Sword and Fairy 7 – Spotlight
When I finished playing Sword and Fairy 6, I figured my time with the series was done for. Surprised by the presentation of Sword and Fairy 7, I thought I had grown out of the series. It appears as if this is a new chapter for the franchise in terms of gameplay mechanics, graphics, and design. Still, the overall appeal may be hampered by the complexity of the systems.
While Xiu Wu appears to be out of his element in Sword and Fairy 7’s opening battle against demonic hordes, he is actually battling a powerful deity. Yue Qingshu discovers him in the human realm after a last-ditch effort, which is where the adventure begins. Demons discover a child who has been shielded by humans. As the reincarnation of a powerful god, this child must be guarded.
Even though there is some regional political tension, everyone agrees that the demons must be dealt with. In order to get the help of several spirits, Xiu Wu and Yue Qingshu are sent on a mission to uncover the true motives of their ancestors and how this all came to be.
The narrative is dense. This is a typical Chinese fantasy drama, and it doesn’t hold back in delivering the goods. It’s a bit like watching a Chinese soap opera, where the plot twists and turns are resolved in a matter of minutes. It’s almost like you’re just going along for the ride because there isn’t a lot of player interaction.
However, it’s a good show to watch. The storey is dense because the subtitled text doesn’t stay on screen long enough to process the paragraphs of fantasy jargon the characters are spewing out, making it difficult to follow along. Even if you don’t know why you’re going to a location at first, the most important moments can still be observed.
Action-oriented gameplay is the norm in this title. One character from a party can be commanded at a time as the party explores and battles monsters. Additionally, towns have NPCs who offer side quests for additional resources. However, these quests don’t need to leave an impression and can be completed without much attention to what the requester is saying. Maps that tell you exactly where to go for a mission or side mission, so you never get lost, are a major factor in this.
For new weapons and gear, there are numerous upgradeable systems, but you won’t need them until a few hours into the game. Few dungeons are encountered in the first 10 hours, but you won’t need to invest in your gear until much later in the game.
Many of those hours are spent walking from one cutscene to the next, with no actual combat. Not that it diminishes the overall enjoyment of the series because of its rich mythology, but I can say that this instalment is much easier to get through than the others. The translation is generally correct, but there are a few instances where the tenses don’t match up correctly.
During combat, players can use a variety of combos that evolve over time. These are a mixture of powerful and ineffective attacks, as well as magical abilities. At any time, a character can switch to a different element that they have access to. The controls aren’t the most intuitive, but I got the hang of it after a few hours of play.
The use of items attached to the directional pad gives the game a more action-oriented feel. Level-ups aren’t celebrated in this game. You’ll notice that your characters are level 12 and in chapter 8 without any fanfare. No matter how you slice it, the interface is always clear with everything you need at a glance.
If you’re playing on Normal difficulty, you won’t have much of a challenge from the enemies. Bosses are a lot of fun because they have interactive parts where the player can do extra damage by pressing the right button at just the right moment. Enemy attacks, on the other hand, are much more difficult to decipher because of their smaller size.
Exploration and combat go hand in hand because the vast landscapes contain a variety of challenging enemies and valuable items to be discovered. The large areas and towns in the game are well-stocked with items. In addition, there are platforming mini-games and card mini-games available. In-game encyclopaedias can be filled with information found in various books.
The character animation and level design in Sword and Fairy 7 are first-rate. Despite this, it is utterly unoptimized for search engines. This game made my 3070 feel like a 1060 when my fans were all set to ultra. Due to the potential player base consisting solely of those with extremely powerful machines, this is an area where there is significant room for improvement. There’s a lot of room for personalization when it comes to the graphics, so experiment until you find something that works for you.
The soundtrack was the star of the show throughout the 25-hour journey. Despite the fact that you may not know how or why you ended up in the final battle, you know that something terrible is about to happen.
Sword and Fairy 7 is a stunning role-playing game that introduces the series to a whole new audience. There is a lot of optimization to be done, but despite the overly dramatic storey beats, the fantastic presentation provides hours of entertainment. For those who prefer a fast-paced, enjoyable experience, there are additional systems to reward patience. It’s hard to go wrong with this adventure if you enjoy your role-playing games to be as niche as this one.
