Considering myself (which may be an exaggeration) a retro gamer, I was always sure that 99% of the games that come out of the gaming pipeline are slop and an attempt to make an extra bunch of money on people who are not yet tired of video game modernity. Looking at the current projects, like the extremely buggy Assassins Creed series, the endless Call of Duty, Battlefield, Battle Roayle games in general, the soulless Andromeda (which does not deserve to bear the proud name of Mass Effect) and the overly tolerant Dargon Age Inquisition, I realize with bitter regret that I am right. I turn out to be completely right in my judgments, because among the 99% that need to be put aside, the same 1% is definitely found for which you need to love the industry. Mostly, these are niche projects that are raised at the expense of the remaining money for Doshiraki developers and at the expense of bloggers who recommend these products, and sometimes these are games that can hardly be called games. But there are a couple of cases where innocent large projects that simply do not receive proper advertising fall into the abyss of unpopularity. At least in the largest country on the planet, if we talk about the topic of this monologue.
Such a large and unknown project has become a pretty good game, not similar to all others of its genre, but also different from them. Its main feature was not the special gameplay or plot, everything is quite original, but at the same time not enough to become a breakthrough. The distinctive feature was… No, it’s a little difficult to describe. It’s better to just name it and continue to dance from it. Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet.
Yes, this is a SAO game. Yes, a franchise by the fairly popular author Reki Kawahara (Reki Kawahara), consisting of light novels about games, anime about games, manga about games, sometimes porn about games, full-length film about games, includes games (!) about games. This was tacitly suggested from the first day of the release of the story about the Black Swordsman, it’s just that no one understood how and where it could be integrated so as not to upset the fans. In my opinion, it was easier to wait for the development of VR technology in order to give players, if not complete immersion involving five senses, then at least one or two – quite possible. But Namco Bandai decided not to stand on ceremony and work with what they had. Thus was born SAO: Infinity Moment on PSP; Code Register for IOS and Android; Hollow Fragment for Vita and PS4, as well as the same Fatal Bullet for XBOne, PS4 and PC. Keeping it honest: There were more games, but I’ve at least heard something about the ones listed.
As already mentioned, the topic of discussion was one of the latest games from the DIMPS studio, which is not the first time making games based on anime, and now the Namco Bandai studio has published Fatal Bullet in front of the public eye. This project is notable for the fact that there was no hype around the game, and the whole world was not expecting it. It was as if she didn’t exist. She would have passed me by if I had not been moron not by chance and a little curiosity. The day of purchase has arrived, the Japanese have received their Yen. Installation, launch, immersion in the world of Sword Art Online..
After over 60 hours, which took the passage of this game to a not very rosy ending, I managed to remember that there is a real world. I woke up not in a cold sweat, but with a blissful smile, I realized that the Japanese are really aliens superhumans. I’m not a big fan of RPGs from the Land of the Rising Sun, but after some time of analyzing the mechanics, I clearly began to understand that this is what a typical Japanese RPG looks like without being an RPG in the end. Endless farming of mobs in an attempt to knock out materials for crafting, a harsh choice of weapons with one type of damage and another, a long and persistent, but justifiable process of accumulating the level of relationships with companions. And, most importantly, this all happens in the world of Sword Art Online. From this point on, minor spoilers will begin, including for book readers and anime viewers.
