Chained Echoes

 Switch
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 79 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 92
  3. Negative: 9 out of 92

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  1. WeAllEffed
    Jul 29, 2023
    1
    Could be a fantastic rpg, but completely ruined by the Overdrive mechanic. All it is is fake difficulty as it pigeonholes you to play exactly the way the game wants you to. Battles end up being is a tug of war with this mechanic. Then the game arbitrarily decides to put you in Overheat for no apparent reason; where you take more damage and skills cost more to use. Getting out of OverheatCould be a fantastic rpg, but completely ruined by the Overdrive mechanic. All it is is fake difficulty as it pigeonholes you to play exactly the way the game wants you to. Battles end up being is a tug of war with this mechanic. Then the game arbitrarily decides to put you in Overheat for no apparent reason; where you take more damage and skills cost more to use. Getting out of Overheat completely derails the flow of the battles, and it makes no sense. There are either turns, or situations hardcoded, or it’s designed to be a pain. For example: a skill is highlighted yellow-orange (arbitrarily mind you) that will significantly lower the overdrive bar, often times forcing the player to use a skill that’s not beneficial. Sienna’s Pilfer when there’s nothing to steal, or you need to heal but some random skill lowers the Overdrive gauge, which allows you to temporarily play the game until it randomly throws you back into overheat.

    Give me an option to disable this stupid mechanic and I’d likely change my review score.    … Expand
  2. RicardoDavid
    Jan 2, 2023
    10
    Great JRPG. Amazing story, made me remember the good old days. If you liked Chrono Trigger, you are going to love this.
  3. kefka_palazzo
    Dec 24, 2022
    10
    This game is so well crafted. Your decisions when leveling and outfitting your characters actually matter. Everything about the game design is so well considered and tightly integrated. You'll actually want to explore each zone to make sure you maximize small gains to your loot. The story is really good and perfectly paced. What in God's name do people even see in a game like XenobladeThis game is so well crafted. Your decisions when leveling and outfitting your characters actually matter. Everything about the game design is so well considered and tightly integrated. You'll actually want to explore each zone to make sure you maximize small gains to your loot. The story is really good and perfectly paced. What in God's name do people even see in a game like Xenoblade 1/2/3 when an actual masterpiece like this comes from a single developer? The battles are just challenging enough to make you rethink your loadout and actually engage with the systems. I love all the little details that make the simple zones feel alive. I'm so impressed.… Expand
  4. RisingZeus
    Dec 11, 2022
    10
    Gorgeous pixel graphics, fun and thought-provoking turn-based battles, and amazing sound/music!
  5. Darueck
    Dec 25, 2022
    10
    Best surprise of 2022. Love it! Miss another languages, but every detail of this game is a love letter to the classic JRPGs that we loved in our childhood ❤️
  6. Elwingzy
    Dec 28, 2022
    10
    Perfect RPG games i'm looking so for. The combat not boring as other RPG game.
  7. TuffinUp
    Dec 9, 2022
    10
    Good combat, sprite and story. Giant robots, good characters and 10 hours in an engaging story, I am stoked on this game. Might be a bit old school for the kids, but classic jrpg fans will definitely enjoys
  8. Climhazzard101
    Dec 21, 2022
    10
    The perfect JRPG

    If you like RPG games from the 16 bit era then i promise you that this is a dream come true. Chained echoes is a an homage to especially Chrono trigger and FF6. It takes the best of these games and even manages to build upon their greatness. The story and writing are absolutely excellent. The music is fantastic, some of the best that you've heard in a RPG in quite a    The perfect JRPG

    If you like RPG games from the 16 bit era then i promise you that this is a dream come true. Chained echoes is a an homage to especially Chrono trigger and FF6. It takes the best of these games and even manages to build upon their greatness. The story and writing are absolutely excellent. The music is fantastic, some of the best that you've heard in a RPG in quite a while. The battle system is a mix of familiar and new mechanics. I absolutely loved how you need to be managing the overdrive meter and switching out characters on the fly made things more dynamic. The sky armors are a total blast in battle and to control because of the verticality and versatility they bring. Movement overall is a joy with your party members literally flying over the map. Everything controls so fluidly and you're constantly rewarded for exploring the map through the awesome reward board. The game starts off linear and story focused but seriously opens up halfway, bringing you tons of opportunity to explore, do side quests or recruit new character. The game can be a little challenging sometimes but it's fair and each fight can be fought all in because your HP and TP are restored after each fight. You can always see your enemies on the map and you can always flee from every battle. If things get too heated, you can also lower the enemy stats and aggression. Honestly, square enix should be embarrassed. Bandai Namco should be embarrassed. Falcom should be embarrassed. They have all been beaten by this indie game created by only one man. Mattias Linda is a simply genius. He has made a masterpiece that outclasses anything that has come out in the last decade.    … Expand
  9. Lother
    Jan 4, 2023
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Half decent, it has a lot of good things going for it: the graphics, the gameplay, the music. It's all made (somewhat) by one dude.

