Sword Art Online Re Hollow Fragment More Like a Dating Sim

Observe out what happens afterward the 75th floor

Despite how you may feel about the polarizing 2nd arc of Sword Art Online, fans by and large have nothing only good things to say about the commencement arc. Information technology managed to boom a lot of aspects of MMO culture, along with marrying the attribute of a virtual game of decease into an interesting narrative full of mostly likable characters.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment manages to re-tell the end of the arc in videogame class, and even though it isn't the best RPG on the Vita, information technology'south pretty much a must-have for hardcore fans of the serial who always wondered what lurked beyond the 75th floor of SAO.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment (Vita)
Developer: Bandai Namco Games
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Release: April 23, 2014 (Nihon) / August 19, 2014 (NA)
MSRP: $39.99

So what is Hollow Fragment? Well, in Nippon, there wasSword Art Online: Infinity Moment on PSP. Hollow Fragment is basically a semi-sequel that brings the upgrades the original visuals and adds more than content, such as a new storyline and zone called "The Hollow Area". In other words, you're going to be up to speed if this is your commencement SAO game.

Hollow Fragment'southward story takes identify in the first half the Sword Fine art Online anime's plot, but changes the narrative drastically from a key point. In the series, the initial story ends at the 75th level of "Aincrad", the 100-floor main dungeon, later the players defeat the "Skull Reaper" boss, solve the "mystery" of SAO, and move on to a new arc. In Hollow Fragment, players must continue all the way to the 100th floor to truly detect out what happened.

If y'all aren't a fan of the show, the game does a decent job of catching you up to what's happening in the globe: Players are locked into a virtual reality MMO, with their bodies essentially comatose in real life until they "beat" the game. But you really need to buy into the characters to relish yourself. Quite simply, the story immediately takes a backseat in favor of grinding and combat as you work your fashion towards clearing the game, and private interactions are paramount.

There's going to be fanservice, tropes, and cutesy conversations just like the bear witness. In short, you aren't going to like everyone, and since the game packs in 100 companions (as well as characters never seen earlier on the showtime two arcs of the evidence like Sinon), you have a lot to sift through. Having said that, the Japanese voices are great, I generally similar the characters at paw, and the hand-fatigued models during conversations look directly out of the anime — on the Vita'south OLED, information technology looks incredibly crisp. If you lot notice yourself loathing a certain conversation though you can use the handy fast-forward push button (L).

On your journey from floors 76-100, yous'll accept access to ane town — Arc Sofia. I like the "one city" concept in theory, but the hub itself isn't all that vibrant visually, or lively in terms of gameplay. Since the game is technically offline, you'll have to find NPCs by fashion of your "friends list," and rails them downwards. Y'all besides take the pick to enter the "Hollow" anytime you want, and complete a separate storyline with newcomerPhilia — which definitely breaks upwards the monotony of Arc Sofia since the Hollow is more than of an open world compared to Aincrad's floor-by-flooring structured arroyo.

You take the option of just playing every bit the main character of the anime (Kirito), or changing your avatar'south name and physical appearance using a limited character creation screen. To be articulate though, you'll all the same be taking the place of Kirito'south graphic symbol as he was in that part of the show — level 100 and all, then yous'll have to do a bit of digging into his skillset to play catch-up.

The game's combat is what I'd call "sufficient, but fun." It's mostly a slasher, where you occasionally time attacks in a quasi-rhythmic mode, dodge when enemies are telegraphing their attacks, and hit a few "combo" attacks with companions. It'southward kind of like Phantasy Star Online's combat but more than forgiving, and with a few more abilities to juggle.

The combo attacks are actually enjoyable, as your partner may propose certain tactics to y'all from time to time, granting an attack bonus if you lot fulfill their asking. Likewise, you tin can requite them words of encouragement with the d-pad and raise your stats temporarily. Information technology'southward all very simplistic, merely the bright visual style and set on animations assist add to the attraction of beating upwards tons of enemies. It's too very true to the testify, even calculation nuances like the "final hit bonus," where you're granting a bonus item if y'all finish off a boss.

Keep in mind though that Hollow Fragment does have a superficial amount of depth. Although your characters do have admission to a number of abilities and strategies, about enemies and bosses can be whittled down by sheer force of will with the aforementioned tactics. There is a level of customization to help eternalize your fun though. Although Kirito's specialty is dual wielding, there are ten weapon types in all that you tin can switch to at will to suit your playstyle.

Only proceed in listen that the game doesn't actually get that difficult until level 85. Most of your enjoyment is going to be via role play, where you buy into the game'due south world, characters, and lore. Over again, it helps if you come into the game liking the evidence so that yous can enjoy the ride. You'll demand that excitement if you want to make it through the roughly fifty+ hour tale, because at that place's lots of grinding involved as y'all complete typical MMO kill quests to unlock floors and make your fashion to the end.

Things like dating minigames, conversations betwixt NPCs, and other sideshows ultimately help distract y'all from the dungeon-itch nature of the game. There'southward also a New Game+ to continue you going — then if you're looking for a lengthy RPG, this is it. Sadly, the simply multiplayer is a pocket-size advertising-hoc (local) mode where you can take a chance with friends in a express fashion.

Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is ultimately a base-level RPG, but if you enjoy the testify it's definitely worth checking out. It'south very close tonally to the anime and really feels like a natural extension of the show inside and out. Just don't expect a whole lot in terms of gameplay diverseness.

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Source: https://www.destructoid.com/reviews/review-sword-art-online-hollow-fragment/

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