The world of Sword Art Online games differs in many ways from what we saw in the books and TV series. It’s worth refreshing your memory a little to formulate that meat history that hangs on bones. In 2022 the company "Argus" releases a Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game with Full Immersion – Sword Art Online. You need to play it wearing high-tech helmets that literally transfer your consciousness into the virtual world, turning off your real body and giving control over your digital one. This game became a trap for 10,000 players, for whom death in the game meant complete death in life. You can only get out of it by beating the game completely. Without going into details, the main character is Kirigaya "Kirito" Kazuma (Kirito) – completes the game and frees all players. A-and-and, right here. At this very moment, discrepancies begin between the gaming world and everything else. A story about the deadly floating fortress of Aincrad (Aincrad) ends, but only for viewers and readers. For players (you and me), a new world opens up, Sword Art: Origins, in which they are introduced to a new set of characters-actors who were not there or almost were not in the original, and also discover new details about the old ones. Hollow Fragment begins. After the entire story, where the player controlled an already developed character, the main character of the original source, the organization “Kirito and Co."decides to conquer new horizons, which turned out to be the spaces from the in-franchise studio Zaskar. They discovered a new MMO: Gun Gale Online or GGO. The player has now become more free, since the appearance (including breast size) and the character of his avatar are described in less detail and are even customizable. From the legendary Hero of the book, the user receives an ordinary novice player. The plot has begun Fatal Bullet.
As befits a decent anime, there is a driving opening to the song “Thrill, Risk, Heartless” by performer LiSA. His player sees the pause between stages as a slightly drawn-out but detailed tutorial.
Childhood friend whose name is Nonukonlinecasinos.uk hidden behind the nickname Kureha (Kureha), invites our hero, an avid gamer, as it turns out, to play the new fashionable GGO. The “Gold Rush” update was just released there and a new cool rare drop was added. It is his main character or heroine who will have to help get. By chance, we become the owners of this drop, which turns out to be an in-game item – the android Ifinas (Artificial Financial Assistant, and in foreign countries – ArFA), acting as a partner, lover, treasurer, cans of paint, as well as a friend who periodically asks for new clothes, hairstyles, etc. Everyone around us, including Kirito and his friends, becomes kind and accommodating to us, and also praises us for our luck, offers to become related, and sends requests to be added to “Friends.”. It’s funny and stupid, but that’s how it is. We are introduced to characters who came from the old world, like Argo the Rat (she appeared in the series, but I bet you don’t know where she got her mustache from? didn’t pay attention to her), as well as with heroes that exist only in Hollow Fragment, Premier, whose character was created by Twitter users.
But the plot is the plot, and what kind of game can there be without a gameplay component?. What can you say about the gameplay?? It’s here… quite extensive. But in order.
Since the game takes place in the world of GGO, instead of the usual SAO swords, shields, axes, sabers, katanas and other medieval delights, the player is armed with elements of a special forces fighter. There are several types of weapons: Pistols, submachine guns, machine guns, rifles, gatling guns (read miniguns), shotguns, grenade launchers and, to "Be like Kirita", photon sabers, a reference to a lightsaber you know where. As well as a special type of weapon “Sword and Cannon”, which includes a pistol and, in fact, a sword. Each weapon has its own set of abilities, which includes activated skills, which can be divided into in-game “Classes”: Skills of “Forward”, “Destroyer”, “Tank”, “Sniper”, “Support” and “Engineer”. For each class it is advisable to use certain trunks, but there is the possibility of an alternative, adding flexibility to the character. So, a Sniper can carry his rifle to cover the enemy with fire from a distance using the “Combat Stance” ability, but if it is necessary to get closer, then, using the “Eagle Eye Beacon”, available only to rifles, you can shoot to mark the enemy’s weak point, switch to something simpler, like a machine gun or a pistol, and join the heat of battle by pouring concentrated fire on the marked area, simultaneously using reinforcing charges on allies and weakening enemies. There are a lot of skills, and you won’t be able to use them all, so by combining sets of abilities, devices (Similar to skills, in the form of grenades, first aid kits, mines and more), and weapons, you can create a unique fighter with unique battle tactics. And dividing damage by ballistic (Weak against armor, strong against weak points), optic (neither fish nor fowl, damage is not much higher on weak points, but not so reduced by enemy armor), Explosive (does not require..) and neighbor (…explanations, so?) helps to diversify the battle plan and equipment selection.
This is what a friend list looks like. The icon to the left of the level indicates the role of a possible partner: nut – engineer, shield – tank, and so on. In total you can walk in the company of three heroes.
