As someone who doesn’t play many JRPG games, there are very few that really pull me into the story, the characters, and the art style. There are few that come along that just, tug me in, and keep me in until I either beat it or get tired of the game. Thankfully, Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force sucked me in, and kept me in until I went through the game. Twice. Now, I’m here to review Fairy Fencer F, and tell you why you should pick up this game if you haven’t already.

Fairy Fencer F‘s story starts off with the main character, Fang, in prison for stealing bread. Surprisingly, there’s no backstory to Fang. We know nothing about his family, friends, or where exactly he came from. All we know is he’s a no good thief. 3 days prior to the

incident, he pulled a Fury that summoned his Fairy partner, Eryn. After she breaks him out of jail, he runs into a suspicious looking character. And after they finally escape, is where the game begins.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force takes place in the fictional world of, well, they don’t really say. What they do explain is that many years in the past, a battle between the Vile God and the Goddess battled. In the end, both were sealed by weapons called “Furies.” Which housed the Fairies we all know. Unfortunately, those are all the details we are given to the backstory of the game.

During your time in Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, you’ll come across new allies and foes alike. Unlike most traditional JRPG’s, you can have up to 6 party members battling on the battlefield at once. But, in turn, you can have up to 6 enemies on the battlefield at once as well. And when they’re a lot stronger in numbers. But, so are you.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force boasts a Difficulty rating, which you can change on the fly in g ame. Or, stay on the same difficulty through the whole game. At the

time of this review, I have played through the Easy and Normal playthroughs of the game. And even though I’m somewhat burned out on the game, I’m slowly going through the Hard Mode. While taking breaks every now and again.

One of the big issues I had while playing Fairy Fencer F, was the difficulty spike. During a certain event in the game (no spoilers!), you are pit against very strong enemies. It’s a bit of a pain, and that’s really the only thing I would change about the story and the game. (But, the spoiler I’m not mentioning, eventually plays a huge part in the story)!

One feature of Fairy Fencer F is the Goddess or Vile God revival system, unfortunately, since I have not played through the Hard Mode I cannot see what happens when you revive the Goddess or the Vile God. (You need an S Rank Fairy to do so, unfortunately. But I will update in the future)! From what I have read online, it’s just a short cutscene.

Each Fairy you gain in Fairy Fencer F grants you new abilities that you can use to your advantage, or use to shape the world. Much like Megadimension Neptunia VII’s Scout system (a system in which you send scouts to certain locations, and based off the scout you’d gain more Gold, more EXP, etc), you can use certain Furies you find during your travels to shape the levels you go through. Be careful, though, as some have negative effects to counteract the positives.

The level design in Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is simple, but it works. While some areas I felt had a very close vibe to the Neptunia series, others I felt they were their own original worlds. I highly enjoyed traveling through each of the different areas, battling monsters and finding hidden treasures.

While Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a JRPG at heart, I still can’ t help but groan when I

have to grind out XP for levels, or farm for more Gold. Thankfully, due to its combat system, I didn’t mind. Fairy Fencer F has the same combo-centric combat style as the

Neptunia series. Included is a Rock-Paper-Scissors like system as well, all enemies will be weak to one of the types of weapons you can use in your combos. Gun, Sword, Launcher, Bow, just to name a few.

Fairy Fencer F has some very unique characters, each with their own personality traits and move sets. Some of the designs are awesome, while some will make you go: “…What?” Ther are some very WTF moments in Fairy Fencer F, but I won’t talk about them in this review so as to not spoil it for you readers.

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is a great game, and if you’re on the fence about getting it, get off the fence. Seriously. Go out and buy it. If you’re a JRPG fan, this game is gonna fit your needs perfectly. Boasting a 20+ hour story, it’s basically the icing on a very yummy cake.

And yet another thank you to Ari from IdeaFactory for sending me this game, I really appreciate you sending me these games! 🙂

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force is out NOW on Playstation 4!