"Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen" Review

By Janette G.

Player(s): 1
Platform(s): PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, PC
 
“Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen” may seem like a prequel of sorts, given the last few Utawarerumono releases by NISA the last few years, but it really is the starting point of it all. 

Confused? Sure you are, so let me quickly explain: Prelude to the Fallen is an HD remake of the original Utawarerumono visual novel that kicked off the whole franchise, granted without the h-scenes (what’s with visual novels have shoehorned in tactics sections AND h-scenes?! Pick one or the other and do it right!), improved graphics and music, and some other major upgrades. Why is it just now getting the console/PC upgrade treatment, given that the sequels have long been available? I do not know, but here it is. With that, I guess if you have already played the others, it’s technically a prequel, but I’m not here to split hairs.
 
PttF is a visual novel in almost the purest sense of the term. There’s really not any choices to make within the story sequences aside from which order you watch them in, the aforementioned h-scenes have been cut out (leading to some just weird interactions in the story), and most of the game you’re just reading text as Japanese voices read along with you. It’s a good story though! And the updates (music, visuals, voice overs, etc) are nice! 

You “control” Hakuowlo, a masked man with amnesia who awakes in a small village thanks to the village leader, Tuskur, and her two granddaughters, Aruruu and Eruruu. Hakuowlo decides to repay their kindness by helping out wherever he can, and over the course of the story becomes the leader, rules a country, goes to war, thinks girls are cute, country running is hard, and even regains some of his memory. Also it’s a fantasy story, with many of the characters you meet either having magical powers, are part of a non-human race, or both. There’s literal gods to contend with, shrines to take care of, girls to flirt with, enemies to turn into comrades, and so on. It’s a long, long story, with some 70+ hours to explore.
 
“Wait, war?” Oh yeah, the only real non-VN parts of the game are grid-based tactics battling! And a big part of the remake is a lot of overhauling in this section. The sequels brought in various new combo attacks and the likes, and have been retroactively implemented in PttF as well. There’s a cool turn rewinding mechanic you can use if fights start going south on you, and can even be used in the case of a full up loss as well. A quick time combo system also brings a bit of skill to the battlefield. As much as I enjoyed these fights, they’re relatively few and far between, with the game’s focus being on the story. There is a ton of practice battles to grind out however if you so desire, and some free battles as well.

For being a VN, the updated character art is nice. No huge intensive vistas or anything, but the still imagery is beautifully rendered. The battle art is… okay. It’s fine. Its 3D sprites with some basic animations, but it’ll get you through. Still, it’s all in HD now, a far cry from its PC indie game origins. The music is wonderful, and the voice acting is pretty good, even if it’s only Japanese. A bevy of collections allow you to explore the music and some of the art in a more casual way, if that’s your thing.
 
PttF is a solid, if long, VN, and if you’re a fantasy fan who likes the occasional tactics battle, it might be worth picking up. The weirdness of the h-scenes being cut out isn’t quite smoothed over, but it’s easy enough to live with. VNs not your thing but you just want to play a tactics battling game? Buddy, this isn’t for you. The battles aren’t interesting or frequent enough to justify PttF in that context. If you really want, you could watch the anime from 2006 and play Fire Emblem. It’s almost the same thing.

For More Info On "Utawarerumono: Prelude to the Fallen":
https://utawarerumono.com/prelude-to-the-fallen/

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Story: B
Gameplay: B
Graphics: B
Music/Sound Quality: B
Value: B
 
Overall: B
 
Pros:
+Dozens of hours of engrossing story
+Battles are fun and a nice break from so much reading
+Updates to the visuals and music really bring the origins of Utawarerumono to modern times while still keeping most of the charm
 
Cons:
-The cutting of the more sexual scenes, while understandable for a wider release, really make for some awkward sequences
-It’s A Lot of story. It’s a visual novel first and foremost, so if you’re hoping for a lot of cool battling, you’ll be disappointed
-Too much exposition at times. Yes, it’s a visual novel, but being an early 2000s one shines through for better or worse 

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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.