The Diofield Chronicle

Genre: Strategy-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

The Diofield Chronicle is a Strategy-RPG released in 2022 on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Players control a band of mercenaries working for a kingdom in a medieval fantasy setting which soon becomes embroiled into a massive war.

The presentation here is mostly good, with some detailed 3D character designs and 3D areas with some nice textures. Having said that, there are a few complaints here – there’s noticeable pop-in, occasional brief moments where the framerates drop, and while the environments look nice, they are also largely empty and somewhat blocky in shape.

However, while the visuals have their ups and downs, the sound is absolutely delightful, with some wonderful voice acting for the game’s characters that enhances the already strong writing for this game. It’s a pity the overall story isn’t quite up to par with these other elements, but it still makes for a nice experience. This is backed by a wonderful orchestral soundtrack that fits the rest of this presentation very well.

However, it’s the gameplay that’s really interesting here. Strategy-RPG games usually tend to be turn-based, but The Diofield Chronicle is a real-time game that has you directing your troops in battle and redirecting them on the fly. At any time, players can pause the action to issue commands or even queue a series of movements for one or multiple characters, allowing you to strategize like a proper field commander.

Unfortunately, the actual gameplay here rarely gives you much reason to come up with any elaborate strategies – usually you’re better off swarming your enemy with all of your heroes (only four can be on the battlefield at a time), only repositioning them if you want to flank the enemy, move them into position for an area-of-effect attack, or move them out of an area about to be hit by an enemy attack. Then do the same for the next enemy, and the next. Because of this, the game can get a bit repetitive at times, and the strategy is somewhat minimized.

On the bright side, players are given a wealth of options for upgrading their characters between missions. Players can outfit their characters with new equipment and upgrade individual characters’ abilities, but they can also improve skill trees that will enhance their entire party, or take on special missions that will enhance the capabilities of their base, develop new weapons and armor, and so on.

It’s a shame that The Diofield Chronicle doesn’t do more to push the potential of its more strategic elements, but as a JRPG that also just happens to be a Real-Time Strategy game, this is an excellent addition to the Nintendo Switch library, and RPG fans on the Nintendo Switch should definitely give it a look.

tl;dr – The Diofield Chronicle is a Real-Time Strategy-RPG that has players building up a team of mercenaries to fight enemies in real-time on a battlefield. The combat can get a bit repetitive and the strategy doesn’t feel terribly involved, but this is still a superb JRPG-style experience that’s well worth playing if you’re a fan of that genre.

Grade: B+

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2022 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best Strategy Game / Simulation, Best Voice Acting, Most Underrated (67)

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