Anime Expo 2015: Hand-On With ‘Sword Art Online: Lost Song’
Last year when we played Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment, this game about gamers trapped in a game felt hindered partially by its slow pace. This issue is looking to be fixed in its upcoming remake, but would new installments learn from this mistake? It seemed obviously so in Sword Art Online: Lost Song, the upcoming PS4 and PS Vita title that looks to move Kirito and friends into a more fast paced, action focused affair while maintaining the illusion of an MMORPG. How well does this new system translate into the game? We put our monster slaying skills to the test in a brief demo at Anime Expo and Comic Con 2015 to find out.
For the purpose of the demo, Kirito and an AI controlled Asuna and Leefa were thrown into a huge, wide open field. Littered with monsters both on land and in the sky, it was up to us to take out as many monsters as possible within a 10 minute time limit, just enough time to dig deep into what this new world has to offer. On the subject of how big the field is, Lost Song puts the power of the PS4 to good use, never encountering any slowdown despite how much was going on at one time. I found myself stepping away from fights and just flying high enough to enjoy the scenery, watching all the chaos going on below.
Speaking of flying, Kirito can now switch between land and air battles on the fly. Him and his team can now activate their attacks at will, coming off much more like an action game compared to previous SAO games, giving us plenty of ways to take down all kinds of threats. In order to keep the MMO feel, special attacks are still set to Macro style quick commands that are brought up by holding the shoulder buttons. Certain attacks would deliver huge damage to even the toughest enemies, but would also cost more ability points. If you have no points, you’re stuck with standard attacks, so in typical RPG style, you’ll have to manage these closely if you want to make sure to take out your biggest foes. When one person isn’t enough, delivering enough damage will give your team the chance to activate a triple team attack, inflicting huge damage and team boosts along the way. Keeping an eye on instant messages on the side of the screen will keep you clued in on what their status is, and sending across an encouraging message through emotes can only help!
If this sounds like a lot to take in, you’re not alone. My biggest issue with Lost Song in these early stages was that there’s so much to do, that it made the controls confusing to remember. Rarely feeling intuitive, there were plenty of times where I would get knocked down from the sky and slowly fall to the ground for what felt like ages until I figured out how to recover. Finding the right attacks and commands in the heat of battle often led to pressing the wrong one, keeping me from finishing off the giant dragon in the sky that I had worked so hard to take down. With more time and practice, this issue is sure to fade, but expect a decent learning curve when you pick up the game this fall.
All in all, Sword Art Online: Lost Song feels like a step in the right direction. Its faster paced game play is definitely a lot more fun, and if the controls can be ironed out, we have the potential to have a great game on our hands. As always, keep an eye out for updates as they become available, and feel free to leave any questions in the comments!
