As a Pokémon fan since the days of *Pokémon Emerald* on the Nintendo Game Boy, to be honest, my expectations for a non-Pokémon AAA game from Game Freak are somewhat mixed. That’s because, after checking Game Freak’s website myself, it turns out that most of their history has been focused on making Pokémon games, along with spin-off...I thought to myself: “Game Freak? Don’t they usually make Pokémon? Now they’re making an AAA game?” I’m sure I’m not the only one who thought this. Beast of Reincarnation comes with a dynamic and action-packed battle trailer parry.
Gamers naturally have high expectations when they see combat mechanics similar to those in Sekiro and NieR, especially in the system parry...it. Of course, to become a AAA game that worthy To rival a game like Sekiro, every aspect of this game has to truly shine, including iconic elements such as parry. My brief impression is actually: it’s both good and not so good. *Beast of Reincarnation* is a breakthrough worth appreciating, but of course it still has many areas that need improvement. What are they?
Emma & Koo: An Exciting Battle Collaboration
One of the most striking aspects is the story of Emma, the protagonist, and Koo, who becomes companion Emma remains loyal throughout the game. Without giving away any spoilers, the bond between Emma and Koo will grow stronger, including their collaboration in battle. In addition to Emma’s own skills and movements, Koo has health bar, movesets, and especially unique skills that players can activate to attack enemies with various elements and effects. This makes the dynamics between Emma and Koo a crucial element of the game’s mechanics.
The reason is, where The resource used to activate Koo's skills (called SP in this game) comes from the proceeds of parry Emma herself, in my experience, is fairly easy to obtain. Fortunately, Koo’s SP pool is already at its maximum—9 SP—compared to the average of 3–4 SP required for Koo’s skills, so she’s a breeze to use. Koo can also be used to kill or attack enemies from a distance, even in the form of chance. Plus, some of Koo’s skills can restore Emma’s HP, so the pace of the game feels very sustain.
His collaboration with Emma turned out to be quite tricky, because adjustments need to be made to Koo's skill elements (as well as usable item Koo) with Emma’s own sword element. Even so, Koo can still be used effectively without reading the tutorial, especially if his element is maximized in combination with Emma’s. In conclusion, Game Freak has done a pretty good job of integrating Emma and Koo’s combat and skills, though it might be a stretch to expect their interaction to be as deep as that between Kratos and Atreus in *God of War*.
World & Story Pacing Hit & Miss
After playing this game for about 10 hours and getting quite far into the story, I have to agree with some of the early reviews that say the world and story of *Beast of Reincarnation* feel interesting but lack substance. In terms of the world, *Beast of Reincarnation* is similar to other AAA games that take an approach semi-open world Each area has its own unique features, but some of the early stages feel rather empty. The exploration areas aren’t very large, and there are generally only a few enemies in each section. In particular, the enemy types—including the bosses themselves—have move sets that are practically identical, which can get boring. Eventually, I just wanted to rush through some of the early areas because the atmosphere post-apocalyptic which is fairly generic and world-building the empty one.
As for the story itself, after giving it some thought, it’s actually not too slow, but there seems to be an issue with the dialogue, which is a bit choppy and doesn’t smooth. Cutscene Conversations between characters—which are always conveyed verbally—don’t feel as natural as typical conversations, so each conversation can feel like lagging. In fact, if this entire series of stories and interactions could be presented in a more smooth, for example, by adding text at the bottom of the screen, the story might be much easier to follow. Not to mention, the relatively stiff animations of each character further hinder the story’s progression.
Because of these two things, it’s quite a challenge to stay motivated to explore that area, especially when you have to deal with another round of somewhat disjointed dialogue. If your character is strong enough, it’s probably best to just keep going.
The Consistent Artistic Style of Japanese Developers
Of course, despite criticism about the rather empty world, Game Freak presents the characters Emma and Koo with an appealing floral visual identity. This floral theme has become one of the game’s defining features and something I look forward to every time I explore and defeat enemies. This floral visual identity is also quite prominent in the characters’ interactions with their world—from the visual combo effects of their skills to the skill tree, which clearly resembles a tree adorned with various kinds of flowers. It’s evident that Game Freak has a strong and consistent artistic vision.
This is also evident in the boss’s design itself. Although I’d argue that this boss’s moveset is fairly generic, its design still looks very unique and is full of visual effects that reflect the identity of these flowers.
Conclusion
*Beast of Reincarnation* ultimately proves that Game Freak is capable of stepping outside the Pokémon comfort zone and delivering something fresh, even if it isn’t quite fully polished yet. The combat collaboration between Emma and Koo forms the heart of the game, offering a truly enjoyable and varied experience, supported by a consistent floral visual identity that extends from character designs all the way to the bosses. Unfortunately, the world feels hollow, and the story’s disjointed pacing often makes the exploration feel like a slog. Ultimately, *Beast of Reincarnation* is a commendable breakthrough from a developer venturing into this genre for the first time, but hopefully, more attention will be paid to refining the world-building and narrative delivery in their next project.
Pros
- Emma and Koo’s varied and satisfying combat synergy
- A consistent floral visual identity, from character design to the boss
Disadvantages
- A world design that feels empty, with repetitive enemy movesets
- The dialogue delivery and character animations are not very smooth
