Not All Who Wander Are Lost: An Elrentaros Wanderings Review

By Manuel

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch

A while back I heard about a game called Elrentaros Wanderings that was set to come to the Nintendo Switch by way of publisher Red Art Games. It seemed to be a cute Action RPG featuring a familiar anime aesthetic, but that was all I knew about it initially. Imagine my surprise when I learned that it was the latest game to be developed by Yoshifumi Hashimoto's studio HAKAMA. For those not familiar with him, Yoshifumi Hashimoto was a producer on many of the recent Story of Seasons titles, and has far more other notable credits than I can list here. Other big names in the development team include Shie Nanahara (Pokémon and One Piece card games) and Minako Iwasaki (Ys series), who were behind the illustrations that drew me to the game in the first place. That's all a rather long-winded way to say that I was now very excited to play the game, and couldn't wait to see if it lived up to my now raised expectations. Seeing as the game is just about here, there's no other way to find out but to dive right in! Also, I should mention one thing before we continue. Even though this game is solely focused on the Nintendo Switch version, it also is available on PC via Steam, though published by Bushiroad Inc. I imagine that everything I'm about to say will apply to both versions, but I can't be totally sure. Keep that in mind if you're looking for a review on that particular version.

This could also be the name of the game.

You're also a student.

Elrentaros Wanderings places you into the shoes of a protagonist that can either be male or female, and can be renamed by the player if the default names seem a bit too boring and default. No matter what choices you make for your character, the game opens with you running from something you don't remember. You then find a mirror that starts to glow mysteriously. Whether related to the mirror or not, you soon find yourself in a tent on the outskirts of an idyllic medieval looking town. This is the titular town of Elrentaros. After introducing yourself to the residents, and gaining their trust by completing various tasks, you learn more about the mystery behind the mirror. There's someone in town who will help you, but he's currently missing. After rescuing him a party is in order, and you decide to change clothes in your tent. That shift in wardrobe somehow transports you to a totally different world, one not unlike our own. In this world you're a student, and it turns out some of your friends and acquaintances bear a striking resemblance to the residents of the mysterious town you were at just moments ago. Even though the world of Elrentaros seems like a distant memory, you find that you've returned to it after you fall asleep. The mysteries continue to grow as you learn that time passes differently between the worlds, and that there might be a lot more to the mirror than meets the eye. What are the connections between the two worlds? What's the secret of the mirror? Who or what is behind all this? All that and more is revealed over the course of the game. While there's obviously a lot more to the plot that I can discuss, I don't want to get too deep into spoilers, and honestly it gets rather complicated from there anyway. Suffice it to say that Elrentaros Wanderings offers a story-rich experience that is filled with a memorable cast of characters. My brief description might not sound like all that much, but the game's plot really kept me invested. There are twists, turns, secrets to be revealed, villains to uncover, and much more. I would even say it was the best aspect of the game overall, if there wasn't so much else to praise.

What is the secret of the mirror?

Hikari is best girl.

Explaining Elrentaros Wanderings' gameplay is a rather daunting task, so I guess I'll start by detailing the gameplay loop itself first. Each chapter of the game gives you a core dungeon to explore that may or may not require you to create a higher level character build to meet its challenges. In short, each of the game's dungeons has a suggested level to challenge it, a general idea of what type of equipment you'll find within, and several goals for you to meet that aren't revealed prior to your first time entering. A dungeon run technically isn't successful until you defeat the boss of the current level you're in, and from there you can return to town. Technically Elrentaros is your hub before, during, and after all dungeon encounters, but many things happen after a dungeon run that make the return visit the most important one. If you were able to clear any of the dungeon's bonus tasks, you'll be given items that you can use to complete sidequests for the town's residents. The most important of these are for the ten romanceable characters, but you can complete tasks for most everyone you see. You also unlock new gear at the shops depending on the dungeon you just cleared, and you can also unload all the extra stuff you found too. Most importantly, you can continue the main storyline and move on to the next big dungeon. Even though I probably made it sound like only one dungeon is ever open to you at any one time, but that actually isn't the case. All previously completed dungeons can be revisited at any time, and each of them have multiple level-based challenges for you to take on. It will take about five full runs to fully clear each dungeon, and that's if you're able to get all those optional goals your first time through. This might sound like a very simple gameplay loop, but there's a lot more to it.

Different challenges mean different rewards.

Enemies often come in big swarms.

