Chained Echoes Reviews
Many independent RPG creators are inspired by the classics, but few succeed in their genre aspirations in the same way that Mattias Linda has.
Chained Echoes is fantastic. Not only does it capture what made 90s JRPGs special, but it elevates and modernizes it to deliver an unforgettable experience. With an engaging narrative, attractive characters, a well-built world, and a combat system full of good ideas, it has become one of the best JRPGs I've played in over a decade. Chained Echoes didn't copy old JRPGs, it understood them to create something that lives up to their legacy.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
I enjoyed my time in Valandis so much that I experienced as much of the side content as I could. This full length RPG stands as a love letter to the games I grew up with. The inspirations are clear, and yet this is a wholly unique RPG experience that anyone who has an affinity for the style–and 90s' RPGs in particular–owes it to themselves to enjoy.
Putting aside the distaste from some character depictions and general moments of cringe in the storyline, I enjoyed the majority of Chained Echoes. There's enough mechanical creativity and visual splendour to keep you entertained for the duration, and if you have a hankering for the good old JRPGS of the SNES and PS1 era, this title will be a welcome addition to your collection. Though the game has a very familiar voice, it manages to be much more than just an echo of its inspirations.
Chained Echoes‘ worst quality is that it concludes with several unresolved loose ends hanging. Getting past this is easy since so much of the experience is a very finely crafted JRPG that one man poured his soul into. The story moves quickly and the cast never stays in one place too long. It is an incredible adventure about the indomitable human spirit.
Chained Echoes is not just a tribute, it's a fresh new take. An old school JRPG for a new school. Archaic systems and features have been cleaned up and now all the worst conventions of the genre are surprisingly manageable. Add in beautiful art direction, a rousing soundtrack, fleshed out characters and a wondrous world to explore and you have an excellent game in its own right.
Having released in this day and age where the classics of the genre are probably a memory for most, Chained Echoes has everything going for it to make a mark. It meshes modern-day conveniences and improvements with old-school formulas, making it a much more refined JRPG experience that simply needs to be played. While there are some stumbles along the way, it is an impressive effort from a solo developer, and a giant leap in what is hopefully the first of many successes to come.
Despite my frustrations with the combat system, there’s a lot of good you’ll find in Chained Echoes. I can easily recommend this game for any Super Nintendo era role-playing game. A beautiful rose with a very sharp thorn.
I went in with high expectations from Chained Echoes, but remarkably, it managed to exceed every one of them. The characters are enjoyable (although Robb can be a bit insufferable at times), and most of them are fleshed out pretty well by the end. The storyline isn’t overly convoluted either, and has just enough depth and twists to keep it interesting. The combat in particular surprised me with how engaging it was, all thanks to its inventive Overdrive system.
It successfully sets out to reinvigorate the well-worn turn-based combat formula found in many games of that era while adding many smart and well-considered elements to the mix, ultimately creating a bold and involving combat experience that feels classic and fresh at the same time.
While Chained Echoes has the advantage of decades of distance from the games it looks to for inspiration, it’s a better experience in many instances than those vaunted games from which it arose. I prefer this combat, storytelling, and approach to progression and exploration to many of the JRPGs I grew up so enamored with playing. That’s the highest praise I can heap on a game so removed in time from the games to which it might be compared. Whether you currently count yourself a JRPG connoisseur or fondly recall the ʼ90s heyday of the genre, Chained Echoes is well worth your time.
Chained Echoes is a well-made turn based RPG with 16-bit nostalgia and classic JRPG identity. Although there are some elements that are not quite fitted to the story as it flows, it is a highly recommended title for those who love JRPGs.
Review in Korean | Read full review
Chained Echoes is a fantastic JRPG that captures everything we love about turn-based RPGs on the SNES but improves on everything we didn't love. With a new battle system, no random enemies to encounter, and the ability to have eight characters on your team and switch without using a turn, Chained Echoes is a must-play!
Chained Echoes is one of the best RPG games in recent years. with creative Mechanics, fascinating narrative and enjoyable combat, you are going to blast playing this amazing game.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Picked as #5 in my Pure Dead Gaming GOTY, Chained Echoes is an absolute masterpiece. Everything you love about classic JRPGs is here with the addition of some newer and welcome mechanics. A gentle reminder, ONE man, Matthias Linda, made this game, mostly in his spare time. Incredible, really. Final Fantasy fans, Chrono Trigger fans and Dragon Quest fans – you know what to do.
Indie JRPG Chained Echoes is a polished new 16-bit JRPG that brings out the best of the golden age.
Chained Echoes is an incredibly uneven RPG heavily inspired by the likes of Chrono Trigger and Xenogears. With bad writing, poorly thought out mechanics, and an overly complex… everything it can be hard to get through. Even so, there is a little fun to be found here, mostly near the beginning.
It's hard not to expect a little hyperbole when people start throwing around comparisons to beloved hits, but boy does Chained Echoes really deliver. Having played through the game on Switch over the course of the holiday season, I was amazed at how well it plays, and while it certainly wears its inspirations on its sleeve, it also does a fantastic job of carving out its own unique mix of mechanics to make for a pretty memorable experience.
Matthias Linda and his collaborators sign the perfect title to close the 2022 just passed, packaging a hit that - we are sure - has made the Christmas holidays of many JRPG fans unforgettable. It's true, Chained Echoes is a love letter to great classics of the 90s and early 2000s but it is also an adventure with a spirit of its own, unique and special. We sincerely hope that Linda decides to make Chained Echoes a saga and we believe that she will be able to treasure this experience and its (few) flaws to create, in the future, other equally memorable adventures. Meanwhile, Chained Echoes is destined to become a new, great classic, inserting itself into the illustrious firmament to which it refers.
Review in Italian | Read full review
A modern RPG classic; a game that would have made a splash on SNES, even surrounded by all-time greats like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger.