Norco is a brilliantly written story with strong themes and some phenomenal pixel art. There were several times I was just wowed by the prose. The writers were able to say a lot about the characters, their world and their message in only a few words or lines. The game has a sense of humor too, even when it’s dark, without getting edgy or letting a joke get in the way of the rest of the narrative.

The player like the characters will spend much of the game confused, lost, but always with a few pieces to put together to stay determined to continue. Clearly this is also a passion for the writers too, a lot of care going into recreating their thoughts and experiences of growing up in a town like this. The story builds to a dramatic ending which goes more for an emotional closure, leaving some things ambiguous. This leaves you with lots to reflect on but I can see that rubbing some people the wrong way.

Gameplay is a fairly straightforward blend of text adventure choices, simple mini games and puzzles. It’s standard stuff but one part I particularly liked was the use of an app to record certain lines of dialogue, to play it back to other characters later. It might have been interesting to take this a little further, as there were a couple times I used this but then there was no need for them.
The PS4 game I played had a few issues with crashes and the interface disappearing, but it’s quick to jump back in and I didn’t lose progress. It’s fairly short and does invite a second playthrough if you want to review the story, make a few different choices and collect trophies.

One of my favourites of 2022 from what I played, definitely recommend it if this is your kind of thing.

This is a remarkably well crafted RPG. The monsters are adorable. It’s very pretty. I’d avoid the switch version if you can as it’s all a bit blurry, but on PS4 everything is sharp and clean.

I understand this series is not known for doing anything particularly remarkable on the story front, so I didn’t expect much. But for such a long adventure I think you really need some kind of more powerful narrative to make it worth it.
The music is obviously well crafted too, but it really becomes bombastic here. You’re listening to the same dramatic orchestral tunes for hours on end in combat and exploring. When I reached my limit I had the same tune going through my head when I wasn’t playing and that pushed me away.

There’s a line that stands out to me where Barret refers to the ‘Gilded Saucer’, emphasising how the bright lights and supreme extravagance of the Gold Saucer serve as a distraction, a veneer for the true ugliness of the world and the ugliness and exploitation beneath the surface. This ought to be what the game is about, but it feels more like the whole game experience has become its own gold saucer, each region like another ‘square’ full of amusements and distractions.

I must admit I had a hell of a lot of fun with this game. It kept me playing for weeks, about 150 hours, with plenty more postgame challenges and tedium left over. The game is bloated as hell with filler and busywork, but also packed with fun mini games and delightful combat. Aside from some tweaks like more aggressive AI for party members or range and jumping attacks for everyone, I don’t have any issue with the combat and it kept me coming back for more.

The main story doesn’t match up to that though, so the overall package is frankly disappointing and frustrating. Despite much speculation and hints from the creators at something big and meaningful, it doesn’t follow through. All the narrative weight goes into plot and driving to the next big spectacle, rather than saying something or really focusing on the characters. Characters are sometimes reduced to love interests, magical plot devices and comic relief in their vastly expanded, stretched out journey. So many opportunities to dig into their feelings and connections are wasted in favour of brief feel good moments and affection gauges going up. Sephiroth no longer feels at all unnerving or threatening. Big lore dumps are added in attempt to add history to the game’s world but I find they lack flavour.

When they’re not competing for ‘best girl’ the leads do feel engaging. It’s clear they have their own relationships not just the one they each have with Cloud, so it’s a bit sad not to see more of that, which could’ve been a better use of the side quests and even the various times the party splits up in main story chapters.

The game suggests some great positive influences from other titles like Yakuza series and even western RPGs. It’s also got some bad habits from them too like some annoying cinematic button presses which don’t provide the emotional weight intended.

Having said all that I really appreciate the scale of this game and the effort and love poured into it; it certainly shows more than other recent entries to the franchise. I hope the same level of passion and fun can go into an original story for the next mainline FF or even a separate IP. The final chapter seems divisive but I actually found some intrigue in it. In recent years the multiverse concept has quickly moved en vogue to cliche but there’s actually a few crumbs of excitement for me there. Maybe they can pull it off, maybe we’ll never learn.