Chained Echoes (Switch)
Developed By: Matthias Linda
Published By: Deck 13
Date of Release: December 8, 2022
Price: $24.99
It's been a very long time since I played a good pixel-art JRPG that didn't just turn out to be a shovelware RPGMaker game. There are so many games on the market with sloppy writing, terrible production values, and stolen assets just slapped together haphazardly and shoved onto a storefront to make a quick buck. That is thankfully NOT what Chained Echoes is. Chained echoes is a one-man effort from German developer Matthias Linda, who drew inspiration from all the games he grew up playing, and his passion shows in every facet of the game.
From the lushly detailed pixel art backdrops that make up the sprawling overworld and dank dungeons and the finely crafted sprites used for the characters, badass mechas, and enemies the visuals have a decidedly SNES-era flair to them. The majestic soundtrack also invokes fond memories of Final Fantasy, Chrono Trigger, and the like, with brilliant nostalgic flourishes that really hit home. The production values by far exceed the typical indie offering and feel like something that would have come out on a chunky grey cartridge at retail back in the day for sure.
Chained Echoes also does not hold back with the story, taking nearly 30 hours to get through without showing any hint of getting stale along the way. The turn-based tag-team tactical battle system is also well done, and eases players into the strategic nature of the game quite well, and while brutal at times it doesn't punish newcomers if they fail, offering a chance to retry if the party is wiped. All in all Chained Echoes is like a time machine taking you back to the glory days of the SNES, before JRPGs became so mired down in AAA movie studio type production values. At it's price I'd recommend it to any JRPG fan out there.
