Over the last few years we’ve seen quite a few new interesting titles from Square Enix. From brand new favorites likeOctopath Travelerto the newly-released DioField Chronicle which puts a twist on real-time and tactical combat. The DioField Chronicle was a quiet reveal that ended up going under the radar for many, but catching the eyes of fans looking for something different from recent releases. It feels as though it took inspiration from Fire Emblem with a more realistic fantasy with twists to make it intriguing like the inclusion of magic and wyverns meaning it all comes down to whether or not DioField Chronicle is able to pull it off.
The easiest way to describe the story of DioField Chronicle is that it’s a political battling focus. The main place of interest is the DioField Island known for its Jade ore that enables the use of magic, making it a highly sought after resource by nefarious groups and warring nations. The story focus is around a mercenary group known as the Blue Foxes whose numbers start small (a trio of travelers), but grows throughout their adventures while teaming up with newfound allies along the way. Right away the story enjoys dumping slews of exposition at the player with regions, names and places all meant to be remembered that are almost immediately lost. It’s hard to think of another title with such a poorly told story, but The DioField Chronicle has perhaps some of the most boring and uninteresting dialogue seen in some time. Most of the story told is usually too much and too confusing at the same time with long scenes of nothing but exposition that seem to be filling in the blanks for a more interesting story that isn’t going to be played. The only way to absorb any actual knowledge is to visit the in-game library which breaks down every named character, their backstory, regions and more as DioField itself prefers just spewing out constant dialogue without helping the player to understand without hyper focusing. Even the main characters in the Blue Foxes are one-note and uninteresting, with few memorable interactions seen between them and abundant timeskips in the story that seem to associate this with friendship building that is never actually seen. The story of DioField Chronicle is far and away its weakest element with the only positive outcome being that the combat helps save it from being a waste of time.
If there’s one thing to love in DioField Chronicle, it’s the great take it has on a tactical real-time combat system. Fights generally take place with four units of the Blue Foxes up against all manner of soldiers, beasts and war machines tossed at them. This all takes place on an overhead map where movement is determined by the player who tells each unit where to proceed and then they begin movement to that location automatically. Units can move together or separately depending on strategy, of which there are slews of options to take. Once selecting an enemy to attack units do so automatically, with back attacks to friends or enemies doing extra damage. Characters have special moves that can be used in exchange for EP, akin to mana, in order to do addition damage, buffs, healing or debuffs as needed. Each character has a selection of skills available that changes based on their weapon currently equipped making the variety and versatility important. What’s even better is once more than four party members have been recruited each currently active party member can have a sub unit in battle. Sub-units allow their skills to be used, in addition to being able to switch out characters in the midst of battle to help change the tide or simply get extra help as needed. While normal enemies go down once health is depleted there are also boss enemies that contain extra health and will need to be drained of it multiple times before they’re fully defeated making for dangerous fights along the way. Magilumic Orbs also offer summons to take to the field which offer large amounts of damage or healing to instantly help sway any battle if enough energy has been gathered to use them.
While outside of combat players will take control of the main Blue Fox, Andrias, who acts as the main character of sorts. He can travel around the main hub the Blue Foxes function at in order to speak with other characters to activate side quests or other activities. Side quests are the main goal which range from additional fights so simple character interactions. The character interactions themselves are benign and boring but usually end up offering money. The big push is for sidequests as they offer more opportunities to earn money and addition items for upgrades. It’s worth noting that side quests and main story quests both can be repeated, which is important given that both have individual objectives that can be completed in order to turn extra rewards. Any rewards not earned through a first play can be gotten on a repeat fight so no treasure can ever be missed. If all rewards have been obtained, the only thing repeat quests offer is money.
Throughout additional side quests and story progression players will upgrade their unit rank across five different classes. These give not only buffs, but also the opportunity to purchase more items and obtain more ability upgrades. This includes weapons, shop items like potions and the institute where battle skills and other upgrades can be unlocked. Leveling up units also earns them AP which is used for individual abilities that each character has that improve various stats. Skills and abilities can be upgraded multiple times to stronger effect, making it a pick and choose scenario with more expensive ones offering better outcomes, but taking longer to obtain. Fortunately those who really want to grind levels can do so, but it’s far from required as playing on normal difficulty offers a balanced experience.
Shops start out small with a few accessories to increase stats and a couple weapons to purchase but grow as the Unit Rank increases. Weapons are the most important as they hold unique skills for characters that can equip them, often making weapon choice based on skills more important than the strength of the weapon itself. It even carries over to the sub-units who aren’t typically the main focus, but equipping them with useful skills in combat can help the main unit in battle in order to get an edge. If a party is missing a good healing spell, equip them with a magic user who has one in their back pocket in case of emergency. The only weird element is that weapons need to be unlocked with an item obtained as an optional objective in quests and then still bought with money. It’s an odd system instead of just outright giving the weapon to the player and feels like a money sink, but given that money is so abundant, it doesn’t feel too annoying.
Both the visual style and soundtrack for DioField are perfectly acceptable. The soundtrack isn’t terribly interesting, with forgettable songs that might only get stuck in a person’s head because they repeat so often. The main areas are bland and lacking interesting color, making the world look gloomy. It may fit the rather dreary war atmosphere, but it doesn’t make it enjoyable to look at. There are some exceptions of areas that do pop, but they’re far and few between. Character models are equally uninteresting, with the only saving grace being the character portraits which are wonderfully detailed despite not showing any emotion. It would be nice if the character models matched the official artwork more, as they look smooth and generic up close. This isn’t a huge deal in combat obviously as unit faces are usually too far to see, but during the few cutscenes where characters are talking to one another it becomes noticeably jarring how lifeless they seem.
Closing Comments:
Titles like The DioField Chronicle usually falter based on whether or not they have good stories, but it’s quite the opposite in this case. The boring story is disappointing, but the combat is so enjoyable it’s easy to forget about. Each map feels creative and diverse so there’s not too much repeat. It’s truly a shame the story couldn’t power through to ultimately make an impact, but there’s hope here for some other title to use a similar combat style with a better focus on understanding a more engaging story. The DioField Chronicle will not be for everyone, but those who see the combat and think it looks engaging may want to give it a try.
The DioField Chronicle
The Diofield Chronicle is a strategy role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Lancarse. It has free directional movement, unlike many tile-based strategy RPGs. The combat is done in real-time where players control a party of characters. The players engage in missions, which include destroying enemies, defending strongholds, escorting allies, and capturing points on the map. The game takes place on a fictional war-torn continent and follows a group of mercenaries from the Kingdom of Alletain.
