Game: Utopian Chaos XP
Developer: Flash
Reviewer: ArtBane
Utopian Chaos is one of the longest running projects featured on org. Its overall style harkens back to the RPGs of yesteryear. This fosters a certain sort of nostalgia while playing the game but it also makes it feel less fresh than other projects. The story, visuals, music, and game play all borrow heavily from Final Fantasy VI in particular. Whether this is a good thing or not really depends on the players preference.
Utopian Chaos begins with an exciting scene of a town being destroyed by fire hailing from the skies. Later we learn that this disaster, also known as The Utopian Chaos, was brought upon by a failed experiment. Civilization as it is known ends and we transport four millenniums into the future where a research group is searching a cave for artifacts from the past. As the researchers discover more about the past they realize that their future may now be in jeopardy.
The story never quite catches the excitement of the initial scene. For those who have played Final Fantasy before you will not find many surprises here. The characters and dialog are also very familiar right down to the goofy recurring villain. The author often injects his own witty humor into the characters which can occasionally come of as detached. There are memorable scenes to be found like the time where you can continually argue with a priest and he begins to count how many times you have spoken against him. Unfortunately scenes like those dont come up often enough and most of it is forgettable.
The use of ripped graphics in Utopian Chaos is somewhat of a grab bag. Those who are tired of seeing the RTP will be happy to know that there is none to be found. The battlers are well animated and bring life to the custom attacks. The over world, which has been constructed in map editor from another game, looks good and works as an easy way to move between places. The graphics unfortunately are often inconsistent in both battles and maps. The mapping also suffers from large space syndrome. Different isnt always better in this case.
The soundtrack is a mix of familiar music from other popular games. This becomes distracting as the music reminds you of the games they came from rather than engrossing you in the scenes they are used for. Utopian Chaos would have benefited from using less familiar songs to prevent people from thinking of things like, Oh yeah! This is Kefkas Theme! That clown sure was one bad dude!
The battle system is a side view ATB that takes most of its cues from Final Fantasy. Each character has their own innate skills but they can also use magic based off which Arkana they have equipped. Arkana are magical artifacts that grant arcane skills based off different elements. The benefit of this system is you can switch Arkana between characters at any time redefining the role of your party members. The Arkana can also level up based on skill usage but there was not enough time in the demo for me to explore this feature. The battles are for the most part straightforward and you wont have much trouble except at certain bosses. There is one strange quirk where if a character is in a dead state and gets resurrected their graphic wont update for a short time.
The overall game play is for the most part very basic. Simplistic puzzles and maze like dungeons plague most of the game. There are a few mini-games sprinkled in there that are a fun distraction. The side-quests you can find by exploring the different parts of town are also an enjoyable way to gain some extra scratch to pay for your new equipment.
Utopian Chaos XP is a game I would recommend for people that want to experience another vision of the classic RPG experience. It does not change up the formula but there is an audience of people who enjoy that. For those are looking for something new and innovative you may be better off looking elsewhere.
Scenario: 6/10
The story peaks in the beginning of the game and never quite reaches the momentum again. The characters are there to do their part and be a medium for the author to inject his own witty humor into.
Visuals: 7/10
The graphics are rips from other games which is a plus for people who are sick of seeing the RTP, but they often times dont clash well together. The mapping also suffers from being too open and lacking in detail. The animation of the sprites and battlers really boosts this category up a lot.
Audio: 6/10
The use of all too familiar tunes was often distracting from the scenes they were played in. The game would benefit from using songs that have not been so overplayed.
Game play: 8/10
The battle system is nothing new to people who have played Final Fantasy before. The magic system adds flexibility and makes switching in and out party members a breeze. The dungeons are for the most part trudge fests but added mini-games and side-quests are a welcome distraction.
Final Rating: 6/10
Utopian Chaos XP offers a safe and expected experience that will be familiar to anyone who has ever played a SNES RPG. Those who are tired of the old formula will not find much else new here.