Fairy Fencer F might feature the worlds most out-there title but what do you expect? After all, this is a JRPG for the PS3, and us hardened fans expect, no, demand only the most outlandish from our Japanese cousins.
To help decipher the games intriguing title, you first need to know the story. Layabout yoof Fang spends his days and nights concerning himself with only two things whats for dinner and how late he gets to lie in. Alas, one day, Fangs laid-back life takes a turn for the dramatic when he comes across a sword in a stone while visiting a village.
Getting his King Arthur on, our hero manages to pull it out, only to find the sword is hosted by a fairy called Eryn who reveals that he must save the land by finding dozens of other fairy-infested swords (each known as a Fury); only then will he be able to unleash their collective power to raise an ancient Goddess so she can smite a Vile God. Ergo, youre quite literally the Fairy fencer F. Awesome.
Cue classic JRPG action as you head out on your quest, venturing over land and down into third-person dungeons, hooking up with a selection of oddball characters, and witnessing lots of bouncing, erm, bits. We will say no more other than developer Compile Heart has past form for its portrayal of the female form.
And of course, you can expect a mass of battles; turn-based, these see you navigating your character within a circular battle area before deciding when to launch a weapon or magic-based attack or run away with your Fury between your legs.
Combat itself revolves round basic attacks married to character-based special moves. To unleash the games real fireworks though, youll need to build up your tension meter to unleash a devastating attack that sees you fairizing your opponent by lobbing your sword up into the air before it slams back down into an enemy. Very un-Tinkerbell.
It all adds up to a fast-paced JRPG that thankfully wont leave you cursing in frustration at its difficulty, and offers enough quirkiness to keep you hooked right up to the end of its 30-hour quest. Most importantly, followers of Compile Hearts previous work think Hyperdimension Neptunia or Mugen Souls Z will love the fan service-rich content and be happy to hear that a sequel is already in the works for the PS4.
