Sword Art Online Hollow Realization Astral Awaken Growth Level

By Jason Parker (Ragachak)

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As a precursor to this review, I need to say that I have seen well-nigh none of the Sword Art Online Series minus the most basic of research prior to jumping in and so I could make some semblance of the story sensical. Therefore I won't be judging any part of the game with rose colored glasses impugning my sentence. And then they were trapped in an MMO, where if they died in game, an electronic pulse kills them for real. Got information technology? Because that's serious stuff. How they decided to play some other Sword Fine art game baffles me, and makes me wonder what kind of Rambo twisted PTSD these kids must be experiencing to willing walk back into the middle of darkness.  Just hither they are! And that's one of the major things that disappointed me right out of the gate, for SAO: Hollow Realizations. The danger, the urgency, it's all gone! At present they're merely. . . playing an MMO, and exploring some mysteries in the beta version of the game. It's not the aforementioned as the anime, just it has the same characters. It takes place mail service-Sword Art Online, and they are beta testing Sword Fine art: Origin, another VRMMORPG that somehow they are convinced to go and attempt out. Office of my brain idea they'd rehash the same story, but information technology does non announced that manner at all. Whenever you run across a graphic symbol for the first time from the show, you will learn who they are, just thankfully if you lot already know the series, when he starts to reminisce, y'all tin opt out of it, and movement forward. I had to watch them all though. But what is Sword Fine art Online: Hollow Realization?

MMOVN – Massively Multiplayer Online Visual Novel

Information technology's a Visual Novel! Certain, information technology has a lot of gainsay, exploring, and MMORPG aspects, online multiplayer, and a host of really cool stuff. Only at its middle, Sword Fine art Online is a Visual Novel. Why would I say that? You tin romance pretty much anyone if you invest enough time into the game. Yous tin take 3 allies go with you into battle, any of the major characters as far as I'm enlightened, simply at that place are tons of "players" just milling around the primary hub, and with time, effort, and lots of talking and hanging out, you can become some of those people to bring together you if you lot don't want to take the regular folks. Simply they seem to level with y'all [the primary characters], if y'all go and level in the multiplayer, which I volition definitely get to. But you spend more fourth dimension reading dialogue than you do spend kicking ass. I have never played an RPG with this much character text to read. That's fine though. Y'all can skip ahead if you want, with the L1 button, but beware! You might get instructions for your side by side quest in them, and miss out! Yous have an "Events" button in your primary menu to show you what you need to do side by side, but information technology's and so vague. "Explore downstairs", "Get the items you were asked for", and no way to expand it. That is a pretty big oversight for someone who might put it down, come back and forget, or but only skip the talking to get to the fighting.

Sword Art Online – Harem Realization

SAO is office Visual Novel, function .Hack-esque MMO simulator, but that's what the franchise is built on. Before nosotros go into the nitty gritty, allow's talk how else information technology's a VN. You tin can talk to, and build relationships with anybody. I think y'all tin even befriend/romance the girl who stands abreast the Quest Board. Simply this is the thing that bothers me the about, I think. You lot play as Kirito during the intro of the game. Your avatar/name are built around the main character, Kirito. You can change your look, gender, character name, weapon way, etc, but the game all the same treats you every bit if you lot're Kirito. Since I played a female character, I'm a guy, playing a guy, who is playing a girl, but is even so a guy in his internal monologue. It's very jarring and confusing, only ultimately it's hilarious. But my trouble comes from the chief human relationship in-game with Asuna, the chief squeeze from SAO. If you lot ii continue dates, phone call each other lover, and walk around together. . . why can I go and romance anyone I want, and bring them back to my room for pillow talk?

I don't know if it'south an oversight or what, but I think beingness Kirito, but not existence Kirito was weird. I experience like SAO has likewise many mechanics. This is i that probably could have been cut down or removed entirely. I like building relationships/faction rep, considering information technology fits the MMO scene, and making new friends, but it goes also far. As the game progresses and yous help people in the world, you will exist bombarded by requests to meet and brand more friends. At beginning I had NO idea how to detect them. I eventually learned that by pressing R1, you can effigy out what area they are in, and go meet upwards with them. You have a human relationship mechanic, where you tin can even hold hands/carry your S/O effectually.

