Reynatis is an action RPG set in the vibrant ward of Shibuya, Tokyo, but it’s a very different place to the one we know. In this version, magic is real, very dangerous, and feared by the non-magical population. Magic users either hide their abilities or join a government organisation called M.E.A. to hunt down rogue witches and wizards.
The story follows two sets of characters, the first led by Sari, a member of the M.E.A. trying to track down the source of an addictive drug which can turn its users into monsters; and the second led by Marin, a rogue wizard who wants to become stronger and free himself from government oppression. The chapters alternate between them until their stories eventually intertwine. There’s some really interesting world-building going on here, but unfortunately the gameplay is fairly bland.
You spend your time running back and forth across Shibuya, occasionally delving into dungeons and battling anything that crosses your path. Your characters have two stances, Liberated and Suppressed. While Liberated, you can attack using your magic but can’t defend as well. Once you run out of magic you automatically switch to a Suppressed stance, where you can dodge attacks and absorb magic. You can switch between characters and, as they have different weapon types, they feel different to control. In battle you’ll be constantly changing between characters and stances in order to manage your magic levels.
While the combat initially seems quite flashy and fun, it doesn’t really evolve at any point and quickly becomes dull. It doesn’t help that most of the enemies you fight are colour-swapped versions of things you’ve battled before, and the same dungeon designs are used over and over again.
There are plenty of side quests, but most don’t really add anything to the story. They do have an interesting impact on Shibuya, though. Finishing them reduces the area’s ‘malice’; the lower this is the more magical graffiti, called Whizart, appears across town. Finding them gives you new combat abilities or grants you additional cash and experience. They also make the already beautiful Shibuya look even cooler, but do unfortunately disappear once you view them.
The story and world-building are definitely the most interesting things about Reynatis but it’s a shame everything else feels so half-baked and repetitive. It’s hard to get invested in the characters when the dull combat makes you want to get through the adventure as quickly as possible.
