Master's Mugen Souls Z Review

Compile Heart makes a lot of JRPGs that tend to fit into a niche crowd, such as Hyperdimension Neptunia or Record of Agarest War. Mugen Souls is one of those games that definitely falls into that crowd. Mugen Souls Z is the sequel to that game, but does it have the same shortcomings as the first game, or does it blaze past and surpass the original?

Chou-Chou, the last game's main protagonist, fulfilled her goal of conquering the seven worlds in that game, but she wasn't satisfied with just that, as she realized that there was a big universe out there. She found out there was another part of the universe with twelve new worlds for her to try and conquer. The only problem is that on the first world she visits, Chou-Chou meets one of the ultimate gods, Syrma, who sets off a chain of events that prove to make things difficult for Chou-Chou.

While the story might have different beginnings, it evolves into the same playstyle of the first game, where you visit a world, capture the ultimate god, then move onto the next. That means fans of the original game will feel right at home here, since the game flow is mostly the same. Unfortunately, things can get rather monotonous, as you are practically doing the same thing over and over, only with a slightly new setting.

Thankfully, the characters in the game are one of the bigger highlights, as their conversations are both amusing and interesting. Chou-Chou, despite her predictaments, is still her old self and the newer cast members (Syrma and Nao) add a sense of humor and certain extra for people familiar with the old cast. It's the characters that save the game from becoming really boring in the long run, since it's essentially a grinding style of game.

As far as how the characters look, the game uses the chibi-style from the previous game when you are in the field, with anime portraits when conversations are going on. The rest of game looks largely the same as the original, with a lot of vibrant colors, but it seems like the developers were a bit lazy in regards to not doing a decent upgrade for this game.

Mugen Souls Z uses a lot of systems from the first game, spreading them out over the course of the first few chapters to introduce them to the player. The G-Castle acts as a hub for the player, where they can do various activities, such as buy/sell items, talk to various NPCs, use the hot spring to temporarily increase stats, as well as visit the optional "dungeon," Mugen Field.

By talking to Ryuto, the player can visit the various worlds in the game, which are each split into an outside part, as well as a ruins section once unlocked. Monsters are on the field and players get into battle by coming into contact with them. Battles are turn-based, with the turn order decided by the characters' speed.

The battles themselves are played out in the same manner as in the original game, where each character has a circle of movement, while also choosing to perform an action (attack, defend, item, and skills are the basic). There are also crystals on the battlefield, which fall into large crystals and small crystals. Both of these can offer both beneficial and negative effects, with large crystals covering the whole field and small crystals covering a set area.

As with the previous game, Mugen Souls Z offers much more in terms of battles than simple attacking and defending. First, the G-Castle that acts as your hub is also used for battles, where it transforms into a mech. These battles aren't as prevalent as normal ones, but they are a little more strategic, as they are similar to rock-paper-scissors.

The Moe Kill system returns, but it is more refined and is called Captivate this time, with Syrma being the only character who can perform it. Basically, Syrma has access to seven different personalities and each enemy in the game has one of these personalities tied to them. Using Captivate in battle makes it so you can make enemies Peons or items, as well as enraging them and making them tougher.

The Peon Change, when used, nets the player Shampurus, which in turn makes the G-Castle more powerful in its battles. Turning things into Peons extends to the planets that Syrma and Chou-Chou go to, essentially making the planets theirs (and progressing the game, as well as getting free items). There are plenty more systems in place that get revealed over the course of the game, such as Blast Off, Fever Mode and more that add a later of complexity to the battle system.

Of course, these complex mechanisms aren't truly needed to get through the game's main story, which takes somewhere between 40-50 hours. However, to get through the post game, which is the true meat of the game (much like the Disgaea games), the player will need to master these systems. This post game can add hundreds of hours to the game, as the max level is 9999 and it's possible to get damage in the millions.

Note that there's a big glitch that plagues the western release of the game, published by NIS America. In the Mugen Field, the 100-floor optional dungeon, which is required for the True Ending and a big part of the post-game content, the game will freeze upon encountering certain kinds of bosses (Slumbering Bosses) and require a hard reset for the system. While it doesn't happen 100% of the time when traversing the Mugen Field, it happens enough to be a deterrent. Of course, NIS America has been made aware of the problem and are working on fixing it.

Mugen Souls Z is a game that takes most of the systems from its predecessor, while improving on them in ways to make them easier to understand and more accessible to the player. That being said, it still isn't a game for everyone, as most games from Compile Heart tend to be, meaning fans of their game or the original will enjoy this a lot, as it makes the gameplay smoother and more streamlined. It's a pretty fun game, but it's certainly grind-heavy and might not be suitable for those that aren't fans of the genre or the developer behind it.