    The story? It just falls apart. It tries too hard to be Xenogears, even copying entire plots, but not in a way that makes it fit with the rest of the story. The dude just doesn't know how to write a story. How can you expect people to relate to your protagonist if you make him out to be some mish mash of anti-hero/hero?

    Oh, so the dude was a major **** in the past, but then spent lifetimes "apologizing"? Oh, so the dude at the very end of the game decides "fk it, I'm too tired to keep on living, I'll let the guy we were just fighting have my body".

    No, this is sht writing. It also has some wke elements as well.

    It's a shame that the story tries so hard to be "different", but ends up just being a jumbled mess. So we have the major evil bad guy, who we NEVER fight, that inspired the ACTUAL villains of the game to keep killing humanity every few centuries IN ORDER TO FIGHT HIM. I know there is a reason given, but it's still rtrded as fk.    … Expand
  10. PMG-Writer
    Dec 31, 2022
    9
    "Chained Echoes" does everything perfectly for fans of the genre and newcomers. You get an exciting story with many interesting characters and great dialogues. The gameplay is also enjoyable, as are the other options in the gameplay. The graphics have their charm and the sound always does everything right. If you would like to have another good role-playing game with a certain look, you"Chained Echoes" does everything perfectly for fans of the genre and newcomers. You get an exciting story with many interesting characters and great dialogues. The gameplay is also enjoyable, as are the other options in the gameplay. The graphics have their charm and the sound always does everything right. If you would like to have another good role-playing game with a certain look, you should take a closer look at "Chained Echoes".… Expand
  11. Frelonsumo
    Jan 7, 2023
    10
    A huge surprise, probably one of my top game 2022. I highly recommend this game for JRPG lovers
  12. Andoverjon
    Jan 8, 2023
    10
    If you like JRPGs from the SNES / PS1 era, this game is for you. I can tell this game was made with love and care. A mix between FF6, Chrono Trigger, Xenogears with some modern updates and mechanics. I haven't felt this excited to play a game since BotW and a JRPG since FFX (20 years ago...). Can't recommend this game enough.
  13. Raansu
    Feb 10, 2023
    7
    Its a nice throw back to the 90's JRPG's with a very interesting twist on turn based combat using the overdrive system where you do more damage or take more damage and spend less TP depending on where you are on the overdrive bar. You can freely swap out teammates without losing a turn using the link system and to lower your overdrive bar if it gets close to overheat and the combat inIts a nice throw back to the 90's JRPG's with a very interesting twist on turn based combat using the overdrive system where you do more damage or take more damage and spend less TP depending on where you are on the overdrive bar. You can freely swap out teammates without losing a turn using the link system and to lower your overdrive bar if it gets close to overheat and the combat in general is just a lot of fun. The combat and overworld in general are very well done and enjoyable.

    With all that said, while I didn't hate the general premise of the story. The way its played out leaves a lot to be desired. Its not bad per say, but its a bit of a mess.    … Expand
  14. Tortor
    Jul 30, 2023
    4
    I desperately tried to enjoy myself but oof, the writing was just so bad. The combat just felt too on rails too. I bought into the hype and good reviews but feel like I fell into the trap of something over rated. It's clearly not as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. Maybe the lack of exposure to what actual good writing is leading to people thinking this is good or I'm just spoiled.I desperately tried to enjoy myself but oof, the writing was just so bad. The combat just felt too on rails too. I bought into the hype and good reviews but feel like I fell into the trap of something over rated. It's clearly not as amazing as everyone makes it out to be. Maybe the lack of exposure to what actual good writing is leading to people thinking this is good or I'm just spoiled. I'm a huge book nerd, I've read and reviewed hundreds of books just within the last few years, so I'd like to think I'm a pretty good judge of what good writing is like. This was not it, it felt cringey, dry, overly reliant on exposition dumps and poor pacing. You get overwhelmed with nouns of people, places and things that just arnt introduced in a way that allows a person to get attached to the world or being able to recognize what's in it.

