Fantastic!

Get ready to fire up those tactical neurons in your brain, as Idea Factory and Compile Heart’s Fairy Fencer F Refrain Chord is set to bring the grid-based combat on April? 25.

Fairy Fencer F Refrain Chord is a tactical RPG?? set in a world where the Goddess and the Vile God have an ongoing feud?. Their last encounter resulted in them sealing each other away in the time-out corner. However, they’ve dropped a mess of leftover weapons that are sought by warriors known as Fencers. You join a fencer named Fang and his companions as they set out to find the Furies and resurrect the Goddess.

[embed]//youtu.be/qUd5UloNCQQ[/embed]

You can expect your usual slate of TRPG mechanics, such as terrain modifiers, buffs, and spells. You can also use your collected Furies ??to stab the world map (?) to unlock hidden locations and fairies.

I love fairies, but I know absolutely nothing about the Fairy Fencer F series and had to do a bunch of research just to make sure I wasn’t saying something inaccurate when I summarized what it’s all about. Our own CJ Andriesson, on the other hand, gave it a mention as a runner-up to his most anticipated games of the year. Personally, I’m a big fan of CJ’s taste in games, so I take stock in that. Hopefully, he’l?l grace us with a review of it, bu??t I’m neither his editor nor his mom, so that’s up to him.

Fairy Fencer F Refrain Chord wi?ll be hitting PS4, PS5, and Switch on April 25, 2023.

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The Equalizers

Compile Heart has launched a teasing website for an upcoming project set within the universe of niche Japanese franchise Galapagos RPG. The site �which you can check out right here �teases a "Galapagos RPG Evolve," which suggests a re??master, remake, or sequel to the cult adventure.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcmnKD2rrPI&t

The new website hosts a mysterious video titled "Evolve: Mashup," which sees the original Galapagos RPG brand logo ripped open to ?reveal two audio equalizers �each of which represents two different songs. The music tracks combine in a dramatic crescendo, also revealing the latter "F" on-screen. The songs separate once again as the video comes to an end.

While the "F" is likely a reference to the first title in the franchise, 2013's Fairy Fencer F, it remains a mystery as to what the new site is specifically advertising. Regardless, we won't ??have to wait too much longer to find out as Compile Heart will lift the curtain on the mystery title in this week's issue of Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu, which will hit the shelves later this week on May 19. We'll be sure to bring you any pertinent news or details as it pertains to this peculiar comeback.

Compile Heart launches "Galapagos RPG Ev??olve" new title teaser website [Gematsu]

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Idea Factory expanding its reach to PC

Idea Factory International has announced plans to bring a handful of its role-playing games to PC. Hyperdimension Neptunia, Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation, and Fairy Fencer F will all be headed to Steam in the near future.

Re;Birth and Re;Birth 2: Sisters Generation are remakes of the first pair of Hyperdimension Neptunia games, which parody the games industry via moe anthropomorphism. They were originally designed for PS Vita and feature a number of improvements, such as enhanced visuals, new music and voice acting, and the battle system from Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory.

Fairy Fencer F, released on PS3 this autumn, siphons the essence of the Neptunia games into a fantasy setting, telling a tale about magica??l weapon users caught up in a battle between gods.

Re;birth 2 launches for Vita acros??s North America and Europe in February.

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Not 'fairice,' but 'fairize!'

If you want to think outside the box, the role-playing genre may not be the perfect playground for you -- at least, when it comes to traditional Japanese titles, which generally confine themselves to a set of tried-and-true mechanics. For some, that’s acceptable. We know what we’re getting into, and what to expect. When it comes to Compile Heart’s latest, Fairy Fencer F, it’s clear that the company. famous for the Hyperdimension Neptunia series. went back to basics in order to tell its newest story of fairie??s, furies, and fencers.

Unfortunately, “back to basics” in this instance translates to a dull slog through menus, tutorials, and conversations interspersed with combat. And while the combat is enjoyable, there j?ust isn’t enough of it to propel you through the slower parts.

Fairy Fencer F (PS3)
Developer: Compile Heart
Publisher: NIS America
Released: September 16, 2014
MSRP: $49.99

You should already be pretty aware of where the story is going when it opens up with the perpetually hungry Fang, who doesn’t really care about anything he’s doing since he’s so hungry. Right when those words spill?? out of his mouth, it becomes infinitely more difficult to care about anything that transpires during his time in the story -- unfortunately he’s the protagonist, so we’re forced to listen to plenty more drivel about how apathetic he truly is about things. And how he’ll “eat when he wants to.” Riveting.

