Kotaku: The Far Cry 3 Guys Are Making A JRPG, And It's Gorgeous
IGN: Why We Love Ubisoft's Child of Light
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And… wait… did I just type "JRPG" and "Far Cry 3" in the same sentence? Yep, I did. This game is the work of Far Cry 3 creative director Patrick Plourde and lead writer Jeffrey Yohalem, who decided after finishing last year's excellent open-world shooter that it was time to do something different. Specifically, a coming-of-age fairy tale starring an Austrian Duke's young daughter, set in 1895. What?
The game—which is coming next year to next-gen/current-gen consoles and PC— is very much a turn-based JRPG. And no, there's not a red-clad pirate, drug sequence or exploding barrel in sight. It's a side-scrolling game, which makes for an interesting mix—it's one part platforming and puzzle solving, and one part turn-based combat. Oh, and there's minimal voice acting, and all of the dialogue is written in rhyming stanzas. (Nice!) It'll be chunky, for a downloadable game—Plourde said the story will clock in at 10-15 hours, with plenty of extras for new-game plus and other challenges.
Seriously, I'm not quite sure where to begin with Child of Light. On paper, it seems to have everything that I want from a game in 2013 -- a vibrant and imaginative world filled with interesting characters, a script carefully written in the form of poetry, and a battle system that draws from both Final Fantasy's classic ATB and Grandia II's underappreciated action-bar mechanics.
I agree, the multiplayer was a definite highlight, which is something I never expected to say about a game with turn-based battles. You’ll be able to play Child of Light on your own, but playing co-op is especially cool. One player is Aurora (the young girl who’s the main character) while the other is Igniculus, a glowing blue orb. Each one is completely different. Aurora plays like a standard JRPG character, choosing from physical attacks or magic and targeting single or multiple enemies. Igniculus, though, can blind enemies to slow down their progress on the battle timeline (letting Aurora attack multiple times) or interrupt them in the middle of an attack. He can also collect HP and MP orbs from around the battle, or heal Aurora (and other party members) when health gets low.
In practice it’s really tactical, and it’s actually rewarding for both players. The nice part is that the differences between Igniculus and Aurora extend to exploration too, so both players always have something to do.
In practice it’s really tactical, and it’s actually rewarding for both players. The nice part is that the differences between Igniculus and Aurora extend to exploration too, so both players always have something to do.
That’s not to diminish the single-player experience, though. We played through co-op in our demo, but there’s plenty to love even if you’re on your own. Child of Light has a surprisingly deep upgrade system. As you go, you’ll find Oculi (gemstones, essentially) that you can equip in three different slots including your sword and shield. They’re ranked the way real jewelers rank stones (from rough to polished) and can give you buffs like increased damage, movement speed, etc. On top of that, you have a deep skill tree for each character in your party that Ubisoft told us will take more than one playthrough to complete.
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