    Story is important for this game because in the first 10 hours for example, 7-8 of those felt like it was reading dialog or running to the next place to get to the next piece of dialog. Lots of mini cut scenes, so it's very obviously story driven but unfortunately nothing about it felt original. The characters fall into tropes and so does the plot structures and foreshadowing. It just is so predictable that i feel like an AI wrote it and plugged in just as much stuff that we've already seen done before.

    I may be spoiled as I've played so many great story games and read so many books that my standard might be a little skewed but even without all that I think if anyone stepped back and looked at this objectively it really is just not good.

    The gameplay pacing is also sorta bad. I just didn't like the combat system. It sorta played itself in a way with very clear choreographed moves and timing made super obvious. Some of the moves were also ridiculous and didn't make sense leading to be taken out of the immersion. For example why is an ultimate move a guy stabbing the ground and a mountain size sword comes out of the ground at the enemy? It just feels so poorly thought out because it doesn't make sense, why is he doing that? Why's the sword grow? Why after all that is the damage barely double-triple that of an average attack? It's giving characters powers for the sake of it with no explanation.

    Worse part of the combat that made it all feel sorta automated was the heavy reliance on overdrive. Moves pretty much picked themselves depending on how it impacted the meter. There are some things you can do to play around with it but it felt like the game was telling me how to play exactly how it wanted me to instead of letting me experiment and try and figure things out on my own. The upgrade system is also very typical. It boils down to just numbers. It was more of a chore to sort through loot that was just chasing a higher number as the equipment barely made much of a difference other then making sure the numbers are higher at the first opportunity you get to increase it. I hate when games do this. I like when games make upgrading change a whole play style or make nigh and day differences so i feel more in control. This definitely does not do that, you're very much stuck with certain roles and have a lot of limitations, turns upgrading into a boring chore.

    Exploration wasn't very good either, again felt like a chore as it rarely wad rewarding enough to go off the beaten path. I just did not enjoy the tedium of it all as it always felt like the game was on rails with what exactly it wanted you to do and go to. It gave the illusion of being open when in fact it's very much on rails.

    Only thing that got me going was the art was really pretty as well as the good music.

