Current mood: rated 17+ for asshole adults and child soldiers
I was supposed to play God Eater 2 Rage Burst but that game proved to be too difficult for my puny brain to process and so here I am, completing something else entirely. These two have been hanging out in my backlog as jrpg-adjacent games that I convinced myself to get because one comes from a sickeningly popular franchise and another contains the genius which is Go Shiina. Take a wild guess which is which.
Type-0 was originally a PSP game set within the Fabula Nova Crystallis mythos. Like any game in the FNC collection, there are staples like fal'cie and l'cie, gods pulse and etro, of crystals and focuses, but otherwise the lore is independent of the other series in the collection which is the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. The HD version was later developed for international release and new gen consoles and PC in 2015, so here we are.
Our protagonists are a group of teenagers collectively known as 'Class Zero'. It's a gender-equal ensemble of 14 kids, 12 of which are raised together by archsorceress Dr Arecia. Each character is represented by their signature weapon of choice, be it a conventional weapon, an unconventional tool, or a mundane item bordering on joke weapon. Regardless, these kids are good at what they do. Machina and Rem (not pictured) are the boy-girl pair who kind of qualifies as the main protagonists of the 14 playable characters, with their special names and status as 'outsiders' of Class Zero. Rem has twin daggers like a classic ninja but Machina falls under the unconventional tool category for his double wielding of bolt rapiers. Of course, the 12 kids are no less protagonists themselves and they get a few moments to shine, even though their personalities are a little flat (which is intentional as the lore reveals). The more prominent member would be Ace (1), or as I like to call him, Type-0 Poster Boy. He has an all-round likable main character personality, uses playing cards and is the default member placed 1st in the name list. Deuce (2) is another joke weapon user, hers being the flute. Classic white magician girl personality but without the job description. The joke weapons stop with Trey (3), the bookworm archer with a traditional bow and arrow; Cater (4) uses a magicite gun which shoots magic or some shit, so I say it's a conventional weapon. Cinque (5) is a powerhouse herself, being the dumb blonde (but she's brunette) archetype with a fucking mace almost her own size where she has to drag around. Sice (6) uses a scythe (lol), an unconventional tool. Her cape is even tattered like a grim reaper. Seven (7), the oldest and tallest of the girls, a literal big sister trope, has a whipblade... which counts as a weapon I guess? Eight (8) uses good ole' fisticuffs because he dislikes weapons; Nine (9) the yankee wannabe is the classic dragoon, uses a lance or spear; Jack (11) is upbeat and cheerful, but his discipline of a being a samurai (a katana) is a whole mood whiplash; Queen (12), while not the oldest of the girls, is nonetheless the unofficial class rep who has air of elegance... and wields longswords like a champ and even has a 'berserk mode' where she goes apeshit on enemies; and last on the name list we have King (13), the oldest of the boys, cool and collected team dad who can bust a cap with his twin revolvers (but not like Revolver Ocelot unfortunately).
Now that we're done introducing all of the 14 playable characters, let's get into the story! The whole game might as well be a major 'fuck you' to happiness because the opening itself is bloody as it is. We are immediately thrust into the middle of a war with no introduction on the playable characters or even where they come from. Bits and piece of lore are dropped at random conversations that make you go "WHAT" like that one early cutscene where it is revealed that the people of Orience do not grieve for the dead because the crystals erase all memories of them. How fucking sad is that.
The war unfolds from the perspective of the Dominion of Rubrum, the side where all the kids fight for. The other sides of the conflict are the Nazi-esque Milites Empire who broke the peace, the eastern inspired Kingdom of Concordia, and the no-longer-existing-bombed-to-bits Lorican Alliance. The initial goal was to liberate Dominion territories... right until Concordia decided to break the peace as well and align themselves with Milites. So to retaliate, Rubrum decided to go ham and conquer everyone. In order to do that, they need Class Zero.
Class Zero (particularly Dr Arecia's kids) are shunned by other classes and most of the adults due to their special enrollment into the academy. The other cadets just mostly hate their guts or are jealous of their abilities but the adults are the real fucking assholes in all of this, treating them as tools of war and calling them derogatory names and shit when they don't do their bidding. It gets worse when you realize Machina and Rem, the two who transferred to the class are even locked out of the loop by the other 12 members as well, so it's no wonder Machina goes a little insane halfway through the campaign.
There's a lot of details I'm leaving out but in the end the apocalypse happens because of course it does, no one fucking reads the prophecies written in mysterious ancient books, and as usual everyone is quick to blame Class Zero. Despite it all, the kids decide to save Orience, the world and its people that never fucking treated them like human beings, sacrificing their lives in order to usher a new age, with only Machina and Rem surviving to remember and record their deeds for generations to come.
Man. This game is a roller coaster and I did not expect to fucking cry. I know it ends badly, this game has been out for nearly 12 years after all, but like I always say: knowing the spoilers does not make you immune to feels. As the first game in the franchise to earn a mature rating for all regions, it's bloodier and gorier and everybody can die. Apparently sending out child soldiers is the norm in Orience hooooo boy! This makes me so uncomfortable, especially with how rude the adults are when they speak with Class Zero. "Do this cause you're Dr Arecia's pets" and if you refuse "Huh I guess Class Zero isn't as special as people claim to be". The selfsame adults who despise Class Zero, who sent Machina to spy on them, who are ready to sacrifice them for their own political gain, has the gall to ask the kids for help and make passive-aggressive remarks when they refuse! I know it's all politics because if the chancellor of Dominion and commanding officers don't really treat them any different from the other cadets, but the ones who actively antagonize them are members of the consortium aka the advisory body under the chancellor... and they also don't like Dr Arecia... put two and two together...
Gameplay: I was going to say something about it being simple, then again, this was a handheld game so it's not surprising. It has your typical action jrpg element for battles, some RTS segments which are surprisingly enjoyable, chocobo breeding, there's collectibles and various side missions as well.
Story: short and sweet, you can finish the main story in maybe 20 hours, but the real meat of all the lore comes from subsequent playthroughs. Additional cutscenes and missions, optional dungeons, even a new ending! It's way of storytelling is also different from other entries in the franchise and classic JRPGs in general. The plot is not driven by the protagonists as much as it is told from a nation's perspective. The Dominion forces still continue to expand their influence regardless of Class Zero's participation; the game only requires the player to go through the relevant missions to build a somewhat cohesive storyline. The other missions? Optional or playable in a second playthrough that fill in the gaps. There are a few possible endings and all are considered canon because of how the lore works. It's all sad or bittersweet, no in between.
Music: before I even had the game, I fell in love with the music. At the time it was the game with the most ominous latin chanting and I listened to it almost daily with whatever electronics I had at the time. Never looked up the meaning behind the ending theme but Bump of Chicken has me in an emotional chokehold since 2010 (thanks to Karma) so Zero is a one-way ticket to feels city!
Overall rating: I wouldn't say that it's a banger but this game turned out pretty well for a spin-off. A lot of lore is hidden in supplemental material which I don't really like, but why did I expect anything else from a Final Fantasy title. This game gets a 5 from me.
I don't know why I thought to play an 'action' game when I was this close to getting sick of reaction times and constantly pressing buttons. I told myself I'm going to play an actual turn-based jrpg next but nope I'm playing another action jrpg and I have regretti.
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