Code Vein and Tales Of Arise gave me faith in the ARPG chops of Bandai Namco, and I was quite pleased with the result. Scarlet Nexus’ brainpunk world is vibrant, yet twisted, with combat that when mastered, is truly satisfying and fun to play.
I was Straight Outta Arise when I decided to keep the Bandai-wagon going and hop into Scarlet Nexus. It was great that I did because the fluid combat of Arise more than certainly prepared me for Scarlet Nexus. I feel like a good chunk of the core influence for it it has been derived from the Tales series, yet it never seemed to dwell in its shadow.
Scarlet Nexus follows two protagonists, Yuito and Kasane, as they are newly recruited to the OSF to assist in the dispatching of Others, creatures that threaten the existence of mankind. The game takes place in a sort of post-apocalypse, Neo-Japan that is technologically advanced. Humans have tapped into limitless potential by utilizing hidden powers that have been drawn out from their brains. This has imbued people with powers such as pyrokinesis, clairvoyance, teleportation, and as for our protagonists, psychokinesis. The OSF is regarded highly in society as defenders and protectors, hence the nickname Scarlet Guardians.
The world is being encapsulated by this phenomenon called the Extinction Belt that seemingly has the monstrous Others fall from the sky, and while cities such as New Himuka and Seiran are generally safe, the outside world is pretty harsh and hostile. Not to mention, the belt occasionally lowers closer to earth, causing higher concentrations of Others to spawn, and becoming deadly. Other than that, little is known about the phenomenon, and to make matters worse, the highly advanced societies seem to have a stranglehold on information and what the public sees. Early into the story a revolution takes place that pits two sides against each other, and it serves as the foundation for the two storylines. Keep in mind, this is a JRPG, so you know things will never just be that simple!
I tend to view the story in 3 different phases. The initial phase focuses on the storyline building based on the protagonist of your choice. It features some areas that may not be visited by the opposite character, or similar areas but with different layouts and goals. The second phase is sort of a culmination of story events that lead to the parties being in an awkward “frenemies” stage, and lastly, the final phase is the assimilation of the two teams for a common goal. Yuito plays a straight arrow, he’s a caretaker for the people on his team and he is pretty morally grounded. He does the right thing because it’s in his character, and little can sway him even if it’s an unpopular decision. Kasane, on the other hand, is headstrong, a bit lacking in her social demeanor and interactions, vengeful and overprotective of her sister. This, along with the chosen paths they take as the story builds, causes their teams to butt heads on more than one occasion as they both seek the truth.
Combat is far from a hack and slash affair. In order to be successful, you must learn how to utilize not only your skills, but the skills of your teammates. In Battle you can borrow the ability of your squad using SAS, or Struggle Arms System This creates unique combinations of attacks that can target enemy weaknesses, expose said weakness, or be support/utility based. For example, Luca possesses the Teleportation power, and when you SAS with him, you imbue yourself with his ability, giving yourself the ability to perform short-range teleporting directly to the enemy while attacking. This is invaluable against enemies that throw up defenses when you enter within a certain proximity. It also serves a support purpose by allowing you to teleport through certain barriers to reach hidden items or mission objectives. However, there is some latitude as to how you can approach most enemies. Luca isn’t available for most of Kasane’s playthrough, but Kagero is. His Invisibility accomplishes the same task, albeit a bit differently. This provides you with multple options on how to dispatch your foes.
In between chapters you have a intermission period in which you are back at the safehouse. Here you can stock up on items, and most importantly, give gifts and watch friendship episodes. Of course these bonding episodes aren’t just for you to pretend who you want to ‘ship’ your character with, it’s really about increasing the effectiveness of your teammates and their SAS abilities. In turn, your battle effectiveness increases by being able to utilize their powers longer, or by adding additional special effects to your attacks. The hideout goes from this bland space to a thriving little hang out spot where you can see the quirks and personalities of each character shine in their designated spots. They will display all the gifts you get them as a symbol of thanks.
My one complaint with the game is the whole “frenemies” thing going on. Not going to include spoilers on this one, but there are several events that take place early and mid story that cause both teams to clash and fight amongst each other. I just don’t understand how you can beat the living crap out of each other, and then…hang out with that person at a restaurant the next day? I get that they are keeping things strictly professional and not taking things personal, but there’s just some things that occur that really made me scratch my head as they brush it off to the side way too easily. Also, I felt like the conflicts between the two teams were unnecessarily dragged on in some portions just to keep the story a bit longer. I know in the moment one can be blind to other points of view, but for a group that doesn’t know what’s going on so far they did very little initially to try to reason or see eye to eye with their supposed comrades. It just felt a bit jarring at times, but overall I think it didn’t really impact the narrative. Just my two cents on the matter.
With a heavy focus on combat and its stylized look, the PS5 version excelled in all regards. Character’s and environments looked stunning, the detail was wonderful. Just the overall art style looked amazing and really fit into this concept of “brainpunk”. Scarlet Nexus delivered on all levels, and with how much Bandai seems to be investing with the release of an anime as well, one can only assume that there is more in store for our Scarlet Guardians. A sequel would be a day one purchase for sure.
-Game Info- Scarlet Nexus Genre: ARPG/JRPG Developer: Bandai Namco Studios/Tose Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment Release Date: 6/24/2021 Platforms: PS4/PS5, XB1/XBS S/X, PC -GamerDad Info- Completed On: 9/27/2021 Played On: PS5 Time Played: ~80 Hours Rating: 7.75/10
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