MMO Combat Reinvented

Then you have the stagger mechanic for combat, and dodging. This i is actually cool though. In gainsay, it is treated similar FFXIV in that AOE fields come up and you tin can press a button to dodge. It's also reminiscent of GW2. With R1 you can spring, dodge, or movement, in conjunction with a direction. And if you lot leap at the exact instant you need to, I believe y'all receive a bonus, not to mention looking very cool. If you lot attack an enemy in the brief instant after their attack is washed, y'all can stagger/weaken the enemy; if you state your assault right before they deliver theirs, you can stagger them, and abolish their attack completely! There'south also a combo system, where uninterrupted hits build and bargain more and more damage, equally long as the enemy doesn't hit you. Information technology's pretty generous in how long you can go without hitting the enemies before the combo breaks as well. But that'due south not all! While we're on the subject of game mechanics in combat, there's also the Chain System.

You take to actuate it, or wait for someone to initiate a Chain Assault. You're vulnerable during a chain, then if you go plowed by a huge attack, information technology could spell your doom. But the style it works, is teammates volition call out when to land a skill. If you land a skill when they say so, it volition deal lots of damage, weaken the enemy, and brand your team happy. I as well hear that there are some EX skills that can only exist attained by large amounts of successful concatenation attacks. There'south one more important mechanic to bear in mind for gainsay. You tin pay compliments to your team, and whenever you use it, it will compliment whatsoever they did terminal. It's a bang-up fashion to teach your team what y'all want them to do more than often, like healing, using certain skills, existence aggressive, et cetera.

In that location'due south also the quest lath! That's going to be your major way of making money. You'll take quests to find items, impale enemies, etc, and you'll be rewarded with money and occasionally items for completing them. Yous tin can take on as many every bit you want, and the item ones will be able to be completed if you already have the items farmed. Those are the ones I try to grab first. Luckily when you become to a map, yous can see what events, NMs, and quests can be completed at that place.

It's one of the few, major failings of this game: It has likewise much to proceed runway of. Only a ludicrous amount of mechanics. I oasis't even discussed Blacksmiths all the same! There are lots of them all around the game, and they have skills, and things they're good at. You lot desire to aid them get better at their craft, so they can assistance you amend/transform gear. But I wouldn't really worry almost that until the terminate of the game. It's a cracking characteristic, and I appreciate how much attending to MMO item they put in the game, while not forcing you to make friends, or to craft. Much like a existent MMO, not everyone wants to do that stuff.

I hate crafting, and being forced into relationships bothers me, unless it gives me a real benefit. And while the Visual Novel portion of the game is a bit lackluster/tiresome, the bodily in-game gainsay? Love it. Y'all enter areas that have waypoints a'la Diablo, and exits are conspicuously visible on the minimap [which you tin can toggle between a huge, confusing map, and a small WoW-esque minimap], as well as Random Events, NMs [Notorious Monsters/major encounters], most of your storyline objectives, random players, and when you're close to enemies, they show up as red dots. Wait, random players? Yes! Groups of AI players wander the maps and endeavor to consummate their own objectives. They might aid you, or yous might help them, and if yous do help them, they might transport you an in-game message thanking you. This is jarring, because I never expect gratitude when playing a real MMO. Only it'southward a dainty bear upon!

This is Sword Art Online, then at that place are no ranged/magical classes, but yous practice accept a diversity of skills based on what weapon you're wielding. 1H Sword, 2H Greatsword, Spear, Daggers, 1H Lodge, Katana, though my personal favorite for sheer ludicrous combos/impairment is the Katana. You have a few kinds of skills: Sword Skills [can merely be used when yous're wielding that weapon. You'll have unlike palettes for unlike weapons], Battle Skills [Buffs primarily.] and EX Skills [Actress Skills, special stuff]. You gain skill points for reaching thresholds with a weapon [up to 1k I believe], then that is one reason to use all of the weapons eventually, for the most skill points possible. In that location are several EX skill trees, and once you unlock them yous tin work through those equally well, but many of those skills I believe accept requirements.  I recommend just focusing on i, perchance two EX trees, with the role yous volition fill in the game/online. Healer, Tank, et cetera. This is a really cool concept, but I sort of wish it didn't have a Skill Tree inside a Skill Tree. Merely I beloved that yous have and then many options for buffs, abilities, weapon techniques, items, and much more.

