Review Update | 11/21/2014
Update 11/21/2014: Uploaded some screenshots directly from the game in action, this is a new feature on Amazon.com that I haven't noticed before so it must be new. To express in more vivid detail I'm gonna use this new option to show some stuff off, This review may now contain spoilers as a results from the in-game screenshots, those that are interested check it out. The graphics are very impressive for a handheld title.
I'll also update this review again after the base review when the patch for the PvP update comes into play to judge if its a balanced type of pvp.
Intro | First it was Gravity Rush, then it was Soul Sacrifice, then Soul Sacrifice Delta. Now we have Freedom Wars, all AAA exclusive games or "System Sellers" on the PS Vita. Japan Studio truly deserves more credit and funding from Sony, I would much prefer to see sequels to Freedom Wars and the other mentioned games above than another killzone or that other 1st party generic first person shooter.
Gameplay | When I first discovered this game about a year ago, it was from a mate of mine at a local gamestop but didn't think nothing much of it until an online mate of mine told me more about it and showed me a huge amount of info and details regarding the features and told me to look forward to this game coming to the NA market eventually and ultimately he was right. Unfortunately he was also correct about Phantasy Star Online 2 not coming to North America or any other part of the world except the land of the rising sun but thats a story for another time kids.
Anyway the gameplay without spoiling too much is a unique fusion of capcom's Monster Hunter and Lost Planet (Again, another capcom title) And you know what? It works really well, I honestly didn't know what I was expecting when I went into this game from a combat point of view, whenever I see "Action" and "RPG" in the same chain of words, you have my attention as a gamer. If you throw in In-Depth character creation on top of that though? You have yourself a pre-order from me.
Backstory: I was a character designer/music producer back when I was in a local (now abandoned) development team of a alpha phase sci fi action rpg game project based off the cube engine and later switched to the unreal engine 3 around 5 years or so ago now and I was in charge of designing most NPC character designs, some extra side quest character designs, and some of the main bosses (Humans) and a few main protagonists. I also tried my hand at potential classes for an online expansion that we had planned to release in 2013 which never happened. This is the reason why I appreciate character creation in Japanese and South Korean Developed games, most american, britannian and european character/art designers don't do a good job a designing a unique cast of characters that stand out from each other in their own unique ways, its always the generic shaved head tough white guy or strong female type, or white knight blonde guy.
Basics*
The gameplay has a medium balance of typical hack n' slash gameplay and third person shooter aspects, the real kicker that makes things fast paced and unique is the inclusion of the "Thorn", yes that type of thorn that you would see on roses, but in this case its a neon glowing throw you shoot out like spider man and go flying all over the place. The Thorn has a gauge though so you can only spam it for so long until you need to regen.
Character Customization*
Freedom Wars offers quite possibly the best character creation system on a handheld device ever made, I would know as i've played almost every single handheld game that offers a character creation/customization/edit system. The developers did an amazing job and giving the "Freedom" to design yourself the player (as most people would do I assume) in an anime Attack on Titan/Valkyria Chronicles Artstyle tone, I can quite put my finger on it but the art style reminds me of AoT and VC but there is another form of media either another game or anime that looks very close to the art style FW offers.
Weapons (Melee)*
There are 3 classes of melee weapons with 2 to 3 sub-classes per class.
1. Heavy Melee - Greatsword | Sub Weapon 1. Long Katanablade | Sub Weapon 2. Giantmace/Concretehammer
2. Light Melee - Kukrienginesword | Sub Weapon 1. Chainsawsword | Subweapon 2. Combatknife
3. Polearm - Double-Blade Spear | Subweapon 1. Lance | Sub Weapon 2. Drill Spear
Each weapon style and sub weapon has a 3 charge level heavy smash move that deals much greater damage than the regular combo moves. At the moment in the current patch of 1.20, Polearms are currently the most op melee weapon class ironically enough, they are of medium speed but the Exodus deals more damage than Greatswords at an attack speed rate on par or slightly under light meele weapons.
Weapons (Ranged)*
Coming soon. I haven't really looked too much into the ranged weapons as I prefer a more in yer face smashing you to hell and back style of combat.
