In this preview we will talk about Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, the new soulslite developed by Square Enix and Team Ninja
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a new one soulslite set in the world of Final Fantasy and was born from a collaboration between Square Enix e Team Ninja. The title was announced for the first time a few days ago, but we have already had the opportunity to try it thanks to demo released on PS5. If you haven’t had the chance to try the game and want to know more, thanks to our preview you can get a better idea of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin.
A dark point of view
To start our preview we want to talk briefly about the plot of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin. The demo released on PS5 it focuses almost solely on the gameplay but, thanks to some statements from Square, we know several very important aspects of history.
Stranger of Paradise is set in the same universe as the first Final Fantasy but tell a story come on much darker tones compared to those to which the series has accustomed us. Jack, the protagonist of the game, arrived from another world along with his companions Ash e Jed, and is intent on kill the entity known as Chaos. Jack’s is more an obsession that’s a wish and it seems that over the course of the game this will push him to do whatever he can to achieve his goal.
A dark-tinted Final Fantasy is certainly very interesting but runs the risk of straying too far from the iconic stylistic features of the series. For the moment it is still too early to judge, but at least we know that the game will actually be linked to the story of the first chapter. In fact, both Garland that Chaos, two very important characters present in the first Final Fantasy.
Final Nioh – Anteprima Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
Stranger of Paradise is a action RPG and, as it is in development by Team Ninja, its gameplay is heavily inspired by that of Nioh. The title incorporates many of the typical elements of the Nioh series, such as the possibility of reduce enemy stamina to zero (called attrition bar) to then perform a powerful execution, but try to open up even to less hardcore players removing technical mechanics like styles and stamina management.
But the game doesn’t just simplify Nioh’s gameplay, but It also enriches it with very interesting new mechanics. For example, instead of stamina, the MP bar, which will be essential for using powerful spell abilities. MPs spent can be recovered by landing basic attacks, but the bar may also increase beyond its maximum by defeating enemies and above all by using executions. On the other hand the indicator may also be reduced in the event of death or if your attrition bar runs out.
Another very interesting mechanic is that of power of Lux. Using this technique you will consume some of your MP to get a bonus that is very reminiscent of the summoning of guardian spirits by Nioh. In this mode all your attacks will inflict very high wear damage and you can even permanently reduce the attrition bar of enemies.
The most original mechanics of the game however is certainly the one that allows you to consume a portion of your attrition bar to block incoming attacks. By stopping a hit in this way, you can absorb a small amount of MP from the target and counterattack promptly. Also, by blocking specific enemy attacks marked with a purple name in this way, you can absorb them and reuse them as if they were consumable objects.
Job System – Anteprima Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
In Stranger of Paradise they are present the classes and each of them will have their own strengths and abilities. In the demo there are only three roles: swordsman, magician and spearman, but there will probably be many more in the full game. The class of the protagonist it can be changed at any time and each of them will greatly influence your character modifying their stats, equipable weapons and much more.
All classes can also be improved through their specification skill tree. By defeating with a certain role you will level up and get it this way PC, that is, points that will allow you to unlock passive skills, combos and techniques. Combos are a kind of class-exclusive active skills that can be used pressing R2 in the middle of a basic attack chain. Techniques, on the other hand, are very special active skills that, once assigned to one of the four keys of the d-pad, they can always be used regardless of the class in use. Finally the passives are classic feature bonuses of the PG.
Once you have completed a class’s skill tree you can also unlock its advanced version. These advanced classes are not just an improved version of their basic form, but feature instead abilities very different from the originals.
These classes offer the player the ability to adopt many different playstyles, but the mechanics that really add so much variety to the title are that of assets. By pressing triangle you can instantly change the attitude of your character, thus modifying any equipment. Specifically by changing the set-up you can change the weapon, armor, skills, techniques and of course also the class in an instant. In this way you can in effect have two completely different characters that can be freely alternated at any time.
The Temple of Chaos – Preview Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin
During the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin demo we were only able to play within one zone, but however, we got an idea of the structure of the areas. The levels of the game seem to be built like those of a classic dungeon crawler. There are shortcuts, secondary areas, safer routes and of course hidden treasures. The system of loot of the game, however, is identical to that of Nioh, so even opening the most secret chests you will always end up finding the same types of weapons and armor but with slightly different stats.
Levels also feature too an environmental interactivity not to be underestimated. In fact, in the demo we noticed how some materials, such as tall grass, can catch fire and continue to inflict damage over time. On the contrary it is also possible sfight walls of flames using water element spells. In the demo there were only a couple of points where this interactivity could be noticed, but we hope that in the full game this aspect will be deepened.
The demo map was also littered with Prisms, that is, gods identical checkpoints to the shrines of Nioh. By interacting with these artifacts you can restore healing items, heal yourself and make monsters respawn. Also in case of death you will obviously come back to life at the last prism used. Unlike the classic soulslike in the event of death you will not lose anything, but your maximum MP will drop dramatically until you have defeated enough enemies.
A Complete Disaster – Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Preview
Throughout the preview we sang the praises of Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin gameplay, but now it’s time to talk about the flaws. The game unfortunately is extremely disappointing in terms of graphics and art. Visually the title turns out to be really bad because of low resolution textures, models that are too rough and above all major lighting problems. Furthermore, the overall aesthetics of the setting and the protagonists turn out to be really too generic and devoid of personality. The only designs that are saved are those of the iconic creatures of the series such as the Prios or the Cactus, since it would be really difficult to be able to ruin them.
The music sounds pretty good too out of place and annoying and, as if that weren’t enough, the animations aren’t great and largely appear to be copied and pasted directly from Nioh. The only aspect that can be saved is the technical one, since overall the demo was quite stable.
Conclusions
Now comes the point of our preview where let’s sum it up on the Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin demo. The title is based entirely on a simplified version of Nioh’s gameplay, but it also adds several very interesting mechanics. Absorbing enemy attacks and then reusing them is really funny and the ability to change every aspect of your character in an instant offers many tactical possibilities. Unfortunately, however, the game at the moment it can’t even come close to the standards set by modern titles. At present, Stranger of Paradise it could easily seem like a game for PS3 and Xbox 360 (and not even one of the best of that generation).
Fortunately, however, this is only a first demo e the developers still have the ability to fix the various problems we encountered. On the other hand the gameplay of the game looks very promising and even just some graphic improvements could make the title much more enjoyable. At this point we can only hope that Square Enix and Team Ninja will take their time to work on this very interesting project.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will be available in the course of 2022 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | S.. If you are interested in staying up to date with all the news on the world of video games and much more, then continue to follow us here on TechGameWorld.com. Furthermore, in case you want to buy some games at an advantageous price, we suggest you take a look at the many offers on Instant Gaming.