Operation Abyss is a first person RPG dungeon crawler with turn-based battles using a customized team of 6 characters from a total of 10 classes. Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy is a combined remake of the first two games in the Generation Xth trilogy, Code Hazard and Code Breaker, by Experience Inc. based on the Wizardry series. They were only released in Japan. The sequel "Operation Babel: New Tokyo Legacy" is the remake of the third Generation Xth game, Code Realize.
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I've heard the original games are better for various reasons, but these remakes are simply awful. Convoluted and uninteresting.
Great sound and art, but the gameplay is lacking. Crafting is essentially just item drops with extra steps, since you can't craft an item without acquiring its frame (either from the store or as a random drop). Plot is a cryptoconservative trash fire; more importantly, it isn't very good. The Dark Souls-esque floor messages are a real riot.
Operation Abyss is a game that I started many years ago back when it was first released in the west. I didn't put many hours into it so I did a new playthrough once I got back into it again recently.
This game in particular is actually the Remake of the first two games in this trilogy. I don't have much knowledge of the originals to say much about those, but despite being a Remake, the game feels dated at times especially compared to the developer, Experience's other DRPGs.
Abyss takes place in an alternate modern Japan with some futuristic technology. The game centers around the Xth organization that utilizes special codes that enhances a person's abilities and protects Japan from organizations that mishandles such technology. They also investigate and eliminate various monsters.
I found the setting intriguing and there aren't many DRPGs that take place in modern times and making use of sci-fi elements. The story is interesting although it does dive deep into sci-fi jargon making it difficult to follow at times. The story is clearly separated into two phases which is probably how the two games were separated originally. I didn't enjoy the 2nd phase much compared to the first phase.
The main characters are decent. Not too much depth with them and are pretty tropey, but they aren't too bad. Some of the side characters relating to the school don't have much relevance in the story and are just there.
The playable characters are all generic silent characters that you create. Story-wise, they move as a group and are often referred to as one rather than any specific member.
The soundtrack is pretty good, but there isn't a lot of songs from what I noticed.
Combat is similar to many other DRPGs from EXP. Boss fights are challenging and most mob fights aren't with the exception of a few. Physical attackers don't have much attack variety and despite having a decent amount of spells available for casters, there's only a few worth using constantly.
There's a decent amount of classes in the game, but the classes lack many abilities unfortunately. Similar versions appear in the other EXP series, but the ones here feel basic in comparison. It takes a long time to learn new skills. Probably the biggest flaw with the customization is that there's no cross class skills or anything similar like that. You can change classes back at the base, but it will revert you back to level 1. Nothing carries over so without any sub-class system, the game doesn't incentivize much for experimentation.
Dungeon exploring is also a highlight and a pain. Dungeons are generally complex with a few straightforward ones. The complex ones involve tile teleportations, one way movement, and invisible doorways. Navigating has its roadblocks, but there's only about 3 or so that were frustrating to deal with. There are various dungeon traps which include the dispel tiles which removes all ongoing buffs.
One aspect that I liked with the dungeons is that people can live memos and notes on specific locations and upload those to the server. People can download the data and have them appear in your game. Honestly, most people are helpful with these by leaving notes about right paths, hidden doorways and things needed to progress.
Now as to some of the dated mechanics, locked doors that require keys to unlock will get locked again after leaving the dungeon. This can be a pain to go through again considering some of these keys require farming to get.
Equipment and gear are too RNG reliant. There is no way to narrow the equipment type pool in the game like in Demon Gaze so oftentimes, I'm left with very weak armor or weapons for a specific character for a long time.
You can only level up back in the base. Once you hit the amount to level up, you'll see an indication that they are ready to level up, but won't actually will until you return. Fortunately, exp will continue to accumulate so you're not losing out on exp by choosing not to return right away.
Overall, the game is decent and I enjoyed it despite some annoyance with the game. I actually put in more hours into its sequel, Operation Babel years ago, but will do a fresh playthrough once I get back into it. One thing to look forward with that game is the ability to do sub-classes.
This game in particular is actually the Remake of the first two games in this trilogy. I don't have much knowledge of the originals to say much about those, but despite being a Remake, the game feels dated at times especially compared to the developer, Experience's other DRPGs.
Abyss takes place in an alternate modern Japan with some futuristic technology. The game centers around the Xth organization that utilizes special codes that enhances a person's abilities and protects Japan from organizations that mishandles such technology. They also investigate and eliminate various monsters.
I found the setting intriguing and there aren't many DRPGs that take place in modern times and making use of sci-fi elements. The story is interesting although it does dive deep into sci-fi jargon making it difficult to follow at times. The story is clearly separated into two phases which is probably how the two games were separated originally. I didn't enjoy the 2nd phase much compared to the first phase.
The main characters are decent. Not too much depth with them and are pretty tropey, but they aren't too bad. Some of the side characters relating to the school don't have much relevance in the story and are just there.
The playable characters are all generic silent characters that you create. Story-wise, they move as a group and are often referred to as one rather than any specific member.
The soundtrack is pretty good, but there isn't a lot of songs from what I noticed.
Combat is similar to many other DRPGs from EXP. Boss fights are challenging and most mob fights aren't with the exception of a few. Physical attackers don't have much attack variety and despite having a decent amount of spells available for casters, there's only a few worth using constantly.
There's a decent amount of classes in the game, but the classes lack many abilities unfortunately. Similar versions appear in the other EXP series, but the ones here feel basic in comparison. It takes a long time to learn new skills. Probably the biggest flaw with the customization is that there's no cross class skills or anything similar like that. You can change classes back at the base, but it will revert you back to level 1. Nothing carries over so without any sub-class system, the game doesn't incentivize much for experimentation.
Dungeon exploring is also a highlight and a pain. Dungeons are generally complex with a few straightforward ones. The complex ones involve tile teleportations, one way movement, and invisible doorways. Navigating has its roadblocks, but there's only about 3 or so that were frustrating to deal with. There are various dungeon traps which include the dispel tiles which removes all ongoing buffs.
One aspect that I liked with the dungeons is that people can live memos and notes on specific locations and upload those to the server. People can download the data and have them appear in your game. Honestly, most people are helpful with these by leaving notes about right paths, hidden doorways and things needed to progress.
Now as to some of the dated mechanics, locked doors that require keys to unlock will get locked again after leaving the dungeon. This can be a pain to go through again considering some of these keys require farming to get.
Equipment and gear are too RNG reliant. There is no way to narrow the equipment type pool in the game like in Demon Gaze so oftentimes, I'm left with very weak armor or weapons for a specific character for a long time.
You can only level up back in the base. Once you hit the amount to level up, you'll see an indication that they are ready to level up, but won't actually will until you return. Fortunately, exp will continue to accumulate so you're not losing out on exp by choosing not to return right away.
Overall, the game is decent and I enjoyed it despite some annoyance with the game. I actually put in more hours into its sequel, Operation Babel years ago, but will do a fresh playthrough once I get back into it. One thing to look forward with that game is the ability to do sub-classes.
Finished this off - turned out I was closer to the end than I thought. It ends a bit abruptly - it's pretty clear that it's a remake of two games in a trilogy. The last couple of dungeons got quite fun, as the gimmick count (and deadly trap number) increased.