Overall this is the weakest out of all the Operation Rainfall games, but still great in its own right. It has stunning visuals, great music, cool dungeons, the monster design is great. And the story overall is compelling, with you feeling connected to Elena and her plight.

It has dating sim esque mechanics with her, but they are welcome and help you care about her more.

For whatever reason, every physical version of the game is just hard coded with a game breaking bug. The last 2 dungeons frequently crash the game and you must access them by doing very specific things, like sleeping or entering through another dungeon. It dosent crash only if you do it in a certain way. Big issue since it nearly ruins saves files. Keep in mind I got a new copy as well and it had this problem..

It is also fairly repetitive. Once you do like 4 duengons it is a pretty one note experience.

Still, hard not to like this. It was great for one playthrough. If you love last story and Xenoblade there is a lot to like here.

“When I turn into a hideous beast… Even then—in that form… do you still love me?”

The final of the three Operation Rainfall games for me to play, and it's the best of the bunch. This game is an emotional journey through a world shrouded in mysteries and heartbreak, and I recommend it to anyone that has the ability to purchase or emulate it. Parallels can be drawn to Shadow of the Colossus fused with some Legend of Zelda, but Pandora's Tower succeeds in finding its own footing and cementing itself as one of—if not the best—game on the Wii.

In the center of a massive crevice between two warring nations are thirteen towers—bound to the edges of the cliffs by massive chains. After having been mysteriously cursed during her country's Harvest Festival, Elena is taken by Aeron and a suspicious old merchant by the name of Mavda to an observatory right outside the Scar. The curse turns her into a malicious beast, and time is running out. Aeron is tasked with scaling the thirteen towers and slaying the Master Beasts atop them, bringing their flesh back for Elena to reluctantly devour. According to Mavda, this will end the curse ailing poor Elena.

Presented with a mix of in-engine cutscenes, higher quality FMVs, and some picture book flashbacks, Pandora's Tower is engaging from start to finish. Immediately, the player is made aware of the deep bonds Aeron and Elena share, and his overwhelming desire to help her. Aeron rarely speaks aloud, but says volumes with his facial expressions and body language. Dialogs with Elena reveal her innocent and caring nature as she tries desperately to be of some help to Aeron as he braves the dangers of the towers. Both of the lead characters are handled magnificently, weaving a believable relationship and developing a desire within the player to see them both happy together. Mavda maintains an air of enigmatic suspiciousness as you learn more about her people's history and the origin of the towers. Additional characters are introduced via flashback scenes and documents that each have their own arcs and events that manage to humanize even the smallest of players in the grander story.

Gameplay consists of two major elements—scaling the thirteen towers and taking care of Elena. With a time limit placed on her by the curse, it is imperative that you always put Elena first and make sure she is fed beast flesh to prevent her from succumbing to her grim fate. Combat is fast but simple. A mix of melee attacks with weapons such as a sword, knives, and scythe and the magical Oraclos Chain given to Aeron by Mavda. Boss fights are the highlight, as each is fought in a unique manner with the Oroclos Chain, rarely calling for Aeron to brandish his sword. I played using a Pro Controller, so the chain's aiming was relegated to the right analog stick. Occasionally, aiming the chain can be a bit jank, targeting items or enemies that get in the way of what you want. It's serviceable, but I imagine the pointer controls on the Wiimote + Nunchuck combo are much quicker and easier to use. Puzzles are simple and exploration is illustrated well with the chains leading the player to the necessary rooms to unlock the boss gate. Pandora's Tower excels in its use of the Oraclos Chain. Even in repeated elemental themes (two for each element), the ways in which the dungeons innovate on familiar functions of the chain keep things fresh and exciting. It helps that you do not need to spend more than an hour in any given dungeon to complete the game.

Visually, Pandora's Tower is one of the best looking titles on the Wii. Characters are detailed, expressive, and engaging. Environments vary within the towers, using elemental themes to dress the dungeons in different guises to mask the sometimes repetitive layouts. You will see the same staircase a couple times, but it never feels cheap or rehashed. Each tower feels unique and worth exploring.

