Game: EGGLIA: Rebirth
Genre: Simulation, Adventure, RPG
System:Â Nintendo Switch (also on mobile as EGGLIA: Legend of the Redcap)
Developer|Publisher: Brownies Inc.
Age Rating: EU 3+ | US E
Price: US $16.99 | UK £14.99 | EU € 17,99
Release Date: February 10, 2022
Review code provided with many thanks to Pressengine
EGGLIA: Rebirth is a port of the EGGLIA: the Legend of the Redcap that was released on mobile in 2017. But before you turn away because there are already so many games being ported to Nintendo’s handheld, you have to know this game is made by a famous team of very creative people. Shinichi Kameoka and Koji Tsuda are behind EGGLIA, iconic artists responsible for creating the art style of the popular Secret of Mana series. At the same time executive producer was Michio Okamiya who produced Romancing SaGa 3, and the soundtrack was composed by Yoko Shimomura of Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy XV fame and by Yoshitaka Hirota.
So, big names, that made sure the mobile game was something special indeed. And little detail: Brownies Inc. was responsible as well for co-developing Doraemon: Story of Seasons. Enough fame to get your attention? The release of EGGLIA on Switch caught my attention because I played the mobile game a lot when it was released and loved it. Do I still like it five years later?
A World Sealed Away in an Egg
Egglia is an RPG that follows the story of a Redcap named Chabo, though you can give him another name too. He mysteriously appears in a very small town in the kingdom of Egglia and is found by an elf named Robin and her faerie partner, Marigold. They are surprised and a bit scared to find this Redcap, because this goblin race usually is known for their violence and affinity for fighting.
Chabo, however, proves to be peaceful, which seems to be due to the fact that his horns, the source of Redcaps’ rage, are broken. When Robin and Marigold find that Chabo can open the Niebel egg that Robin has found, they welcome him into their town. And that town is pretty much what is left from the world.
A pity too, as the magical kingdom known as Egglia was a place where many different species lived peacefully and in harmony with one another. It didn’t last, as the kingdom was sieged by gigantic, brutish Ogres, who laid waste to all they touched. Faced with imminent destruction, Egglia’s ruler and its most powerful wizard, Kuff, sealed his precious kingdom away inside a magical egg. There Egglia remained, kept safe from strife and harm, waiting for the right time to be set free once more. And of course, it’s our Chabo who releases the Willowwacks Forest from the first egg and positioned it next to the town. Time for the story and your adventure to begin.
Hex-Based RPG and Simulation Combined
EGGLIA: Rebirth is a combination of gameplay types: Simulation and RPG. The gist of the RPG gameplay is that you unlock new areas using the Niebel eggs. The place where you join the new areas to the current map influences what kind of area will form, because Egglia is made up out of a variety of biomes. Every location contains three stages for you to explore and the exploration takes place on a hex-based grid spread across the floor. Rolling the dice decides how many places you can move to fight an enemy, open a chest or chop a tree for wood.
Aside from fighting with your sword, you can form teams of Spirits to help you, based on the strengths of the elements ( you know, fire beats plants, water beats fire etc). You can collect these spirits by leaving food out for them, and this food can only be made if you find enough ingredients in your dungeons.
The other part is the simulation part. While constantly exploring the dungeons you have to make sure your village flourishes. You meet several the races the quests and they join you in living in the village. Your aim is to assist them in making them happy and let your friendship with them grow. You can do this by fulfilling their requests, giving them gifts and en taking them along with you during your quests. They will help with gathering materials, depending on which character you bring. Meanwhile you can decorate your own house, grow seeds and grow gems (if only it were so easy in real life) and visit friends houses.
Lots of Banter and Great Town Building
We have already established EGGLIA: Rebirth was a mobile game first, and I feel it has been a one on one port. Some typical mechanics are included, like in-game currency to speed up crafting or growing times. I always felt this was strange, as it’s not a freemium game, it was strange in the mobile game version but even stranger when applied in the Switch game.
That having been said, this is still a quality game and it shows. The graphics are amazing, the soundtrack is great and the storyline is a good one. The banter between the characters is the result of good writing, maybe even a bit over the top. In the mobile game the loading screens, with little fun facts were great, but as the loading goes very fast here, you can never read what they say in the Switch version, which is a pity. Overall the town building combined with the grid based RPG part makes for a very complete package.
Every Niebel egg you find and deploy gives a new area, and the type of biome it is is determined too by what biome it’s next too. Some combinations even give a special secret area to investigate. You’re always explore by traveling through the grid, but how fast you travel, or how much damage you can do to an enemy depends on what number you throw with your dice. Gathering mana and spending it to have your spirit team perform their best moves helps, as does trying to make the best spirit team that you can, but a lot is left to chance.
The Simulation part is where EGGLIA: Rebirth shines. As you can see in the image below, there are a lot of furnishings and decorations to make your house beautiful. New biomes give new materials of a great variety, equaling new items to craft. A lot of effort has gone in the character creation making them come to life.
Conclusion
EGGLIA: Rebirth is an RPG-town builder that is right at home on the Switch, even though I would have liked to see more differences compared to the mobile game. But than, the mobile game already was of a great quality. The simulation part, building up the Town at EGGLIA is where the game shines for me. Moving through the hex based dungeons is nice too, but much is left to chance. What makes exploring fun though is that you never know what new surprises in materials and new creatures you are going to find.
This is a great game to pick up and play over your morning coffee, gathering materials, slaying some enemies and using the spoils to help out your friends in town to make their home even nicer.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot 
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