Story | I'll keep this story section quick and as spoiler free as possible. Ultimately I enjoyed the story, mainly because it is the first story in a video game that i've played in a long time where they literally place you the player as the main character and you do all these badass things you wish you could even half do as well in real life. Not even the recent phantasy star games put this much credit to the main character you play as, not only do they notice you, you casually impact the story in many huge ways, its like playing a star ocean or final fantasy game only with you and a cast of other interesting characters in the spotlight.
My favorite character in the entire story of this first season isn't me though (player character) no, that title is exclusively without a doubt Sinner Abel! A silver haired, black outfit wearing with a winged feather on his right leg, Long Katanablade wielding badass sephiroth wannabe. It has been a very, Very, VERY long time since i've seen a male antagonist from japan designed so well and presented so elegantly in a video game. In terms of the way the developers wrote him in as the main bad guy to beat they did it well, his presence on screen every time you are on the same cutscene as him made you feel insignificant in comparison. He can pull off all these fancy Matrix Neo, Dante Devil May Cry and Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children type of crazy fast moves and he has control over one of the original big 3 abducters known as "Red Rage" who can fire off Devil Jin lasers at will, destroying everyone and anything around him.
Truly a badass badguy, it has been so long since i've felt this rush of being like "We gotta take this guy down!" his personlity reminded me somewhat of the joker from batman as well since hes crazy in a good way.
Overally my biggest problem with the story is that it is very short, Soul Sacrifice and Soul Sacrifice Delta had a large junk of story and combined they overshadow Freedom Wars for this very reason, als Soul Sacrifice and Delta both have English Dub, Freedom Wars as a game is entirely voiced in Japanese, I am not racist, in fact the japanese has to be one of my favorite cultures, they make the best stuff in everything most of the time in my opinion but I strongly prefer english dub in nearly every case because I prefer it. Aside from that the story was a good experience, I had to read it PS1 era oldschool style though but eh, thats forgivable since the overall package is great.
Presentation | This game presents itself to you in the best way possible, very clean straight forward Sci Fi dystopian future where resources are scarce and simply being born into the world of Freedom Wars is a crime deemed punishable by a 1,000,000 years sentence.
It basically reminds me of a dark version phantasy star universe/portable series that came out in the mid to late 2000s from sega. But instead of being a guardian of the galaxy you are a "Sinner" fighting for the Greater Good of your home State I.E Con which hauntingly reflects our real world locations, I.E Tokyo, Seoul, Hongkong, Newyork, Los Angeles, London, Honolulu etc. There is also a very competitive nature to this game, vastly more so than I thought there would be. At the moment, Hongkong is winning in the global leader boards for GPP points contributed to their con'. Most likely because China is well known in real life for being hardcore gamers and well, there are a lot of them, hence why they are ranked #1 globally. It is a scary presentation because it shows some real world stuff and how overpowered numbers can truly be in certain situations.
The game is also set in a futuristic sci fi type of world, which ultimately after playing many action rpg games over the years is my favorite type of environmental setting, it gives this game a huge plus in my book since you have the works at work here, digitized vocals, awesome sci fi beat battle music, robots, androids, futuristic weapons that don't currently exist, and HOVERBOARDS! I have a lot more to say on the subject of presentation but it would take a whole book to write out.
All i'll say is, Freedom Wars has presented itself in a great way, only ruined by japanese dub voice acting. If it weren't for that one flaw, it would be a near perfect gaming experience for a guy who enjoys these type of asian made action parties. Even with that though, in this year of 2014, Freedom Wars has presented itself the best overall. Sorry Destiny.
Sound & Music | I am a part time, free lance music producer so unlike most gamers I pay vert special and close attention to video game soundtracks, at first I wasn't too impressed but as I clocked in at around 59 hours or so I realized something after calming down from having a lot of fun with the game..... This game has a badass soundtrack!
Without a doubt plain and simple my favorite video game soundtrack of 2014, I love the music so much in this game I literally when out to my local mates shop and asked him if he has this soundtrack in stock since he imports a lot of goods from asian countries like japan, south korea and china. He did have some in and I straight up purchased it from him, he gave me a discount as well. I would just like to note the only video game original soundtracks that I got this year is Y's: Memories of Celceta Silver Edition, Armored Core: Verdict Day, Soul Sacrifice Delta, and another japanese title but I can't rememeber, Oh Metal Gear Risng, Saints Row IV and Remember Me, those are all great in my book as well, Metal Gear Rising being the most Incredible hyper Eletronic Rock Music and the Winner for last year.
