The DioField Chronicle Reviews
The DioField Chronicle is almost good in a lot of ways, but it never capitalises on its unique real-time combat system, or the potential of its narrative genre.
The semi-real-time battles are fun but a lack of depth soon dulls your enthusiasm for this limp Fire Emblem wannabe, as the rest of the game is taken up by tedious, choice-free conversations and lengthy cut scenes.
Boring library trips aside, I’d rather have only vocal work during cutscenes and have to read most text than endure the neverending string of grunts and chuckles, or worse, Waltaquin’s insane cackle. If you skip through most dialogue, vaguely pay attention to the story, and focus on the intensely enjoyable combat encounters, then the game’s 25-hour runtime is well worth it. The combat itself is good enough to serve as the basis of an entire DioField franchise if Square Enix is so inclined, and it's memorable enough that I could see this game becoming a cult classic...Still, I could not shake the feeling that I’d rather be flirting my way through Fódlan than fighting on the isle of DioField any day.
If you're hankering for a new SRPG to play, The DioField Chronicle barely scratches that itch but there are worse ways to spend your time.
For some gamers, The DioField Chronicle‘s brevity will be positive feature. The reality is that The DioField Chronicle lacks enough substance to be any longer than it already is and even then- it still ends up recycling content and lacks variety.
An interesting real time take on the strategy JRPG genre. Unfortunately bogged down by a generic story and a lack of purpose between missions.
The Diofield Chronicle is a pedestrian real-time tactics game that suffers from a lack of imagination.
The DioField Chronicle is going to be a polarising game because while it does make use of a number of really solid ideas, it has little to no unique aspects to speak of.
Despite feeling like I've been knocking chunks out of The DioField Chronicle in much of my review, I did enjoy my time with the game quite a bit. My enjoyment mainly came from the fun combat hook. It's the poorly slapped-on exploration or the high fantasy by numbers storyline that lets it down. It feels like an experimental title for Square Enix. Should we get a sequel, if they put more of a budget into the outside of combat sections you'd have pure gold on your hands. Sadly, as it stands you've got poorly rendered PS2 silver dropping through your fingers with this one.
I look at Triangle Strategy as a game that does everything right that The Diofield Chronicle gets wrong. The story and characters aren’t inherently bad but are ultimately forgettable and uninteresting. The strategy gameplay is engaging and unique but fails to stick the landing. The visuals are pretty but simplistic and lack any sense of real identity. Not to mention the soundtrack and audio obscure good voice acting. At its current price of $59.99 USD, The Diofield Chronicle is difficult to recommend. Personally, I would wait for a sale and lower my expectations. There’s so much about this game that feels unfinished. I was surprised that it was installed from the disc on Xbox Series X and in the time that I played it, not once did the game require an update. To be honest, I think Square Enix simply got the game out and I’d be surprised if it received any improvements in the future.
The DioField Chronicle is interesting as an experiment, but that's about all it has going for it. The combat system is so half-baked that it may as well not exist, and the story is about 20 hours of buildup for a "buy the sequel" hook. Since the phenomenal Triangle Strategy came out in the same year, and it handles pretty much all the same ideas much better, it's difficult to recommend DioField. Even if you're curious, it's best to wait for a sale because the full retail price is too steep for what you'll get.
The Diofield chronicles is a good addition for those who are thirsty for strategy combat, with good upgrading sysetm and part management. But my experience was hindered by the repetitive missions and the story which dragged for longer than needed
Review in Arabic | Read full review
The DioField Chronicle's interesting mix of strategy and tactics just barely keeps afloat a bloated package of repetition, achingly dull characters, and eye-rolling writing.
The DioField Chronicle is hard to bring any player the expected experience, except the combat part is quite passable, the other systems either too simple, and the storyline is full of trouble. It is hard to imagine what kind of state of mind the staff was, making such confusing work.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
For hardcore genre fans, The DioField Chronicle might be worth looking into, but keep in mind that many probably might not have patience for its considerable flaws.
The Diofield Chronicles has a solid foundation of mechanics that is hampered greatly by its poor balancing of difficulty, a cast of forgettable characters and a world that failed to draw me in with its lackluster presentation.
All in all, The DioField Chronicle is a decent strategy RPG. Its characters certainly won't live long in the memory, and it can be a an unnecessary grind, but it's well crafted and fairly engaging on the battlefield.
Where Octopath was fairly heavily promoted by Nintendo, however, it does feel like Diofield has been tossed into the ocean of the market to sink or swim. It’s the sort of game that probably doesn’t float very easily, either. It’s the sort of product that requires some marketing-shaped buoyancy aids. It was never going to cruise to success - and now I fear it never will. But it’s worth a look – and hopefully its ideas will go forward in other future projects. They’re certainly worth revisiting.
The DioField Chronicle delivers a unique real-time spin on the usual tactics RPG experience, but it's marred by a boring story, unlikable characters, and inconsistent presentation. While the one saving grace is the addictive and always rewarding combat, missions fail to deliver the evolution or variety that some might expect. Overall, it's an interesting game, but not an altogether great one.
A unique approach to tactical RPG combat makes The DioField Chronicle a solid offering that lacks a worthwhile story and cast of characters to make the most of the game’s strengths.