FUGA: Melodies of Steel is a very unique game to say the least. Developed by CyberConnect2, the game is the third video game entry within the Little Tail Bronx series that began way back on the PlayStation with 1998's Tail Concerto.
Similar to CyberConnect2's other well known series .hack (which Tail Concerto may have a connection to), the game is split into three parts, with the original FUGA serving as an intro arc to the overall series. Despite being a part of Little Tail Bronx, FUGA actually takes place roughly 700 years prior to Tail Concerto and Solatorobo on the DS, and is a perfect introduction to the series as a whole! But simply stating what FUGA is does not do the game any justice.
FUGA is much more than what it appears to be at face value, and those willing to set forth on this journey will be met by hard decisions, and a linear gameplay loop that becomes strangely addicting. While FUGA may be an RPG at its core, it is nothing like the two games that came before, nor is it comparable to the .hack series. Instead, FUGA keeps an identity of its own, while being a part of a greater overall plot, and that works to the game's advantage.
The Story:
FUGA takes place within a world inhabited by humanoid creatures that resemble cats and dogs, called Felineko and Caninu, and starts during a time of war. An evil empire known as the Berman Empire attacks a small village called Petit Mona, and enslaves the entire population. Unknown to them however, a small group of kids managed to escape during the attack, and are lead by a mysterious voice to a massive tank. This tank is known as the Taranis, and upon entering the control room, the entire vehicle sprung to life. Shortly after the voice is heard through the radio, and it directs the kids back to their home town to fight back. Ultimately the Berman Empire is no match for the Taranis, but it is already too late; everyone is gone, and the kids are left homeless.
With the young Malt taking charge, the kids continue to pilot their newfound tank across the country battling the Berman Empire. With a strange weapon known as the Soul Canon at their disposal, the group hopes to save their parents, and bring peace back to their land. Sadly using the Soul Canon comes at a deep cost, with the children being forced to make the decision to use it if there is no other way out.
The Gameplay:
FUGA: Melodies of Steel's gameplay is broken up into four main parts which alternate throughout the entire adventure. Each part is key to survival, but "checkpoints" allow for another chance if things go awry.
Battles -
The turn based battles are front in center in FUGA, with most of the game being the fights themselves. It is a linear story that puts our young crew up against enemy after enemy, and losing means restarting from the last intermission (more on that soon). A timeline at the top of the screen displays the turn order for each member of your tank's crew, along with the enemies, and setting up attacks or delaying them becomes key to surviving.
On your side of things, the tank has three different weapon types, which are distinguished by red, blue, and yellow colors; these weapons have different properties that make them more effective against specific enemy types, but which kid is operating them also matters. Everyone on the crew has a specified weapon they will command, but only three sets of two pairs are allowed to be in battle at a time. The "leader" of each pair determines which weapon is being used, while the "support" character provides additional buffs to be used. Kids can be freely swapped around during battle as their weapons or support skills are needed, but there is a three turn cool down between each swap.
To survive each fight, players need to look at their characters, put them into pairs that help the situation, and always shoot for weaknesses. Hitting a target's weakness will delay their action (which is displayed by clock icons), while some attacks and skills have the ability to chip away at an enemy's armor. On the flip side you also have the ability to use a turn to put up defenses, which is something that is also very important to survival. Other characters can still attack while you are defending, but using the correct character to defend is also a very important decision. If an enemy is weak to a canon attack (yellow), you do not want your canon user to be the one defending here; it is a waste of a turn. On the other hand if an enemy is about to be delayed by the next attack, then it is also pointless to defend because the enemy is about to lose its turn anyway.
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Everything about the battle system asks you to plan your attacks and strategies, and simply trying to brute force your way through it will result in failure. Simple mistakes can be life or death, and failing to recognize the tools available to you is the worst thing you can do. As the kids level up new skills and abilities do become unlocked, but they require SP to use and that will make you second guess if it is worth using the attack or not. Of course limited resource items allow you to recover health and SP throughout the game, but sometimes these items are best saved for when they are truly needed. Thankfully one character's support ability lets normal attacks recover SP, so that is always an option as well.
Additionally characters can team up to use special attacks as well, but these attacks require the kids to be in a good mood, and to build a gauge up in battle first. These skills are best used when the going gets though, but they can be a real life saver when used properly. On the other hand kids in a bad mood will perform poorly in fights in general, and getting hit too much can knock them out. Those who have been injured will need to be healed during the intermission, which is the next major part of the game.
Intermissions -
Intermissions are the "free periods" within FUGA and are typically seen at the start of a chapter, at key mid points, and right before the boss. They act as checkpoints to reload to if you die, and allow you to prep for the upcoming fights. During this point players get to control one of the kids from a 2D perspective, and walk around the tank to use different facilities.
