Feb 062019
I was so excited when I first started Radiant Historia.
Radiant Historia is consistently referenced as a fantastic JRPG and recommended to me by friends who generally like the same games I do.
It’s also on my list of games I wish I loved, because somehow I just couldn’t get into it.
I played Radiant Historia for about 17 hours. While I liked the timeline-hopping in theory, in practice I started to find it annoying to switch timelines whenever I encountered an obstacle. The combat system was fine, but I mainly play JRPGs for their story and characters.
And that was the problem. I didn’t feel invested in the characters. When I took a break from the game, I wasn’t concerned with how the story would turn out.
Yet people praise this game so much, it makes me want to try it again to see what I’m missing.
So just like my debate over Inazuma Eleven, I’m trying to decide: should I give Radiant Historia another try, or is this highly-praised JRPG just not for me?
And if you’re a Radiant Historia fan, how did you feel about the story and characters and when did you become invested in them?
I forgot all about that game. I remember thinking it looked interesting but I never picked it up in the end.
They recently remastered it with an additional timeline route, too.
Oh that’s neat. I’ll get that version if I ever feel especially interested in the game. xD
I’m not sure how well-received the new route was. I know some people disliked the art change in the remaster.
I enjoyed the game a lot. I got invested in the characters mostly as the story went on and different branches or side stories would give the characters more depth. I enjoyed the creativity of switching between timelines and seeing how the fates of the characters differed based on that one original choice.
To me, the timeline-switching just felt… I don’t know. It didn’t feel as natural, maybe because of how it was always necessary to switch to get past an obstacle.