System: Switch
Release date: September 27, 2024
Developer: FuRyu
Publisher: NIS America
Worlds of wizards and magic aren’t uncommon in the gaming world, but a setting as realistic as modern-day Shibuya, Tokyo does add a flavor that makes Reynatis stand out immediately. Flashy modern day outfits, blazing weapons, and flashy skills with fights breaking out on realistic representations of streets we could go and walk today. Reynatis is set in a prefecture bursting with commerce, the towering shopping malls, businesses, and bistros bustle with traffic of consumers and business people alike. Shibuya is the pinnacle of Japan’s fashion industry, boasts an incredible music scene, and the food is absolutely to die for. Also, for whatever reason, it seems to attract wizards.
With the urban fantasy approach comes the oddities one might expect in a magical world. Strange shimmering fog hovers on streetsides and in alleyways. Strange, colorful graffiti seals back shared power that promises to lift those with magic to greater heights, and the streets themselves are patrolled by a taskforce dedicated to making sure that all things magical are entirely under control. A world full of wizards this may be, but thanks to the tireless efforts of the MEA, order can be maintained – at least the organization hopes.
Reynatis has two sides of its story. Following MEA officer Sari’s endeavor to keep the peace for all citizens and be the face the organization needs to reassure the public sees her strive to hold on to her ideals all while making sense of the corruption and plots around her. On the opposite side, Marin’s focus on freedom and strength sees a young man trying his best to become the strongest that he can in an effort to be the best version of himself that he can be: free and truly liberated from the expectations and restrictions placed upon him by others. As a wizard without affiliation, though, he’s a good target for the MEA’s recruitment, and the mysterious all-wizard ran Guild’s pickings. A little more on these topics can be found in our preview coverage.
The game does its level best to make you really feel as though you are a man on the run – a stress system is included and the player will need to manage the party’s stress to effectively keep their heads in the game. Relaxation can be had in a few easy ways, my favorite being time spent giving out scritches to furry friends found on the streets (yes, you can pet the cats!) but there is also the boost to attack that you get to consider: the higher your stress, the more damage you’ll be dealing out. Keeping it high may be a valid tactic, but if you max out you will be forced into Liberation Mode and thus subject to the dangers that come from being in the public eye with no effort to lay low. Sometimes, suppressing one’s self can make things easier – and Suppression Mode is crucial for navigating the crowded streets without alarming the crowds.
If you happen to be seen doing illegal wizard activities as Marin, you will be placed on a watchlist and actually hunted down. The enemies you will be faced with are incredibly overpowered and your death is pretty much assured in these circumstances – so all you can do is just die and restart and – oh! You just start back on the same screen with your wanted meter reset, no other penalties? Weird, but okay….I’ll take it.
Combat has a bit of a learning curve, feeling similar at times to playing a Xenoblade game, but also having Switchout mechanics akin to NEO: The World Ends With You. The dodging mechanic is integral to making best use of characters while filling back up their MP. As Wizards, MP management is incredibly important. Characters in Liberated Mode will slowly drain MP while remaining in that mode. Players can swap back and forth freely in combat. Regular attacks will not drain MP, but spells and other abilities will. Players can also swap into other party members, each with a lengthy cooldown period.
Switching characters often is a great way to deal massive damage, and characters who you swap out of remain on the battlefield for some time to deal a little extra damage. Dodges and counters, though, seem hard to pull off for me in particular, so my main approach seemed to go into managing the swaps on a timer where I could make sure that each character got as much use as possible, kept MP reasonably high, and could blast enemy faces a few times before swapping out. While the dodge into counterattack combos are an incredible way to regain MP and deal bursts of intense damage, they are a bit difficult to time and the unintuitive button presses for the feature make combat feel clunky and hard to manage. While this does get better with time, it can make early game feel like a slog and may deter some players from carrying on.
