The New Classics #41: Monark

 

The Backstory: The latest offering from Lancarse, who also developed Lost Dimension and Zanki Zero. Those guys sure seem to excel at crafting original gameplays delivering a lot of replay value; and well, Monark is no exception. It mixes position-based combat à la Hyperdimension Neptunia, an exploration of the crew’s woes à la Persona, a really thicc atmosphere and an intriguing stat system involving an introductory quiz — and the seven deadly sins. Well, coloured me interested!

 

 

The Game: The Monark Wikipedia page, as well as some reviews, describes the game’s fighting system as ‘tactical’. I’m not sure I would have used that term; for me, ‘tactical’ automatically means ‘grid-based SRPG’ — but maybe I’m wrong, as gameplay styles constantly evolve and terms are being redefined on a regular basis. One thing I am sure about, on the other hand, is that I love that fighting system. It’s no new proposition, neither for the genre nor for Lancarse themselves; but it works great all the same. My only pet peeve is that you have to keep pressing the ZR button to speed up combat; I would really have preferred a Toggle on / Toggle off option.

 

Actually, that ZR issue is a bit of a thorn in my side. It’s a motif throughout the gameplay, with dialogue sections using the same trick — no skipping allowed, except for the cinematic cutscenes. I don’t like that; but as I’m planning to read dialogues if I replay the game, it might not be a big issue after all. What might be a big issue is the fighting / narrative ratio — that is, if it remains the same as in the early stages. Look, there is not nearly enough combat so far for greedy little me; and the story has better be fascinating if it keeps being that overbearing until the credits.

 

 

Actually, and although I’m complaining, I’m really hooked on Monark’s atmosphere. As usual in such cases, I cannot tell exactly why I like it — but I sure do. And heck, the MC’s fighting outfit is properly awesome, and I’m really a sucker for such details. Actually, even the cutscene that introduces said outfit to our starry eyes is awesome — see for yourselves by checking these gorgeous screen captures below. 

 

Last but not least, you have the Ego system, which paves the way for a lot of replay value. To sum it up, an introductory quiz allows the game to determine your main deadly sin, which in turn determines other stuff I couldn’t reach during my limited play time. Values for other sins can be raised as well throughout the game, no doubt for increased benefits of all sorts. I earnestly answered the quiz, and let me tell you: that thing is absolutely spot-on. See for yourselves the description below: doesn’t that fit little me to a T? The +500 games in my collection are collectively screaming “yes it does, b*tch”. 

 

 

The Verdict: Well, that’s a hit! I actually played the demo, but I ordered the real thing before I even started writing that post. Welcome to the collection, buddy; and now, back to the hunt we go!