Phillip Vaughan

Short Story: Ikenfell is a must play RPG with amazing music (LOVE aivi & surasshu), wonderful characters, great gameplay, surprising difficulty (that can be modified), and a contemporary story. I picked up Ikenfell if only because the soundtrack was largely composed by aivi & Surrashu (notably the masterminds behind the soundscape of Steven Universe) with additional tracks by Sabrielle Augustin, three composers who I've been following since I stumbled upon the A'deo Chronicle compilation. The music is an absolutely wonderous blend of piano led instrumentation and chiptune glory. I've not head a more perfect soundtrack to a game. The characters are all delightfully fleshed-out and complex. I love how the majority of the characters are LGBTQ+ without disparaging non-LGBTQ identities or having their identities being their sole character traits. Others may find the number of LGBTQ+ characters ham-fisted, but the reality is that LGBTQ+ people do happen to find and form friendships with other LGBTQ+ people AND there has been a surprising lack of LGBTQ+ characters in other works, so it's refreshing to see this change. All of the characters have distinct personalities, flaws, and over the course of the game, grow into better people. The gameplay is nice, borrowing timing mechanics from games like Paper Mario to keep players engaged. There is the ability to change the timing (Manual, Semi-Automatic, and Automatic) which allows one to adapt the game to one's personal skill level. I thought I could handle Manual, but I quickly switched to Automatic during my first playthrough to focus on the story. I'm currently on my second playthrough on Semi-Automatic, and am getting much better with the timings. You can even turn on the ability to automatically win any battle if you truly want to experience the story on its own. There is a bit of difference between regular enemies and bosses. Overworld travel is handled greatly, and finding all of the secrets and treasures in the game is nearly as rewarding as the story itself. The story is, without spoiling anything, truly fantastic in its worldbuilding, engagement, and surprises. I have not been so engrossed in a fictional story (book, tv, movie, or video game) in quite a while. The resolution of the story is truly heart-warming, and I immediately started a second playthrough after finishing the first to better understand how everything unfolds with the advantage of foresight. Definitely pick up this game. You will not regret it.