Y'all tin can fifty-fifty have palettes, which are command bars from MMOs, where you tin slot abilities, buffs, items, give commands, and use dialogue choices [by and large for multiplayer]. You lot don't have to have information technology up, because it has a lot of shortcut choices, just they felt bad-mannered and clunky to me, and then I stick to the control bars/palettes, considering that's what I know. Even if your palettes are up, your four face up push choices are still very usable. Foursquare – Set on, Triangle – Ability, Circle – Parry, and 10 – Jump. The right side of the touch pad can dispel/bring up Palettes. I appreciate the attention to detail here though. Going off of Gild Wars 2 and Terminal Fantasy Xiv, at that place are storyline missions [red with exclamation mark], random events that pop upward [a light-green circumvolve on the map], which have rewards for completing them. There are likewise huge level 95-110 bosses [your level cap is 70, mind], which players/AI can work together to fight, or you tin tackle them in online multiplayer. Occasionally you might meet a blue sealed chest on the map. To go to the contents, you have to best the enemies defending it, which is not very difficult if you are leveled.

The Online Feel

Speaking of leveling. . . If you want, once you lot've completed the offset expanse and fought the showtime raid boss, y'all can become online! The online multiplayer is entirely separated from story progression. Information technology's merely a elementary grouping of up to four, with each thespian able to bring a partner from their collection to explore maps, fight huge bosses, aid each other level up, trade items, give money, and so much more than. I honey this to decease, perhaps more than I love the main story, which does intrigue me. But being able to just fight and grind MMO style appeals to me more. I accept noticed in that location are people online who are more than willing to assist someone new gear up/level up so they can handle the challenges ahead in the game and online. However, a discussion of caution. I was level 12, and right where I needed to be in the story. Now I'm progressing through the story at level 40 or something, and am more than double what the current enemies are! My character is hilariously powerful, and I tin can simply nail things to bits. It takes some of the claiming away from the main quest, but if you'd rather just go online and kill stuff with your friends? It's there for yous.

Log In; Tune Out

Score: iv/5 [Great]

Honestly, this game is far better than I gave it credit for initially. I was one of those people that looked downward on SAO because information technology's not .Hack. I'1000 one-time, curmudgeonly and stuck in my ways. However, this game emulates an MMO in some of the best means. I've made a few new friends, can stream online multiplayer and make new ones all the time. It pairs an interesting, different story with familiar characters and friends from the commencement show. Notwithstanding, I do still feel it lacks some of the danger and urgency that SAO had, and I'd dearest to be able to turn off auto-save and attempt "SAO" runs where if y'all die, information technology'south game over and you lose everything. A hardcore mode would be interesting for challenging and getting dorsum to the roots of SAO. You can fight raid bosses/large enemies where you take to weaken their bodyparts, and then become dorsum to the weak spot, only some of those volition go very tedious, depending on how much health they have.

Simply it's an engaging, addicting game, with very pleasing music and sound furnishings, an infinitely vast assortment of characters and ways to play, and tons of content both now and in the future. SAO: Hollow Realization is a take on the MMORPG that I did not quite know that I wanted until I started playing it. While yes, it has a ton of mechanics and systems to take in, and a lot of information to handle all at once, many of them you tin can ignore if they're not your cup of tea, to make the game fun for you. They don't hold your mitt, and definitely allow you to play your way.

Pros:

+ Truthful to the MMO game manner, fast paced, and will experience familiar to mod MMO fans.

+ Fans of the franchise will non be disappointed at the bandage and the character interactions.

+ Hundreds of possible grouping combinations for solo play.

Cons:

– So. Many. Different. Systems/Mechanics. It never ends.

– Far more character dialogue/talking than I realized I'd accept to endure.

– Multiplayer can break the game very easily [in terms of difficulty]

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Source: https://www.onrpg.com/news/editorial/sword-art-online-hollow-realization-review-the-realization-of-a-harem/

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