Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers (Nintendo Switch) Review

Clocknee is the typical, calm RPG town, were people... exist, and don't have much to say or do. That carefree vibe won't go away any time soon. Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers never really gets any darker - like at all. Sherry, the heroine of this tale, will have to deal with a certain event that froze time on this spineless realm, turning half its spineless people into "statues," with the rest becoming living, breathing, home appliances. How will Sherry feel about all that? The answer is: "mighty fine!" as she is very thirsty for some adventure. Generally, SYUPRO's creation is extremely child-friendly, making TV series like Pokémon look like Avatar in comparison.

While not a bad thing per se, the developer has probably gone a bit too far with that mindset, stripping away almost all character. Sherry is an absolute cutie, with her funny facial expressions, and her pleasantly "girly" way of movement when in a fight, and the game generally looks good but nothing really stands out. From your friends (big cuddly robot included), and the cartoony machines that act as your foes, to the simple-looking towns and forests you'll brave, this is a bit too forgettable, even for something aimed at kids. It doesn't help that this small, 15-hour adventure, takes place in the same handful of areas, either.

The dialogue sequences, and there are plenty of them, follow suit. The writing isn't terrible, but it's just a few steps above the dialogue found in Peppa Pig episodes, with a flavourless sense of humour, and characters that you won't really care about what they have to say. Also note that, apart from the occasional, fully-animated intermission, the main narrative technique in here is that of a visual novel, and one with absolutely no voice-overs. Long story short: don't come in here if in need for some fine JRPG storytelling. You might as well play the original Final Fantasy, or any other JRPG - after all, the Switch has plenty of them nowadays.

As for the gameplay portion of Destiny Connect it's standard, turn-based RPG fare, with everything working as intended, and most extra bells and whistles found in modern JRPGs, like a fast-forward button, as well as the option to turn off battle animations. This is obviously a well-made product. Sadly, it's also obviously aimed at young children and/or utter beginners. This is simply way too easy. You need little to no grinding, and most battles can be won by using the simple attack, with only bosses requiring the use of something extra. Again, nothing too demanding; just heal your injured comrades, and focus on your enemy's particular weakness, and all will go swell.

Apart from going from A to B (an annoyingly linear affair), and engaging in battles, the rest is all about upgrading your team. The human characters have skills that can be improved by spending some consumables, and their weapons can be modded with specific items that add more points to, say, Defence or Dodge... and that's about it. The only "unique" twist on the genre, is the cuddly robot mentioned earlier; ISAAC. This hunk of bronze acts as your tank, and can even transform to different classes mid-battle. Most importantly, if he dies, it's game over for everybody... although you can simply restart the battle. Yup, this remains a non-threatening affair.

All in all, there really is no reason to try this out when far better alternatives exist out there. It feels bad to be negative towards Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers, because it's a finely-tuned piece of software that has no real flaws from a technical perspective... but it's a mediocre, and at times even sleep-inducingly dull experience. One could give it a break for the simple fact that it is clearly aimed at young children, or those who haven't ever touched a JRPG before - but, no, SYURPO's creation doesn't get a free pass, for the simple reason that, as history has frequently shown, a video game can be child-friendly, and avoid feeling simplistic at the same time.

…Also, why so much motion blur! Why?!