The story of Reynatis is a very slow kickoff. As the different parties fill out and you unlock new skills and abilities, the game really comes into its own. RPG music legend Yoko Shimomura’s wonderful soundtrack sets a very serious tone for this world’s Shibuya – a nightlife like no other filled with magic, adventure, danger, and of course the search for what many humans have quested after throughout our history: knowledge and unimaginable power. Sticking through a handful of slow rolling chapters will reward players with a rich story of clashing ideals that comes across as more of a reflection of our own very real world. Luckily we don’t have corrupt wizards running about mucking everything up.
The previously mentioned Guild, ran by those who seek the ability to live freely with their magic, also seems to run the market on the illicit Rubrum drug. Sought after for its ability to grant regular people like you and I the ability to see magic and WizArt, Rubrum also builds up in the human body and eventually turns the addict into a monster. Rubrum, refined by the use of actual wizard blood, is a central plot point in Reynatis’ story. We have two main characters, both striving for what they believe in, yet a common nuisance in the Guild’s predatory recruitment tactics and general lack of obeying societal rules. Hoarding vast bastions of knowledge in their secret fog-hidden retreat, what really matters to them as an end goal? What are they hoping to really achieve?
Visually, Reynatis seems to suffer a bit on Switch. During my play time, every zone change would result in a significant amount of load time. Even when loading in, frames would continue to drop and the game would rarely freeze at times for multiple seconds – I want to say this happened a total of maybe five times throughout my play through. I found this incredibly annoying at best, but was relieved that combat never seemed to suffer the same fate. The crafting system unlocked later in game is slow and feels deliberately obtuse, but is necessary for unlocking and using ability slots. Archaically-designed systems aside, these were my only real gripes for the roughly 25 hours spent clearing Reynatis’ story and side content. Oh yes – the side content!
Some of the most amazing moments by far were met in the crossover sidequests featuring The World Ends With You. In an effort not to spoil what’s revealed for characters and story, I’ll just let players know that the side content is very worth your time and is an absolute must for any fans of the The World Ends with You series. Having not believed the crossover was even real at first (April 1 announcement dates are always iffy!) I was enamored with how it was handled, the character growth, and being able to hear iconic tracks alongside Yoko Shimomura’s offerings was an experience I never knew I needed.
Overall, Reynatis is a fantastic story that I felt enthralled with. I struggled a lot with loading and frame rate issues, and even had to restart my Switch once due to a total freeze. We are currently at a point where we’re seeing the sunset on ways that developers can push our favorite hybrid console, and that’s just a reality that we have to face sometimes, unfortunate as it may be.
I am thankful that games like Reynatis exist. Despite the issues I faced with performance, I connected to the game’s story in a way that most others miss lately. Games that are as much social commentary and art pieces are important. I was left with a lot of thoughts on how the world I live in has its own views on what is important for personal liberty and what is just too much and should be regulated. Personally, I found myself rooting for Marin to achieve his dreams the most – aiming to be the strongest and best version of one’s self is incredibly admirable after all! While I do see a need for control, safety, and peace of mind, I do resonate with the need for personal freedom. To live a life unhindered by the rules placed on you by others seems like a fleeting dream in a modern world full of government regulations and taxes, does it not?
Where do you find yourself? On the side of Liberation, an ideal for personal freedom and few limits? Or would you rather see the Suppression side of things where order defeats chaos and society’s rules are more strictly followed for the good of all?
The Verdict
While I can say without a doubt that Yoko Shimomura’s contributions are some of her best work so far – and I totally will purchase the album if they choose to release it – I cannot say the same about Reynatis’ performance on Switch. Its a wonderful story that feels like playing an anime – sort of like how Ni no Kuni felt like experiencing a Studio Ghibli film. For story, world building and presentation alone, and to a lesser extent the actual late game combat, Reynatis does a fantastic job. Please enjoy the game, but do so on a console that is not our beloved and aging Switch.
Reynatis copy provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.
