Before getting this game I had heard very little about Sword Art Online as a show, and even less about it as a game series. In fact, I only knew there was a game series of it because of Gadget Girl Kylie's videos on YouTube, and a few articles that popped up when Hollow Realization was about to release.

Then I got this as a present for Christmas 2016, and immediately popped it into my PS Vita to test it out. Little did I know I would be figuratively sucked into the world of ALO and unable to escape it, much like Kirito had been in SAO. Unlike Kirito however, I didn't want to leave this new world, and for a while, I didn't unless I absolutely had to.

But enough of that, let's get on to the review.


Sword Art Online: Lost Song is an action RPG, that genuinely feels like an MMO, despite being a single player experience. If you've ever played an MMORPG before, then you'll notice how well they replicated the setup of said genre.

The gameplay mechanics are simple enough, which surprised me because I'd heard how confusing they were. It was very basic stuff really, with R running and boosting flight speed, L locking on targets, Square attacking, X Jumping, Circle evading, and Triangle interacting. The special abilities are also just a combination of R and a face button or d-pad input away.
There's also a stamina gauge, health gauge, and mana gauge — your basic Action RPG stuff. It's easy to pick up and play for anyone with any experience in the genre.

As for the categorical breakdown...



Graphics: 7/10
Very Good.

At first glance you may be inclined to disagree with me here, but bear with me while I explain my reasoning on this rating.

The in game graphics, while not the best I've seen on a Vita game — that title belongs to Uncharted: Golden Abyss, with Freedom Wars coming in second — were well rendered. Things look smooth, they look, well, like a video game version of the real world. They don't look realistic at all, but that's okay because this is a game about a game after all, right?

However, despite not being anything to wow me, the environments were usually fun to look at. Some places, especially Woglinde, were pretty and just made me feel happy and like I was truly on an adventure, driving me to explore every nook and cranny (and finding ways to sneak around and nab some extra handy items early on too).

Sadly the rest of the islands, while well enough made, did not hold up to Woglinde at all. In fact, most felt plain. When a place is dominated by a certain weather theme, it begins looking a little samey. This is made worse by the fact that you'll be spending a decent amount of time on each of the islands. Thankfully the last island takes a step back in the right direction, but it looks like a near clone of the first in some ways, despite being so incredibly different. I could explain this in a way that would make more sense, but I'd like to avoid spoilers, and it'd definitely be pretty spoileriffic if I said any more.


And back to the samey gripe (did we ever leave it?): the dungeons all feel this way. Essentially there are three types of them: the basic cave where you'll spend most of your dungeon crawling time, spelunking your way through various rooms, flipping switches, fighting enemies, looting treasure chests, occasionally evading traps, and always facing off against a boss.

The next type of dungeon is ruins. You always know the final boss of an island is coming up when you find yourself exploring what the game calls ruins, despite the fact that internally the buildings are pristine and free of any sign of aging.

Then there's the final type which you'll encounter on the last island. It's equal parts refreshing and annoying. Bonus points for it having a "Viz cavern" though.

Finally by way of samey-ness, the characters all look the same. Aside from the story relevant characters, there are a handful of character models — one for each race and gender — and they repeat for each NPC. It feels very game like.


But it's not all gloom and doom. After all I said the graphics were "Very Good", right? Well they are. You see while things all look very game-ish like I've said, and all of these pitfalls add to that, it also kind of works in the game's favor in a weird sort of way. You're supposed to feel like you're playing this VRMMO, which is of course, a video game. And these visuals continuously remind you that this is just that — a video game. In a strange twist of fate, a lack of realism makes this game feel more engrossing, and, well, more realistic. And while many environments look the same, they all fit the theme well and aren't bad to look at. Those caves all looked the same, but I somehow never got tired of seeing them, even after tens of hours of after game play in them.

The game definitely has a smooth look and a charming aesthetic, but it's the cutscenes that really drive things home in the graphics department: they're fully rendered animé sequences. These are actually really engaging scenes too, so much so that I found myself eagerly looking around every corner in the game just hoping I'd trigger a new scene as I did so.

The artwork is nothing short of flawless, the same goes for the character portraits, and don't even get me started on that awesome intro video.


In short, the graphics are good, but far from perfect. The aesthetic really manages to shine, not despite the shortcomings, but because of them.


Highlights:
•Some nice scenery along the way
•Feels like you really are playing in ALO
•The anime cutscenes and still shots are great.



Sound: 9/10
Excellent.

I wanted to give this a ten for a few reasons, and I feel as though I'm shortchanging the game in not doing so, but I can't award it a ten simply because no actual in-game tunes stick with you after it's all said and done, at least, none of the island or dungeon themes do.

However, the opening song is so good that I found myself listening to it over and over again from my room in the inn (more on that in the depth category). In fact I'd say I probably spent over an hour in total just listening to that song and watching the opening video. I have no idea how a song that I can't understand can stick with me so well, but I genuinely love hearing it.

And while the adventuring music doesn't exactly stick with you, it does fit and aid the game well. It always helped set the mood and felt right in place. I enjoyed it so much that I refused to listen to my own music for almost the entirety of the two plus months that I played it.


Then there's the voice acting, which, lamentably, is all in Japanese. However after hearing the horrible pronunciation of untranslated names in the English dub of the show, I'm almost glad of that. I definitely prefer English voiceovers, but at least there was no name botching like the show did, making me cringe every time I heard Silica's or Asuna's name. Yikes.

Still, with the lack of songs that stick with you (aside from that amazing intro) and the lack of English voiceovers, I have to give the sound the nine that I did.


