Game: Farmagia
Genre: Action, Role-playing
System: Nintendo Switch (also available on Steam, (Windows) & PS5)
Developers | Publishers: Marvelous, XSEED
Age Rating: US Teen | EU 12+
Price: US $49.99 | UK £44.99 | EU € 49,99
Release Date: November 1st, 2024
A review code was used, with many thanks to Decibel PR.
After last month’s release of Potionomics: Masterworks Edition on the Nintendo Switch, Marvelous is back with the release of Farmagia, an adventure/RPG game with farming and frantic monster combat.
Be a Monster Tamer and Farmer in Farmagia
In Farmagia, you step into the shoes of Ten, a determined young Farmagia (farmagia are monster farmers and tamers) who rises against the tyrannical overlord Glaza in the underworld land of Felicidad.
Following the death of Felicidad’s ruler, Glaza seizes control, forcing the nation’s monsters and denizens into an oppressive regime. Of course, Ten and his friends Leii, Arche, Chica and Ten’s fairy partner Lookie-Loo set out to put a stop to Glaza and his horrible regime. But first, Ten must plant and grow some monsters (buddies) to be able to take on Glaza and his minions.
The Gameplay and Mechanics of Farmagia
At your farm, you’ll plant Battle Buddy (monsters) seeds and harvest new allies to take into battle. These battle buddies are your primary soldiers, and they can be customised in various ways, from assigning stats to boosting abilities through research buddies and Agri-buddies.
Agri-buddies are your support creatures. They handle day-to-day farm tasks like weeding, sowing and watering, making the farming mechanics feel immersive while keeping your focus on building a monster army.
Planting monster seeds, growing them, and then using them in battle is a premise that, reading about it in promotional material like the game’s Nintendo page, I didn’t think would work well together. However, it does. It’s great fun to plant a seed and see what type of monster pops out of the soil.
Additionally, by visiting the Ranch, you can train and treat your buddies to increase their stats. After that, you take your monster army into the Maze, Farmagia’s version of dungeons; the Mazes are also where the story beat battles take place; here, you progress through the levels while fighting through hordes of Glaza minions and boss battles.
Combat Introduces Several Mechanics
The combat in Farmagia introduces several engaging and fun mechanics. You can have up to four different types of buddies with up to forty or more buddies in your party at once.
The battles can be intense as Farmagia offers special moves like Unite Blitz (same-species buddies) and Fusion Summons (multi-species attacks) that feel pretty satisfying to pull off. There’s also a strategic layer to the gameplay as you earn Fairy Skills. These fairy skills temporarily boost Ten the Farmagia or his buddy’s abilities and add a level of adaptability to each battle. The KO move creates opportunities for big damage bursts, as you can coordinate your Battle Buddies to unleash powerful Legion Attacks.
You can build bonds with the Elemental Spirits and give them gifts to unlock new monster fusions and gain access to stronger battle abilities, which, for me, added a nice sense of progression to the gameplay.
There are also Magia Challenges to complete; these involve things like defeating 10 enemies and helping battle buddies Ko’d a set number of times; the challenges are not hard to complete as you work your way through the Maze, battling as you go and collecting items for crafting upgrades and quests, and seeds for planting.
Special Effects Have a Downside
While the battles are fun, they can get quite frantic with so much going on on the screen. There were times during battles when I found it difficult to see what was happening due to the special effects of some of the moves blocking my view, and with so many buddies and enemies on the screen at once, it gets very hectic.
It is also during battles that Farmagia has framerate slowdowns when the screen is especially crowded with allies, enemies, or effects. These slowdowns can disrupt the flow of combat, especially during large Legion Attacks or boss battles, where timing and positioning are key. While not game-breaking, it’s more of an annoyance that detracts from an otherwise smooth gameplay experience.
Learning Curve and Tutorials
Farmagia’s tutorials are delivered through on-screen info boxes, which can make for an overwhelming learning curve. There’s a lot to take in at once, between battle mechanics, farming techniques, and upgrading your buddies, and the tutorial text can become confusing after a while. For new players especially, it may take some time and trial and error to grasp the mechanics and fully optimise your play style.
Visuals and Voice Acting
The game’s world of Felicidad is both sinister and whimsical. From its denizens to the various Elemental Spirits, the game layers plenty of personality and story interactions with the NPCs. There is a quirky dialogue with a dash of humour throughout Ten’s journey to liberate Felicidad; I enjoyed the story and the gameplay loop of farming, ranching and battles.
Farmagia is fully voice-acted, and for the most part, this is well done. However, after hearing Ten’s battle cry of “Go get ’em” over and over again during combat and his other companions’ battle cry as well, it can quickly become repetitive.
Conclusion
With its mix of creature collection, strategic monster battles, and farming mechanics, Farmagia offers a unique experience for RPG fans. Despite its performance hiccups and dense tutorials, it has charm, though not every player will enjoy the fighting aspect of the gameplay. If you’re willing to push through the initial learning curve and forgive the occasional slowdown, Farmagia provides an experience worth investing in.
Final Verdict: I Like it a Lot
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