Resonance Of Fate: HD Edition dives into stores guns blazing
Also known as End Of Eternity in Japan
Resonance Of Fate is a JRPG without classes and practically devoid of stats, but dense in acrobatic gunfights and weird dieselpunk monsters to shoot with heavily modded guns. Remastered and relaunched today (and making its PC debut), Resonance Of Fate is the work of Valkyrie Profile and Star Ocean studio Tri-Ace, and flew under the radar when it first launched in 2010. Still, it was offbeat and creative enough to earn itself a cult following, and I'm personally very glad to see it back and looking stylish as ever. Below, a launch trailer featuring that scene.
While hard to understand until you've played a few rounds, 'Valkyria Chronicles as directed by John Woo' isn't too far off the mark for describing Resonance Of Fate's combat. Movement and targeting happen in real-time, but here's a tip: Walking is for chumps. A dramatic run action from point A to B not only renders you invulnerable while in transit, but lets you lock on and land multiple attacks en-route. Damage is locational and handled uniquely - SMGs deal masses of 'potential' damage, while pistols convert that potential into real hurt, breaking away armour.
I've said it before, but pay no heed to the bizarre and singular boobie bounce in the trailer below. That one scene is just as weird and out of place in the game itself as it is in the trailer. That said, it does highlight the 'anything goes' attitude of the game. The protagonists - a trio of gunslingers for hire - spend 80% of the game avoiding plot hooks and doing odd jobs. Mostly shooting stuff, but sometimes you'll be delivering Christmas gifts to orphans while dressed up as reindeer, throwing presents as if they were grenades - this game has fun with its combat engine.
I could spend another six paragraphs trying to explain the game including its puzzle-based exploration, absurd gun-modding system and the importance of high fashion as a gun for hire. Instead I'll just recommend the game. I'd be picking up the HD version, if I hadn't played the original to death already. The new version supports resolutions up to 4k (although not ultra-widescreen) and runs at much higher frame-rates. For those with VRAM and hard-drive space to spare, there's an optional 67gb high-res texture file. Considering the original game was only 7gb, that's a lot.
Resonance Of Fate: HD Edition is out now on Steam for £25.01/€31.49/$31.49.