Maybe its time that I start up my local chapter of Felines against Fascism...
Jokes aside, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a game, that on paper is just about everything I love. For starters it's a tactics game, a genre that I find myself more in tune with, with each release I dip myself into. Secondly the setting is right down my alley. Something about media (in particular anime like Full Metal Alchemist and games like Valkyria Chronicles) that take place during that creative interpretation of the inter-periods between World War 1 and World War 2 just gets me hooked. From the get go that's exactly what Fuga is, it jumps you into a world of anthropomorphic cats and dogs that are at war as Nazi-Germany (I mean come on, the villains are called Bermans) and France standins, with the latter fighting off an invasion by the former. From the get-go I was completely sold on this idea, especially when coupled with some beautiful character design and illustrations and a phenomenal backing soundtrack that was right on the money for the time period and vibes the game gives off.
Mechanically speaking, Fuga is pretty simple which initially drew me even further in. I'm all for tactics games that get more difficult or add in extra conditions and actions that change the game, however sometimes simplicity in combat and in understanding the mechanics of each character can go a long way. There are three weapon times, a machine gun (blue) mostly used to take out air targets, a small cannon (yellow) for the ground, and a larger cannon (red) also mostly meant for ground units. These operate in a sort of Fire Emblem weapons triangle style, not that one beats the other (because only the player equips the three types) but in the way that they all are necessary to take advantage of enemy weaknesses throughout the game. Each party member is coupled with another, meaning that you're pretty much operating in a six man squadron of three pairs. It gets cool here because each of these little canines and felines possess unique support passives in addition to their main skills. I ran with a yellow-yellow, red-yellow, and blue-red for most of the game because of the way this was able to use these secondary skills. My healer was able to take advantage of heir pair's passive that lowered skill point cost, my red big cannon was able to take advantage of her partner's increased critical hit chance. This made for an interesting game of constantly trying to find the best and most optimal pairs. Another aspect of Fuga that makes this pairing of characters nice is that it uses a Final Fantasy X type turn wheel in that it shows the player who will act when, and what the consequences of switching characters out will be. Switching is free at any time (provided you're not doing it too much,) but you want the right weapon at the right time.
Now I'd said a lot of good about the game but I'm giving a 3.5/5 for a reason, and unfortunately that 1.5 is a big 1.5. Fuga is fundamentally a tactics game, but it operates in its mission structure on a sort of roguelite/like mantra. A chapter consists of story beats, intermissions where you can upgrade your tank and take care of your party's needs, treasure hunts, fights, and places to heal. On paper this doesn't upset me too much, having a base camp to upgrade your party is pretty standard for tactics games (see recently Valkyria Chronicles 4 and this year's Triangle Strategy,) but the way its built into Fuga is most unfortunate. This is the only place to upgrade your equipment, it is the only place to bring back characters who have been knocked out and correct their status effects, and its the only place where you can battle prep. Status effects in Fuga are just downright annoying. You can be knocked with the "afraid" bug which is okay... because it only halves your accuracy for a few turns. Should you be tacked with "depression" though, which can be sprayed by certain enemies throughout the game like a normal attack, your party members cannot use skills or linked attacks until you talk to them at one of these pre-set intermission points. These can be few and far between in chapters meaning that you can go forever without being able to heal your party through skills and are forced to use items. In that same vein, if your party is KO'd, which can happen just because an enemy used an unavoidable move (which defending does no good against,) then they will remain KO'd until you can sleep and revive them at this intermission. I didn't game over more than once after the first two chapters but this made the playthrough beyond aggravating at times.
In all, Fuga was priced at the right point (Game Pass.99) but I probably wouldn't rush to buy this on my own unless it was on sale. It's got a lot of things going right in its aesthetics, design, and overall vibe, but has much to work on in the realm of mechanics and its roguelite elements. I hope the sequel addresses my complaints when it releases.
Jokes aside, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a game, that on paper is just about everything I love. For starters it's a tactics game, a genre that I find myself more in tune with, with each release I dip myself into. Secondly the setting is right down my alley. Something about media (in particular anime like Full Metal Alchemist and games like Valkyria Chronicles) that take place during that creative interpretation of the inter-periods between World War 1 and World War 2 just gets me hooked. From the get go that's exactly what Fuga is, it jumps you into a world of anthropomorphic cats and dogs that are at war as Nazi-Germany (I mean come on, the villains are called Bermans) and France standins, with the latter fighting off an invasion by the former. From the get-go I was completely sold on this idea, especially when coupled with some beautiful character design and illustrations and a phenomenal backing soundtrack that was right on the money for the time period and vibes the game gives off.
Mechanically speaking, Fuga is pretty simple which initially drew me even further in. I'm all for tactics games that get more difficult or add in extra conditions and actions that change the game, however sometimes simplicity in combat and in understanding the mechanics of each character can go a long way. There are three weapon times, a machine gun (blue) mostly used to take out air targets, a small cannon (yellow) for the ground, and a larger cannon (red) also mostly meant for ground units. These operate in a sort of Fire Emblem weapons triangle style, not that one beats the other (because only the player equips the three types) but in the way that they all are necessary to take advantage of enemy weaknesses throughout the game. Each party member is coupled with another, meaning that you're pretty much operating in a six man squadron of three pairs. It gets cool here because each of these little canines and felines possess unique support passives in addition to their main skills. I ran with a yellow-yellow, red-yellow, and blue-red for most of the game because of the way this was able to use these secondary skills. My healer was able to take advantage of heir pair's passive that lowered skill point cost, my red big cannon was able to take advantage of her partner's increased critical hit chance. This made for an interesting game of constantly trying to find the best and most optimal pairs. Another aspect of Fuga that makes this pairing of characters nice is that it uses a Final Fantasy X type turn wheel in that it shows the player who will act when, and what the consequences of switching characters out will be. Switching is free at any time (provided you're not doing it too much,) but you want the right weapon at the right time.
Now I'd said a lot of good about the game but I'm giving a 3.5/5 for a reason, and unfortunately that 1.5 is a big 1.5. Fuga is fundamentally a tactics game, but it operates in its mission structure on a sort of roguelite/like mantra. A chapter consists of story beats, intermissions where you can upgrade your tank and take care of your party's needs, treasure hunts, fights, and places to heal. On paper this doesn't upset me too much, having a base camp to upgrade your party is pretty standard for tactics games (see recently Valkyria Chronicles 4 and this year's Triangle Strategy,) but the way its built into Fuga is most unfortunate. This is the only place to upgrade your equipment, it is the only place to bring back characters who have been knocked out and correct their status effects, and its the only place where you can battle prep. Status effects in Fuga are just downright annoying. You can be knocked with the "afraid" bug which is okay... because it only halves your accuracy for a few turns. Should you be tacked with "depression" though, which can be sprayed by certain enemies throughout the game like a normal attack, your party members cannot use skills or linked attacks until you talk to them at one of these pre-set intermission points. These can be few and far between in chapters meaning that you can go forever without being able to heal your party through skills and are forced to use items. In that same vein, if your party is KO'd, which can happen just because an enemy used an unavoidable move (which defending does no good against,) then they will remain KO'd until you can sleep and revive them at this intermission. I didn't game over more than once after the first two chapters but this made the playthrough beyond aggravating at times.
In all, Fuga was priced at the right point (Game Pass.99) but I probably wouldn't rush to buy this on my own unless it was on sale. It's got a lot of things going right in its aesthetics, design, and overall vibe, but has much to work on in the realm of mechanics and its roguelite elements. I hope the sequel addresses my complaints when it releases.