Elenoire

For those unaware, this game has been ported essentially 2 times now. From Infinity Moment (PSP) > Hollow Fragment (Vita) > Re: Hollow Fragment (PS4). This game is certainly not for everyone, it does not have "mainstream appeal" so naturally it won't review well. The game is a huge improvement over the Vita version of the game. Those who haven't played it will likely not appreciate them at all and just take them at face value. That said, the game does have its fair share of problems. Let's get the Negatives out of the way first. The game STILL has massive framerate drops in towns. You'd think they'd have fixed this since the problem was so prominent in the Vita version. There are bugs also present that crash the game in certain areas, some trophies are glitched and unobtainable, the game's tutorials are still pretty lackluster, and the button prompts were not fixed entirely. -Framerate issues This version of the game runs at 60fps while the Vita version ran at 30fps. However, the framerate drops present in this game go below even the Vita's since for some reason they though it was a good idea to add more NPCs to the town. -Bugs/Glitches Carrying over from the Vita version, in certain areas your game will constantly crash. Also, with the added online multiplayer component, some people are even losing data. Two trophies are currently glitched and unobtainable at the moment, something not present in the Vita version. -Other The game has you figure out mostly everything on your own since the tutorials don't explain much. Whether you think this as a negative or positive is subjective but not even explaining some crucial basics is bad design. Now for the good stuff. The game is great for Sword Art Online fans. It's recommended you have watched up to episode 14 of the anime before playing this as it continues from that point. Otherwise you'll be spoiled of those events. **said spoilers ahead The game continues from the ending of Sword Art Online, where Kirito defeats Heathcliff and the game "ends". However, here the game does not end and you have to clear the remaining 25 floors of Aincrad to escape. Going through the floors of Aincrad is pretty fun, they're all unique and have great level design. The boss fights can get pretty challenging as well with having to manage your group so no one dies-- because they stay dead forever, you know. The other part of the game is the Hollow Area. Here, you go through a different place separate from Aincrad with a new character named Phillia. The enemies are tougher, the maps are more complex, and the story here is completely new. The combat of the game plays like an MMO. You can guard, dodge, attack, but most importantly- use skills. Skills are divided between Sword Skills and Buffs. The amount of skills you can get in this game is astounding. With numerous weapon types to choose from as well, the combat always feels fresh. You can even bring partner characters and fight together with them. The combat gets even deeper with Original Sword Skills (OSS), this allows you to create your own skill combos and deal massive damage. New to this version of the game is online multiplayer. You can now complete hollow missions with friends online. It's similar to something you'd see in monster hunter or phantasy star online. You're in a lobby and are able to select a mission to do. However, the instructions are quite unclear. There is a tutorial but it's hidden in an NPCs menu options that people don't seem to find. So when going online, there are people that have no idea what they're doing and can cause some frustration. However, when playing with people who are knowledgeable, multiplayer is quite fun. You can even trade with other people in the lobby, chat with each other among other things. A redone translation. The translation for the Vita version of the game was horrible, it had grammatical errors all over. This time it's been redone and it's perfect. Remastered Although this is a Vita port, it doesn't mean they didn't touch the game up a bit. The game does have new character models, environments, textures, enemy models (bosses especially) and higher quality 2D artwork. Running out of space so I can't go into detail about everything, but in the end, the game is a good JRPG. It just doesn't hold your hand through it like most of the casual audience wants it to. Other features the game has that I won't go into detail about: -Character Creation -Romance -Events -Crafting -Extra content (Level cap raised, New side stories, more gears, etc.)