An Otaku World review of

Threads Of Fate

SquareSoft

Reviewed by Jennifer Diane Reitz, May29 2000

Platform Reviewed	Playstation
Genre	Action RPG
Number of Players	One
Multiplayer Value	None
Length	40 hours
Difficulty	Moderate
Skills Required	Reading, Joypad Skill
Interface Devices	Joypad
Interface Design	Excellent
Programming	Excellent
Game Design and Playability	A very solid and fun action RPG in the vein of Brave Fencer Musashi, Klonoa of the Wind and the like. Polygon based but cute, colorful and light. An easy, happy sort of game.
Type Of Fun	Running around changing shape, casting magic, beating up on monsters, and generally saving the day. Kind of like Mario or Sonic with more powers and more plot.
Replay Value	Good
Overall Value	Exceptional!
Quality	Exceptional! (Have I mentioned that this year is a good one for the anime gamer?)
The Best	Threads Of Fate is fun. Really, genuinely fun. Nothing world shattering here, the graphics are cute, the music is cute, the monsters are cute...things are pretty cute. Basically this is a happy bit of fun, leaping and slashing and casting spells. It's Brave Fencer Musashi with better graphics and more powers. It's not deep, but it is a good time.
The Worst	It's Brave Fencer Musashi with better graphics. If you do not care for lighthearted jump and whack sort of games, then this will not do for you. It has a plot about as deep as a Little Golden Book, and feels a little like one too.
How much I would pay for this	40 bucks

Description:

An action Role Playing Game with two intertwining adventures featuring two very different characters with very different abilities.

Story:

An ancient artifact holds salvation for two different protagonists. One, a selfish deposed princess, must gain the artifact to regain her empire, another, a gentle shape-shifting boy, must gain the artifact to raise his best friend from the dead. Much comic mayhem ensues.

Review:

Formerly "Dew Prism" in Japan (apparently Square thinks Americans are too dim to appreciate abstract titles), 'Threads of Fate' is basically, unabashedly, a much improved "Brave Fencer Musashi". If you liked Musashi, you will love "Threads" all the more. The graphics are better, the music as catchy, and the abilities more diverse and more fun to use.

'Threads Of Fate' is not a great game, but it is a genuinely fun one, a game that cannot help but be enjoyed by most people. It has a simply story, lots of running about whacking cute, pastel monsters, and does a very good job of making one wish they could be a magical princess or a shape-shifting lad. It is cute, bouncy, happy fun, and reminds most closely of a children's storybook from the days when 'political correctness' did not exist.

If you are looking for deep mystery, this is not your game. However, if you are an anime gamer, with a taste for fun and cute, 'Threads of Fate' will definitely keep you entertained. This is a charming little game, with quite a bit of technique possible during play.

Very Recommended.

This is an exceptional year for the Anime gamer!

Jennifer Diane Reitz is a Game Designer and Computer Artist, one of the co-founders of Otaku World, and, in an earlier time, a co-founder of Happy Puppy Games OnRamp (where she was also wrote many game reviews). She is the creator of numerous games and software products, including Boppin', Kokoro Wish, and many others. She has worked for such companies as Activision, Sculptured Software, Epyx, SRI, and Electronic Arts, and founded Accursed Toys. She has been active in the computer gaming industry since its earliest days. She considers games to be works of artistic merit and achievement, and views computer entertainment as the most important media of our era.