Lost Dimension is a tactical, turn-based role-playing with visual novel-like elements, where the choices made by the player can affect the outcome of the story and the fate of its characters. As Sho Kasugai (the story’s protagonist), you are a member of S.E.A.L.E.D — an organization employed to scale the ‘Pillar’ to thwart a madman from launching nukes at every major city in the world.
The game beings on the first floor (i.e. street) to the Destroyed City, where Sho and his teammates face off against a group of enemy soldiers. This segment of the game serves as a basic tutorial; it explains the in-game controls, the nuances of combat, and the benefits to using multiple team members during battle. From there, the game enters the ‘Lobby’ inside the pillar, where the majority of the game takes place.
The Pillar is where the game’s visual novel-like elements come into play (no pun intended). From this screen, you can ‘Talk’ to team members; ‘Setup’ new armor and weapons; and use the ‘Generator’ to either create or dissolve items for EN. The user-interface is comprised of icons and the left analog stick is used to move a mouse-like pointer across the screen to make a selection. When talking to team members, a large list containing every member in your team will appear on-screen.
The mood of each member is represented by a face icon; this varies based on prior events and/or current situations involving the main story. Team members with something important to say have gold, blinking speech bubbles next to their mood icons. These conversations normally contain hints pertaining to the main story and should be addressed immediately.
The Setup menu allows the player to equip new armor, weapons and items. It also includes talent trees for each team member under the ‘Gifts’ tab. As your team members level, they are awarded Gift Points that can be spent to improve their skills. Each talent tree includes a multitude of skills that range from healing to AOE-based attacks. Some skills require as little as two points, while others require five or more to improve damage, speed, etc.
It is also possible to unlock different skill branches that can change the dynamic of a character. For example: if Gift points are spent in the right areas, a healer can learn skills such as ‘Strike of Samuel’ (a psychic attack) and ‘Syndrome’ (a Confusion spell) to make them more useful on the battlefield, to name just a few.
When you’re finished with the Lobby, you can choose from a variety of story-based missions by clicking on the Gate icon. Each mission leads the player into an instant combat scenario with specific conditions that must be met. Instead of moving your team through the Pillar, a series of animated sequences (think visual novel here) depict your team’s progression, while requiring occasional input from the player.
Combat is turn-based and seen from a third-person perspective. The battlefield uses a movement grid system for both your party and adversaries. The movement range for each character is shown as a circle, centered on the unit being controlled. The left analog stick is used to move the character within the range shown by the movement grid. When the unit in question moves, the range movement grid will gradually shrink behind the unit. Pressing Circle button will redo the unit’s movement from its starting point.
When an enemy unit blinks, this indicates that a teammate is within range to attack. Your teams’ accuracy and damage varies based on their distance from the enemy and the weapons being used. It is also possible for an enemy to counterattack during the player’s turn, but this also applies to party members as well.
The SAN (i.e. Sanity) feature plays an important role during combat. Not only does it indicate a character’s mental state under pressure, but it depletes every time a character is attacked (including enemies). When a character’s SAN is exhausted, they will enter a frenzied state that cannot be controlled. Characters in this state deal more damage, but they will also turn on teammates, too. This can be particularly frustrating when you’re low on healing potions or trying to defeat a particularly difficult boss. By the same token, it adds a certain level of difficulty that isn’t seen in most RPGs.
Graphically, Lost Dimension is on par with some of Atlus’ bigger titles. The Sci-Fi premise is a refreshing change from the standard Dungeon & Dragon approach of most RPGs, and the character art – especially during intermissions – is especially good. Moreover, the English dubbing happens to be some of the best ever heard in an Atlus role-playing game.
Lost Dimension is a smart, whimsical ride through a chaotic world where humanity’s last days are just literally hours away. The character development and storytelling are second-to-none, and the gameplay is as good as any AAA title. If you buy at least one RPG this summer, make it Lost Dimension by Atlus Games; humanity’s fate depends on it.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: PSVita (Available on PSN)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $39.99
Lost Dimension Official Website: Click Here
