I’m beginning to think I got into this game-thing a little late, because it seems like every time I turn around, some developer is releasing ANOTHER sequel in a series I’ve never played. And here’s another one: Azada: Elementa. At first, I thought it was just an interesting sounding game, but a little research (ok, a conversation with Tracy) helped me discover Azada is actually a really popular series.
So here I go again, off to jump into an established but, for me, undiscovered world. Wish me luck!
In Azada: Elementa, you play the "chosen one," a person from the "real world" who is destined to save Azada from the evil and greedy clutches of Panoptes. To do so, you must travel first to Azada, and then to the worlds of fire, water, and air, to find a way to restore the elements.
Seems like an interesting story, but my confusion started almost right off the bat. The opening cut scene talks about dreams, and who you are in them (or something equally existential). Then this magic guy shows up, calling you a "dear friend" and claiming you’re the "chosen one" who will save Azada. Then he gives you directions on how to get to Azada from the "real world."
Hang on, now, if this dude is from Azada, why is he referring to where you’re from as the "real world?" And, how does he know you? Is this a person we met in a previous game? So, then I spent the rest of my game play wondering why the guy called your world the real one and whether or not the ENTIRE THING wasn’t just playing out in your head, and how much of the plot I was missing because I’d never played the first ones.
This is why I’m always hesitant to play a new game in a series; I’m worried I’m missing things. Usually it’s not a problem, but I have a feeling it might be in Azada: Elementa (But how would I know, I’ve never played the first games to see what I’m missing…)
Here’s another thing that threw me for a look: the pet. Honestly, the point kind of escapes me. You get your furry sidekick right at the beginning, and I just have no idea why; it’s not like it does anything for you. You give it a name, age, and hometown (again, not sure why).
You can choose to make your pet a flying cat, a griffin, a strange purple thing (dragon?), or a flying panda (A flying panda? Really?). I chose the griffin, because it was the least strange (in my opinion), and moved on with my life.
Or so I thought. The little thing pops up randomly to give you…encouragement, I guess? I don’t know, like I said, they lost me pretty much right off.
Anyhow, you also have to collect little coins to keep your pet properly attired as you travel between the different elemental worlds. For me, it was just another stressor. Like I didn’t have enough to keep track of, now I have to find these dumb coins.
Speaking of stress, let’s talk about the hidden object areas in Azada: Elementa.
The designers hit pretty much every item on my dislike list: the areas are the list kind (USELESS JUNK), some items are extremely difficult to see, and locations repeat. If there’s one thing I hate more than collecting useless junk, it’s repeatedly collecting useless junk.
Puzzles were more hit-or-miss, with some of them being pretty simple to figure out and some leaving me completely clueless.
The magnet game below was a good example. You’re supposed to arrange the red and blue squares into a pattern we found earlier, and while the directions do let you know how to rotate the magnet they do NOT inform you how you’re supposed to use the magnet to manipulate the blocks. So I had to sit there for a while trying to figure out how to make the blocks move. It really wasn’t a difficult puzzle, but I felt as though it was poorly explained.
It’s a pattern that continued throughout Azada: Elementa.
All in all, I didn’t care for Azada: Elementa. Graphically, it was a lovely game, and the music and voice acting wasn’t atrocious, but I kept feeling as though I was lacking something because I hadn’t played those first games.
Maybe the things that didn’t make sense to me also wouldn’t make sense to people who played the entire series, but I sure hope not (that would be sad). There were a lot of add ons, like collecting a running tally of all the different creatures you run across and collecting those stupid coins for your useless pet, but, honestly, those made Azada: Elementa feel muddled to me.
The thing I want most in any game is an interesting and fast-paced plot. As I found Azada: Elementa to be lacking in both plot and pace, I’m going to have to mark it a dud. This is a popular series, though, so why not give it a try and tell us what you think?