A hybrid of an interesting RPG setting, a fighting game style combat system of pleasing back and forths, and a great manga aesthetic, that is let down by frequent technical issues, a frustrating camera, and a poorly told story. Fans of both RPGs and Fighting games may well find something to love here but be prepared for a general lack of polish and some more glaring issues.
One to try for fans of strategy RPGs, Children of Zodiarcs has a solid combat system with an interesting hook. The game is let down by a poorly told story that fails to satisfy but it does have it's moments nonetheless.
"A lack of all-round polish means that DOGOS gets an average score from me, but I would like to re-iterate, this should be a definite purchase for genre fans or anyone who yearns for the simpler days of parallax scrolling (Google it)."
Linearity and a lack of exploration are a major flaw for me in a JRPG but that doesn't mean that Arelite Core falls flat. It succeeds in capturing much of what made its predecessors work in its compelling story and clever battle system but fails to add the extra touches that truly made those games special.
Try it you love the genre, otherwise, I wouldn't rush out to pick this one up. For fans of Sci-fi and 2D Metroidvania platformers there's some enjoyment to be had to be had here, but what's there is fairly short lived and does little to differentiate itself from its peers in story or gameplay.
A decent opening devolves into a directionless wander. The repetitive nature of many of the game's tasks and situations mean that the real meat of the game is hidden under a lot of padding that demands a huge investment of time and will to uncover. Unless you're a hardcore fan of the laid-back crafting loop of the Atelier games, there are many more engaging RPG's out there.