Game Review: Fragile Dreams – Farewell Ruins of the Moon

Since I got my Nintendo Wii, there haven’t been too many games for it that I was greatly fond of. Sure, it has fun & innovative titles like Mario Party 8 and Super Mario Galaxy, but I needed something with a little more substance. The problem for me was that the Wii lacked a good RPG. A few weeks ago, I discovered the solution to this problem: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon.

Fragile is a very immersive RPG experience from the get go. With no backstory provided, you’re immediately taken into a world that has been mostly destroyed. You play as Seto, a young boy who has been living most of his life with an old man. Time takes its toll on the old man, and he dies an unfortunate death. His dying wish is for Seto to explore the outside and find any others who may have survived from whatever catastrophe destroyed the world.

Seto steps outside into the world and runs into a girl singing a mysterious tune. After a brief encounter, the girl quickly takes her leave. Who is the mysterious girl? Is she human, or even alive? What destroyed the world? Is Seto really alone? These are the questions you will constantly be asking as you explore the world of Fragile. As the story progresses, more and more gets revealed, and at a fair pace. In the end, while the story isn’t spectacular, it’s definitely what motivated me to devote more than 40 hours of my time into this game.

As I mentioned earlier, playing this game is a very immersive experience. The majority of the game is spent in near complete darkness, and all you have is a flashlight to aid your sight. The flashlight is controlled by pointing the Wii Remote in the direction you want the light to shine. This, along with the many spectacular sights and sounds of the game, creates the feeling like you’re actually inside the game, exploring the devastated world, feeling alone and lost. It’s depressing, but this is what makes Fragile such a great game — because you can actually feel what Seto feels.

Fragile is a horror RPG, and not recommended for the weak-willed. There’s no graphic violence or blood & gore, but ghosts and creatures will pop up in front of you without notice. The game’s ability to “take you in,” as I described in the previous paragraph, also adds to the horror factor. It’s not the scariest thing I’ve experienced, but I did get startled a few times while playing.

The gameplay is fairly basic, and very similar to that of many action RPGs. Battles all take place in the field; there is no separate “battle screen.” There are no menus or gauges; just press a button, and swing your weapon. The classic HP and experience points system are present, though the difficulty is paced well enough that there is never a need for level grinding. As you progress through the game, you’ll obtain various items and weapons. Weapons will break after a certain time, so it’s important to always have a backup weapon in your inventory.

The inventory system is similar to that of Diablo, for those familiar. You have a limited amount of “on-hand” space, which is where you keep the items you’ll need immediate access to (such as your weapon, flashlight, and some healing items). Items can vary in how much space they take up, and some of them take up a large amount of space. This can be a bit of an annoyance at first, but you do eventually get more “on-hand” space later on in the game. At save points, you’re free to switch items in and out of your “briefcase,” which has unlimited space.

In addition to switching our your inventory items and saving your progress, there are a few other things you can do at save points, which are represented by bonfires in this game. When you go to rest at a bonfire, a mysterious shopkeeper may show up, giving you an opportunity to purchase healing items and replace broken weapons by buying new ones. As you explore the world, you will come across rare materials that can be sold for a sum of yen, which you use to purchase these items. Some items you find will be a special memento, and when you bring it to a bonfire, you can listen to a memory pertaining to that object. These memories don’t have any direct relevance to the main story of the game, but they are good stories nonetheless; some are even deeply emotional.

Although it is a very simple game in terms of gameplay, Fragile shines with its great story and its excellent ability to immerse you into its world. It’s not too long either, which makes it totally worth the time you’d put into it. If you’re looking for a suspenseful, thought-provoking, and sometimes tear-jerking game to spend your weekend with, Fragile is a gem you do not want to miss out on.

GAMEPLAY
Its basic and simple gameplay makes Fragile easy to get into

AESTHETICS
Breathtaking — The Wii’s graphic capabilities are far from perfect, but this game does a great job despite that

OVERALL
A very entertaining experience, well worth one’s time and money