For a Vast Future

Genre: Turn-Based JRPG

Players: 1

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Review:

For a Vast Future is a Turn-Based JRPG released on PC in 2022 and ported to Nintendo Switch in 2023. This game takes place in a dystopian war-torn future where a scrappy orphan girl looking for… er, scrap… discovers a cyborg who wants to recover his forgotten past, with the two finding themselves wrapped up in a conflict that could affect the entire world.

While the setting is futuristic, the presentation here is decidedly retro, with this game using four-color 2D pixel art visuals designed to imitate the Game Boy Color, along with a decent enough chiptune soundtrack to match. I would argue that the game succeeds in this goal, though I’m not entirely sure why it’s aiming for this in the first place, as most players won’t find these visuals attractive, and as far as I’m aware this doesn’t seem to be imitating any particular game. It’s just kinda’… stylized to be ugly for ugly’s sake, I suppose?

The gameplay does at least try some interesting things, with a crafting and barter system requiring you to be shrewd in your use of your primary resource, bullets, as these are also your sole way of attacking enemies. Should you trade in a larger supply of standard bullets for a more limited supply of more powerful ones? I appreciate the risk-reward mechanic at play here.

This game also lets players determine which stats to level up as they gain points to slot into those stats, in addition to standard RPG level ups, and there are weapon customizations that can help you to further make your characters your own. It still feels pretty limited, but it works well enough. The same could be said for this game’s overall controls, which work with only two buttons (again, imitating the classic Game Boy) – it’s limited, but it works.

Here’s the thing, though. While there’s not really anything particularly bad here, neither is there anything especially great. The presentation is a bit nostalgic, but not very pretty to look at, and the soundtrack works but isn’t especially memorable. The gameplay has just enough to make it unique, but not enough to make it compelling. And the plot and characters are also fairly unique, but after spending hours with them I still don’t feel especially attached to any of them.

One more thing I need to address before wrapping things up here. This is a game published by RedDeer.Games, and as such it’s doing their usual schtick of junking up the eShop with a kazillion different versions of the game that all just include different sets of the free DLC that has been excised from the game for specifically this purpose. This DLC is just different palette swaps for the game’s four colors, and they’re all free anyway, so it doesn’t matter which version you get.

The Nintendo Switch has an absolute wealth of great RPGs, including classic JRPGs, and with so many great options to choose from, it’s difficulty to recommend For a Vast Future. It’s not a bad JRPG, but it’s not a great one either. Plus, the countless versions of the game junking up the eShop make me feel even less endeared toward this game. Get something else instead.

tl;dr – For a Vast Future is a Turn-Based JRPG following an orphan girl and a cyborg in a war-torn dystopian future. This game’s Game Boy-style retro graphics are nostalgic but ugly, and while this game does some interesting things, it’s still not particularly compelling. Add in some disgusting eShop shenanigans and I really cannot recommend this game of the countless other great JRPGs on the eShop.

Grade: C

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