Wizards fight in realistic Shibuya! Review of "REYNATIS/RENATIS" with action and a contemporary story

Frew's action RPG "REYNATIS" will be released on July 25, 2024. Here are our impressions of this action RPG, in which "wizards" battle in a realistic recreation of Shibuya, while a story that reflects today's world unfolds.

REYNATIS" takes place in 2024, or modern Japan. In this world, magic is banned and "wizards" are suppressed. Wizards have no choice but to hide their magic and blend in with the general population, join a "guild" of wizards who rebel against the government, join the "M.E.A." police force that controls magic, or become "nora wizards" who do not belong to any group. Shibuya, in particular, is dotted with "fogs," entrances to other worlds that only wizards can see, attracting wizards with an uncontrollable desire for self-expression. In Shibuya, the chaotic situation begins to move when Marin Kirizumi, a university student who is a nora wizard aiming to become the strongest, and Sari Nishijima, a member of M.E.A., two contrasting characters, meet. ......

The film depicts Shibuya, a place between reality and fiction, where magic and wizards exist in a real town. The topography of Shibuya is recreated as it is in reality, with 109 across the scramble crossing from the station, and familiar spots such as Center Gai, Dogenzaka, and Miyashita Park a short distance away. The buildings and stores in the area are decorated with real-life logos and signs, making it a fun place to visit.

One of the most appealing aspects of the film is that Shibuya is sprinkled with an element of magic. Although there is a curfew at night, the area is filled with tension as ordinary people wander around to watch the commotion caused by wizards and addicts of the illegal drug "rubrum".

And there are fog and magical graffiti "wizards" scattered all over Shibuya, which only wizards can see. For those who live in the Kanto area, this is the town where they go for fun on weekends, and for those who live in other areas, it is a town that they have seen in anime and manga. The key words, such as "people with a twisted need for approval," "curfew," and "ordinary people who came to see the commotion," are also modern and will draw players into the world of the story.

In the streets of Shibuya, players may find themselves in battles with "The Damned," human beings turned into monsters by illegal drug addiction, and members of the M.E.A., which controls magic.

In addition to being highly action-packed, the battle system is quite unique. You have to switch between two modes of battle: "liberation" and "suppression."

Liberation mode allows the player to use a variety of magic while not hiding the fact that he or she is a wizard. In this work, everything from normal attacks to skills is magic, so it can be considered an attack mode. By simply pressing a series of buttons, you can perform a series of brilliant attacks with magical weapons such as swords, guns, fists, and hammers, and the screen is very flashy. Sari, in particular, flies through the air with her normal attacks, which makes for an interesting contrast with the realistic Shibuya cityscape.

Skills can be used with the touch of a button, and there is a wide variety, such as summoning magical creatures, releasing flying weapons, and launching powerful continuous attacks. New skills can be obtained by seeking out wizards painted on the walls of buildings and tunnels, so the combination of exploration and battle is an interesting aspect of the game.

All attacks consume MP, and if you run out of MP, you will have no way to attack; you can wait and wait for MP to recover, but understanding suppression mode will make battles more fun.

Suppression mode is a state in which the wizard wears a hood or hat to suppress his magical power and hide the fact that he is a wizard. You cannot attack at all. However, when an enemy attack is imminent, time slows down, and if you press and release the evade button at the right moment, "Evasion Absorption" is activated. This will nullify the attack and restore MP. If the player switches to release mode from this point, "burst" is triggered, allowing the player to attack unilaterally in the slowed-down time.

In recent years, "parry" and "just evade" have become popular in action RPGs, in which the player plays or evades an attack just in time. The suppression and release modes in this title allow players to easily enjoy these advanced techniques. If you can master the mode switching and evasion absorption, you can use the liberation mode to rampage until you run out of MP, and then use the evasion absorption in the suppression mode to burst into a rampage again. ...... The contrast between the oppression mode of endurance and the release mode of excitement is vivid, and it is truly a combination of oppression and release.

While it is possible to easily overwhelm small foes simply by releasing from the suppression mode, this is not the case when fighting bosses. Even in suppression mode, they will use major moves that cannot be evaded or absorbed.

In this case, the player must escape from the attack range by jumping or moving. Since some of the big moves are mixed in with normal attacks, it is important to assess the attack and respond appropriately. There are times when the boss will use a lot of big moves, but only melee characters are on his side. ......

This is the atmosphere of an action game, and you can enjoy the thrill of battle, which is different from the battle of small fry. Even if you are defeated, you can continue immediately without penalty, so you should be able to spot the patterns of the bosses as you fight.

An interesting feature of the game is that you can switch between suppression mode and release mode while exploring Shibuya.

In suppression mode, you can live a normal life without being recognized as a wizard, but as soon as you switch to liberation mode during a battle, all hell breaks loose. Not only will you not be able to talk to civilians, but information will be spread on social networking sites that "a wizard has appeared! information will be spread on social networking sites. If left unchecked, the trend ranking will rise, and if it reaches No. 1, the elite of the M.E.A. will come to crack down on it. To prevent this from happening, it is important to cool off at a specific spot in town or leave the scene of the crime and flee.

In the case of Sari, a police officer, she will not be reported no matter where she is in release mode. The game is unique in that the difference in position between Marin, who has no one to rely on, and Sari, who is a public servant, and the flames of social networking are expressed through the game system.

The story also has a strong contemporary flavor. Sari belongs to M.E.A. and aims to eradicate rubrum, which makes people unhappy, but M.E.A.'s organization is rigid and cannot move as it wishes. The players' complaints with their coworkers on the messaging app and meetings about work and welcome parties are typical of office workers, and working adults will find themselves emotionally involved in the story.

Marin, on the other hand, is a nora wizard who doesn't belong anywhere, but she's not as free as she might think: the M.E.A. is relentless in its crackdown on wizards, and she has no guild to protect her. In addition, the blood of wizards is valuable to rubrum addicts, so they are targeted from all sides. Even so, wizards are attracted to Shibuya for self-expression and their own purposes, and a support group called "Oulu" exists to help nora wizards. The fact that those who do not belong to an organization have a hard time because of their weak position is a microcosm of the modern world.

REYNATIS" adds the fantasy element of magic to the realistic setting of Shibuya, and its modern story is colored by an exhilarating battle system. The mode switching and the button presses and releases associated with evasion and absorption are unique to this title, and once you get used to them, the flashy battles seem to become even more profound. This title will be enjoyed not only by those who like action games and RPGs, but also by those who enjoy such entertainment, as the story is similar to that of seinen manga and late-night anime.

(Text by Shinichi Yanamoto)

Title Information

REYNATIS

Compatibility: PS5/PS4/Switch

Release date: July 25, 2024

Genre: Action RPG

Price: 8,778 yen (including tax)

Maker: FLUE