Dream Drift

Let's start with the gameplay :
For the combat it's the most classic TBS system which has already proved itself so many times, simple and effective.
I would put a damper for whatever system this game uses to move characters : it's jerky.
Some places (like the forests) are also so narrow we have a really hard time moving around. If it was intentional, it's a success, but it can be really unnerving and spoil the game pleasure.
The levels system is well thinked, as we are never fighting enemies too strong, nor that they are too weak and give us a fight too easy. It's always perfect.
This means we are never bored during a fight, and don't have to go train for hours, which is a really, really good point.

The whole game is easy to use, RPGs regulars won't be desoriented and new gamers will quickly get the hang of it.

Bad points :
each character has his speciality and his magic affinity.
I was expecting to have to use each of them, but no.
Some can fill the roles of the others (and some are cheated, like Darius) and we can stick with the same trio nearly for the whole game (except when the team is imposed, but that's rare)
Other bad point is the weapons and armors. Some characters are really well endowed (you can find their weapons, buy their weapons...) when others are more difficult to equip.
The fact that you can go thorough a whole set of monsters to find a weapon you were able to buy in the previous town is also...well, annoying.

The scenario now (the main point of every RPG) :
a good, solid and entertaining scenario, but with many flaws (like way too much explanations, and so, too much dialogues. it's like the main point is explained over and over again. No need to it).
Also, some choices we make don't have any incidence at all when we think they will (the Sage life or death, the whole dialogue with Gin. Whatever we do it's still the same).
In fact, it's enjoyable and well tied up until after the first boss (Raven)
I loved the fact that we were the bad guys and realized it too late, but after they're a lot of incoherences :
- we know the whole world is just a dream and people are not real. Why do we have to go help them anyway ?
- the dragons are enjoyable and all, but as I said before, what's the point of freeing the country of their hold ? everything will disappear after the real boss is defeated and we know it !
- the only thing that can incite us to continue explore the map is to find the memory's item of every team members. But then why don't we try to gather every drifters to do the same with them ? basically, we're saving our skins, but we let lots of people trapped in the dream (that's what we thought will happen at least).
- we mourn dead people when we already know they're not real.
- each time we find a memory's item we're all surprised te character doesn't diseppear. We are surprised the first time and find the reason why, okay. But we're surprised every time and search for the reason every time.
- the background of Arland. It's not an incoherence (except that he remembers Pam for 15 years before...but how old is he ? 17 ? 18 ?) but it's so miserable we lose every sympathy we might have for him.
The fact that he was left paralyzed and fall into a coma should have been enough. Let's add he's alone and have no reason to wake up.
No need to harp on about his dead parents, his means relatives, his lack of money and everything.
That makes him more annoying than pitiable.

But, despite this little flaws, I've really enjoyed the fact we have to find a special someone to avoid a bad ending (even if we find her more by luck or curiosity than anything since, I say it again, we already know the world is not real at this point).
I also enjoyed to realized I was the bad one by the middle of the game.
I liked to have to play the game over again to have access to every playable characters (if the game was 100h long, I might not have liked it that much...).
I liked the little dialogues when we get to some places. It adds some...life, to the characters.

Little bugs so far :
- 2 chests I was unable to reach. At all. The one beside Raven's Tower and the one just outside the outpost (on the path which was blocked). If there's a trick I still can't figure it out.
- poison can't kill monsters. You have to hit them one last time.


All in all, it was a really enjoyable game that I will play again.
I will also recommend it to some friends, but maybe only RPG players, because only they will be able to figure out all the references scattered all over the game.