The Alliance Alive HD Remaster is, as it says on the tin, a remaster of a turn-based RPG that appeared somewhat late in the 3DS’ life, bringing it forth to the Switch, PS4 & eventually the PC with a cleaner presentation.
Right off the bat, the intro cutscene shows you a rather peaceful sight quickly turned grim by a ray of light that divides & changes the world, setting the tone for rest of the game. You control Galil & Azura, a thousand years after the intro events within their little slice of land having all they’ve have known since birth being under control by tyrannical Beastfolk rulers. By chance, a small job & a rumor leads them to a vision of a past they’ve never known that would help them along with their fellow humans maybe seeing the sun again… for real, that place is 24/7 rain. I might make it sound tacky, but I found it a refreshing change of pace to the usual “chosen one” trope & instead, seeing characters creating their own goals naturally rather than in a forced manner. Galil & Azura are not the only characters you will play as, the rest being introduced in their chapters adding to the world-building & sharing their perspective from their side of the divide & believe me, it is vastly different for each one. After the introductions, they will eventually join up & set off in their grand world-changing adventure. All in all, while the plot isn’t going to blow your pants off, I found it interesting it enough to keep me going.
Alliance Alive is a turn-based RPG, but it is by no means the traditional stats heavy affair, it is rather simple to pick up, maybe too much so, despite one of the game’s biggest flaws being its very limited with the explanation of things. In any case, your party will be set up in a grid which depending on the positioning, will confer different bonuses like increased defenses plus increased agro or vice versa, increased healing plus decreased agro. You can change at will while in battle & at a certain point in the game, you can even create your own formations. The combat might be the most divisive aspect of the game as you will not receive traditional EXP for kills for leveling; instead, you will simply gain HP & SP somewhat randomly with fights with more difficult enemies increasing the chances & gains. Likewise, your attacks will be gained much the same way, in a somewhat random manner based on the weapon. I found the game rather on the easy side with some difficulty spikes, so I did not particularly mind this aspect of the game, but at the same time, I am not exactly eager to have this system in another game. Winning fights gives you Talent Points, which are a form of currency to buy traits such as increasing the chances of learning a new weapon skill, reducing the cost of the weapon skills, etc. When all else fails, you can use the “Ignition” skill, which is a super attack that while destroying the weapon, does do a serious amount of damage. Have no fear though, as weapons are commonly found or purchased plus after some story bits, will be automatically repaired after a little nap & free of charge. Convenient.
Visuals, kind of a big point of a remaster, are overall good. Character models look amazing & comparatively to the 3DS, textures look a whole lot better. There will be some sketchy looking textures for sure, but the artstyle helps not make it too much of an eyesore. In any case, it will look a whole lot clearer & it makes for a far better visual experience. One thing I enjoyed is where it zoom outs whenever you idled in towns, which made them look pretty beautiful & in fact, I did make a few of them my PC wallpaper.
Soundwise, off the bat, there is no voice acting of any kind which would have been nice to have on the more involved cutscenes. Both music & sound effects are serviceable. I did enjoy the echoes produced by your steps in a few rooms & the crunch of the snow in a particular area but overall nothing noteworthy outside of that.
When not in combat, you will be exploring pretty sizable lands dotted with towers belonging to various guilds. Signimancy Guild, the Library Guild, and the Blacksmith Guild among others, will provide their services serving as shops & pit stops as well as providing in-combat bonuses in an area of effect from the towers. Later in the game you will be able to increase said bonuses plus even build your own towers & recruit various NPCs to serve as guild members to further increase bonuses. This aspect while optional for the most part does add to the feeling of a world banding together for a common goal.
All in all, Alliance Alive is an enjoyable game though some aspects like the combat feeling rather braindead during common encounters & having to rely on a kind of crappy minimap for exploring might not make it everyone’s cup of tea. The story ran along at a decent pace, and the world was intriguing & likewise, the characters, though some more than others, are likable with ambitions & intrigue. Would I recommend it? Sure, thought I do suggest looking more into gameplay aspects as it is definitely a “make it or break it” aspect of the game that not everyone might enjoy.
[REVIEW COPY WAS PROVIDED]
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