Regrettably, the one aspect that did not do much for me was the soundtrack, which I imagine is contrary to popular opinion. I did not dislike any of the music, but only two or so songs really stuck with me after the credits. Each track services the setting well and helps immerse the player in its world, but I will more than likely not listen to any of the soundtrack outside of playing the game. The voice acting, however, is quite good. On par with Xenoblade Chronicles and The Last Story (which makes sense, considering the localization was handled by the same people), the vocal performances of each character are believable and filled with emotion. While the lip syncing in the dialog scenes don't match, the performances of the voice actors drew my attention plenty. Small note: the sound effects related to the Oraclos Chain are punch and satisfying, as are many of the combat and exploratory SFX.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most rare games I fall in love with, there is one big catch to Pandora's Tower. If you play the NTSC-U version of the game like I did, you will encounter a game-breaking bug during the final two towers that crash the title. There are workarounds, which are mostly effective, but I did hit this crash four times in a row. Nothing was guaranteed. If you can make it past that, this game is absolutely worth your time. If you are emulating, simply grab the PAL ROM and you'll never need to worry about it.

Pandora's Tower is a game I am very glad to have experienced. It has all of the heart of the strongest JRPGs out there, and a solid gameplay loop that does not overstay its welcome. Clocking in at ~15 hours, my time felt very respected... outside of the Blazing Citadel. I only wish that Pandora's Tower had found the same level of success as Xenoblade Chronicles, as I think it's an even better title from an unknown developer that deserves more chances to break away from their licensed work and create more memorable works of art.

“When I turn into a hideous beast… Even then—in that form… do you still love me?”

"Never doubt that."

Special thanks to @CarnageKRool for giving me this game for Christmas in 2022.

If I had to describe this title in one phrase, then it would be: a tragic and dark story of salvation. The premise of this game is mainly based on that, on our struggle to save Ceres from the curse that tortures her relentlessly. In that sense, the game makes brilliant use of mechanics to avoid a possible dissonance between exploration and the condition Ceres must endure, thanks to the implementation of a time limit to which we will have to be attentive to prevent her humanity from being consumed. Yes, during exploration you will not only have to face unknown creatures and puzzles, but will also have to be constantly aware that there is a penalty for not preventing Ceres from suffering the consequences of the curse. This gives it a feeling of realism and pressure versus games where the story tells you are facing a threat against time that puts all of humanity at risk, but still allows to do side quests like going to collect flowers so that a villager can give a gift to his fiancée (yeah, I definitely hate that). On the other hand, we'll also be able to increase our affinity with her through the various interactions or by giving her gifts, generating a real need to care about her and giving her some peace of mind on a recurring basis.
The difficulty is accessible and totally progressive. Initially, the game gives you a brief introduction to the different towers with their different puzzles to overcome to advance, and then new towers will be accessible in which you will have to apply all the knowledge learned previously as they are much more challenging and complex. As you advance in each tower, there is the possibility of creating some shortcuts, which greatly facilitates the trips you have to make in case you want to save something or just give meat to Ceres.
The existences that we will find throughout the story and that govern each tower are quite different from each other not only at the level of design, but also in the way in which we must approach their combats to be able to defeat them. As you explore the different floors, you will find clues that will explain their weaknesses, so it's just a matter of searching well. It gives me a very shadow of the colossus vibe, so I think its fans might enjoy it.
In retrospect, I would have appreciated a greater variety of towers (and the camera can be a mess sometimes), but I still feel it was an enjoyable experience.

At its core, Pandora’s Tower is about the relationship between two lovers, Aeron and Elena. The story, music, even game design all fall in service towards it, and that is precisely what makes this game so special. As for the story, its main conflict stems from Elena’s curse, which can only be stalled by her eating beast flesh and fully eradicated after eating twelve Master Flesh. This is the most natural of the three, because the story is simply written with the two of them together in mind. Aeron’s motivations are all from his desire to cure her curse, which brings a very nice simplicity to the narrative despite some elements of it being rather convoluted at times.

Next falls the soundtrack, which to my surprise actually has no original music made for it. I first thought the game’s use of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique was a sort of one-off, but then as I made my way into the Observatory for the first time, a very familiar melody played that I could swear I’d heard somewhere before. This melody is Liebesraum No. 3 by Frank Liszt, more commonly known as Love Dream, and serves as what I would call the main theme of the game, even though that title technically goes to the song in the intro cutscene based on Dies Irae. This song doesn’t just represent Elena, this song is Elena, for she sings on many occasions throughout the game, most importantly during her performance at the Harvest Festival which kickstarts the main events of the story. With the Observatory sharing this melody, it’s almost as if the game is saying that it by its lonesome is not home, but rather only because Elena is there with you too. You’ll find yourself returning back many times throughout a playthrough, and it only serves to further instill this feeling. For the remainder of the tracks, they all carry this sense of grandiose because of the classical pieces they take from, perfectly fitting for the booming nature of the Thirteen Towers. The Final Boss theme in particular is incredible for the way it builds on recognizable melodies by the end of the game to truly leave an impression, and the credits theme is just lovely.