Speaking of fight. Talking about dividing enemies into types is long and tedious. They exist, as well as damage bonuses against each type. But the division into enemy classes is more interesting. There are four of them in total. A simple enemy is cannon fodder, which serves for farming craft items, as well as slow but sure pumping. Second – unique enemies. They may resemble regular enemies, but differ in appearance, such as texture, size, and always have a higher level and reserve of health points. A kind of mini-bosses, one might say. Third – the bosses themselves. Similarly, they resemble ordinary enemies, only, quite often, just with a different enemy model, for example, armor is attached to horned monsters, and spider robots get a minigun and a huge cannon. Sometimes there are unique bosses, but they are not always unique, but only until you meet the next similar boss. But what can I say, this is an RPG, the enemies here can be similar to each other. And the last class is other players. In fact, they are also mobs, but their strength always depends on yours and they use more familiar weapons, generally trying to be like other players. Note: they are not attacked by other monsters, which seems a little strange.
The passage of locations occurs naturally: You come, look for a room with the desired boss, kill him, move on, repeat. Despite all the apparent monotony of the actions, it is not annoying and even seems interesting. For almost three days I always managed to entertain myself with something during the execution of the “Sixes” and banal pumping. This was greatly facilitated by the variety of companions that you can take with you and each of which is unique, the above-mentioned possibilities in creating a unique fighter, as well as the not unique, but rather interesting mechanics of the grappling hook, which allows you to fly up to a ledge, move quickly or simply knock a flying enemy to the ground.
The game was originally intended for consoles, but the port came out pretty good. From the previous owner, the game received a 3rd person view and an auto-aim system, which makes life much easier, because the enemies here are not always dummies waiting to die. Insects, as befits insects, fly quickly and sting painfully. Enemy players throw grenades, shoot back, use buffs and debuffs, and when an ally dies, they try to resurrect him. Due to the fast dynamics on both sides of the shootout, the action turns out to be quite vigorous, and the console crutch becomes a real salvation and even a small cheat for computer users. But the story explains that we’re too good for this game.
We also paid attention to customization. You can attach accessories to your avatar or Ifinas, which can give bonuses such as an increase in characteristics or additional resistance, or change clothes, which, apart from the visual component, do not give anything. About what’s yoursa can of paint Android can paint something for you, it was also mentioned.
And of course, this is a game about anime, and even more so about SAO. And what would an anime game be without the opportunity to be a little bit of a dating simulator?. If you often go leveling up with one of the available companions, you can improve your relationship with him, as a result of which the option opens to talk with a member of the squad, getting to know him better, and, if the time has come, an anime-style image opens. And having reached a higher level, you can invite your companion on a date.
If you suddenly get bored with the monotonous clearing of locations (Are you sick??), that is, the opportunity to complete special missions: PvE – miniboss hunting; PvP – although there is no smell of PvP in this very sense, the point is that the player once receives an order to kill a very specific enemy-player-mob with certain parameters; Hunting – searching for chests in locations; Shooting – kill a certain number of certain monsters. For the first and last modes you can get craft materials, and the ability to take them many times allows you to farm these materials quickly and without much difficulty. Others unlock unique items, such as a blueprint for clothes that Asuna can sew for the hero, or one of the rare materials that can be used to improve weapons in Lisbeth’s workshop. And if during a battle you suddenly get an incomprehensible thing with questions instead of indicators, then Egil will help the player identify the object.
Kirito’s headquarters, where all the important comrades are located.
