Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Radiant Historia is a Turn-Based JRPG originally released on Nintendo DS in 2011 and remade for Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with the new subtitle Perfect Chronology. This remake adds new optional story content, new combat mechanics, new character artwork, a new fully-animated intro, additional voice acting, and various other tweaks to the game’s pacing and interface.

Oddly for a remake, Radiant Historia’s graphical presentation is still largely retro in style, seeming reminiscent of a cross between entries in the genre on the Super Nintendo and the original PlayStation, making use of pixel art graphics for its characters and simple 3D visuals for backgrounds. It’s quite charming, but it’s certainly not anything impressive for a Nintendo 3DS game.

However, what absolutely shines in this remake is the sound. Right from the start, this game’s beautiful soundtrack shines through. This is the work of Yoko Shimomura, well known for her work on the Kingdom Hearts franchise, though I would argue she may have outdone herself here creating some really beautiful instrumental pieces, as well as some lovely anime-style voiced songs.

Beyond the music though, the voice acting for this game is impeccable, giving some really wonderful personality to this game’s characters through some surprisingly subtle line readings. While not all the voice acting here is quite on the same level (some more minor characters are a bit flat or cheesy), for the most part this is some of the best voice acting I’ve encountered in a JRPG.

It helps that the writing in this game is excellent as well. The characters are all immensely likable, the overarching story is intriguing, and overall this game’s approach to the genre is inspired, seeming to play out almost like Chrono Trigger on a smaller scale.

The plot follows Stocke, a young operative for one of a pair of warring kingdoms who is mysteriously given a strange book before being sent out on a risky mission. When the mission goes poorly, the book magically enables Stocke to relive these events, giving him the opportunity to make different choices. In doing so, repeatedly throughout his journey, Stocke can try to find the correct path through time and ultimately discover a way to end the desertification of the land that’s causing the war in the first place.

There are more twists and turns in the plot that I won’t reveal here, but suffice it to say that this game makes for an interesting twist on the “Groundhog Day loop”, though it’s less about repeating a single day than it is about returning to key decisions to find the best path forward.

While the plot is fascinating on its own, it’s supported by some wonderful gameplay as well, with combat in particular having some really clever systems at work to keep things interesting. Much of the strategy of combat involves shoving opponents around on a 3×3 grid of a battlefield to stack damage on them. However, in addition to this, players can also trade the turn order of any characters – both your party’s and opponents. Doing so can leave your character vulnerable to attack, but it can also provide a great advantage by allowing you to set up chains that can lead to extra damage and bonuses for your party.

Despite the quaint visual presentation, everything else about Radiant Historia on Nintendo 3DS is an absolute delight. The story is interesting and well-told, the voice acting is sublime, the soundtrack is wonderful, and the combat is surprisingly inventive and engaging. In short, this is one of the best JRPGs I have ever had the pleasure to play. If you enjoy this genre even a little, don’t be fooled by the unimpressive visuals – consider this game an absolute must-have.

tl;dr – Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology on Nintendo 3DS is a remake of the Nintendo DS game that may not look graphically impressive, but just about everything else in the game is phenomenal. Excellent writing, great characters, an interesting story, phenomenal voice acting, outstanding music, and fun and engaging combat make this one of the best JRPGs I have ever played. If you enjoy this genre at all, and don’t mind somewhat retro-style visuals, then you need to own this game.

Grade: A+

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