After the mediocre Genji: Days of the Blade, Japanese developer Game
Republic tries again with their second PlayStation 3 title, Folklore.
And while they still struggle with many issues in gameplay and
presentation, the end result remains enjoyable for anyone interested in
an engaging action-adventure with a story deep enough to question the
very meaning of death.
The game follows the young Ellen and journalist Keats who are both
lured into the mysterious village of Doolin, said to be a bridge
between the world of the living and the dead. As you explore various
fantastically beautiful realms as both Ellen and Keats, the two not
only unravel a series of murders lying 17 years in the past but also
see themselves in the middle of a war between the beings of the
netherworld. While the story is incredibly engaging, the same can not always be said
about the game's art of story-telling however. Dialogs are usually
presented in a comic-style fashion of still photos of the 3D
environments and characters, but often lack convincing expressiveness
and are rather sterile and lifeless. On contrast, the rarely occurring
cutscenes are a breath of fresh air and the voice acting is mostly
solid.
The meat of the game is the combat however. As you walk around in the
many different realms of the netherworld, you'll encounter about a
dozen different folks per realm, each with specific strengths and
weaknesses. Since weapons are of little use in the lands of the dead,
the two protagonists soon learn to absorb the souls of their enemies
and use their abilities against their former comrades. This allows for
a ton of variation on how the game can be played, although you'll
probably stick with a few key attacks for the most part. Some folks and
particularly each realm's end boss, the so called folklores, will
require specific combinations of attacks however and since given hints
in form of collectible scratches don't always help to figure out which
strategy works, you'll often find yourself shuffling through the list
of collected folks. Luckily, the list is well organized and accessible,
although brief pauses after each switch can get annoying after a while.
Sucking out a folks ID is done entirely with the Sixaxis's
tilty-control and not only works surprisingly well but is also a great
deal of fun, especially after a hard battle against an especially tough
opponent. A quick yank with the controller is enough for most folks,
some however hang onto their life quite a bit and need a little
convincing in form of a short minigame before giving up. These range
from timing-based thrusts and wild shaking to banging the IDs to the
ground repeatedly or balancing them for a period of time. It's not only a nice change of pacing, but also bears a strategic element, as you may opt to wait until you can absorb multiple folks for an experience bonus. Besides gathering experience in order to lengthen your life bar, the RPG elements are on the light side however and in terms of character customization, the game can't be compared to a full-fledged RPG.
Since Keats and Ellen will stride through the same environments for the
most part, the game can get a bit repetitive after a while, but
Folklore tries to mix it up in many small but noticeable ways. Some of
the folks change depending on the character played and while Keats is
more of a brawler and can transform himself for a short time for higher
damage, Ellen's attacks are often less risky as you don't have to get
too close, but require a bit more preparation time. Still, at times the game tends to drag on a bit, but the outcome of your adventure manages to make up for it.
If you stick to the main plot, you can expect the game to take you
around 15-20 hours, but of course the game encourages you to collect
and level up each and every single one of your pokemans by following a
number of side quests for special items and other goodies. There's also
an online mode complete with a simple to use but rather restrictive level editor
allowing you to create and share your own monster-filled dungeons and
play others' creations for leader board points. This component is
rather underdeveloped though and lacks a bunch of options one would
expect the game to have. As it stands, multiplayer should not be your main incentive to play the game, especially when there is such an engaging singleplayer component to it.
Folklore is, for the most part, a great-looking game thanks to the
imaginative and diverse environments and fantastic monster designs, as
well as the often impressive texture quality. The enchanting art style is reminicent of what an Alice in Wonderland movie would be like, if Tim Burton was on the helm. Some aspects however,
like some of the side-characters and areas don't look quite as good as
the rest of the game and drag the overall impression down. Same can be
said for the rather confined levels which not only make navigation in
narrow spaces in a pack of monsters a challenge but also often forces
the camera into confusing positions. Equally inconsistent is the audio, specifically the music. While later
levels feature some marvelous pieces of engaging music, the early
realms' tunes are so short and loop over and over that you'll find
yourself annoyed very quickly. As mentioned, the voice acting is solid
for the most part, although some of the characters' voices and lines
are rather forgettable.
At the end of the day, Folklore is a game of mixed feelings. You'll
find yourself often amazed by the game's beautiful environments and
deep storyline, but at the same time, you'll be irritated by minor but
noticeable flaws that show in almost every aspect in the game. Luckily,
the good parts manage to overshadow most of these issues and you'll
most definitely have a good time if you enjoy this type of game.