Though perhaps the most important aspect of them all is the way the game design is used to sell the two’s relationship and really make you care for Elena. I have nothing to say on the level design and combat, both of which are serviceable, but instead the timer that ticks down while you’re going through the towers. Whenever you’re not at the Observatory, a timer representative of how long till Elena transforms will slowly go down. There are certain points in the timer that dictate how far of a transformation she’ll undergo, as you take longer and longer to feed her the Master Flesh you get at the end of a tower. In the beginning, I would do a tower all in one go and wonder why the game gave me so much additional beast flesh since I could just get the Master Flesh quickly and bring Elena’s Timer back up to max like that. But around the third or fourth dungeon, it started getting to the point where Elena would transform almost entirely, and at that point I realized how much of a mistake I had made. There was no point in optimizing how fast I could get through the dungeon to get the Master Flesh if Elena would have to transform and suffer every time. This revelation completely shifted how I played the game, and from then on I would never let her transform even to the minimal level. Pandora’s Tower is so good at making you feel a genuine connection with Elena, mainly due to the fact that a good portion of the game(if you choose to do so for the best ending) is spending time with her and giving gifts. There is an absolutely staggering amount of detail put into this almost dating sim aspect, an incredible amount of very specific voiced lines, special cutscenes that only play when you do certain things, and many different places she’ll be during the day. One of my personal favorites is a scene you get after continuously giving her flower seeds and having the time pass until it grows into a whole patch. The game constantly acknowledges your efforts and shows that what you’re doing has an impact on the world and more importantly, Elena. I remember being a bit disappointed when Elena took off a dress I had given her and went back to her normal clothes, only to later realize that she actually switches between all the necklaces, bracelets, and dresses she’s acquired from you. It’s all this and so, so much more that really make this very small area the game takes place in feel so alive. I still find myself wondering if I really understood everything that was going on in the story, but it almost feels like it doesn’t even matter. Whenever I look back on Pandora’s Tower, that’s not what I’ll be thinking of, nor the towers or gameplay. It’ll be the quiet times spent with Elena, sometimes sharing a meal, looking out at fireflies during the night, and listening to her sing an Eternal Blessing.

This game sits at a weird place for me, I can't tell if I like the gameplay and combat or not. The story is weird and confusing to follow at first, but it's incredibly interesting and you're always grounded by the simplicity of just trying to save Elena. It's a very clunky game, but it's the kind of clunk that you don't really mind and expect from a game like this. I really enjoyed actually seeing things change within the house when you give Elena gifts, and this game can be the most heartbreaking thing in the world if you let it. I remember I gave Elena a bracelet and she wore it all the time, but I accidently let her transform too much and when I came back to her, she was crying because the bracelet broke and she wouldn't stop apologizing and I started crying a little because it was horrifying. I felt so attached to Elena, because you actually get to spend time with her and talk to her and that's what affects the ending. The endings were really interesting, with the bad ones being the saddest thing ever and the good ones being the happiest thing ever, and I like that, it really shows what could change. I really liked most of the bosses and the music is incredible, I like the idea of using a chain in combat but sometimes it's very tedious. This really is a gem of old JRPG and one I'll remember.

Very Important Disclaimer: the NA version of this game has a very big game-breaking bug. When you try and enter the 11th or 12th tower a second time, the game will usually crash. There are a couple of work arounds for this but it does get tedious. Just putting this for anyone out there who plans on playing this so they don't suffer the same fate as me and a friend who discovered this right before finishing the 10th tower. lol

Besides that, this game has become my most favorite Wii game of all time. It takes a lot of aspects from different games, mostly being compared to Shadow of the Colossus, Zelda, maybe even a little bit of Nier with elements of a dating simulator thrown into the mix too. Somehow it still holds up really well as it's own thing. For some people the gameplay loop can get pretty repetitive towards the end and the tower interiors repeating a decent amount doesn't help it either, but I never really had a problem with it since towers are fairly short and easy to navigate.

