Hero's Tale: Enhanced Edition

JRPGs share a few common traits with each other, such as the extravagant alternate realities, gravity-defying hair styles and monstrous swords a couple of feet long. However, they also usually have a very intricate and fascinating story driving the gameplay, which, although may go overboard with the cliches and the useless dialogue from time to time, is still capable of leaving a mark on the players.

Hero's Tale: Enhanced Edition falls into this category as well, since it reuses many of the same concepts seen in titles like Final Fantasy, or Chrono Trigger. However, it also brings a few new ideas to the table, even if most of them are related to the universe in which the action takes place, while the gameplay is about as simple and generic as it can get, given the circumstances.

Hence, the plot revolves a young boy by the name of Elrik, who starts innocently enough, by wanting to step into his father footsteps and become a world-renowned dragon slayer. However, as he undergoes the training to become one, it turns out that the gods have other plans for him. Aeria, one of the goddesses ruling Valedia, chooses him as the one who must recover her seven keys, which are spread throughout the realm and protected by dangerous creatures.

Although you should not expect too much depth from the game, there are plenty of quests and side-quests to take on and enrich the overall experience, despite the fact that most of them ask you to kill a certain number of enemies. Fortunately, the game world is quite populated and you can meet a lot of interesting characters, a few of which might even join you in your journey. Not long after the adventure starts, three other companions join your ranks and they stick with you until the task is complete and the keys are returned.

Obviously, a great deal of time is spent fighting the unsavory creatures that block your path and want to harm you. Unfortunately, these are not always visible on the map and there are plenty of random encounters to ruin your adventures. Just like in almost every other JRPG, the combat system is turned-based and each unit on the battlefield can attack, defend, or use a special ability whenever their turn comes.

Hero's Tale: Enhanced Edition does not really try too hard when it comes to questing and the story itself, especially since the characters you meet are very generic and boring, most of the time. The combat gets extremely annoying after a while, because the encounters are too common if you stray off the road even a little bit.