It's truly heartbreaking. A Popolocrois game sucks.
A few months ago, I dove into something new, unknown, and wonderful. I learned of the Popolocrois Monogatari franchise! I instantly fell in love and wanted more. Unfortunately, I couldn't get more at the time. But it actually ended up being the perfect time. About three months ago, unknown to me, a new translation team finished their work on something. The second game of the franchise was brought to the English world! PoPoRoGue's translation was released on ROMHacking.net. I finished up Emerald Dragon, but did not rush, and quickly went into the pre/sequel to my new obsession. Oh, boy...
Let's start with the good!
It's a Popolocrois game! It looks, sounds, and (mostly) plays like what we know. Pietro is in charge, he swings his sword and learns wind and lightning stuffs on a grid, and he has to save his family. The graphics are the same, and the soundtrack would fit right in on other games. The castle and town themes are even the same for that perfect continuation.
Buuuuuttt... Now it's a rogue like, sorta, game. Dungeons aren't open now, and they're long hallways that lead to rooms of varying sizes. Mobs, treasures, and interactables are scattered around, appearing in a random fashion. They're usually locked in place, but the rooms around them shift, and the passages can get loopy. It's kinda not fun. Avoiding enemies is difficult, and traveling through old areas is tedious. Monsters want you to kill them, but early game mobs aren't worth it in the late game. The load times are faster than the actual battles, and you only gain three exp. Is it worth backtracking for the new areas that just opened up? Eventually, I said no and just finished the game, or didn't bring the needed character to their unique stuffs.
It also feels different than the other games because the fun characters we've met aren't here. Narcia can't use magic, Gami is re-re-re-building an empire, and White Knight is MIA. They're replaced by mercenaries. These mercs are irrelevant and have no obvious relation to the plot. Their initial meeting showcases some personality, as do a few skippable scenes when using their services, but they don't remark on the plot and aren't even shown during the story. They're just bodies. Boring and charmless. But they do play differently from each other, but I'm not sure how large the differences are.
The plot is a slow developing one. Pietro's dad, King Paulo, runs away. This is in response to the town and castle being teleported to another dimension. Several soldiers are sent to find the king, but they're also lost. Everyone is scared, so it's up to Pietro to save them. Along the way, the prince finds the soldiers before finding Paulo. Pietro also discovers the cause of this catastrophe and saves the world! Nothing really happens, though. There's stuff in the few towns you travel across, but the dungeons are just walls to block you, outside of five, where the bosses are. Ultimately, it wraps up nicely, and I liked it, but it was a grind to get there.
Dungeons are long, taking me over an hour to get through. So there's a lot of nothing happening. It's a very gameplay heavy game. So if you love the loop, none of my critiques will affect you.
But the dungeons are worth backtracking, though. As you progress, purple walls open up, revealing deeper paths, stronger mobs, and greater treasure. Gear, spells, and skills are all there. The rewards are flashy, unique, and better than anything you'll buy. And you can see your new friends show off. Again, if that's your loop, enjoy the rogue lite/like. Personality, I hated it.
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Plot: fine. Pietro is as cool as ever, but the secondary characters feel less than tertiary. Villains are just good enough. 7/10
Gameplay: not my thing. Repetitive, tedious, and unfulfilling, unless you're into soft rogue likes. 7/10
Sound: PoPoLo! You've heard one, you've heard them all. 10/10
Art: see above. All dungeons are just palette swaps, and mob variety seems worse than in other games. 8/10
Charm: bummer. The world fits the franchise, and there are enough NPCs to get full points. I liked the cute signposts throughout the dungeons to aid in world building. And exploration, while boring, can be rewarding. Ultimately, I don't want to replay this, and all the negatives make the game last too long. 6/10
As expected, it's a tedious game. -5
Ya know what PoPoRoGue needs? Fast travel. You can warp back to the castle at any time, and there's a spell to get you out of the dungeon, but traveling around the world is neither easy nor fun. There are shortcuts in the dungeons once you've cleared them, but even those can sometimes be a hassle to find and use. But warping between the castle and other towns would speed up the game, hide the monotony, and make the game last longer. It could have added 9 to 10 points. But it doesn't, so PoPoRoGue gets a disappointing 33/50.
I am so sad. I am so very, very sad. But maybe this isn't just a 'me' game. It probably tickles a lot of people's fancies, but not mine. I'm glad I played it for the sake of figuring out some plot points in PoPo II, but I didn't enjoy it.
