I love old school RPGs, and its depressing that there aren’t too many of them these days. Yes Square Enix did release I am Setsuna and soon Lost Sphear but those are not exactly what I mean. Enter KEMCO, who have been making several RPGs in the classic turn based style for years. These games have mostly been on mobile but have also come to systems like Wii U, 3DS, PlayStation and, and now with Revenant Saga, KEMCO is bringing their RPGs to Switch.
I have often described KEMCO RPGs as “paint by numbers” RPGs, in that they all follow the same basic pattern and story progression. This is not a bad thing however, as these games are clearly meant to appeal to a certain group and I happen to be part of that group. Revenant Saga however, does things a bit differently. It follows the 16 bit over-world and 3D battle screens of some previous KEMCOgames, but does try new things. There are numerous ways to sequence break for example, unlike in previous games, as well as new twists on gameplay mechanics that are simply there for you to find on your own.
I call this a return to form for KEMCO because, while KEMCO may have fallen into a rut with their RPGs (which were still quality games), Revenant Saga just feels better. There are less flashing lights that can bother people with photosensitivity, and the story, while seemingly starting the same way, actually does deviate from the typical KEMCO writing in a good way. If anything, Revenant Saga felt like a breath of fresh air in KEMCO’s library and I truly appreciate that.
So who is this game for? Well, its for fans of older RPGs, but also fans of RPGs in general. KEMCO really did a good job making a game with more appeal for a wider audience. This is one that many might overlook and they really should not. I fully recommend this game!
The store page can be found here