Another Crusade

My instinct when I see "Super Mario RPG spiritual successor" is to reach for healthy skepticism, because that comparison has buried more than a few promising debuts. Another Crusade earns the label mechanically, then stumbles a little on the narrative side of the ledger, which is exactly the kind of nuanced outcome worth unpacking before you click anything. The combat is the genuine article. Each party member carries a distinct action-command vocabulary: protagonist Rai swings weapons with standard timed presses, the mage Niro and alchemist Varenna require stick rotations or rapid mashes to land their magic, and the Castlevania-flavored demon hunter Vincent brings yet another input pattern to the table. Reviewers flagged roughly 50 equipment pieces and around 40 distinct magic attacks, each with its own "perfect" timing window, which is the kind of mechanical density I respect. What makes it harder to love is that those windows are genuinely punishing on the default difficulty. Enemy hit speed is high, and in certain maze-like sections enemies can re-engage you before you escape, turning avoidance into its own friction tax. The good news: post-launch patch v1.2 added an Easy Mode with wider timing windows and item retention after a game over, so the developer was listening. If you played at launch and bounced off, it may be worth a second look. The aesthetic is the other strong argument for giving this one a chance. The low-poly wooden puppet look is not just a gimmick: the deliberately jerky animations serve a gameplay function, because the stilted movement actually telegraphs timed-hit windows more clearly than a smoother rig would. Environments read like oversized dioramas, area soundtracks shift to match the zone tone, and the overall colour palette is vibrant enough to keep long sessions comfortable. Where the presentation falls short is audio fidelity at the sound-effect level, which several reviewers noted feels noticeably thinner than the music quality would suggest. The story is the part I want to be honest about. Rai is a silent protagonist with sparse dialogue exchanges, and the party leans on a fourth-wall-breaking mage for comic relief that tends to land flat. The worldbuilding lacks the creative specificity that makes comparisons like Bug Fables or Chained Echoes stick long after the credits roll. If you play JRPGs primarily for character writing, Another Crusade will feel like scaffolding with a coat of charm but not a finished structure. If you play them for the rhythm of well-designed turn-based combat, the gap barely matters. Exploration is mostly linear with branching paths and collectibles, including hidden bosses that are reportedly a nod to the developer's Mexican roots, which is a nice personality injection even if the main cast does not fully capitalize on it. For the PC version specifically: controller support is present and recommended, given the timing mechanics involve stick inputs and button sequences that feel awkward on keyboard. The first area is rough around the edges and the camera is not always centred on your character, but the game genuinely finds its footing once you reach the first town. Treat the opening hour as a slow calibration period rather than a demo.

Diego · Scout Team

Strategy & simulation

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