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The heroes are back!

Hello and welcome to another adventure for the Tales of Yuria series.
But mind that this is NOT Tales of Yuria 2, it's more than a sort of Dlc of the first game, that consists in a single adventure of 4 hours and a half and includes the original cast plus a couple of additional playable characters.

The game is set years after the first adventure, so I won't spoil and tell what the heroes are doing now (anyway if you finished the first game you surely know all you need to know!). In any case the interesting thing is that they will have to revisit a location already seen in the first adventure (even if there were some changes), and access an unexplored (new) dungeon below it to save some missing people.
Like the first game, this starts with some people talking about the deeds of our adventures, and in this part there is a summary of the first adventure where you may select some option to tailor the story according to some choices and decisions made in the first adventure, that will determine some particular events in this sequel.


The game includes also some characters from the first game (IF they survived, that is!), like Nial and Lindsey. So play the first game if you didn't!

So our characters will have to revisit the ruins to the north of the Crossroads Inn, the first of the fourth locations visited in the first game. Like in the first game here too you can expect the usual features of Tales of Yuria: exploring dungeons, solving puzzles, killing monsters, dialogues (sometimes serious and sometimes humorous) and some choices that will change some events that will happen during the game and in some cases will be recapped in the end. For example there are some collectibles (the hidden gems, and I found just 5 out of 7!) and some side quests that aren't obligatory but will extend the longevity of the game and the enjoyment!

If the style of the game is similar to the first adventure, let's examine the cast: Edwin, Kit, Fizrahn and Tia are back, and despite their changed appearance (well some years passed!) they are always the same, a warrior, a rogue, a wizard and a cleric. But this time they start high level and with mithril equipment (while you will able to find better gear, it's not that important), and all the powerful abilities they had at the end of the game. I admit I found combat in this game rather easier if I make a comparison, I do not know if it is because they are so powerful, or because I already knew their skills so I already had a team strategy.

But there are also a couple of extra characters: Rory, that was a secondary characters of the first game, and it's a spear wielding rogue with four different abilities (he's a damage dealer) and Fiorra, that is rather interesting for two things: the first is that she's both healer and sorceress (a mix of Tia and Fizrahn), the second is that she has a dog that is not controllable by the player but provide assistance with his vicious attacks (and has also some abilities, but he will choose when to use them!).
The new characters are interesting and useful (especially later when you have to split the party), but Fiorra lacks of the Special Skills that Tia and Fizrahn have (and had also in the fitst game): the three magic users (unlike the rest of the party members) spend mana to casts spells but they still earn TP (that instead is used by other characters for their special attacks) to unleash a special ability when they get 100 of it. But Fiorra has no special ability so her TP are useless even if she collects them like the others!


Ask the author, anyway I am happy to have our favourite meatshield back!

Despite this the combat encounters aren't too difficult, not even the boss fights are too threatening if you know what to do, but it's a good thing since there is no shop in the game, so you have rely only on looted resources (but these are more than enough, I remember the first part of the first game where money was so scarce!). Last combat is peculiar, I won't explain but it's not the boss fight you probably expect, still it's not that easy (but since you use the original party you may already know the best strategy to win) anyway I was able to win brilliantly. I will not spoil what happens next, but confirm that like the ending of the first adventure, also this one leave hints of a probable sequel. After all just one of the old locations was revisited, who knows if we'll revisit one the others too in another installment of this series?

Ok, I forgot to say something about the puzzles: these are almost all mandatory (except one, if I am right) but they are not too difficult and I needed the solution just of one (because I could not figure out the link between element/seasons/colors, or well, I was convinced that my solution was better than the right one, aha!). Yes, the characters will hand out a solution if you are having a hard time, I do not know if this happens for all the puzzles (I solved most of them with a couple of tries), but was a nice feature.

Visually the game uses the same style of the first game, of course. It's some rtp with some edits and I guess also some original artworks, in any case it works very well, even if some parts look a bit generic (for example some dungeons battle backgrounds, that also make the smaller enemy sprites sometimes difficult to see) but happened in the first game too. There is not a huge variety of monsters, but this is a short adventure so I didn't mind, music is good and dialogues, well these are excellent, considering also that the game is linear but there are some choices that will determine what happens and what the different characters will say and act, of course!


This cannot be an rpg without dungeons, puzzles and... boss fights!

Final Verdict
Tales of Yuria: Mauseoleum of the Gods is a solid entry that not only provides a new short adventure for the old heroes, but also expand the lore of the game explaining some details of the setting and maybe also setting the start of a new adventure. There are some minor problems I had with the game, for example the monsters are all visible and *technically* avoidable. Well no, they are aso fast that it's impossible to escape them, you will have to kill them all (except the optional ones, of course), but at least there are no random encounters!

In the end this is a must play if you enjoyed the first game, if you never played it I'll suggest you to give it a try since lots of references and dialogues won't be understood fully. And that's a pity! This game is a single episode (unlike the first game that technically could be divided into 5 parts... o episodes) but one that shows many improvements on the first game while keeping the classical formula (it's a bit "more of the same" even if more stylish and refined, but I liked the first one so this made mo expection). Very Good Game!


Posts

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Thank you for playing and the great review. Really enjoyed reading it, and I'll continue making improvements in the areas you mentioned. Really looking forward to showing everyone my next game. Oh, wait. Next game, you ask?

<insert opportunity to self promote Tales of Yuria II>

Why YES, there will be a sequel. You can find it here: Tales of Yuria II: The Gilded Crown :-)

Thanks again for playing!
author=AeroFunk80
Thank you for playing and the great review. Really enjoyed reading it, and I'll continue making improvements in the areas you mentioned. Really looking forward to showing everyone my next game. Oh, wait. Next game, you ask?

<insert opportunity to self promote Tales of Yuria II>

Why YES, there will be a sequel. You can find it here: Tales of Yuria II: The Gilded Crown :-)

Thanks again for playing!


Thanks! Awesome games, I mean from then first to this we have two solid classic fantasy adventures. Never had a bug or issue so, well done! I do not mind if this one was shorter since it was an enjoyable adventure and a must play for those who liked the first ToY game!

So yes, I am looking forward the next installment!
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