A bigger release by EastAsiaSoft, Sword & Fairy Together Forever is a Chinese action RPG that is mostly linear, straightforward, but still playable. Although the US has received limited releases in this long running series, it stands on it own.
Starting the quest as a long sworded badass that can jump through the air with ease and strike down any amount of enemies in his path, Together Forever initially seems to take some inspiration from Final Fantasy VII’s Cloud. However, the plot is heavily seeded in Chinese mythology, so much so, that all dialog is translated to English via subtitles. There is no English voice over, which is totally fine, but some of the text has been translated into choppy Engrish.
The quest takes place in a large open world but the overall exploration, plot points, and side missions are typical and play it safe. There are secrets off the beaten path and leveling mechanics that pad out the gameplay but the amount of cutscenes are surprising. In fact, there are so many cutscenes you’ll think you are a playing a Metal Gear game at times or watching a movie. There is no questioning their quality, as most video segments are composed of high action, dynamic camera angles, and overall coolness factor, there are just a lot of them.
Combat is also fine and a by-the-numbers action RPG experience you have played many times before. There is your standard light and heavy attacks, some special moves, and of course the dodge/parry system. It all works well and there is nothing wrong with it but can feel a bit of been-there-done-that as the challenge never really pushes the player as button mashing can defeat most enemies. There are plenty of things to kill and large environments to navigate but most enemies are easily defeated and are mostly there to give you something to do as you walk from here to there. Each playable character fights differently and there is plenty to unlock and upgrade so there is always a tasty carrot dangling right in the player’s face.
The cutscenes are rather entertaining and the collective world looks pretty but low-res textures and jank appear as soon as you stop to closely look at your surroundings. The pop-in can be bad and load times are rather lengthy. There have been a few patches before and after the game’s official release so it seems the devs are working hard to make the experience a little more fluid.
I am glad this series is becoming more relevant here in the States and will be interesting to see what the future holds. For now, Sword & Fairy is a straightforward action RPG that doesn’t really do anything wrong but doesn’t stand out; it is an experience you have played plenty of times before but can easily act like gaming comfort food.
SCORE: 7/10
Also Play: the Trials of Mana remake (PS4 or Switch
Don’t Forget About: the Final Fantasy VII remake
Wait For It: the God of War sequel
By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com
Twitter: @ZackGaz
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