There are also story missions for which you can get some currency, as well as experience for the level and bits of history. Quite little is said about the course of history, and the plot and passage itself is the topic of a separate article. In a few words: the desire to gain level and skills as quickly as possible for the dungeon of a fresh update results in another survival game. In my meager subjective opinion, it’s clearly not bad and, rather, even good. It resembles the original anime and not only in name. The ease of passage and the attitude of other characters towards me made me feel like I was in the place of that same Biter (Beater – beta-tester+cheater), which the Black Swordsman was at one time, but almost without experiencing the negative consequences of this. And once even play for Kirito in his personal short company, which is a tournament. History wobbles from side to side, sometimes sliding, sometimes rising. The characters, despite their dryness and flatness, just like in the series, resemble real anime heroes, only it is not the typical Haremnik hero who interacts with them, but your Avatar. There is a weak, but opportunity to feel that you are on the other side of the screen. It really feels like you’re not just watching, but playing anime on your computer screen. Players who want to feel the consequences of their decisions have their moments – the game makes it possible to understand that you mean something and your actions have an impact. For example, by taking the necessary companions into your team, you can start their dialogue, where, for example, Kureha is happy to be friends with Sinon, Egil discusses Klein’s passion for girls, and others. Or, if you take (or don’t take) friends with you to battle, then the dialogues and scenes will change as a result. Not the level of interactive cinema from TellTale, but also good, although with variability in dialogues, as practice shows, there are obvious problems to the point that we are given a choice from two identical options, but said differently.
It’s 2018 (at the time of release), where would we be without multiplayer and co-op?. No, here you cannot go with a friend to clear locations from monsters. But! There are several modes that replace this. First: PvE: a group of four players together with their Ifinas (that is, 8 persons) unite and the whole crowd together launch a raid on the boss. PvP, again, not what you think. PvP is divided into Hero Battles and Character Battles. The first is the opportunity to play as one of the companions who has reached the maximum level using pre-prepared weapons and skills. The second is to play the character you are currently controlling. But they have one thing in common. The main goal is not to kill each other, but to inflict more damage on the boss on the map than the opponent. Yes, you can interfere there, for example by shooting your opponent from time to time, thereby taking him out of the game, but still this is not the PvP that everyone expected. But, to be honest, updates were released for the game that added new modes, including Deathmatch, again playing not as your character, but as the “Hero”.
The world of Gun Gale Online, which is shown in the game, is not very, but noticeably different from the one that was previously known. The developers did not forget about the mentioned details, such as the fact that you should not invest all the stat points in speed, or the influence of trace lines, but at the same time they introduced notes of something else that was not discussed. And among other things, the creators are not shy about cashing in on the fans of the series. The main characters of SAO Alternative: GGO, a spin-off that few people know about, such as Fukajiro, are available as companions (Fukaziroh), LLENN (LLENN), Pitohuth (Pitohui) and M(M), and others will open in the DLC, for example, the famous Musketeer X from afar (Musketeer X), who was mistaken for Deathgun (the antagonist of the series) in the Golden Bullet tournament, or Alice herself from the “Alicization” arc. Nevertheless, the game looks quite original and interesting. You can spend a long time reproaching its bad aspects, such as the weak development of the shooter component or the complete uselessness of swords, you can spend a long time praising its positive features, because Premier, Yui and Ifinas (they are all not real people within the universe) look and behave very, very nice, and Yuki Konno is alive, healthy and, oddly enough, looks like herself.
Fatal Bullet is a wonderful anime experience in the game and one of my first Japanese games, because I didn’t master Dark Souls. I’m not a big connoisseur of shooters or slashers, but prefer games with a narrative focus, but if there are good mechanics, and even more than one, then the game becomes interesting even for me without turning the difficulty to minimum, enjoying the plot and process. And even grinding and farming in the game feels easy and simple, as if it were part of the narrative. Everything is good in this game. Not perfect or excellent, but simply commendable. Positive and negative moments leave the impression that the game was made, if not with soul, then at least by the hands of someone who knows how and loves to make games, and not make money from it. I am glad that there is not a wonderful, but, again, a good translation, albeit with Japanese voice acting. Yes, many people hate SAO, although in reality the devil is not as terrible as he is painted, and a story that was not to anyone’s taste is retold in a new way in the games of the franchise. There’s no need to criticize Sword Masters Online, there’s no arguing about tastes, but it’s worth trying to play one of the available games. The game is not for everyone, that’s true. However. If you love anime and, in particular, love Sword Art Online, then you won’t be bored.