I've written many reviews of games published by Idea Factory International, so...how about another one? The Nintendo Switch version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force was published by IFI...at least in America, in Europe it's published by Ghostlight. I have a lot to say about the Switch version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force...let's begin.

Story: It's an interesting story that can have unexpected twists, I say ''can'' not only because what surprised me in the story may not be surprising to someone else, but also, because Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force has several different endings and at least two different routes. The game is focused on a world where a powerful god and goddess fought a long battle, and both beings were sealed a long time ago, many, many years before the events in the game began. There are also swords called ''furies'' which contain a fairy and people called ''fencers'' can use those furies and the power of the fairies to fight against others. It's an interesting fantasy story (and world) with potential but unfortunately, the protagonist is unlikeable, especially during the first hours in the game. Fang, the protagonist in Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is one of the worst protagonists in a game developed by Compile Heart (the Switch version was developed by Ghostlight but whatever), forget about Neptune, Mai Toyama, Otsuu, and Asahi Shiramine (for example), even Takt (Omega Quintet) is more likeable than Fang. Fang is, especially during the first (many) hours in the game, arrogant and egoist (to an extent), and even a bit of a narcissist (''I'm handsome'' he says), and when Eryn, his fairy, says things like ''you are bad'', ''you are terrible'', ''you are so naive'' or something negative about him, and I agree with her, I quickly think ''I'm not supposed to agree with that, or at least, it is a bad start if I agree with that statement...'' I've said this before, maybe it's my personal preference or something, but usually, or maybe always, it is more difficult for me to engage in something, a series, a movie, a video game...if the main character is unlikeable or I can't stand the main character, and while it's true that after a while, Fang genuinely grows and develops as a character, there were still a lot of instances where he said something I didn't like, there were times where I wanted to stop playing or quit the game during an event because of something he said, so...that should give an idea of how much his comments annoyed me, I...think he genuinely made me angry at times. So...I'd say that the story is a 9 at best, but I don't know if I'm willing to give it that rating because of the protagonist...oh well.

Graphics: A 7 at best, but barely. Maybe you already know this, but the original version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is just Fairy Fencer F, released for PS3 and PC several years ago, and Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, available for PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch is just an improved version of Fairy Fencer F, it's like a remake or remastered version of the game, one of those two, or at least something close. Even for a PS3 game, the original version wasn't anything to write home about when it comes to graphics, and while it's true that Advent Dark Force looks better on all platforms, it's still a game that shows its PS3 origins, and as I said, even for a PS3 game, the original game isn't anything to write home about, there are many PS3 games with better graphics. In the case of the Switch version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, there are some nice textures/effects here and there, the last area/dungeon in the game is probably the most attractive map in the game graphically speaking, it really made me say ''wow, this place looks nice!'' The 2D art, mostly by Tsunako, looks beautiful and really nice, the game has many CG images and they always look great. Yos***aka Amano also designed the gods in the game, well, at least he clearly designed the goddess that fought against the Vile God, and her design is about as Amano as it gets. The game looks nice, but it leaves something to be desired, if we compare the game with other games for Nintendo Switch, it goes without saying that Luigi's Mansion 3, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Fairy Tail, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, and many more games, look better.

Sound: At least an 8 for this category, and a 9 at best. Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force has a great and varied soundtrack, the music sometimes sounds like something from a Hyperdimension Neptunia game, which is something I really like. Nobuo Uematsu composed at least 1 or 2 songs for the game, the fact that he was involved in the soundtrack was advertised a lot, but even if he composed only a few songs in the game at best (probably), it's still a soundtrack I really like. The game has dual audio, every version of the game has dual audio, putting aside the fact that there was controversy with the fact that NIS America changed the names of a lot of characters...the English voice acting is pretty good, the voice actors did a great job with their characters and for serious moments (the game has a lot of those), you can clearly hear the effort of the voice actors, and yes, the game has a great cast. Erica Mendez (Eryn), Erika Harlacher (Harley and Marissa), Ray Chase (Bahus and Hanagata), Christine Marie Cabanos (Karin and Emily)...

Addictive: Maybe a 7 at best, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a turn-based RPG with functional gameplay, but even though the game is similar to the Hyperdimension Neptunia games in a few aspects, the game, at worst, feels slightly less fun to play than some turn-based Hyperdimension Neptunia games. I have to give credit where credit is due, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force tries to be a complex game and for the most part, it succeeds, with the ability to increase your stats using special points you get after winning a battle (at least usually), using furies (those swords you collect throughout the game) to get special rewards or effects during the dungeons, and more, it's evident that the original developers were trying to make an enjoyable game, unfortunately Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force has slowdown, and said slowdown can affect the experience...it seems that the slowdown can be even worse on handheld mode, and somehow, the game has slowdown during the menus, why does the game suffers from slowdown when you are changing the equipment of the characters? Are the 3D models too much for the Nintendo Switch or something? Overall, the game is very playable, but the slowdown (which can be frequent) is annoying, the game also crashed once, it's true that the game is very playable, at least in TV (docked) mode, but that said, it's not a perfect game when it comes to how it runs, and it shows.

Depth: With several endings, different routes, several difficulty levels, and many optional quests to do, it's a game with a lot to do, definitely a 10 at best, and a 9 at least...

Difficulty: If I try to reference the review by Ircha Gaming of this game, I'd say that Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force can be a very challenging game if you want, and even though I was playing on one of the lowest difficulty levels, I still had to use powerful attacks, use healing skills and items, and, well, I definitely needed a strategy for several (many?) bosses, if I played carelessly, I could lose, I didn't defeat the final boss on my first try...I defeated the final boss on my second try, and I was playing on Easy, which again, it's not the lowest difficulty level, I can only imagine how challenging or difficult the game should be at higher difficulties.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is, at best, a good RPG, it's enjoyable to play and I guess I can recommend the game if you are a fan of turn-based RPGs (unlike me), unfortunately the physical copies of the game are very expensive, not only for Nintendo Switch, but also Playstation 4, and I don't recommend paying full price for the game (I got the game on sale), even if the Switch version includes all the DLC and it's a portable version of the game, I only recommend the game if it's on sale. The physical copies are ridiculously expensive, I don't recommend buying one of those under any circumstances. At the end of the day, the only aspects where the Nintendo Switch version is better than the PS4 and PC versions are the fact that the switch version has all the DLC included, and that it's a portable version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, but...yeah, if you are interested and can play the game on another platform, buy another version, when it comes to how the game runs, the Switch version should be the worst version of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, so...I recommend the game only if it's on sale, and if you can't play the game on PS4 or PC.