Review for Children of Zodiarcs. Game for PC, Mac and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 18/07/2017
The collective Square-Enix and crowdfunding are giving a big hand to developers, old and new, determined to focus their efforts on titles far from the triple AAA required by publishers. This is the case with Children of Zodiarcs, a strategic role-playing game financed through Kickstarter well beyond the initial expectations of the developers. This is because tactical RPGs have an ever-growing array of admirers, and not just on PC.
Having said that, we must consider that behind Children of Zodiarcs, in the young team Utopia cardboard, we have names that come from massive and noble productions. This explains why, despite being the first title they developed, we can see an exemplary production that manages, while looking to the past, to be really fresh and well packaged. Apparently Children of Zodiarc does not shine for originality but, starting from the plot, he manages to create a qualitative depth that will be difficult to ignore.
Misery and Nobility
The realm of Lumus is split in two: the nobility, protected by the city guard, thrives in the capital while in the slums poverty and hunger corrupt everything and everyone, even children. To survive in the poorest areas you need to join forces and watch each other's backs and that's what Family members do. It is a criminal organization run by Zirchoff, a charismatic outlaw, leader but also father to many orphans in the city.
However, the story of Children of Zodiarcs will not only follow the exploits of Zirchoff but will focus on an orphan that, driven by an atavistic hatred, will make its way from the slums to the upper echelons, driven by the thirst for wealth and above all for revenge.
As Nahmi we will have to face several challenges to get our hands on a precious relic with the promise of massive wealth that can change the lives of many slum outcasts. The story of Children of Zodiarcs perhaps has an unoriginal starting point but, after the first hours of play, it flows into a deeper and more interesting narrative plot. Discovering the mysteries of Zodiarcs technology, the past of the characters and the outcome of our assault on the heights of the nobility will in fact fill the picture of a profound and, in some ways epic, adventurous story.
Cards, dice and ... weapons
The structure of Children of Zodiarcs is very classic, with basic menus and a very simple character management system. In fact, it will not be possible to customize weapons and armor of our heroes nor to choose skills. However, we are not faced with a too simplified title, suitable only for newbies and casual gamers: on the contrary, in Children of Zodiarcs, thanks to the help of dice and cards at our disposal, we will be able to balance the characters to our liking.
The actions of the characters will be marked by the use of cards and by the modifiers made by the roll of the dice. In this sense, while living with the strong random dose brought by the throwing of the dice, we will not only be able to choose the type and number of cards to be included in our deck but also which modifiers to associate with the dice in our possession.
Each character will have a series of standard, ranged or close-range physical attacks on their side depending on their weapon, spells, curses and healing abilities. Of course, some characters will tend, given their characteristics, for a more offensive approach than a supporting role.
Apart from the main skills of each card it will be possible, through a lucky roll of the dice, to activate secondary actions, modifiers, card draws, heals and so on. You can also incur negative effects, especially if the enemies will go to curse our heroes through special spells.
As for growth, it must be said that the progression of the characters is very linear and rather fast with a standard of one hundred experience points required to upgrade to any level. The number of experience points will be established by the various actions we will take on our turn and, precisely for this reason, it won't be very difficult to level up our heroes.
The passage of level will involve, in addition to an automatic increase in the characteristics of our characters, the improvement of the cards and dice in our possession. Basically the skill system is completely replaced by the card system which will compose, also in this case automatically, our skill tree from which we can fortunately draw freely.
Children of Final Fantasy Tactics
With the work of Cardboard Utopia we are not faced with a prodigy of technique but details, textures and effects guarantee a good result even on somewhat dated machines. The style of the characters is very reminiscent of historical productions such as Final Fantasy Tactics so dear to fans of strategy RPGs on consoles. Chromatic choices and general design of the levels have succeeded but we cannot fail to notice a little variety of the environments.
In fact we will go to move from the slums to the upper areas of the kingdom without being able to leave the boundaries delimited by the tracks of history and this is perhaps the major flaw of the title, but acceptable in relation to the well-structured plot.
Children of Zodiarcs does not have a great longevity if played exclusively following the main storyline. Fortunately, the guys of Cardboard Utopia have seen fit to include, in addition to some secondary missions, a good number of skirmish maps and an interesting elite arena to test the skills of the players. Thanks to the optional battles, the general longevity of the title easily guarantees between twenty and thirty hours of play.
It is almost obligatory to positively mention the excellent translation work done on the title. The Spanish language, as well as others, was guaranteed by an achievement unlocked during the Kickstarter campaign and will also allow those who do not master English to appreciate the nuances of the plot and its characters.
Commendable quality of effects and above all the amazing soundtrack: some songs from Children of Zodiarcs do justice to the epic heralded by some phases of the game and have nothing to envy to much more noble productions.
The first work of Cardboard Utopia is not without defects, especially for a little freedom of movement dictated by the rigid tracks of the main plot. Despite this, we can breathe a sigh of relief: Children of Zodiarcs is fun, immediate and passionate thanks to its well-thought-out plot. Essential and clear game menus, pleasant graphics and character designs and, finally, a sound sector topped with first choice effects and songs make Children of Zodiarcs a really well packaged title able to satisfy old and new fans of the genre.
► Children of Zodiarcs is an RPG type game developed by Cardboard Utopia for PC, Mac and PlayStation 4, the video game was released on 18/07/2017
