Sword Art Online: Lost Song Reviews
Though the game is fast, fun, and enjoyable for the first half, it becomes repetitive and less interesting as it goes on.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song takes what Hollow Fragment made overly complicated, simplifies it, and makes it a much more enjoyable and fun experience. If you’re a fan of Sword Art Online, then you owe it to yourself to play this. The ALO story plays no real part in this game, so don’t let that dissuade you. The flight feature works brilliantly and you can have some really epic aerial battles or just take in the beautiful scenery. Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a really enjoyable game whether you play it alone or with friends.
I very much enjoyed Sword Art Online: Lost Song. The combat in the game is fast paced, the controls are easy to get used to and Multiplayer is very fun and will drain almost all your time in the game. Those sub events are also extremely fun to watch. The only problems I really had with it were the recycled dungeon and enemy designs, and how easy and repetitive the combat could get. Also the story was pretty underwhelming. Those issues aside, if you’re a fan of ARPGs or Sword Art Online in general you should definitely give this game a shot.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is an interesting title, because its intuitive combat is an easy way for newcomers to experience the game. At the same time, it has a story and history that really is geared towards those who are already familiar with the series and the prior video game entry. Those two items are somewhat at odds with one another, but if you can get past that and the middling story, I found the actual characters and humour engaging.
ans of the anime and manga will enjoy the alternate reality take of this, and people who want to know what happened next for Kirito and company after Sword Art Online RE: Hollow Fragment are going to continue enjoying this. Newcomers will find this more approachable than the last game, as it does a good job of summing up events so far -- but they do take a while to be explained.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is easy to get into and offers plenty of entertaining combat, along with an appealing multiplayer mode. The controls work just fine, as do the online servers, and the thrill you get in wasting huge foes is worth noting. But the campaign falls well shy of modern-day standards, with lackluster technical elements, and we have to suffer through a blasé storyline with characters only hardcore fans will recognize, and an overarching repetitiveness in both game design and combat.
While it's great to see Bandai Namco continue to support Otaku fans in the West, Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a lost cause for anyone who isn't a die-hard SAO fan. With a weak story, recycled areas, and a short length on the whole, even long-term fans won't find much here to keep them entertained. There is one title left to come in the series, Hollow Realisation, returning to the fan favourite setting of Aincrad next year. Hopefully, it can learn from the many mistakes of its predecessors.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a game for fans of the anime. It relies heavily on players recognizing the story twists and turns and grasping how the anime mechanics translate into gameplay. Without that familiarity with the franchise, the game is a combination of fun, simple combat with the more tedious aspects of an MMO. The online play adds some extra spice to the game but won't keep players coming back unless they're big fans of the show. If you're interested in seeing a different side of Kirito and his pals, there's a fair bit of content here and you'll get the chance to play as some of the lesser-known characters.
SAO: Lost Song is an awesome game for both SAO fans and people who like a good, adventurous, sword-fighting RPG. The game is fun, with a bright plot and refreshingly unique gameplay. It lacks the intensity of the death game story, but it is still worth picking up. SAO: Lost Song is worth playing if you want to go on a high flying adventure and fight your way through hordes of monsters with epic sword play.
If you dig Sword Art Online you'll enjoy this game, but repetitive combat and a lacking story drag it down.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song of course won't appeal to everyone, fans on the other hand are sure to enjoy another outing with the likable SAO cast. The sidequests lack quite a bit of depth and the unique flight mechanic makes for enjoyable way to explorbut takes a lot of time to get used to. Give it enough time though and you'll find a fun and addictive RPG.
It really is a shame because with a slightly more captivating story and deeper customization both in terms of characters and combat, this could have been the game that welcomed a new breed of SAO fans and gave renewed life to the series on the whole. What we are left with instead is a typical lite action-RPG set within the world of ALfheim and geared exclusively at people like me who can't wait to take another bite out of anything remotely Sword Art Online.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a great sequel to its predecessor Hollow Fragment and introduces a plethora of new and interesting mechanics. However, the majority of these mechanics like spells and healing are put in the backburner in the singleplayer story, and are only ever viable in multiplayer mode.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song has so much going for it. The battle and flight systems are top-notch entertaining time sinks, the artistic style is nothing short of gorgeous and being able to hang out with characters from the show, with dialogue written by the creator, is an engrossing experience. The issue lies in how Bandai Namco did not take full advantage of the talent available to them. This title is simply hamstrung by a lack of investment. The decision was made, for better or worse, to not create an experience that lives up to its true potential, instead recycling assets and hoping for the best. The end result is a title for series fans only. Those who are not invested in the universe already would be better off moving along.
Looking back at Hollow Fragment, and then playing Lost Song is somewhat jarring. While the gameplay elements of Lost Song lend themselves well to an action game, and the flight mechanics are fun, I can't help but feel this game lacks the finesse of Hollow Fragment.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song has plenty of great ideas, but it definitely doesn't do enough to make them work in a 20-hour game.
Embarrassing, quite frankly
Yet, even with its wonky camera and story that sometimes alienates newcomers, Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a solid game. The repetition is countered by the variety of playable characters and interesting dynamic brought on by flight, and the central story is simple yet easy to get into.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song's story is probably not going to win over non-adherents of the popular anime franchise, but thankfully it's not required to enjoy the rest of what's on offer: a fun, lighthearted and breezy run through well-worn action-RPG territory. Aside from the game's breathtaking flying mechanic, the rest of the mechanics can feel a bit stiff and even dated, but that surely won't be able to dissuade anyone enamored with the addictive quality of beating quests and raiding dungeons.
Most fans of the series will get some enjoyment out of Lost Song. The core gameplay elements are solid, but the superficial story and monotonous questing prevent it from being fun throughout.