The lights are on
What new ideas the game brings to the table and how well old ideas are presented.
How good a game looks, taking into account any flaws such as bad collision or pop-up.
Does the game’s music and sound effects get you involved or do they make you resolve to always play with the volume down?
Basically, the controller to human interface. The less you think about the hunk of plastic in your hands, the better the playability.
Flat out, just how fun the game is to play. The most important factor in rating a game.
fought hard for the localization of Pandora's Tower during Operation Rainfall. It seemed like the least likely
title to grace North American shores, due to its lack of big names compared to
Xenoblade Chronicles' Monolith Soft and The Last Story's Mistwalker. However,
RPG fans were still intrigued; Pandora's Tower has plenty of interesting
concepts, but it feels more like a rough cut than a polished game.
backbone of Pandora's Tower is the relationship between the two main
characters, Aeron and Elena. Elena contracts a curse that causes her to turn
into a monster. Her transformations are ghastly: Beastly red and purple flesh
breaks through Elena's pristine skin, and her desperate cries echo as she writhes
in pain. The gruesome depictions work well as incentive for you to step into
towers filled with beasts and puzzles as her companion Aeron. Elena's cure
rests on Aeron's shoulders: he must defeat the masters at the towers' peaks,
then feed her their flesh.
your travels, you can visit Elena to chat and give her gifts, building your
relationship. Though it displays the personality of the girl you're saving,
this element feels like a missed opportunity. The conversations are one-sided,
as Aeron doesn't have much depth outside of the "man saving a woman" angle.
Elena isn't much better; after all my time chatting with her, I never felt
attached to her as a character. Additionally, for all of the importance placed
on your interactions with Elena (reflected in different endings), I wish the
relationship development went beyond gifts, poorly-placed flashbacks, and
generic conversations. Don't expect branching dialogue choices where you have a
huge influence in the how the relationship grows other than merely choosing to
between visits to Elena is spent exploring various towers with different
elemental focuses, but with a catch: You're timed while Elena's curse festers.
It adds tension, but ends up more tedious than exciting. For instance, you can
always go back and visit Elena with flesh from normal monsters and buy some
time. You're rewarded for doing this, sometimes triggering new scenes further
developing your relationship with her. Unfortunately, leaving towers to visit
Elena kills the flow, interrupting puzzle-solving or exploration.
survive the devious dungeons in this action/RPG, Aeron carries a basic weapon
in one hand and a trusty chain in the other. The chain is the main attraction;
it's an asset in battle, and can also be used to propel you to high ledges and
pull levers. You can swing the chain around and strike ranged foes, tie two
enemies together to limit their movement, and throw baddies into walls or each
other. Customizable off-hand weapons, such as swords or scythes, are used in
combination with the chain for damage-dealing. However, even with all the
options at hand for deadly attacks, combat gets repetitive after a couple of
dungeons. Backtracking to unlock different sections of a tower isn't uncommon
and with tediously-familiar enemies respawning, battles feel like work.
clunky controls don't exactly help sell the combat. You aim the Wii remote or
use the right stick on the classic controller to target enemies with the chain.
The problem? Having to aim quickly and precisely makes it tougher to hit your
target, especially for bosses with small vulnerable spots. The combat is
sluggish, unable to rival the smoothness or fast pace of other action/RPGs.
Another added frustration is the fixed camera angles that pan away from
oncoming enemies, causing more hazard than help.
battles rely on repeatedly charging up the chain to its max level and
unleashing it while dodging attacks. I was hoping for more creativity out of
these encounters, but they are all about memorizing patterns and timing attacks
and dodges. The window for attacking the enemy is small, and a slight slip-up is
beyond costly. Enemy patterns change and become tougher during the course of
battle, so some trial-and-error is necessary. These battles feel so mechanical
that the attempts to add new wrinkles (like using the chain to tie a boss to a
post) can't save them.
have much fun during my time with Pandora's Tower, but I marveled at its vision
of creating a deep connection between characters, making time a realistic
component, and using different tactics to overcome a swarm of enemies.
Ganbarion went out of its way to craft a title that experiments with
interesting ideas. Unfortunately, none of its unique elements are refined
enough to be successful, making it impossible for me to cheer for this
Email the author Kimberley Wallace, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.