    The gameplay and writing though just isn't good. I can see some opportunity in there for something potentially good but the author relied too heavily on exposition dumps and didn't really finesse the dialog or plot structure to something more original.    … Expand
  15. Tom_Supreme
    Jan 23, 2023
    9
    Every aspect of this game shows that a lot of love was put into it. Absolutely recommendable.
  16. SpookyDick
    May 20, 2023
    10
    One of the most ambitious indie games I've played in a long while. The gameplay is balanced and fun. It's never too punishing with a learning curve that is understandable. You need to try and experiment to win battles rather than just grind and level up to beat a boss or a challenge. The story is rather fantastic. I think it might be a little rough around the edges but this isn't a hugeOne of the most ambitious indie games I've played in a long while. The gameplay is balanced and fun. It's never too punishing with a learning curve that is understandable. You need to try and experiment to win battles rather than just grind and level up to beat a boss or a challenge. The story is rather fantastic. I think it might be a little rough around the edges but this isn't a huge production so bonus points for having so many fleshed out characters. Once the world opens up I spent hours upon hours just exploring the world. So many things to discover. So many fun additions that make this title special. I couldn't recommend this enough to RPG fans. This is obviously a love letter to the genre.… Expand
  17. Granfino
    May 21, 2023
    9
    Chained Echoes é um jrpg clássico que aprimora a estética e o design dos rpgs antigos, da era ps1. Mantém um visual retrô com uma pixel art de alta qualidade, e faz um juntando das melhores mecânicas dos clássicos jrpgs que ele reverencia. O sistema de batalha possui característica única que nao é de explodir a cabeça mas desempenha um ótimo papel dando desafio ao jogo. A melhorChained Echoes é um jrpg clássico que aprimora a estética e o design dos rpgs antigos, da era ps1. Mantém um visual retrô com uma pixel art de alta qualidade, e faz um juntando das melhores mecânicas dos clássicos jrpgs que ele reverencia. O sistema de batalha possui característica única que nao é de explodir a cabeça mas desempenha um ótimo papel dando desafio ao jogo. A melhor característica desse jrpg pra mim foi a de ter focado na duração das batalhas e não na quantidade. O jogador enfrenta poucos inimigos nas dungeons, porem as batalhas são longas o suficiente pro jogador se sentir desafiado. Além do preço justo em algumas lojas (paguei 50 reais na eshop, e na steam acho que está 70), o jogo dispõe de conteúdo para aproximadamente 50 horas, e o seu fator de rejogo é altíssimo devido ao alto número de personagens jogáveis e set de habilidades. Essa gama de personagens e habilidades permite o jogador montar diversas estratégias de combate, tendo que se abdicar de muitas estrategias em prol de outras, que logicamente poderão ser exploradas no rejogo. Ja foi anunciado uma atualização que adicionará um modo new game+ que, alem do aumento da dificuldade, trará novos conteúdos. A trilha sonora do jogo é ótima, digna de grandes produções. A história segue OK até a metade do jogo, onde então enfim começa a se comportar de forma mais atraente fazendo o jogador se entregar de vez ao jogo e passar a querer saber mais e mais sobre o desfecho. A história é ótima.
    As partes que não me agradaram no jogo não foram tão graves a ponto de abandonar a jogatina. Eu acho que esse jogo teve uma ótima produção indie, mas se tivesse recebido um financiamento digno das grandes desenvolvedoras, esse jogo seria mais foda do que é. Senti falta de cutscenes, de mais traduções, talvez até vozes pros personagens. Além disso, precisei contar com a internet em 10% do jogo, pra encontrar algumas side quests que não tive saco de procurar por conta própria. Normalmente você revisita toda a área extensa do jogo pelo menos 2 vezes, buscando mais conteúdos do game. Quando se nota que ainda falta algo a se buscar, na terceira varredura das áreas do jogo, começa a ficar exaustivo e é aí que eu recorri a internet. Pelo menos a maioria das side quests você consegue encontrar por conta própria, é como eu disse, apenas 10% do jogo requer essa pesquisa, afim de evitar frustração com o jogo.
    Trilha sonora bem feita.
    Jogo altamente recomendado aos saudosistas dos rpgs classicos da era ps1. Chained Echoes é um ótimo jrpg, por um ótimo preço, que dificilmente vai aborrecer o jogador nas suas 50 horas de conteúdo. É bem provavel que ele deixe muito jrpg atual no chinelo (so nao posso afirmar de fato pois nao joguei tanto jrpg atual pra isso) e em relação aos antigos ele supera a maioria.    … Expand
  18. cyphus6
    Jan 12, 2023
    10
    A phenomenal love letter to SNES JRPGs. Everything great about them, with modern convenience at every level; such as very little rng, full heals for your team after every battle, free Flees and battle Retries. Perfect balance between story, battle, and strategy, and so much content that never drags. Beating the main game is easily 60 hours, and side quests + secret final boss add anotherA phenomenal love letter to SNES JRPGs. Everything great about them, with modern convenience at every level; such as very little rng, full heals for your team after every battle, free Flees and battle Retries. Perfect balance between story, battle, and strategy, and so much content that never drags. Beating the main game is easily 60 hours, and side quests + secret final boss add another 10 hrs for sure; Amazing value.
    A fresh battle system that is easily understood and a fun way to encourage flexibility in your attacks (instead of spam). You only 'level up' from bosses (although you could grind to slightly improve your moves but its never required); Its about learning, and retrying with a different team setup and strategy. Personally I don't like excessive dialogue (which this game does not have), but even I wished I payed more attention by the end. Nothing to really complain about. Best JRPG of 2022    … Expand
  19. alybry420
    Jan 29, 2023
    10
    The game definitely deserves a 10/10 recommendation to every RPG enjoyer!
    Very well written great story and intriguing worldbuilding. I personally think it is impressive that none of the characters story feels bland or cliche. You can tell that the game has really been putting effort into each character’s growth
    Combat system is a lot of fun and easy to follow. Quality of life is good    The game definitely deserves a 10/10 recommendation to every RPG enjoyer!
    Very well written great story and intriguing worldbuilding. I personally think it is impressive that none of the characters story feels bland or cliche. You can tell that the game has really been putting effort into each character’s growth
    Combat system is a lot of fun and easy to follow. Quality of life is good when there’s no random encounters, no need for hard grinding. every aspect of the game just feels smooth.
    Had so much fun playing it!    … Expand
  20. ofpm
    Aug 30, 2023
    10
    Like the game Sea of Stars this is a must play game. I hope they keep releasing games like these every year. Its a nostalgic adventure that reminds me of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. 10 OUT OF 10.
  21. BadSector
    Apr 11, 2023
    10
    This is the perfect game. Great story great battle system a lot of interesting puzzles I wish it was longer and hoping for a sequel.
  22. H3res
    Apr 19, 2023
    7
    The game is a solid 7.5. At the beginning, and for the first few hours of the game, it was a 10/10. However, during the last 25% of the game, it became a mess with more of the same. The narrator couldn't handle it well, and the plot twists and character conclusions were lacking.

