A Brief Review of "The Rebirth of the Royal Knights": Exquisite Craftsmanship

At the beginning of 2022, when the trademark registration for Tactics Ogre Reborn was first disclosed, my personal expectation was that the high-definition version of the PSP version of the game would have official Chinese, and my PSP and PSV would finally retire completely.

But with the subsequent release of game related news, my personal expectations have also increased. The high-definition graphics and official Chinese version are expected, and the full voice re dubbing is already very sincere. The first announcement of system changes (changing professional level back to personal level) has made the gameplay and Wheel of Fate of the game very different.

More information before the release showed me the sincerity of this remake. When the Double Eleven game was officially released and I was exposed to the full picture of the game, I felt even more surprised than expected!

is reborn on the basis of the PSP version!

Strategy RPG Pyramid Top Cavalry 2

Before discussing the new work, let's first review the original work. After all, for me, the 1995 release of Tactics Ogre on Nintendo SFC holds extraordinary significance. This is one of my favorite games, as well as one of the longest and most in-depth games I have played. I even built a game themed website and related game forums for it. The scenes we studied and discussed together on the forum are still my beautiful memories to this day.

In terms of the game itself, the original version of Knights Royale 2 can be considered a classic work of SRPG. The first company to produce this type of game, QUEST, demonstrated an astonishing level of completion in this game. The system's height difference, direction, profession, magic, and other aspects were imitated by many similar games in the future. The WT action system also became a trend in the mainstream of turn based games at that time.

Equally commendable is the multi branching and multi ending plot, which makes war no longer just a game. At the end of the first chapter, the choice of whether to participate in the massacre was also a mental torture for many players at the time: "Do you want to defile your hands for the sake of your ideals?"

But regardless of the choice, the result is equally heavy. After achieving the same goal through different paths in Chapter 4, different choices will also lead to different outcomes, bringing about a millennium of peace? Or become bait for terrorists? Everything comes from every small choice on the adventure journey.

: The complex personality of the older sister leaves a deep impression

In addition, numerous hidden elements also provide players with ample space to explore, with up to 100 floors of the Palace of the Dead and beautiful aerial gardens with complex routes, all of which make players linger and forget to leave. It is worth mentioning the ubiquitous help system, which provides corresponding explanations for equipment, magic, locations, and even every plant and tree on the battlefield, allowing players to have a better understanding of the world in the game.

    The art style and plot of this work also match very well& nbsp; 

The heavy plot and meticulous portrayal of details have also become a signature feature of producer Taiji Matsuno. After the rise of the Royal Knights II franchise, he was also poached by Square (now SE) at the time, and later brought players a series of classic works such as Final Fantasy Strategy, Wild Adventure Tan, and Final Fantasy 12.

The First Remake of the Great Sword and Axe - "Wheel of Fate"

After receiving widespread acclaim, Knights Royale 2 was ported to Sony's first generation PS and Sega SS consoles. The SS version also added character voices from several well-known voice actors, which was favored by many players at that time. After a 15 year silence, "The Royal Knights: Wheel of Fate" landed on the PSP in 2010.

Wheel of Fate is not simply a transplant, but a remastered version with significant changes, and it is also the first remake of this game. The core Wheel of Destiny system is divided into two parts, and "Wheel of Destiny: Tank" on the battlefield allows players to look back and make better decisions. After completing the game, "Wheel of Destiny: World" allows players to travel through time and space, experience the full content of each route, and provide a way for players who love collecting to collect all companions. Finally, we can fight together with the Paladin Astrologers!

The highly acclaimed plot of the previous work has been further expanded through the addition of new companions. General Lavinis, who is of mixed race between the Wistas and the Gargastans, struggles repeatedly in the process of identity recognition; The pirate Azestan, who washed his hands with gold due to his daughter's death, picked up his sword again to end the chaotic world; Ozma and Haberlim, Leonard and Alothy, Didaro and Moldobai, and other groups of lovers, experienced life and death in the war, and everything came together in the final joint battle, striving for true peace.

's new companions also bring different interpretations of war from different perspectives

There have been significant changes in the PSP remake system, with professional levels replacing personal levels, completely altering the gameplay logic of the game. A brand new synthesis system, more magical equipment, more hidden elements, a prototype title system and score collection have all further enhanced the game's playability. However, on the other hand, the lack of polishing in various details has also led players to have mixed opinions on all aspects of the system changes in this game.

