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Fairy Tail – Review

By: Luke
Published:

Fairy Tail, based on Hiro Mashima’s best-selling manga and anime series of the same name, follows the spell-binding plot from “The Grand Magic Games” story arc, enabling gamers to re-live (or experience for the first time) the exciting episodes of this fan-favourite storyline. Not only will they be able to experience stories previously told in the manga and anime but they’ll even be able to enjoy never-before-seen story and quest elements. 

Throughout their journey, players will be able to form a party from a selection of over ten iconic characters, including: the fire dragon slayer Natsu Dragneel, the celestial mage Lucy Heartfilia, the icemake mage Gray Fullbuster, the fairy queen ‘Titania’ Erza Scarlet, and the young sky dragon slayer Wendy Marvell. With a wealth of guild members to recruit to their party, players can form their dream team, even including an unlikely group of allies for their own unique adventure.

Visuals

In a word: ‘wow’. The visuals in this game are true to the art form from the original series. Everything on screen from the characters down to the environment look like they were taken straight from the series itself.

Fans of the Fairy Tail anime will be extremely happy with the choice of art style for this game; it really feels as though you are playing through an episode of Fairy Tail every time you log in to the game.

During our playthrough, we played on the PlayStation 4. There were no noticeable frame-drops or any lag of any kind whilst playing. One thing to note: the magic in this game is displayed amazingly, and each move, even the most basic (looking at you Lucy), each pack a powerful punch every time.

Sound

From the moment you hit go, the soundtrack to this game will have you putting on those headphones and listening to every part. The soundtrack has a true Fairy Tail feel, from the up-beat music down to the emotional tracks.

The dialogue is all in Japanese with English subtitles but does include the original voice actors from the series. This may upset fans of the dubbed anime, however, in my own opinion as someone who never watches dubbed anime, this was a very welcome choice.

Fights in the game bring music that gets you ready to beat some bad guys down! Each attack you launch and receive feels very engaging and makes you feel as if you are in the anime itself!

Gameplay

The Fairy Tail game follows the events of the anime from the Tenrou Island Arc. However, it does not complete the anime, so we do hope there will be future DLC for this!

The gameplay felt extremely smooth. Loading between areas was non-existent, and any loading screens at all were coupled with a mini game of Happy hitting the letters with a fish (way more fun that it sounds!).

New moments were added to fill in various gaps in the series and develop characters further; this feels very true to Fairy Tail, and nothing feels out of place here.

There are various mechanics in the game from synthesising lacrima to chaining attacks in the field. It does feel a little overwhelming at first, but you soon get used to it, and there is a lot for you to explore.

The world itself feels open and vast. Even with the many hours I have put in so far, I have a lot left to explore.

Final Verdict

Fairy Tail is a long-awaited and anticipated game. Did it live up to the expectations? Yes, and it far surpassed them.

The stunning visuals, soundtrack and mechanics all make for a very enjoyable experience.

Fans of the series will be extremely pleased with this title. Hardcore fans of the series will be excited to explore every nook and cranny in this game and enjoy what it has to offer.

If I had to pick any negatives for this game, it would be that fans of the dubbed series will be disappointed in the lack of English voice acting. The character icons also remain the same throughout the game, and whilst the models express emotion, the icons, whilst they talk, do not.

Will players enjoy this if they have never seen Fairy Tail? Possibly not. This game is aimed at a specific audience, and it knows that. Whilst you could pick it up and play quite easily, you will not be able to follow the story completely and have the same connection to the characters that a fan of the series would.

In my personal opinion, as a long-time fan of the Fairy Tail series, this game made me feel everything the anime did! Excitement, happiness and yes, even those rough moments which will have you reaching for the tissues! The game has perfectly captured the anime series and built upon it; this game was worth the wait!

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Fairy Tail was provided to Gamezo by Koei Tecmo to review; all opinions are our own.

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