Monark

Monark's creepy setting, tactical combat and banging soundtrack is well worth experiencing, but prepare for some obtuse puzzles.

Monark brings many innovations to the table, yet ultimately feels unfinished and unpolished. Many of the traditional and obsolete aspects of the JRPG genre are present, yet if you are willing to look past them in order to reach some quality – it could truly shine up your experience. Interesting characters, mechanics and setting, may not feel enough for some, but to those that just need a long game and new ways to play, Monark is a great recommendation.

Monark is not a perfect game, but it's a really solid RPG. The battle system is good, the storyline is interesting once it gets going, and there's some great music, too. Graphically, the game is one of the uglier releases I've come across over the last few years, and I think the game could do a better job explaining elements of its battle system. However, if players can ignore these imperfections, there really is a lot to love, and I can see fans of the genre falling in love with it. The RPG genre has plenty of great options to pick from at the moment, but Monark's blend of JRPG, strategy, and horror elements make it a compelling option.

Monark is a perfectly functional JRPG with a great combat system, some strong aesthetic designs, and a decent story. It's held back a bit by its school setting and a lack of exposition early, and could have benefited from embracing its darker themes more readily to help establish stakes in the opening chapters. Still, what's here is a fun game with an addictive combat system, and lessons learned in Monark could make the next effort from FURYU Corporation even more appealing.

Monark proves itself to be an interesting, low-budget take on an SRPG, combining its Persona influences with original ideas to make for a compelling experience. Risky, rewarding combat, a creepy atmosphere, and an interesting story make this one easy to recommend, but things like the low-quality graphics, repetitive environments, and nonexistent enemy variety keep it from ever approaching greatness. We’d recommend Monark to any SRPG enthusiasts (especially those that are sick of fighting on a grid) or fans of the old-school SMT and Persona games. It may not have nailed its execution, but Monark is an experience that we think is still worth your time.

Monark has good ideas. However, it falls short in what it tries to achieve. This is a niche JRPG that, while it can be entertaining, has other shortcomings that prevent us from recommending it to everyone. Still, hardcore fans of the genre will find something to enjoy here.

Monark has a refreshing battle system that will appeal to turn-based strategy gamers, but the dated graphics and overall redundancy make it a hard game to recommend at its full asking price. As with the game’s dangerous Mist, enter with caution.

Rich and demanding, the clashes are gripping, worthy of frenzied chess games during which each placement must be thought out and calculated. On the other hand, the title is served by its technical shortcomings, a lack of depth in its dialogues, as well as a difficult attachment to the characters. Despite everything, Monark knows how to establish itself as an experience to live for any J-RPG lover looking for strategic brawls that oppose him with some resistance.

Thanks to an exquisite art style, a challenging combat system, a very interesting mind-based plot and a very well implemented and flexible character development model, Monark boasts elements that are worth highlighting. Where Monark does less well is on its execution, though, as well as on its simplistic and repetitive puzzles, but it's the game's laggy performance that often harms the experience and makes it difficult to enjoy to anyone beyond a core of RPG fans.

If you can accept its scope, accept that it falls short of its intentions almost as often as it realizes them, there is something in Monark to enjoy. The way it explores the ideas of personality traits and the dangers of excesses can be very intriguing, and the combat can be satisfying for a while. The localization is solid, with some sharp bits of writing here and there. And yes, there is just enough of a whiff of Persona about it that it might at least lightly scratch the itch for more Atlus-ish RPG enjoyment. But one can’t help but wonder what this could have been if the developers had had more resources to play with.

Monark is one of FuRyu's more disappointing releases with its repetitive gameplay that is carried by the music and character designs. It doesn't help that the Nintendo Switch version feels very rough right now even with the day one patch installed. Hopefully FuRyu can build on this for a more polished RPG in the future that doesn't feel so disjointed.

If I’m not having fun with an RPG I’ve noticed lately that I have to force myself to play it. Monark started strong but my opinion of it dropped rapidly every time I spent an hour checking everything I had unlocked in the school; I had to be missing SOMETHING that would get me to proceed, right? If you’re feeling sharp and are okay with little to no environmental variety then Monark might be worth a look - there’s a demo for it - but it’s nowhere near the best RPG from this developer in the last six months.

With a dark story that involves daemons and anime tropes, Monark presents a JRPG experience that comes with many unique, but half-baked ideas. While it has deep and interesting combat, the other elements are either badly implemented or underdeveloped.

Monark tries a lot of new ideas, but only finds success with an intriguing battle system ... and even that has a mileage that may vary.