Little Town Hero Review (NSW)

Written by Anthony L. Cuaycong

Title: Little Town Hero
Developer: Game Freak
Publisher: Game Freak
Genre: RPG
Price: $24.99

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Considering how hardly any news about Little Town Hero hit gaming circles from inception to release, pundits wouldn’t have been wrong to buttress its status as a “Little Known Title” when it finally made its way to the Nintendo eShop last week. It was announced with no fanfare and scant information in August last year. Even then, the public knew, well, little apart from its genre (role-playing game), working title (Town), and synopsis (a young lead defending a — what else? — town from monsters). And, after that, virtually nothing was heard of it until the week before its October 16 launch.

To be sure, not all releases for the Switch are given the red-carpet treatment. If anything, the opposite has become the norm; few out of the sheer number of intellectual properties being developed for the hybrid console at any given time get their turn in the spotlight. Nonetheless, the relative dearth of information about Little Town Hero is nothing short of remarkable; after all, no less than Game Freak — responsible for the videogame arm of Pokémon, the biggest media franchise in the world — steered it to fruition.
Little wonder, then, that gamers all but became prospectors, with material on the title, among them an official video showing the first 20 minutes of gameplay close to release date, treated as rare finds.

No doubt, the radio silence was deliberate. In controlling the flow of information, Game Freak succeeded in whetting the appetite of gamers all the more. And, in retrospect, it was right to do so. Little Town Hero manages to live up to expectations and serves as ample proof of the viability of the developer’s Gear Project initiative, which encourages programmers to break from its flagship Pokémon series and work on innovative concepts as a means to “recharge” their creative juices. Put succinctly, the developer’s first RPG outside the Pokémon series since Bushi Seiryūden: Futari no Yūsha for the Super Famicom in 1997 works because of a unique willingness — a preferential option, even —to be different.

Little Town Hero’s initial impression screams typical. It presents the lead character within a simple storyline: Axe is inquisitive and full of youthful vigor, bent on seeing the world that lies beyond his town. Unfortunately, the castle he aims to serve likewise prevents him — and all other subjects — to leave, keeping them in as a way to keep monsters out. As the latter somehow penetrate the boundaries, anyway, he moves to take the invaders on with help from his friends, among them sidekick Nelz, old reliable Pasmina, and “rival” Matock, training from castle guard Angard (a clear allusion to the fencing term), and a red stone that gives him the power to do so.

As linear as Little Town Hero’s narrative progression may be, the gameplay is far from rote. As with most other RPGs, exploration of the overworld and interaction with non-playable characters are crucial to advancement. And unlike most other RPGs, leveling up and grinding, not to mention collecting currency and equipment, are deemed unnecessary. No random battles occur; nor do they need to be sought for the buildup of talents. Even as a skill tree is used, climbing it becomes inevitable via combat triggered by specific events.

Considering the direction of longtime Pokémon series programmer Masao Taya, Little Town Hero’s singularly spectacular turn-based battle system should come as no surprise. And yet it does manage to call attention as the game’s foundation, and not merely because of its unorthodox mechanics that, for lack of a better description, represent an amalgamation of, say, Mario Party and Slay the Spire. Thought bubbles that frame ideas (labeled “Izzits”) from which actions (“Dazzits”) are concretized and consolidated through the dispensation of ability points (three to start and increasing by one every three turns to a maximum of six). The results are then pitted against those of the enemies, with the turn ending after the hands are exhausted. Movement along the combat board is then possible, after which another turn commences. And so on and so forth until victory is crafted or defeat is suffered, whatever the case may be.

For all the seeming complexities, Little Town Hero’s gameplay is thankfully intuitive. Battles can last long, but wind up being appropriately rewarding, never mind the hand — no pun intended — randomness plays in outcomes. Buffs and boosts can be triggered by well-thought-out action sequences and character placements, and a fair share of strategizing is required to take advantage of enemy weaknesses. Which, as an aside, provide the bases for side quests en route; townsfolk with whom relationships were hitherto made and fortified actually get to help from the sidelines during combat.

For the most part, Little Town Hero looks and sounds great; as is representative of Game Freak’s intellectual properties, it boasts of colorful cel-shaded visuals and vibrant music (influenced by the direction of Undertale’s Toby Fox and Pokémon’s Hitomi Sato). Animations are likewise beautifully rendered, although their frequency can stifle pace and, apparently, put a crimp on hardware resources; transitions occasionally lead to graphical slowdowns, especially with the Switch undocked. Parenthetically, the Animal Crossing-type synthesized tones emitted during conversations can take some getting used to.

In the final analysis, Little Town Hero provides value well beyond its $24.99 price tag. It certainly lives up to its name; designed as a deck builder in RPG clothing, it figures to keep gamers immersed for a good 15 hours or so. Oozing with humor and charm, it both provides substance to Game Freak’s Gear Project enterprise and makes the wait for the release of Pokémon Sword and Shield next month all the more worthwhile.

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THE GOOD

• Complex, but not complicated, combat system
• Outstanding audio-visual presentation
• Offers good value for money

THE BAD

• Battles can take a while
• Forced animations wear out their welcome
• Occasional graphical lags

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RATING: 8/10

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