There is an upgrade station to expand your weapons and armor, beds to gain extra EXP and heal your friends, a farm to gather resources, a scrap fishing area for even MORE resources, a mess hall for food buffs, and an area that lets you enter mini dungeons for, you guessed it, other resources. The other kids can also be found around the tank, and talking to them spends your free time points to advance your relationship with them. This will not only unlock story scenes but also improve how well the kids work together in pairs, and buff their support skills as well. Their support level will also go up during natural gameplay, but talking to them is the fastest way to bring them up.
Each intermission gives players 20 points to spend on activities, and picking and choosing what is needed is very important. Each kid will have a request to complete to put them in an even better mood, but completing these requests are not required, and can sometimes cause you to miss out on what is truly needed at that time. Again, picking and choosing how to spend your free time is very important, and if you focus on the wrong things, it will result in your death. Thankfully the intermissions are the checkpoints however, so players can assess the situation and try again if they do fail.
Dungeons -
Dungeons in FUGA are not what one might expect. Instead of being stages to go through with the standard tank battle gameplay, they are actually 2D side scrolling puzzles that reward players with EXP and resources. Some dungeons appear during the main story, but they can be revisited during intermissions as well.
The main gameplay in dungeons is pretty straight forward. You pick three characters to send in, you walk through doors or go up elevators to pick up blue items, and pick up red pieces of ammo to shoot at things. Pots can be broken with ammo, but shooting enemies will reward you with items as well. Sometimes these enemies cannot be avoided and block your path, while others have attack patterns that let you run past. The idea is to save your ammo for what is needed to advance, and then come back through and clear out the enemies you missed. Picking up all items and killing all enemies is required to perfect clear a dungeon, and the bonus rewards and EXP are worth doing so. Mess up and use ammo on something pointless before you get more, and then you lock yourself out of 100%ing the dungeon.
Dungeons end once you find the key and open the treasure chest, or if you give up or are taken out by an enemy or trap. If that happens, then you just missed out on rewards that might've really helped you out.
Choosing Paths -
The final part of the gameplay loop is none other than choosing your paths. In FUGA the tank is always moving forward, and there is no stopping it. Each chapter lets you stop by a town for resources (which is a menu), but once in the actual chapter it is GO GO GO GO GO! The tank moves along, enemy icons are battles that can have multiple waves, item icons give you items, heal spaces recover HP or SP, dungeons are dungeons, intermissions are intermissions, and that's about it. Branches in the paths will ask if you want to take the safer or harder routes, and your rewards are given to you based upon your choices.
Due to how important resources and leveling can be in FUGA, picking the harder route will always be the "better" option if it is doable. These fights give you better stuff and make you stronger faster, but you always have to weigh your options before jumping in head first. If the previous fights left your resources too thin, then maybe going the safer route is better. Of course playing it too safe will cause you to miss out on tons of resources, so the game can actually become even harder in the end. This is where the dreaded Soul Canon might be required, which is something you do want to avoid.
The Soul Canon -
While I didn't mention it under the Battle section, the Soul Canon is also a key part of combat that some players might have to use. It is a last resort attack that will instantly kill any boss, but it comes with the price of losing one of your teammates forever. You see, it is a device that needs the life energy of someone to activate it, and doing so will kill both parties involved (the enemy and the user).
This is an option for those who reach the end of a chapter and cannot beat the boss, but it also means obtaining the true ending will become impossible. It is best to avoid using it, but it also becomes an important part of the overall gameplay loop, as New Game Plus does exist.
New Game Plus -
In New Game Plus everything from the previous run carries over, and it gives players a chance to do better. They can tackle weaker enemies with their new stronger weapons, they can focus on becoming closer to other characters, and use time to get more resources as needed. It makes it so those who had to use the Soul Canon can try the entire game again without having to make those sacrifices, and achieve the true ending as well.
Of course... There is one other option if need be.
Fast Mode:
Fast Mode is not your standard gameplay feature. This is an alternate save file that can be created from your main one at any time, and it turns the game into a visual novel. The tank will automatically run over all enemies in its path on the map, and boss fights can be won with the press of a button. It lets you speed through the entire game within 5 - 10 hours, with the exception of building relationships and dungeons... Although you can technically skip this as well by simply refusing to do it.
It lets everyone complete the game in no time, but it also takes away the game. It is an option for those who want to use it, or for anyone wanting to quickly pick up anything they might've missed, but it does remove the actual fights.
Should you play it?
FUGA: Melodies of Steel isn't like other RPGs on the market. There is no exploration, no level grinding, and you basically spend the entire game inside of a tank. While it lacks other RPG standards, it more than makes up for this with its solid gameplay, great cast of characters, and interesting story that leaves you wanting more. It has a learning curve players will need to overcome, but once you do, the game becomes extremely addicting and trying out different character combinations is a lot of fun. While the gameplay might not click for everyone, those who enjoy deep strategics turn based battles will find a lot to love here. If this sounds like a game you'd enjoy, then do yourself a favor and check it out as soon as you get the chance.
VERDICT: Essential
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