The music is fantastic, it earns 5 gold stars from me easy, Metal Gear Rising won for me last year for best soundtrack of the year, and it seems Freedom Wars will earn that title this year as the clear victor.
Replay Value | I am still playing the game at 119 hours in, the story wasn't that long but the online content and PvP keep it going.
There is also the goal of earning your "Freedom" and earning second class citizen status, as well as a unique aftermath story with a mysterious male character named Simeon who gives you Code 8 Missions that oddly enough continues the story from where you left off in the main story, only now it involves you the sinner and Simeon directly himself. Another thing to note about our assumed Immortal friend Simeon is that he appear to have stepped right out of a Kingdom Hearts game, the developers of freedom wars must be Kingdom Hearts fans as this isn't the first character to appear who looks like they could fit right into the Kingdom Hearts Universe with ease.
Since I am still playing the after over 100 hours, I can safely say for 30 bones, this fact alone is worth the price.
Overall | Like I said I'm still playing the game and haven't experienced everything yet, but from what I have experienced I can say without a doubt that Freedom Wars is the best exclusive game available on the PS Vita, if Gravity Rush didn't sweep you off yer feet, the dark chaotic world of Soul Sacrifice and Delta didn't scare you into submission or the charming Sack Boys from Little Big Planet on the go, that Freedom Wars might be what you're looking for.
Final Verdict | 8.5/10
Pros*
+ Official PS3 Level graphics, Very Clean style and well polished, looks like an elegant version of Valkyria Chronicles.
+ Great Multiplayer Experience
+ Good Singleplayer Experience
+ Deep Character Creation/Customization Options
+ Feature to not only Create yourself in the game but also a partner, an option i've only ever seen done in recent Koei Dynasty Warriors games (Dynasty Warriors Empires 6, 7 and upcoming 8) as well as a capcom forgotten title called Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisin, but the feature is nearly perfected in Freedom Wars
+ FREE DLC Available! Soul Sacrifice and Soul Sacrifice Delta also did this very well, the Developers are too kind, they have to earn more money to make a new sequel and/or expansion or perhaps even a new mainstay sony franchise to go against monster hunter!
+ Above Average Story
+ Very fun combat
+ Deep Crafting System
+ Fierce Online Competition with real world states and contries
+ Amazing science fiction soundtrack featuring epic battle choir mixes and full on orchestral movie theme tracks!
+ Overall vibe the game gives off
Cons*
- Lack of an English Dub ~ I completely blame sony of america for this problem the game suffers from, they were cheap plain and simple. There is no excuse to not hire a cast of english voice actors, well known or not to have the player enjoy the experience to the fullest in their native language.
Note: That is literally my only complaint at the moment, other than that I am surprisingly impressed.
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Reviews with images
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 28, 2014
Platform For Display: PlayStation VitaEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 8, 2014
Seeing the trailers got me interested, but still I was a bit skeptical on it. The game arrived, and I was like "Well, hope it doesn't disappoint".
Popped the card in, and right off the bat I was surprised at the depth of customization in the game. It's insanely good (I uploaded a few pics so you can see the variety in which you can come up with. I made about 5 styles). 3 male styles and 2 female styles. Males are "The Transporter", "Hip Hop", and what I call my "Assassin" style. The 2 female styles are "Goth" and "Spy". Overtime, you unlock different colors, accessories, decals, slogans, and outfits.
The beginning of the game can be quite tedious for some, as you are very limited to what you are allowed to due. (Due to your rank). But the way they implement it makes sense, and makes you "feel" like a low rank with little to no priviledges.
Gameplay wise.... for me this is the best hands down. I am a huge fan of fast-paced action, and this delivered it many times. Unlike other hunting games like Monster Hunter or Toukiden, you aren't limited on stamina with your attacks/running. There are a lot more things going on in the battlefield at the same time, this may be frustrating starting off, but once you adapt, it becomes less of a nuisance (Can still be tedious at times though). As far as the action... maaan there was one WOOOW EPIC moment I had, rescuing my accessory (The android partner you have). I was running from a bunch of abductors, and 2 of them were shooting at me. With the night time setting of that particular mission, the effects looked fantastic, and it looked like I was in an action movie, outrunning the bullets! I only wished my fingers weren't preoccupied from dodging, so I could take a screenshot lol. Also, the A.I is alright. It can get you through 90% of everything in the game. Later, you will be given the ability to command your A.I allies on what tactic to use. This is very useful in multiple situations. The game also sports a similar down mechanic to the gears of wars series. When a character is down (knocked out), there is a limited time in which you can revived. You can be revived by an ally if they're close. (In gears the one down yells REVIVE MEEEE lol). This addition is grreeeeeeat especially for the harrrd end-game missions. A bunch of cheap kills I tell ya, without that system, people would start to rage quit.