The game does a really good job in making you care for the relationship between Elena and Aeron. It's hard not to when the game revolves around them and you get to spend a lot of time with Elena, feeding her monster meat so she doesn't turn into an eldritch beast, giving her gifts, or just making conversation. Won't lie, it got to me! I couldn't even bring myself to let the timer get past the third bar even if I was almost done with the level. The timer can be daunting at first but since you unlock shortcuts pretty quick in each tower getting back to Elena becomes a lot more manageable. None of the boss fights are really difficult but the solid chain whip gameplay makes them really satisfying to fight. I think the game would've benefitted a lot more from better hardware and maybe something else besides generic elemental themes for it's level design, but it's still a beautiful game that I wish wasn't tethered to the Wii so more people would have the chance to play it.

A dark mix of classic 3D Zelda, Shadow of the Colossus, Castlevania and light dating sim elements..? I generally enjoyed the loop of going to the dungeons, solving puzzles and bringing back flesh before time runs out, keeping Elena from transforming into a monster and growing the bond with her. Your chain basically doubles as a hookshot and whip and there's a lot of climbing and swinging around which is quite fun. Each boss fight is a puzzle in itself and they can feel pretty grand. Despite taking a lot from other games I mentioned, the curse aspect, lore and variety of endings gave it its own thing.

I have to say there was a lot of room for improvement. Gameplay is kinda janky. Towers start to reuse old interiors and ideas halfway through very noticeably, and feeling of repetition can start to set in. I wish that Aeron was more of a character with more voiced lines, so their relationship didn't feel one sided. No original compositions was also a bit of a disappointment for me, the dungeon music got old fast. But for a studio's first attempt at making an original IP, it honestly turned out surprisingly well, it's not something forgettable. Sadly Ganbarion were sent back to Namco's basement to make One Piece games forever.

I feel like I didn’t give Pandora’s Tower a fair review last time as it had been a while since I played it, so today after replaying it for a bit I decided I would write a bit on it, as it’s one of my favourite games, and I feel like more people should give it a try and haven’t yet.
Pandora’s Tower is one of the Very Good Wii games I’ve played. Aeron and Elena are simple, sure, but very effective characters. Which is fairly important, as the relationship between the two is basically the entire point of the game.
See, Pandora’s Tower bases itself and its entire plot in the relationship you, playing as Aeron, build with Elena. She will be at home as you take Aeron to the towers, and it’s up to the player to show how much they care. Keeping her alive is not the same as making her happy, as supporting her in her time of need. It’s not about lifting her curse, as important as it is, it’s about love.
It’s not like you’re winning her favour, as Elena and Aeron already have a story and are very in love by the beginning of the game, and it’s very clear to see. It’s more of how much Aeron can do for her, how far he’s willing to go to save her. And honestly I thought that was great. I’ve seen a lot of people saying that was too much, and maybe it is? I found myself just thinking of things I could buy for her and if they would trigger special little interactions and events between the two. Aeron is very sweet with her and she’s so happy when he brings her small things, I found that so cute and I just kept bringing and buying her stuff.
The towers can be quite repetitive, especially since each of them does actually repeat. They’re small and not very complicated; since you often have to backtrack to take flesh back to Elena so the curse won’t overtake her. Even so I don’t find myself growing tired of annoyed of them, I think as small and simple as they are they are very effective, and while not the most fun I’ve had in a game, I was engaged. The bosses are not very hard but I found them entertaining and some did give me a hard time.
The controls of the game feel quite nice, and its use of the wiimote is actually quite good, not basing its entire combat on it but utilizing it just enough so that it’s a game made for the wii, and not a game you could play anywhere.
All in all, I think Pandora’s Tower is very much a game that you should give a try yourself and experience. It’s not life changing, or anything, but it’s a game i really enjoy, and one I found myself thinking of pretty often.

Um jogo de aventura e exploração, com puzzles de apontar e balançar o Wii Mote, e uma pitada leve de elementos de RPG. Fazia tempo que eu tinha vontade de um jogo nesse estilo: singleplayer, sem online e sem equipamentos que dão +3% de dano em inimigos durante a lua cheia. Apesar de seus defeitos (um deles sendo um glitch mto recorrente ao tentar acessar a última torre), o jogo é cheio de charme e tem uma estética única que invoca aquele sentimento da época do GC/PS2/Wii. Curti bastante, e recomendo fortemente jogar com um wii mote para ter a experiência completa.