Fall of Angels In-Depth Review

Further enhancing Fall’s environments are minigames that range from drag-and-dropping debris to playing whack-a-mole with a betentacled monster — tasks that often draw on the aforementioned tool system. Thorough exploration is fun on its own, but looking in every nook and cranny directly rewards the player with new skills for use in battle. The single most impressive thing Fall accomplishes, however, is the best implementation of a day/night cycle and weather system I’ve ever seen in a straight-up JRPG. All the rain, snow, and dusk-to-dawn periods aren’t just there for looks; they actually determine which enemies are running about and play a role in story progression. You can guess what time of day you need to visit the village that’s being tormented by a werewolf.

Virtual buttons handle tool usage and ad hoc tasks, but the player can tailor Fall’s movement control from the party management menu. At least, the player should have been able to — in the biggest technical hiccup Fall suffers from at the moment, switching from virtual joystick to tap-and-go leaves Sariel completely stranded! This mishap affects the iPod Touch 4 at least. Sorely lacking on the overworld, fields, and dungeons is a run function to take greater advantage of the fact that enemy encounters may be avoided. The party management and shop menus could also stand further polish, as they suffer from occasional text overflow and ask the player to tap on tiny areas to switch equipment or complete shopping runs. Everything outside of battling may be what makes Fall stand out, but its interface is cleanest during combat.

You won’t think much of Fall’s presentation while looking at screenshots, but in some ways it turns out to be an aesthetic tour de force! Fall’s title screen reaches right out and grabs you with a soulful chorale, and its soundtrack brims with catchy soft rock and weirdly addictive guitar solos that make you want to hole up in a cave with your iPod and do nothing but meditate to them for awhile. Hopefully a soundtrack release is in order! Fall’s environments consist of pre-renders that can be angelically beautiful but also downright devilish in the way high walls and clumps of trees completely hide important paths. Environments are presented in a shifting perspective that strikes me as outright bizarre, but it certainly gives Fall a unique visual flair. Dialogue portraits are emotive if drawn a little simply, and even the battle sprites pack character — it’s just too bad they’re so choppily animated.

iFanzine Verdict: Talk about a game with indie soul! Fall of Angels excels in ways that we need to see more examples of in the JRPG genre — namely a great story and an emphasis on making exploration genuinely fun. Genre fans won’t be disappointed provided they go into it with the understanding that Fall’s battle system hews closely to well-worn tradition and that the game isn’t always a paragon of accessibility.

Addendum: Second control option fixed, environment design improvements.