The thorn (Hook used) has its own usage bar similar to stamina though. The thorn can improve your mobility and help you dodge attacks you might not be able to dodge manually. There are 3 types of thorns, one that works as a trap/bind thorn. One that is used to heal a teammate overtime, or an area affect heal. The other one that improves you and your teammates defense by a certain percentage, or creates a thorn shield that blocks all long distance attacks, while your ranged attacks can go through it. It can also be used to drag down abductors to throw it off balance for a few seconds, which helps going in for raw damage.
Story-wise, it's alright. I enjoyed some parts of it, but a lot of segments could of used some spicing up that's for sure. Especially in the cut-scenes, but overall it has its interesting moments. I am actually glad it has a story to begin with. It leaves you with a few questions overall, but it looks like (and I really do hope) an actual add-on expansion is coming.
Controls feel fine to me, I use the default setting. Depending on your adapting ability to controls, you might have a few issues starting off. It may be like learning how to hold and play a video game for the first time (to some, not many).
Content wise, it's definitely a good start, but as said above, it leaves room for a definite add-on expansion. (Not a full new retail expansion release, but a digital content add-on).
The menus in the game, displays everything you need without being too cluttered or messy. I haven't had a problem navigating since my second day of play. The game does a great job giving you information on just about everything you need to know in-game. Crafting is great too, though RNG will play a part on some aspects.
Online is great! There are always plenty of rooms online. The community is fun, and there are always people willing to help. I have only done PVP day 1. It was kind of a bad experience, because I played against Japanese high ranked players, when I only had a rank one team. However, when we remade room to around the same ranks it was very fun! As long as you check your room settings, you should be good to go. There is txt and voice-chat in-game. You can even trade people some ammunition/medical items to help em out. It's also a nice way to welcome newcomers to the game. Surprisingly as well, there are people that took the time out to stream the game on twitch! I've been going around helping and partying with them. Fun times! Don't be afraid to type in "Freedom Wars" when you go into twitch. Vita streaming isn't really a thing, so it's awesome to see that there is a nice community for this game.
Overall, if you're a fan of this genre, pick it up! Best game in the hunting series imo, starting off. Has plenty of room for improvements and expansions. I give it an 8.5/10 from me overall. + Amazon's delivery was good = 5 stars for Amazon rating though lol. (enjoy my in-game pics)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Few beginner's tips:
You can revive a teammate by throwing your thorn at their downed body.
You can regenerate HP by going into cover
Each outfit has a different variation. Press Square when checking them out in the overhaul menu
Each hat has a different hair variation, you have to press start when checking them out.
At the end of a mission, it's good to command your accessory to harvest resources around the map. (Resources on higher/climbable ground they can't get).
If you obtain a bunch of weapons, and lose track of the ones you want to keep/upgrade. You can press left trigger in your inventory to favorite and lock what you don't want touched, so you won't mistakenly get rid of what you were working on.
Some melee weapons have more than one chargeable attack. (I just found that out myself). And each weapon have 2 dash attacks/moves.
Platform For Display: PlayStation VitaEdition: StandardVerified Purchase
Better than I originally thought!!!!
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 8, 2014
*Non spoiler review*Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 8, 2014
Seeing the trailers got me interested, but still I was a bit skeptical on it. The game arrived, and I was like "Well, hope it doesn't disappoint".
Popped the card in, and right off the bat I was surprised at the depth of customization in the game. It's insanely good (I uploaded a few pics so you can see the variety in which you can come up with. I made about 5 styles). 3 male styles and 2 female styles. Males are "The Transporter", "Hip Hop", and what I call my "Assassin" style. The 2 female styles are "Goth" and "Spy". Overtime, you unlock different colors, accessories, decals, slogans, and outfits.
The beginning of the game can be quite tedious for some, as you are very limited to what you are allowed to due. (Due to your rank). But the way they implement it makes sense, and makes you "feel" like a low rank with little to no priviledges.