Highlights:
•Cynthia no Hikari (opening theme)
•No names were butchered in the making of this game
•The music helps immerse you



Story: 9/10
Excellent.

First off let me say that, apparently the storyline is different in this game than in the show. It seems the game series as a whole follows an alternate story from the show, while keeping the same characters for the most part. It takes the SAO you know and explores a "what if" side of things. This is all based on what a friend who I recommended the game to told me after they got it, since I've not yet watched much of the show.


Now that we got that out of the way, let's get into the hows and whys of the rating here.

The main story, is admittedly, nothing special. In fact I found myself bouncing between mildly interested and annoyed by the plot with Seven. In the end though, it turned out alright.

But it isn't the main story that won me over, rather it was the chemistry between the characters and the side stories involving various combinations of the cast, though admittedly, they largely center around Kirito and how oblivious he is to every woman's feelings except Asuna for whatever reason. Still it can range from hilarious to sweet, to outright tear jearking at times, following these side stories. There were at least a few occasions where I felt deeply saddened for the various characters, and two scenes in particular that actually brought tears to my eyes. The dynamic between the various members felt real, and managed to invoke something of a feeling of human kinship with some of them, despite others feeling pretty cardboard.


So while the main story has it's spotlight stolen by the side stories, it just makes for an even more dynamic experience. This isn't a save the world kind of story, it's a slice of real life kind of tale, or rather, series of interwoven tales. Nothing deep here, but some very real emotions are dealt with. A heavy emphasis on love, especially unrequited, but also a strong focus on what it means to be family, and what friendship is all about. It's about life, and it's beautiful in it's simplicity.


Highlights:
•Several smaller but emotionally touching side stories make up for a less compelling main plot
•Some of the more moving story scenes manage to evoke a real sense of connection to the characters



Depth: 10/10
Incredible.

Now realize that I'm rating this as a completionist. The game itself is fairly straightforward, though the gameplay does have a degree of customization with it's gear, sword skill, magic skill, special skill, and passive skill options. Additionally the game has a host of side quests, extra quests, and special events to partake in. This portion of the game actually offers so much that you'll likely spend more time playing in them than in the main game, but that's not to say that the main game is bad or short — it most certainly is not!

The main mode uses a dash of the "metroidvania" formula in that, just as you become certain that you've covered every square inch of the world and done it all, you find out you're wrong, and must backtrack to cover it all again.

Then there's the after game: I spent so many hours playing this. The moment I finished watching the dialogue following the end credits, I unlocked several new events, and just as soon as I finished one, another one (or two!) would open up. I thought I never would finish them all, and frankly, I didn't want to. I was having too much fun with it.


Stories, quests, and events aside, the game boasts plenty of content by offering you rare goodies to hunt down, challenging goals to tackle, and tons of upgrades. Then there's New Game Plus to unlock so you can enjoy it all over again.


Additionally, many cutscenes appear on the corkboard in your room in the Crowned Rooster inn, so in order to view the screenshots and videos you've seen all you have to do is go to the board and check it out. This added more depth than I'd anticipated as I found myself working extra hard to cover it all and unlock everything.


Then there's the character selection. Not only can you choose who you take in your three person party, you can play as any of the unlocked characters yourself, edit their weapons, skills, accessories, and even their outfit. And if you're feeling really adventurous you can use the disappointing character creation system to make your own character.
Yeah, don't do that

Finally, a nice, if small touch, is that the game contains a message system, and you'll receive various messages from each of the characters you meet, based on how you interact (or fail to interact) with them. These are never anything useful, but are always entertaining, and usually funny.


Highlights:
•Lots to do in the after game
•Tons of quests
•New Game Plus
•Dynamic message system


Addictiveness: 10/10
Incredible.

Okay, I played nothing but this during my free time from the end of December until early March. I didn't put it down because I didn't want to put it down. It managed to get my attention from the start and keep it, with it's various festivals, side quests, events, trophies, and more. I spent roughly fifty hours just on the later portion of the main game, after game, and trophy cleanup. In total I probably sank over 100 hours into this game, and I still have every intention of replaying it, despite already having the platinum trophy for it — it's just that good.

There's plenty of action gameplay to be had, but there's also leveling up equipment, searching for items to level your equipment with, exploring for hidden treasure chests, New Game Plus, and more.


Highlights:
•Huge amounts of things to do
•New Game Plus



Difficulty: 3/10
Easy.

This rating is based on easy mode. The game never really feels challenging, but that's why they call it easy mode I suppose. I never once died during the main game on easy, but some of those after game challenges were tough and cost me a loss or two. And that's not to mention that the multiplayer mode causes the difficulty to spike through the ceiling.

Want a challenge? Try hard. Easy is just that: easy.


Highlights:
•Accessible to all



Overall: 9/10
Excellent.

Sword Art Online: Lost Song isn't perfect, but it is fun and a game that I highly recommend. Few games can captivate me the way that this one did. It doesn't try to be overly ambitious, but rather takes the approach of everyday life stories and experiences. It's a solid gaming experience with a narrative that is often funny, sometimes touching, and always enjoyable.

For fans of the game series, this is a must play. For fans of the show, it's definitely worth a look, and for action RPG fans, I'd suggest giving it a go as well. As for a price tag, I'd say pick it up for as much as $40. I'd go higher, but with a new SAO game out now, you should be able to nab a used copy of Lost Song for much less than full price.

Now go get your nerve gear on, and meet me in Woglinde — I'll be at the farm, eating some pudding.