryuto sheepishly explains that Skyheart is in fact the hero, as heroes simply can’t pass a vase without smashing it, or house without looting it. Straight away my mind flitted to the hours spent in Zelda doing exactly that!

Once on a world, RPG players will feel at home with Mugen Souls. You take control of Chou-Chou looking for various items whilst heading towards the story progression marker on the map. Battles aren’t random, as enemies can be seen on the field. If you sneak up on one you can do a pre-emptive  strike, but if they get to you first you’ll start the battle at a disadvantage.

It’s during the battles where things take a confusing turn. The basic mechanics are fine. You can move each party member anywhere within a set distance to set up for an attack. Every character has your bog-standard normal attack, as well as the ability to link up with others for a flashier, more powerful combo.

Then there’s the ‘Blast Off’ ability. Blast Off comes into effect when a special ability has been selected, and can be used to hit enemies extra hard and bounce them off the walls of the battle arena, or into other enemies (who in turn may get staggered and miss a turn). This gives you more points at the end of every fight.

The mechanic I struggled with the most though is ‘Moe Kill’. As an Undisputed God, Chou-Chou has the power to turn others into her Peons. These are useful little beings that will do Chou-Chou’s bidding so it’s wise to try and get as many as possible, and this requires you use Moe Kill.

Every enemy has a mood and an affinity, and to Moe Kill them you must pick three phrases you think matches the mood of the enemy. Done correctly the enemy will turn into a Peon, or an item, but if you mess up too much the enemy will enter Fever mode and deal out more damaging, whilst taking less.