Developed By: Compile Heart
Published By: Idea Factory International
Date of Release: January 17, 2019
When Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force released on PS4 back in 2016, it was utterly amazing. A turn based sword collection RPG of epic proportions, with the likes of veteran fantasy artist Yoshitaka Amano, the acclaimed composer Nobuo Uematsu, the writing talents of Toshiki Inoue, and the character designs of Tsunako. It was a perfect re-imagining of the original Fairy Fencer F, and remains one of Idea Factory's most solid efforts to this date. Sadly, the new version on the Nintendo Switch doesn't quite live up.
It's all still here, the sharp jaw-dropping visuals, the j-rock inspired battle tunes, the clashing sound effects and the flowing score, along with a host of excellent voice acting. The problem is the technical aspects of the port. From the opening video which stutters and crackles constantly throughout, to the opening monologue which seems compressed at 11kbps, to the battle and field themes that also seem to be improperly mastered, clipping and glitching as you go, the soundtrack has taken a serious hit. In fact the mixing is also all over the place with characters seemingly whisper quiet and then blaring loud in the same sentence. The sound effects will often come in at ear-rending levels, making playing with headphones a dangerous affair. On top of that the framerate fluctuates wildly, in the field and in battles it can dip down around 10-15fps, and that is only exacerbated in the blurry muddled handheld mode.
I can only wonder if the Switch port in fact went through any QA before release, as the previous incarnations were utterly flawless. 60fps framerates abounded all across the board, and crisp clean audio and mixing rounded out the package on both platforms. When it comes right down to it, with all the problems this port has it is very hard to recommend when you can simply buy a far superior version on both the PC and PS4. Only diehard collectors are going to want this dud of a port in their collection.