    The pros of the game include the battle system, overall quality of art and sound, unique monsters,    The game is a solid 7.5. At the beginning, and for the first few hours of the game, it was a 10/10. However, during the last 25% of the game, it became a mess with more of the same. The narrator couldn't handle it well, and the plot twists and character conclusions were lacking.

    The pros of the game include the battle system, overall quality of art and sound, unique monsters, characters, and the experience of using the sky armors to discover the map is a 10/10.

    The cons of the game include the fact that the story started off well but became confusing towards the end. Additionally, the combat became much easier towards the end, and some characters were introduced too late to be used effectively.

    Overall, I really enjoyed the game, and it was a fun experience. For the price, it's a must-have if you enjoy JRPGs, despite some flaws towards the end.    … Expand
  23. Jeanditpasplus
    May 19, 2023
    10
    Meilleur rpg au tour par tour depuis chrono trigger ou encore FF6. Gameplay original, personnages attachants, musique de très bonne qualité qui reste en tête même après arrêter d'y jouer. Histoire et lore très complet. j'ai adoré ce jeu , il me restera en souvenir pour très longtemps.
  24. TheXxchaKing
    Jul 7, 2023
    9
    + The game as a whole is a spirited love letter to the JRPGs of yesteryear
    + Battle system is innovative while still retaining traditional turn-based mechanics
    + Art style and design of the world and enemies are delightful + OST is of a magical god-tier standard that puts AAA titles to shame + Story and character arcs are enthralling from beginning to end - Sky armour battles were    + The game as a whole is a spirited love letter to the JRPGs of yesteryear
    + Battle system is innovative while still retaining traditional turn-based mechanics
    + Art style and design of the world and enemies are delightful
    + OST is of a magical god-tier standard that puts AAA titles to shame
    + Story and character arcs are enthralling from beginning to end

    - Sky armour battles were underwhelming and frustratingly imbalanced    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

2
#2 Best Switch Game of 2022
33
#33 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. NintendoWorldReport
    Apr 3, 2023
    90
    I ended my playthrough of Chained Echoes at roughly 65 hours. On the Switch OLED this game is beautiful, the vibrant pixel art aesthetic shines on screen, and its performance other than the aforementioned UI bug is flawless. Gameplay is also buttery smooth and appears to be running at a high frame rate. I enjoyed my time in Valandis so much that I experienced as much of the side content as I could. This full length RPG stands as a love letter to the games I grew up with. The inspirations are clear, and yet this is a wholly unique RPG experience that anyone who has an affinity for the style–and 90s’ RPGs in particular–owes it to themselves to enjoy.
    Read full review
  2. Impulsegamer
    Feb 7, 2023
    90
    Chained Echoes is a loving tribute to 90s JRPGs but also a thorough reinvigoration of the genres stalest aspects. Not just a great tribute, a great game.
    Read full review
  3. Game Informer
    Jan 25, 2023
    88
    While Chained Echoes has the advantage of decades of distance from the games it looks to for inspiration, it’s a better experience in many instances than those vaunted games from which it arose. I prefer this combat, storytelling, and approach to progression and exploration to many of the JRPGs I grew up so enamored with playing. That’s the highest praise I can heap on a game so removed in time from the games to which it might be compared. Whether you currently count yourself a JRPG connoisseur or fondly recall the ʼ90s heyday of the genre, Chained Echoes is well worth your time.
    Read full review
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