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Totally Deserves all the Awards

Overview

With Theia about to sweep the Misaos, this is prime time to submit my thoughts on this game. And what a game it is. Ten years in the making, Theia is perhaps the most ambitious game to have ever graced RMN history. I am no programmer, but even I can tell the amount of work, heart, and care placed into this game is second to none.

Sounds and Visuals

The graphics of Theia is a beautiful thing. I was pleasantly surprised again and again by how well mapped the areas were. From deserts to cliffs to seaports, I fail to recall a single area that I truly hated. Every area was just so breathtaking that I stopped a couple of times just glance at what's on the screen. Seriously, download the game, play the first twenty minutes, and audibly gasp at how well everything just works. The custom art too was not too shabby, bringing some of the Exceeds to life.

To complement the visuals, we have the music selection. Boasting tracks from Xenoblade and Bravely Default, every theme was just right for the moment. Points, especially, goes to the two boss themes which had just the the drama and desperation needed to create an action-packed experience. On the other hand, the voice selection contributed a lot to characters. Without these, I probably would not find Sophet's regret so surprising, or Allison's upbeat attitude so endearing. There's also nothing quite like hearing Seth's or Rudra's growls as they swings their weapons to the background of an electric guitar.

Story and Characters

The story is where Theia really falters, especially after first half. This is not Last Scenario where you audibly gasp with every plot twist. This is more akin to Generic Fantasy ##, where the plot is cliche and the characters go through the motions towards the inevitable conclusion. It's quite jarring how predictable the plot became, almost as if there were two different writers on board. Easily the weakest part of the game.

Likewise, the characters are also plenty cliche. Very quickly the characters stop growing in interesting ways and rehash generic developments from a million other RPGs. I don't know whether it was because of the English translation, but the characters from the first half felt very out of character in the second. The developments too felt annoying rather than intriguing or relatable. Perhaps having to focus on 19+ characters spread things too thinly, but I digress. Overall, the story and characters are serviceable as long as expectations are kept low.

Gameplay

Gameplay. Oh my goodness, what a gem! This is hands down, the most enjoyable RTB RPG beatdown, ever. Most of it is what people would expect. Travel, explore, fight, purchase, rinse and repeat. What Theia adds to this are two things. Minigames and split party. Minigames usually feel very jarring. Not here. These are created with nice touches of drama and humor, and feel very appropriate while breaking the monotony of the typical RPG progression. The splitting of the party on the other hand, challenges the player to invent ways of using each character to their fullest potential. No one feel like deadweight--the strength of the given team depended entirely on the ingenuity of the player themselves. The gameplay is very typical for an RPG, but it works because of it's familiarity and simplicity.

Final Thoughts

Theia is the kind of game that might come once every ten years. It is clear that a lot of love had been placed into it. This is the Kingdom Hearts 3 of RMN, a game that went above and beyond in terms of effort and presentation. Sure, Theia might not be called a classic, but it deserves to be played and talked about for years to come. Despite how much I disliked the story, I would recommend this game to everyone in a heartbeat. Theia is a breath of fresh air, and I feel truly blessed that someone would take their time to create something so polished.

Posts

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Hi! Thanks for the review : )
I'm sorry you didn't enjoy the story, though. Can you tell me the parts you disliked? That would really help me to get other point of views on the game. I'll keep them in mind for my next works.
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