Though the dungeon crawling aspect of the game is very important, the town of Elrentaros is arguably the true core of the game. Not only does it house just about every NPC you'll interact with, but it's also where the visual novel, dating sim, and even light farming aspects of the game take place. I already mentioned it earlier, but completing tasks for the town's residents is a very important part of the game. Beyond simply working your way towards winning the heart of your favorite character, getting a high level of affection with a town's resident allows for various equippable upgrades to be added to your character build. These stat and skill boosts vary depending on the character that grants them, but it's arguably the biggest reason for the entire relationship system in the first place. You also can work your way to going to a resident's house for dinner, and even having them visit you in your tent, but that's for players to discover on their own. The town area is also where you can harvest the materials needed to acquire gifts for each of the residents, and this is how you can boost their affection for you if completing a dungeon's challenge feels a bit too daunting. Light visual novel elements come in the form of dialogue trees, but most of these are for flavor text. Some will of course alter a relationship stat or two, but those can be easily shifted in other ways. Lastly, your tent acts as sort of a full stop to the current chapter, and it's usually how you'll move on with the main plot. Sleeping often means you'll wake up in the "real world", and that whole process is a rather neat way to wrap up a string of dungeons.

Dungeon exploration and combat take up about half of the game's runtime, so let's take a look at that next. First off is discussing your current character build. Everything in Elrentaros Wanderings has a level attached to it, including the weapons and armor. Equipping high level equipment raises your character's stats, and also averages towards your current level. Even though it may seem like equipping only the highest level of gear is the way to go, there's more to the system then simple stat gains. The most important part of the equipment system would have to be the weapons themselves. There are several weapon types in the game, and each cater to different play styles. Think of something similar to what's found in the Monster Hunter series, and you'll get an idea of what you'll find here. This means that you'll sometimes prefer to fight with a great sword, but your best one will be a few levels weaker than your most powerful weapons. You then have to consider if the trade off in stat gains are worth it. Besides levels, some weapons have stat-boosts, skills, and abilities built into them that you can unlock with in-game currency. These are important to take into account too when creating a character build, though they're a bit harder to factor in since money will have to be spent in order to actually use them. Just as important as weapons and armor are your accessories and items. All items in the game act as equippable abilities with a cooldown feature attached to them. This means you can equip something like a spell or a healing potion to a specific slot, and use it over and over again as long as it’s fully charged. Once your character is fully outfitted to your liking, you can set forth into a dungeon.

Treasure found high up is always good!

A few dialogue options.

Combat itself is rather simple, and follows a standard combo/dodge system found in most Action RPGs. Each weapon has a standard attack combo, and you can repeatedly attack with it as long as you aren't interrupted by an enemy. Speaking of which, enemies often come at you in swarms, but usually only spawn in when you hit a pre-determined area on the map. This means you can technically avoid some encounters if you aren't feeling up to taking on every single monster in a particular area, but all on-screen enemies have to be cleared in order to move on to the next floor. Besides attacking, you have a dodge in the form of a roll. This move can be a real life saver, but it too has a cooldown attached to it and can't be used back-to-back. I already mentioned the healing potion thing earlier, but I feel it’s worth bringing up again as there are no traditional consumable items to be found in the game. Just about everything you find in a dungeon will come in the form of equipment or items, with most of it being found in chests or dropped by defeated enemies. Dungeons exploration is rather simple, but there are things like warp tiles, bonus zones, and traps to worry about. Each dungeon has several floors, and you can't backtrack through them. The last point is important as it can often mean that you have to complete an entire dungeon again if you mess up an optional goal.  Also, even though each dungeon has variations that depend on the level of your current build, the differences only come in the form of stronger enemies or better equipment drops. The layout of all the dungeons will remain the same no matter what challenge you choose upon entering.

Getting invited to dinner is the first goal.

Beware of traps like spikes.

While I might have painted a complicated picture of Elrentaros Wanderings, I can't stress enough how smooth the entire gameplay loop becomes once you fall into the groove of things. Hours can go by, and all that matters is getting the next dungeon cleared and making sure that you're still in the good graces of the residents you've been wooing since the game began. I personally tend to like my Action RPGs to be rather traditional, with standard level up mechanics and combat, but I fell in love with Elrentaros Wanderings from the very beginning despite the strange way it manages character advancement. Every dungeon is unique, and I didn't mind occasionally having to go back to get things I missed my first time through. There are still some challenges I wish didn't require very technical things to pull off on very high floors, but I guess a game needs some sort of challenge. Speaking of challenge, the game offers multiple difficulty settings that you can change on the fly. This is very important as there will be times when you'll probably be several levels under the suggestion for a dungeon, and still want to give it a go anyway. It makes the game all the more inviting, and I'm totally here for it. Gameplay aside, I already stated my love for the story and characters, but I want to mention it again. The mystery of what is going on between the "real world" and Elrentaros kept me playing, and then getting max relationship with my favorite residents is what made it fun and rewarding. This is one of my favorite games of the year, and I'm definitely going to be playing it for months to come. All that said, I guess we've dwelled on gameplay long enough.

So many enemies, so little time.

What is the link between the worlds?