But when Fang hears he can pull a special Sword in the Stone move and wish for whatever he wants as a result?? (food, of course) he does so and gets a whole lot ??more than he bargained for. When a fairy jumps out and tells him he’s now forced to gather weapons to be used in a battle to seal away the “Vile God,” he becomes bound to a special sword known as a Fury, and eating just has to wait until he fulfills his new role as a being known as a Fencer. I’d be pretty upset if I were Fang personally, but then again I would have just gone to a grocery store or something, like a rational person.

The fairy within Fang’s Fury weapon is a hot-headed pink-haired nymphette named Eryn, and when you combine her haughty condescension with Fang’s apathetic “can’t-be-bothered&rd?quo; attitude, you have a recipe for two of the most grating characters you could possibly have been forced to spend time with. It’s really quite unpleasant, the culmination of the several awful anime tropes you always hope to avoid when it comes to this genre, and it only gets worse from there.

In case you couldn’t already tell, there’s not much of an opportunity for epic storytelling or anything like that here, so thankfully the battles that eventually crop up give some semblance of meaning to the game. It’s a familiar turn-based affair, though you can roam the battlefield and call on your Fury partners i??n order to give you power.

Your partners and powers metamorphosize over the course of the game, making combat the strongest part of the concoction. As you earn weapon points and the ability to customize your equipment, you’ll realize that strategic point assignment is absolutely important. If you don’t upgrade specific things, like your combos, you’ll find that cutting down swarms of enemies is actually an impossibility, finding yourself back at square one if you don’t bother to take the time to upgrade. For anyone wishing to look beyond the typical “press X to bash Y into oblivion” system, Fairy Fencer F delivers, an??d it’s a genuinely fun, while it lasts?.

What really steals the show is the “Fairize” ability, which finds you fusing with your fairy partner ??for stat boosts that go completely off the charts. You’re essentially stabbed through the torso by your Fury weapon, and after a brief, cheesy J-rock interlude, are fused with your partner. You get a fabulous transformation, new attack a?nimations, and a nigh-unstoppable form that you’ll want to call on time and time again.

Despite this powerful option, the game’s somewhat unpredictable difficulty curve will undoubtedly end up affecting you at least one point or another, especially when you find yourself facing bosses, who are more difficult than the enemies around them in a ridiculously non-proportionate way. While that’s usually par for the course with JRPG bosses, the level of difficulty they achieve in Fairy Fencer F can get out of hand, and when you’re forced to grind for twice as long as normal to defeat them, there’s?? a problem.

You’ll have to hit the dungeons in order to get to the meatier parts of the game, as well. Combat is engaging, as previously established, but traversing the various dungeons, represented by different elemental affinities, is more drudgery than anything else. You aren'??t offered the opportunity to freely roam around in any environments, so they’ve got that going for them, but the simple action of moving from one room to another when it comes to dungeon areas isn't exactly scintil??lating. There's even a drop in framerate when things tend to heat up, which is bizarre, given the fact that the game isn't absolutely mind-blowingly gorgeous to start with.

Fairy Fencer F is inherently flawed, but it does boast familiar combat, plenty of items to collect, and JRPG elements that do make up for some of its shortcomings. Unfortunately, dull and grating characters, an uninspired narrative, and the slog of the game’s lengthy dungeons drag it through the dust. If you’re just getting into Compile Heart’s games and are looking for a starting point, you may as well stick to the Neptunia series, which offer more in every department in the long run. Fairy Fencer F should be relegated to footnote status in Compile Heart’s stable of ??role-playing games.

The post Review: Fairy Fencer F appeared first on Destructoid.

Compile Heart's latest adventure is lookin' good

NIS America has released the first batch of English screenshots from the upcoming Fairy Fencer F, releasing in North America on September 23 and?? Europe o?n September 26.

These screenshots act as introductions to some of the cast you'll meet within the game. The full rundown, via NIS A??merica, is as ??follows:

Fang - The main character and a foul-mouthed Fencer. He's something of a hedonist with? a lazy streak, but he always pulls through when he's needed.

Eryn - Fang's fairy partner. She thinks Fang is an idiot and is rather cond?escending to him.