Gameplay wise.... for me this is the best hands down. I am a huge fan of fast-paced action, and this delivered it many times. Unlike other hunting games like Monster Hunter or Toukiden, you aren't limited on stamina with your attacks/running. There are a lot more things going on in the battlefield at the same time, this may be frustrating starting off, but once you adapt, it becomes less of a nuisance (Can still be tedious at times though). As far as the action... maaan there was one WOOOW EPIC moment I had, rescuing my accessory (The android partner you have). I was running from a bunch of abductors, and 2 of them were shooting at me. With the night time setting of that particular mission, the effects looked fantastic, and it looked like I was in an action movie, outrunning the bullets! I only wished my fingers weren't preoccupied from dodging, so I could take a screenshot lol. Also, the A.I is alright. It can get you through 90% of everything in the game. Later, you will be given the ability to command your A.I allies on what tactic to use. This is very useful in multiple situations. The game also sports a similar down mechanic to the gears of wars series. When a character is down (knocked out), there is a limited time in which you can revived. You can be revived by an ally if they're close. (In gears the one down yells REVIVE MEEEE lol). This addition is grreeeeeeat especially for the harrrd end-game missions. A bunch of cheap kills I tell ya, without that system, people would start to rage quit.
The thorn (Hook used) has its own usage bar similar to stamina though. The thorn can improve your mobility and help you dodge attacks you might not be able to dodge manually. There are 3 types of thorns, one that works as a trap/bind thorn. One that is used to heal a teammate overtime, or an area affect heal. The other one that improves you and your teammates defense by a certain percentage, or creates a thorn shield that blocks all long distance attacks, while your ranged attacks can go through it. It can also be used to drag down abductors to throw it off balance for a few seconds, which helps going in for raw damage.
Story-wise, it's alright. I enjoyed some parts of it, but a lot of segments could of used some spicing up that's for sure. Especially in the cut-scenes, but overall it has its interesting moments. I am actually glad it has a story to begin with. It leaves you with a few questions overall, but it looks like (and I really do hope) an actual add-on expansion is coming.
Controls feel fine to me, I use the default setting. Depending on your adapting ability to controls, you might have a few issues starting off. It may be like learning how to hold and play a video game for the first time (to some, not many).
Content wise, it's definitely a good start, but as said above, it leaves room for a definite add-on expansion. (Not a full new retail expansion release, but a digital content add-on).
The menus in the game, displays everything you need without being too cluttered or messy. I haven't had a problem navigating since my second day of play. The game does a great job giving you information on just about everything you need to know in-game. Crafting is great too, though RNG will play a part on some aspects.
Online is great! There are always plenty of rooms online. The community is fun, and there are always people willing to help. I have only done PVP day 1. It was kind of a bad experience, because I played against Japanese high ranked players, when I only had a rank one team. However, when we remade room to around the same ranks it was very fun! As long as you check your room settings, you should be good to go. There is txt and voice-chat in-game. You can even trade people some ammunition/medical items to help em out. It's also a nice way to welcome newcomers to the game. Surprisingly as well, there are people that took the time out to stream the game on twitch! I've been going around helping and partying with them. Fun times! Don't be afraid to type in "Freedom Wars" when you go into twitch. Vita streaming isn't really a thing, so it's awesome to see that there is a nice community for this game.
Overall, if you're a fan of this genre, pick it up! Best game in the hunting series imo, starting off. Has plenty of room for improvements and expansions. I give it an 8.5/10 from me overall. + Amazon's delivery was good = 5 stars for Amazon rating though lol. (enjoy my in-game pics)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Few beginner's tips:
You can revive a teammate by throwing your thorn at their downed body.
You can regenerate HP by going into cover
Each outfit has a different variation. Press Square when checking them out in the overhaul menu
Each hat has a different hair variation, you have to press start when checking them out.
At the end of a mission, it's good to command your accessory to harvest resources around the map. (Resources on higher/climbable ground they can't get).
If you obtain a bunch of weapons, and lose track of the ones you want to keep/upgrade. You can press left trigger in your inventory to favorite and lock what you don't want touched, so you won't mistakenly get rid of what you were working on.
Some melee weapons have more than one chargeable attack. (I just found that out myself). And each weapon have 2 dash attacks/moves.
Images in this review
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