LogFAQs > #972762444

Pandora's Tower (Wii)
Threw out a recommendation for this in the Wii U/3DS eShop topic a couple weeks back before it closed down after I'd gotten right up to the final boss, but then life got wild and I didn't actually finish it until Saturday.

The oft-overlooked third game from Operation Rainfall is a unique and pretty fascinating mashup of genres. I've seen it compared to Zelda a fair bit, which I think is a bit of a stretch - I'd liken it much more to a 3D Castlevania-style skeleton, though even before getting into the dating sim aspects, that's far from a perfect analogy.

You play as Aeron, a former soldier whose girlfriend Elena is suddenly afflicted by a curse that is slowly but surely turning her into a monster. Fleeing from civilization, the two are taken to an abandoned fortress made up of thirteen towers by a mysterious merchant woman who explains to them that each tower is ruled by giant beasts called Masters. If Aeron can defeat these Masters and bring their flesh back for Elena to consume, the curse should be lifted. In the meantime, bringing her flesh from other monsters roaming the towers can keep the curse at bay temporarily. So the basic gameplay loop is to gradually explore these towers, solving puzzles and fighting enemies, while periodically taking back flesh to the little Observatory they're using as a home base to keep Elena's curse from taking over. While you're there, you can interact with her in various ways to raise her affection, which eventually leads to one of multiple endings.

I would stop short of calling this an amazing game, but I can definitely say I've never played anything else quite like it, and I will always applaud games that are willing to make their game marginally less "fun" with some of their mechanics for the sake of promoting a specific feel and creating something more artistic. I don't want to get onto a soapbox here and turn this into an even longer essay, but there's some very strong theming going on in this game about living with someone who has a chronic illness or ailment. That's powerful stuff, and parts of it are really going to stick with me.

Honestly, if a magical genie granted me the ability to choose one video game in history to get a remake, I might pick Pandora's Tower. There's a lot present here that doesn't necessarily detract from the game, but could be improved dramatically with a little effort without having to change anything about the main concept. Graphics, for example - there's some amazing setpieces and very cool cinematic moments that are held back significantly by the limitations of the system. Add original music (the existing soundtrack is made up mostly of Western classical music with a little bit of remixing), expand interactions with Elena a bit, and iron out some of the minor camera issues and this would be something really special.

As it is, it's still memorable, and it's a shame that so many factors will have combined to ensure that it's completely lost to time for most gamers. This game came out after the Wii U did, and long after Operation Rainfall was any kind of hot topic. Now with the eShop closing, your only options to experience it are to shell out multiple hundreds of dollars for a physical copy or to emulate it, and I can't imagine either of those choices is going to appeal much to anyone that hasn't already played it.