The New Classics #36: Aria Chronicle

 

The Backstory: Aria Chronicle is part of a bunch of rare, physical, English-supporting Asian games I bought some months ago on Play-Asia, based on a few pictures and elliptic descriptions alone (the other unplayed ones being Marchen Forest, Witch Spring 3, Abyss of the Sacrifice and Wing of Darkness, for future reference). Since I know little to nothing about these games’ gameplay, each one is a complete surprise. Forward to the Sky, which was also part of the bunch, was a really bad surprise; will Aria Chronicle be a better one?   

 

 

The Game: Although I never touched a browser game in my life, I’ve always be drawn to their battle displays for some unfathomable reason. Wonder why I’m suddenly mentioning this? Well, it’s because AC’s battle display screams ‘browser game’. I didn’t expect this at all, and I nearly squealed with delight upon fighting my first battle. See for yourself below:

 

 

I also beamed with sweet nostalgia upon discovering the Riviera-infused dungeon navigation, all fixed screens and arrow pointers. I can’t remember if Riviera had a stamina system during navigation, but AC sure does: each move to an adjacent screen consumes 1 point of a gauge containing 70 — get too low, and your crew start acting out. Fortunately, stamina management is not too stringent — just like inventory management, which allows you to accumulate some serious loot before your pockets burst. I can very well envision these two elements becoming trickier as dungeons get bigger, though — but we’re not there yet, and I’ll run to maps on the internet if the crawling gets rough.

 

 

These two features alone had me sold, honestly; yet that kind game couldn’t help but throw more goodness at me — splendid soundtrack, gorgeous sprites, lovingly detailed dungeons, interesting side features such as forging and recruiting mercenaries, and an overall lovely and mellow atmosphere I couldn’t get enough of. 

 

 

The Verdict: Well, Aria Chronicle sure was a pleasant surprise through and through. It’s quite derivative, but it manages to combine borrowed elements quite gracefully — and anyway, I luv it, and I don’t care one bit about derivative as long as me gaming instinct is thrilled. You’re allowed in the collection, mate!