Tiara - A refined Fencer who takes things quite seriously. She mig??ht be slightly masochistic, but prepar?e to be terrified if you get her mad.

Harley - A Fencer and fairy??ologist, she's got an unhealthy obsession with all things fairy. She's rather scatterbrained when it comes to anything outside the realm of her research.

Bahus - Harley's fairy partner. He looks tough, but he's actually an accomplished cook and domestic caret??aker.

Pippin - A mysterious Fencer full of wisdom. How does his brain operate with a sword stabbed th?rough his head? Who knows?

Soji - Pippin's dashing, gentlemanly fairy partner. He's a well-mannered butler? who's oft??en mistaken for a Fencer.

Sherman - A Fencer who desires world peace and wants to keep Furies out of evil hands. He exudes style in his dress and speech. That's probabl?y why he a?nd Fang don't get along.

Ryushin - Sherman's fairy partner. Serious, stern, and robotic in appearance - he can be stubbo??rn and unwavering in his thoughts at times.

Obviously, Pippin is the cutest character. Eryn sounds like your run-of-the-mill tsundere, but I'm hoping she's a little more than that. I'm also hoping that Fang isn't your average, boring dude who suddenly fi?nds himself in the midst ??of tons of beautiful girls who want to jump his bones. Because that's exactly what he looks like. Harem fodder.

At any rate, it's looking good, as far as aesthetics go. I'm certainly willing to give it a??t a try as a Compile Heart fan. Who else is going to be picking it up?

The post Here’s your first look at Fairy Fencer F in English appeared first on Destructoid.

More Japanese games to go with Danganronpa 2

Earlier today, Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair got a release date for North American Vitas: September 2. I still need to play the first.

Anyway, more Japanese games have western release dates. Compile Heart's RPG Fairy Fencer F is coming on September 23. The loli characters come from the Hyperdimension Neptunia artist, but the games' gods were designed by Final Fantasy's Yoshitaka Amano. Plus, Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) did the music.

Meanwhile, Disgaea 4: A Promise Revisited -- a touched up, additional content (plus old DLC) version of Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten -- is coming on August 12. Good fit the Vita.

Danganronpa 2, Fairy Fencer F & Disgaea ??4 Vita dated f?or North America [All Games Beta]

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Compile Heart role-playing game announced for autumn release

It's happening! Fairy Fencer F is headed to North American and Euro?pean shores this fall, courtesy of the localization-smiths at NIS America.

The turn-based role-player comes by way of Compile Heart, the studio behind the Hyperdimension Neptunia games, and features contributions from Final Fantasy artis??t Yoshitaka Amano and legendary composer Nobuo? Uematsu. 

Set in a fantasy world, the story follows a young man (named Fang of all thin?gs) who pulls a sword from a stone and suddenly finds his journey through life set on an exciting new trajectory as he becomes caught up in a struggle between warring deities.

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Does the F stand for fan service?

Fairy Fencer F is cleaving its way onto PlayStation 3 in Japan this week. The fantasy role-playing game was developed in conjunction with Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano and composer Nobuo Uematsu, and sports an enhanced version of the Hyperdimension Neptunia battle system.

The story follows a pair of powerful warriors, the eponymous fencers, on an adventure where they become caught? up in a conflict between a pair of warring deities. The title ??will be available starting October 10 in Japan. An international release has not been announced at this time.

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FFF!

Compile Heart has released a new set of screenshots and environmental concept art for Fairy Fencer F. Showcasing the fantasy role-playing game's characters, dialogue, and battle system, it's looking like the forthcoming title will be at least superficially similar to the studio's last effort, Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory.

Fairy Fencer F releases in Japan on September 19 exclusively for Pl??ayStation 3.

Fairy Fencer F [Compile Heart]

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Teaser showcases one of Tiara's special attacks and not much else

Compile Heart has served up a morsel of gameplay footage for its upcoming fantasy role-player Fairy Fencer F. And, well, it looks like a Compile Heart game.

Despite resembling just about everything else the studio has put out in recent memory, Fairy Fencer F is something of an interesting release, if only for its impressive pedigree. Developed by the Hyperdimension Neptunia team, the PlayStation 3 title features artwork by Final Fantasy illustrator Yoshitaka Amano a?nd music from Nobuo Uematsu and the Earthbou??nd Papas.

Fairy Fencer F is scheduled to launch on September 19 in Japan.

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