Sword Art Online: Lost Song
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Sword Art Online: Lost Song Media
Sword Art Online: Lost Song - PS4/PS Vita - Take flight for adventure! (English Trailer)
Critic Reviews for Sword Art Online: Lost Song
Repetitive combat, recycled enemies, and a boring story prevent this action RPG from taking off.
In summation, fans of the series will come for the single-player story, but they'll stay for the online multiplayer goodness. Conversely, gamers like myself who aren't familiar with SAO will find Sword Art Online: Lost Song to be just another lackluster MMO based on a popular animé.
Unfortunately, Lost Song stumbles hardest when trying to engage players outside that sphere of pre-existing investment, and in some ways ends up an even less suitable jumping-off point for newbies who want to get in on enjoying the franchise. My advice to those folks would be to watch the anime or try out Hollow Fragment first. If they're still jonesing for some more of this motley crew of irredeemable MMO nerds when they're done, then Lost Song will be music to their ears.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is not a bad title, it's simply an average one. Fans of the anime will be well served by it's gentle adventuring and light tone, and the combat may attract those who enjoy the Musou games, but the likelihood will be that it's not likely to be an experience you'll remember in a few months time.
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.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song is a solid Japanese Action RPG that has enough to keep old and new players interested with touches of innovation here and there, even if it does fall short in certain areas.
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.
Sword Art Online: Lost Song, while polished in some areas and definitely a great buy for a fan of the anime, is only mediocre in it's own right. Its solid play mechanics and interesting characters are quickly overshadowed by a convoluted and self-referential narrative that only the most dedicated enthusiasts of the franchise could really appreciate. If you are just looking for an anime-like title to spend some time with, better options are out there. Sword Art Online: Lost Song was really only built with fans in mind.
