Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology (Nintendo 3DS) Preview

A good first impression is critically important for an RPG. More than any other genre, RPGs are expected to last a long time and take players through a dynamic journey. How someone is introduced to a world can make or break those opening hours, to the point where a poor introduction can loom over a narrative from start to finish. Thankfully, Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology manages to do quite a lot with its Prologue and first chapter. Of course, it certainly helps that a single chapter here is effectively two chapters' worth of content.

The premise is simple enough: Stocke, a Special Intelligence agent for the Kingdom of Alistel finds himself in possession of the White Chronicle, a blank tome that allows him to pass through different points in time so he can prevent the Desertification, a seemingly apocalyptic cataclysm caused by the appropriately named Sand Plague. Apend Mode, a narratively untouched remaster of the original game, allows Stocke to travel between two timelines: Standard History and Alternate History. Gameplay isn't as simple as picking one timeline to complete, however, as Stocke's actions in one timeline will effect events in the other. Progression consists of jumping between timelines when hit with a roadblock in order to find a solution in the other timeline.

Each History has its own set of chapters to go through, as well. It wouldn't be unusual to make it through a good of Standard History's first chapter while still in Alternate History's prologue. Throughout the story, Stocke will also be tasked with making decisions that can prematurely end the game and lead to Desertification. These endings are merely flavour, however, and thankfully bring Stocke back to the deciding point almost immediately.

It would make sense for chapter one of each History to end rather quickly, as RPG first chapters oft tend to do, but Radiant Historia's opening goes on for quite a while. This is hardly a bad thing. In both versions of the first chapter, Stocke's party gets a healthy amount of character exploration, the seeds for development are planted, and Vainqueur's world is expanded considerably. Worth noting is that both timelines branch off significantly, offering more than just an alternate telling of Stocke's occurrences from one timeline to the next.

For fans familiar with the story already, Perfect Mode is available from the start. In Perfect, Stocke has access to a third timeline: Sub-History. Sub-History isn't woven as tightly into the main story, as it would break the flow between the Standard and Alternate histories, but the new scenario is welcomed and will surely make replaying the game a more dynamic experience. Added to the main adventure, regardless of which mode is selected, is the new Vault of Time, an optional dungeon Stocke can tackle after completing chapter one.

No remaster is complete without gameplay changes and, thankfully, Perfect Chronology keeps the spirit of the original intact by only adding quality of life improvements. Benched party members randomly use support attacks in battle, the touch screen now shows a mini-map, and full voice acting is included for every character with a portrait. The original battle system is likewise left untouched, as it should have been. The only potential downside to the remaster is how similar it looks to the original but, even then, more remakes should strive to preserve the aesthetic integrity of their source material. Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology looks and feels like the original release while adding new content for players to pick and choose from. This is how a definitive version is made, by honouring the original, and this remake is starting to look rather definitive.