Chronus Arc (Nintendo 3DS) Second Opinion Review

Chronus Arc's environments are all very colourful, but at the same time, bland and uninventive. A forest filled with wolves and insects? Check. A cave filled with beasts and creepy crawlies? Check. Chronus Arc takes no time to make people aware that it has no intention of being creative with just about any of its features. All the characters, creatures, NPCs, the protagonist and the villain all strike a missing blow on the player's amazement. Fortunately, the soundtrack is very exciting and impressive, particularly in dungeons.

The many dungeons of Chronus Arc all include block pushing, jar placing puzzles. These always appear to be very simple and never push players to their mental limit, but still manage to be a fun feature. Monster encounters are not random during dungeons; instead, a visible monster sprite must be stood next to to initiate combat, which is helpful during the task of trying to solve puzzles, as it is possible to just steer clear of them. In addition, the use of a ring tool can be used to further prevent combat by stunning enemies.

Although nothing impressive or, at least, original is found with Chronus Arc's presentation, the amount of micro-management is surprisingly bountiful. Aside from the typical item and equipment shops, the option to craft, upgrade, and even dismantle items is available at a blacksmith shop. In addition, a facility where quests can be acquiesced can also be found at any town to support exploration and hunt down beasts and creatures. Although, of course, the quests themselves are nothing more than overdone fetch quests, killing specific monsters ten times, or going to kill the gruesome boss foe that's terrorising everyone in the city.

Chronus Arc seems to hold a strong representation on keeping things very bland and unoriginal, and it manages to maintain that reputation with the core feature of any JRPG: turn-based combat. Combat involves the classic setup of using up to three recruited characters, where all actions are selected at once, then the turn commences. The animations are shockingly decent. Loka's sword motions are fluid and fun to look at when it's time to swing his sword, and the spells look very flashy and exciting to cast.

Battles usually don't last too long, but can be both easy and difficult depending on the location. Some optional areas will have an enemy that will completely destroy the player if not prepared, forcing reloads of the game. Luckily, Chronus Arc allows the option to save almost anywhere; saving before attempting the risk of these optional foes comes strongly recommended. A very handy feature during combat is the capability of speeding up the combat animations, where normal or double speed can be flicked between.