Crimson Shroud

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Crimson Shroud, a Turn-Based JRPG released exclusively on the Nintendo 3DS in 2012, was a collaboration between game designer Yasumi Matsuno, best known for Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, and developer and publisher Level-5 Games, best known for the Dark Cloud, Professor Layton, Ni No Kuni, and Yo-Kai-Watch franchises. Those who are familiar with Matsuno’s works will recognize many of his usual hallmarks here. Yet at the same time, Crimson Shroud is still fairly unique, both among Matsuno’s works and Level-5’s.

Perhaps the best example of this combination of the familiar and the unique is this game’s presentation. On the one hand, Crimson Shroud features an exquisitely well-written medieval fantasy story about a group of mercenaries hunting for a fabled relic. Those who have played Final Fantasy XII or especially Matsuno’s earlier masterpiece Vagrant Story will feel right at home with this game’s atmosphere, which has the game’s trio of protagonists in a gritty realm mired with deep-seated political and religious machinations and holds no reverence for heroism. This wonderful story is underlined by a fittingly epic orchestral soundtrack, and similarly excellent atmospheric sounds that perfectly set the tone for the game.

However… all of this is within the confines of a pretty clever simulation of a tabletop RPG. Characters are represented by figurines that bounce and shake rather than animate, players move from one room to the next by selecting these rooms on a map rather than moving freely, and players will at times be called on to roll various dice to determine how successful they are in something they’re attempting. This sort of trivialization could easily break the serious atmosphere of the rest of the game, but somehow it all works – it feels like this game is for all intents and purposes working to simulate the ultimate Dungeons and Dragons session, with a Dungeon Master who is likely far more skilled at crafting a great story than any you’ve likely had presiding over your real-life tabletop games.

That’s not to say that the RPG mechanics here are akin to those in Dungeons and Dragons, though. Here, Crimson Shroud once again pulls from Matsuno’s playbook. Like many Matsuno RPGs, Crimson Shroud has players meticulously deciding how to best outfit their characters with equipment they find. Characters do not level up, meaning the only stat bonuses they will receive will be from this equipment, and from temporary buffs and debuffs from spells.

Ah yes, that’s another Matsuno standard – buffs and debuffs play a huge role in Crimson Shroud, and players will need to make sure they are keeping these effects in mind during battle. As a result of this, Crimson Shroud is a particularly detail-oriented and challenging RPG, one better-suited to veterans of the genre than more casual RPG fans.

I should note that this game gives players full control over the game using either traditional gamepad controls or touchscreen controls, and both work wonderfully. In particular, rolling the dice using either the touchscreen or the analog pad makes for a wonderfully visceral part of the experience, even if it doesn’t really add to the skill or strategy of the game. Sometimes, it’s just fun to roll dice.

It should be noted that Crimson Shroud is pretty short as RPGs go – this game can be completed in under 10 hours. However, at a price of $8, 10 hours doesn’t seem like a bad deal, although playing this game really makes me wish this was expanded upon in a larger and more ambitious sequel at some later time.

In the end, Crimson Shroud isn’t going to be a game for everyone – the challenging and detail-oriented gameplay here will scare away more casual players, and the simplified “tabletop game” presentation may disappoint those who prefer their RPGs to have a lot of eye candy. But players who enjoy deep and rewarding RPG mechanics and a well-crafted story should consider this game to be an absolute must-have on Nintendo 3DS, especially since its digital-only nature means it will be unavailable for purchase after March 2023. If you own a Nintendo 3DS and enjoy a challenging RPG, do not miss out on this hidden gem.

tl;dr – Crimson Shroud is a Turn-Based JRPG with phenomenal writing and a unique tabletop-inspired presentation. The detail-oriented and difficult gameplay won’t be for everyone, and as RPGs go it’s pretty short. But if you own a Nintendo 3DS and enjoy a challenging RPG, you should consider this an absolute must-buy, especially since it will not be available anywhere once the 3DS eShop closes.

Grade: B+

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