The Little Tail Bronx games continue to be, to me, a symbol of what I have come to appreciate and love about video games over the years. From its humble origins as a quirky PS1 platformer, to the ambitious, gorgeous, and incredibly fleshed out successor on the DS, this series has spanned two decades of very little success, but undeniable passion. CyberConnect2’s team very clearly has a love for this series, and despite losing a lot of money due to the series’ lack of being known to the world, they are still at it, expanding this world, and with the release of this game, a trilogy despite a lack of success. There is a lot I can say about this series as a whole, but I want to start by saying, I believe FUGA: Melodies of Steel is once again another triumph of a game from this team. A new direction for this series that has changed complete genres, tone, and feel from their past platforming entries, into a strategy RPG, life sim, visual novel based adventure. It is such a bizarre little game that has just about everything that the series is known for baked into its DNA despite the extreme shift. I love it wholly with all my heart.
These games are niche simple little adventures that don’t often feature the most enriching gameplay experience, at least for most people. But they make up for it with their insane visual detail, beautiful world, and intriguing lore and characters that make the games such a treat. Personally, I actually really enjoy the gameplay loop of Tail Concerto and especially Solatorobo; even I have to admit they aren’t the most in-depth games. They’re like the comfort food of games to me, something where the simplicity is able to make way for depth or become it.
With FUGA, a lot of those similar arguments come up, and I think I personally heavily disagree with the criticism lauded towards its gameplay loop. This is a very different take on strategy RPGs where you technically have a full party of 12, but they all share the same HP and Mana system. And it is also very difficult, decently long, and honestly exhausting. A full chapter can take a good two hours, and if you are not careful, you can instantly find yourself in a terrible situation. I can definitely understand it seeming unappealing, but personally, I really found myself adoring the loop of the game. Much like the war these children are facing, battles feel like they take real doing in order to succeed, you need to be paying attention at all times or else everything will be for naught. Resources are scarce, you don’t even get money in this game, so deciding to take a more dangerous route is a genuinely risky move that can certainly pay off, or shave an hour away from your game time in total shame. And the exhaustive feel really plays well with the tone, this is still definitely a kid’s game, but even in concept, having to deal with twelve children dealing with the effects of essentially World War II is just grim, and you can feel that wear in the gameplay. I love it dearly, it can definitely veer into the more egregious habits of the series at times, but I think they absolutely nailed what they were going for here.
However where this game truly shines is that aforementioned passion that you can just feel here. The characters you get here are incredibly simple, but the charm that makes a game like Solatorobo shine is still present and wonderful. I love all these designs, and with such a wide range too, and considering the situation they’re in, there is a real threat that they can just die if you feel yourself desperate enough to sacrifice one of them. The music is once again amazing, with tracks like the main boss theme really standing out as a truly wonderful and haunting piece that plays as you are likely dealing with the stress of incredibly powerful attacks. Gasco feels as fleshed out as any of the islands you visit in previous games, and most importantly, the art of this game is absolutely unreal. So many gorgeous pastels, and water colours make every character pop. And there is just so much wonderful art, even getting all of their ending chapter cards from a bunch of Pixiv artists was just such a treat. The aesthetic is just wonderful, you can really tell they had a ton of fun with it.
I think it can be very easy to be critical with games like Fuga because by no means is it a masterpiece. I can definitely make a lot of critiques about the game being shallow or frustrating, and I definitely do have some nitpicks I would like to see addressed in the second entry. But honestly, I’ve come to realize with games I want something that interests me and is willing to show me something in earnest. Even in spite of its darker premise, Fuga is still the same comfort food that made me love Waffle and Red’s previous adventures. It is a game that welcomes you with open arms and wants to show you all the cool ideas, and art, and worldbuilding that it has come up with, and there is just such a wonderful joy to it all. With this game being a financial failure, the fact the team essentially looked at it, and essentially went ahead and announced the sequel a year after its release is a sheer sign of love. And it's a love I too share for this wonderful series. I urge you all to give it, and the other Little Tail games a shot. I can only hope you would get as much from them, as I did.
These games are niche simple little adventures that don’t often feature the most enriching gameplay experience, at least for most people. But they make up for it with their insane visual detail, beautiful world, and intriguing lore and characters that make the games such a treat. Personally, I actually really enjoy the gameplay loop of Tail Concerto and especially Solatorobo; even I have to admit they aren’t the most in-depth games. They’re like the comfort food of games to me, something where the simplicity is able to make way for depth or become it.
With FUGA, a lot of those similar arguments come up, and I think I personally heavily disagree with the criticism lauded towards its gameplay loop. This is a very different take on strategy RPGs where you technically have a full party of 12, but they all share the same HP and Mana system. And it is also very difficult, decently long, and honestly exhausting. A full chapter can take a good two hours, and if you are not careful, you can instantly find yourself in a terrible situation. I can definitely understand it seeming unappealing, but personally, I really found myself adoring the loop of the game. Much like the war these children are facing, battles feel like they take real doing in order to succeed, you need to be paying attention at all times or else everything will be for naught. Resources are scarce, you don’t even get money in this game, so deciding to take a more dangerous route is a genuinely risky move that can certainly pay off, or shave an hour away from your game time in total shame. And the exhaustive feel really plays well with the tone, this is still definitely a kid’s game, but even in concept, having to deal with twelve children dealing with the effects of essentially World War II is just grim, and you can feel that wear in the gameplay. I love it dearly, it can definitely veer into the more egregious habits of the series at times, but I think they absolutely nailed what they were going for here.
However where this game truly shines is that aforementioned passion that you can just feel here. The characters you get here are incredibly simple, but the charm that makes a game like Solatorobo shine is still present and wonderful. I love all these designs, and with such a wide range too, and considering the situation they’re in, there is a real threat that they can just die if you feel yourself desperate enough to sacrifice one of them. The music is once again amazing, with tracks like the main boss theme really standing out as a truly wonderful and haunting piece that plays as you are likely dealing with the stress of incredibly powerful attacks. Gasco feels as fleshed out as any of the islands you visit in previous games, and most importantly, the art of this game is absolutely unreal. So many gorgeous pastels, and water colours make every character pop. And there is just so much wonderful art, even getting all of their ending chapter cards from a bunch of Pixiv artists was just such a treat. The aesthetic is just wonderful, you can really tell they had a ton of fun with it.
I think it can be very easy to be critical with games like Fuga because by no means is it a masterpiece. I can definitely make a lot of critiques about the game being shallow or frustrating, and I definitely do have some nitpicks I would like to see addressed in the second entry. But honestly, I’ve come to realize with games I want something that interests me and is willing to show me something in earnest. Even in spite of its darker premise, Fuga is still the same comfort food that made me love Waffle and Red’s previous adventures. It is a game that welcomes you with open arms and wants to show you all the cool ideas, and art, and worldbuilding that it has come up with, and there is just such a wonderful joy to it all. With this game being a financial failure, the fact the team essentially looked at it, and essentially went ahead and announced the sequel a year after its release is a sheer sign of love. And it's a love I too share for this wonderful series. I urge you all to give it, and the other Little Tail games a shot. I can only hope you would get as much from them, as I did.