For example, the probability of synthesis can be very troublesome in the later stage, and having to synthesize one by one is also a waste of time; The adoption of career levels requires companions of special professions to spend a lot of time leveling up to keep up with the team, and single profession gameplay such as All Archers seriously undermines the game balance; Hidden attack correction makes a large number of weapons a decoration, and the low success rate and difficulty of upgrading theft skills are daunting; Multiple titles that can only be obtained without using "Wheel of Fate: Tank" make this new system a decoration; The enemy AI who always puts auxiliary magic in the rear is so foolish that it's a waste of everyone's time

A finely crafted classic reproduction - Rebirth

For most domestic players, the official Chinese culture and full voice of Knights Royale Rebirth are the most intuitive changes this game brings, allowing more players to have the opportunity to deeply experience and understand the plot. This can be said to be a major highlight of this remake. Unfortunately, the translation of names and place names this time seems quite stiff, such as Warren, Max, Katuya, etc. Compared to the smooth translation of the plot text, it is like machine translation

, for example, there is a prompt in the plot to open a city without blood

In terms of the system, many issues that appeared in the PSP version of Wheel of Fate have been resolved, and in many places, it can even be seen that the production team is trying to make complementary changes between the original work and Wheel of Fate. For example, the level has changed from professional level to personal level in the original work, and the equipment has also returned to the original work without any level restrictions; Exercise regression has replaced the training mode in the original work, becoming the main way for players to easily level up; The interrupt record disappears after being read back to the original work, but the corresponding title removes the tank restriction, making "Wheel of Fate: Tank" more prominent on the battlefield. Otherwise, the title of 0 damage would be too difficult...

The success rate of synthesis has now increased to 100%, and modifications such as batch synthesis make the operation more user-friendly; The increase in enemy AI poses a greater threat to our side; Hidden attack correction and cancellation, the main weapon in the later stage can only be obtained by synthesizing and hiding maze drops; Thieves have become enemy specific professions, so you no longer have to worry about theft. In addition, the TP and ninjutsu resources required for the must kill moves have been eliminated, and they have been unified to consume MP, making the tactics more unified.

In addition to these detailed revisions, the Royal Knights Rebirth also features a brand new system that has a significant impact on combat. Firstly, there is a new card system, where randomly appearing cards on the battlefield include enhanced attacks, enhanced magic attacks, enhanced MP recovery, and increased skill activation probability, all of which have very obvious effects. The card usually refreshes on the map between the enemy and ourselves, so the previous strategy of shrinking and waiting for the enemy to come up and break through one by one has become more risky, because enemies who receive card reinforcement will be more difficult to deal with, and we also need to consider the risks and benefits of going to the front line to eat the card.

also has a strong opponent who comes with 4 cards on the field

Secondly, the setting of legion level limits our highest level, rendering the gameplay of continuously leveling and suppressing levels ineffective. Players need to consider the gameplay of each battle, especially in battles where enemy bosses are more powerful. In the middle and later stages, powerful bosses are often several levels higher than our side, and they come with 4 card enhancements, such as the Chapter 3 Battle Knight BOSS and several battles against the Dark Knight. At this time, it is often necessary to strengthen equipment through synthesis and prepare items to weaken the enemy in order to ensure that they do not get injured and pass the level

The new talisman makes it more convenient for new companions to level up and can also change their attributes to better match weapons and attribute magic. The setting of relics has added more value to the repeated play of various hidden mazes in the later stage, and the 100 story Death Palace is no longer so monotonous after several attempts.

There are also many adjustments in terms of skills, and the equipment interface has undergone significant changes. The combination of equipment skills and magic in the later stage requires more thinking. As for obtaining talismans, they rely on completing additional tasks for each level, which are sometimes used as hints for levels, such as whether there are hidden doors or rare professions that are suitable for speaking of.

The task description for sometimes also prompts

In addition, many details in the game can also show the traces of the production team's careful adjustment and polishing, such as the ethnic favorability that can be viewed in the Warren report after completing the level, which is quite convenient for hidden endings and special companions who need relevant data; The addition of the witch only requires various dragons to catch one, saving a lot of time in catching dragons and brushing money. At the same time, the number of companions has also increased to 100, which can accommodate more special professions; After completing the level, you can switch on and off level synchronization on your own, and choose to quickly clear the level or engage in more balanced battles. However, if you fail a level, you will be forced to restore the current legion level restrictions.

Even the PS version trophy settings this time only selected some main storyline related titles, and there were hardly any difficult ones to choose, such as the title with 0 casualties, which reduced the difficulty of platinum. For players who pursue more collection elements or even perfect collection, the goal they strive for is the full title, full score, and achievement rate that only appears after completing the level.

has abundant collection elements

It is fortunate for players to still see such a finely crafted remake of the SFC version of Knights Royale 2, which has been released for nearly 30 years now! Before playing this game, I couldn't even imagine the production team spending so much effort on this remake that was destined to not sell well... Although there are still some areas worth optimizing in this game, such as fine-tuning the Legion level and the way special equipment in the Death Palace drops, from the content displayed in the game itself, it can be said to be a classic work worthy of the name of "Rebirth"!