Ariana and the Elder Codex

[後半に日本語レビューあり] [h1]Where Spell-Build and Storybook Art Shine: A Librarian Stage-Select ARPG[/h1] A 2D side-scrolling action RPG in which a royal librarian infiltrates the "Seven Codices" to repair corrupted hero tales. Built around the distinctive premise of "entering a spellbook," the page-turn transition on each stage change reinforces immersion in the spellbook-journey setting. Each of the seven Codices carries an independent world — water temples, sky islands, desert sanctuaries — and scenery and atmosphere transform completely with every infiltration. The standout feature is a build system pairing 30+ magic spells across six active slots. Cooldown-based rather than MP-driven, spells can be fired freely and continuously without resource anxiety. Chaining multiple elemental spells triggers the "Elemental Burst," the high-damage core of the system — experimenting with which spells to fire in which sequence generates continuous discovery. Personally, the catharsis of an unexpected burst chain clicking into place was particularly memorable. Crafted "Magic Items" add further stat customization, giving spell-build pursuit genuine depth. Stage progression uses a Mega Man-style select…

It should not be tagged metroidvania; it is a linear action platformer so know what to expect. The combat is kinda fun but it is not very good either, the art and music are nice and story is decent. I would recommend it if it were cheaper, but in no way does it offer nearly enough quality and quantity to be worth this price. Get it only if it has a big discount.

Feels undercooked. Coming from Kotama and Academy Citadel this one is rough. Can't bring myself to play it much.

This is a pretty decent game, and I love Ariana's voice. However, the controls are rather unoptimized, as I get 0.5ms delay after clicking a button; and that simple slowness could kill me... but the self-heal is cool. Nonetheless I'm using a 8bitUltimate controller---which is supposed to be good still has that delay, which was weird. The story has potential to be great, but playing a 3D model for a 2D Platformer is rather cool, but at the same time, it's dull... Imagine sucking up enough electricity to actually play an AA(A) title—that kind of thing—but playing a 2D platformer. For the gameplay, it's luck luster when I think about it. Every map is just 2-5 screens away from loading another part of the map, which I get to see the loading screen transition of a book which is actually cool and all, but everytime it loads and actually adds up to the waiting time causes me grief and disappointment. It's not fluid enough. Lastly, [b]DO NOT EVER BUY THE BASE GAME ONLY[/b], as there's no way to get the Deluxe items afterwards unless you pay for the Deluxe version outright. But if you don't care about the DLC, just buy the Base Game. I would only recommend buying this for more than but…

Decent game clearly inspired by modern 2d soulslikes, but thankfully without being one, the rpg mechanics are more on the light side. The combat is thanks to the skill/magic system very satisfying (especially thanks to the elemental burst explosions). And there is quite some variety and different combinations that are possible. When exploring the maps some platforming is mixed in, but nothing too challenging. The presentation is where the game falls off though and is very barebones. While the artwork and the character designs are really good, there is also its ambient soundtrack that is very monotone and never truly stands out. A lot of the "emotional" moments in the story fall a bit flat thanks to the music never fitting the scenes. And said scenes are mostly presented in visual novel style (but basically without any event cg) or via the very simple chibi-models. Some either pre-rendered or anime cutscenes (or try something experimental and less expensive like still picture book style) could have elevated my impression of this game by a lot. It is still a game that i can recommend. Not like this game is overly expensive when bought on a discount.

A magic casting platformer. Charming artstyle, nice music. Movement is fluid and combat is responsive. Story is fun to follow. Spell effects look great.