Considering the big names behind the game's production, it probably comes as no surprise that Elrentaros Wanderings features impressive visuals. Not only do the game's 3D environments look neat and cool on their own, but they're somehow still outshined by the character and enemy designs. Each of the characters look and feel unique, and they each have a charm that's hard to describe outside of playing the game. You're more than likely going to gravitate towards a few personal favorites, and that's in no small part due to their overall look and aesthetic. This excellence in design extends to the enemies too, where even the common monsters have multiple variants. The large mobs of enemies feel less repetitive when they all look great, and the bosses are all large, imposing, and very unique. Though the dungeons themselves don't change if you tackle a tougher variant, the bosses do. Each of them have so much character built into their designs, that it made me want to learn more about them. Even the character builds look great, as do the backgrounds in both Elrentaros and the real world. I guess there the one negative I can say is that the area of Elrentaros itself is rather limited, but I think that's at least somewhat intentional. Small caveats aside, Elrentaros Wanderings is a great-looking game, and I'll stop raving about the visuals now for fear that I've already done so for a bit too long.

If there is one single area where Elrentaros Wanderings shines the brightest, it has to be sound. I guess it starts with the incredible soundtrack, with it being full of tracks that perfectly suit whatever scene they're in. You have dark, foreboding music for the dungeons, bright, cheerful tunes for the Elrentaros itself, and blood-pumping themes for the boss battles. There's just so much to enjoy here that I could go on forever, and I'm definitely going to be looking into the soundtrack after I'm done with this review. That's not it either, as the game also features amazing sound effects and voice acting as well. Sound effects don't often get as much praise as they should, but Elrentaros Wanderings is full of great monster roars, weapon swings and thwacks, and more that bring the world to life. Voice acting is also on point, as every character is voiced by a great cast of Japanese voice actors. Sadly the game isn't fully voiced, as only certain scenes are voiced in full, but that's understandable considering how big of a script the game has. Despite not every line being voiced, each character's small quips and asides still add to each scene. The somewhat minimal voice acting also makes it all the more noteworthy when a scene does get the full voice treatment. Oh, and I should also point out that there is no English dub here, but those can sometimes be hit or miss anyway. It's not often where I think that a game blows out of the park when it comes to sound, but Elrentaros Wanderings does exactly that.

Every game needs a bit of farming.

Careful, she's a child.

Completing Elrentaros Wanderings is no easy task, and I'm not even sure what that "completing" the game even means. Sure you can reach the game's conclusion but there's so much content here that full completion feels somewhat unmeasurable. It's also a game that's highly replayable, with each subsequent playthtough being able to be fully unique thanks to sheer amount of possibilities available to the player. This is a game where players can easily spend several weeks trying to see every nook and cranny, and the gameplay loop is just as entertaining as anything found in the Story of Seasons series. I for one want to restart the game as the female protagonist, and see what differences there are if any. Considering the amount of content the game has to offer, and the fact that this is far from an actual indie release, I was surprised to learn that it comes with an extremely reasonable $39.99 price tag. Not only do I think the game is an absolute steal at that price, it's even currently on sale at the time of this writing. This is a game I would still pick up at a full standard price, and it feels like a no-brainer doing so with it being as downright cheap as it is right now.

What is the secret of the mirror?

Things HAVE gotten interesting...

It probably comes as no surprise that I give Elrentaros Wanderings the fullest of recommendations. It's one of the best Action RPGs I've played this year, and its inclusion of visual novel and dating sim elements really adds to the overall gameplay experience. You can truly chart your own course in this game, and that's not something I feel is always possible in modern games. I went in with rather high expectations, and they were somehow still exceeded. I hope that this becomes a full-fledged franchise of its own, as I'd love to see what new and exciting things a sequel could bring to the table. Pick this one up now, and thank me later. See you in the next one!

Check Out Elrentaros Wanderings on Nintendo Switch:
https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/elrentaros-wanderings-switch/

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Story: A+
Gameplay: A
Graphics: A+
Music/Sound: A+
Value: A+

Overall: A+

Pros:
+ A great Action RPG that mixes in visual novel, dating sim, and even light farming elements in as well.
+ The story is right, detailed, and the game features a memorable cast of characters.
+ The gameplay loop is quick and fun, and most players will sink hours into the game before they realize it.
+ With some amazing names behind the game's illustrations, it's no surprise that the game boasts impressive visuals and character designs.
+ Not only does the game feature an amazing soundtrack, it also has great sound design in general.
+ Very replayable, with lots of gameplay possibilities and variations open to the player.
+ Priced very affordable, at $39.99, considering the amount of content one gets here.

Cons:
- Combat can sometimes be a messy affair, made somewhat complicated by the cooldown needed for just about everything outside of a basic attack.
- Having to repeat an entire dungeon to get a missed sidequest item can get a bit irritating after a while.
- The overworld area of Elrentaros does have a rather limited scope to it.
- It would've been nice to have the entire game be voiced.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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