Take the Dream IX

Most role-playing games force the players to engage in combat every few minutes, although it’s sometimes pretty exciting and enjoyable. However, there must be more to the genre than aimless battles, especially since RPGs are known for their long and beautiful stories. Thus, it would be nice to see less violence and more dialog.

Take the Dream IX is not your typical RPG, but it’s not a very typical anything. Although the action seems to be taking place in the usual fantasy universe at first, things get weird after a few minutes. Not only that, but combat is also entirely absent, since it was replaced by long dialog sequences and puzzles that challenge you to think on your feet and use your head instead of a sword.

The story puts you in the shoes of a girl by the name of Gwen, who must rescue her friend Flora from a very unusual phantom. As it happens, this ghost is called ArKun, and it is very depressed. The whole game becomes rather spooky after a while, and you have to be prepared for a few mind-bending images. On the other hand, it’s quite the cool and unusual experience.

Since there’s no combat, the rest of the gameplay is filled with puzzles, which might require quite a bit of concentration in order to solve. They are not overly complex either, but you won’t be able to quickly figure them out and walk away. The plot takes weird turns every now and again, and that too should keep you focused on the game.

Unfortunately, the level design is not very impressive most of the time, mostly because the environment is pretty barren and featureless. The tiles are too repetitive and the animations very basic, not to mention the fact that the game also uses a few default assets from RPG Maker. However, there are a few artwork pieces that might impress you along the way.

In the end, Take the Dream IX would have been a lot better with a cleaner level design and a bit more content, but it turned out quite nice even so. Hence, if you are in the mood for a pretty sad tale, this can be the perfect way to experience a full range of emotions.