Game: Chroma Quaternion
Genre: Adventure, Simulation, Strategy, Role-Playing
System: Nintendo Switch (also on Steam, iOS, Android, & Xbox)
Developers | Publishers: Exe-Create | KEMCO
Age Rating: US E10+ | EU 7+
Price: US $14.99 | UK £13.49 | EU €14,99
Release Date: June 3rd, 2021
Review code used, with many thanks to KEMCO
KEMCO are back with another worthy successor to their JRPG stable of games, ported from Mobile to Switch and PC. Let’s have a look at Chroma Quaternion and see what it’s all about.
Four Kingdoms
Set in a colourful world of four kingdoms, Spree, Sama, Otam and Wint, representing each of the four seasons. In a world where the Springizens live quiet lives, and where roles are granted by the four Quadeities (deities).
You take control of young Ark, a very unlucky priest who is responsible for the security of Furyu village and teaching the children. After a disaster in the form of earthquakes strikes the village and surrounding areas, Ark sets of to discover what exactly is happening.
Earthquakes aren’t the only thing afoot, there is a strange problem with the Quadeities. Ark’s role as the priest, which is his second role as no one can understand his first role, is tied to helping the Quadeities.
Team of Four
Being a JRPG Ark isn’t the only character on a quest as the story revolves around the traditional party of four. Your team consists of Ark, his pet dog, and partner Foure. The runaway princess Eara that Ark meets on his adventure, and the princess’s maid Evaile. All have distinctly different personalities and these are shown throughout the game and make for some fun reading as they talk between themselves.
Overworld Map and Battles
The overworld is similar to that of early retro Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games but a bit more streamlined. Encounters take place randomly, though inside the dungeons you can streamline or customise the encounter rate to your liking.
During battles each party sits on a 3×3 grid, which means that attacks can damage enemies in a row or column. I really like the battle system in the game. Exe-Create has added some settings, which for some people who don’t like to sit through long battles hastens the speed of the battle. You can also set the game to auto-battle but that takes the fun out of it for me as I like to direct my team during battle.
There are lots of tricks to utilise during battle, such as a gauge that fills up. Once full you can unleash the power of a Divine Beast on your enemies with usually has devastating consequences for the enemy. This one is my favourite but it does take a while for the bar to fill up.
Roles
Chroma Quaternion has Roles that can be assigned to each character. Roles play to the strengths and characteristics of each character and provide different skills depending. You pick which ones to bring into battle, up to three per party member.
For the likes of Ark, Role’s range from the classic Evil Hunter to a Fisherman role to name a few. There are plenty of different Roles to mix around and experiment with and try out on the team.
You can also charge up a character’s move by skipping a turn, using a system called Act Over. This uses a series of Act Orbs charged during battle and shown at the top of the screen. These can then be consumed to perform additional actions during your turn, or saved up to inflict more damage at once.
Lots to Do
Besides all the usual JRPG gameplay, you can take part in daily challenges to win special awards to use in the game. Visit the arena and take on other characters in a round of battles to decide who is the winner. All these extras break up the normal RPG gameplay add to the game.
For a change, all the female characters are fully dressed. The game isn’t over-sexualised either, which makes a very nice change from the usual flesh on show theme that JPRG’s can have.
Visuals and Music
Chroma Quaternion has retro and bright colourful visuals, I really enjoyed the way the game looks. it is kinda cute in a way, especially when it comes to the big fluffy dog Foure. The music is suitably JRPG sounding, quiet when it should be and dramatic during boss fights.
The game controls well using the joy-cons during the gameplay. In the menus, which there are a lot of, the controls are a little jumpy. This makes it feel like they are moving of their free will at times.
Conclusion
Overall, I like Chroma Quaternion, there are a few things that make the game feel slightly new and updated to other KEMCO JRPG’S. I certainly appreciate the sprites have appropriate clothing requirements and aren’t half-dressed. This also makes Chroma Quaternion more accessible to younger gamers, who might want to try out their first JRPG.
Chroma Quaternion has an engaging lighthearted plot, with likeable characters, and who could resist a fluffy animal companion.
Final Verdict: I Like It A Lot 