Threads of Fate

"Action! Thrills! Adventure! All contrived onto one all-too-short CD!"

''Well, it was a fun ride while it lasted. Come on kids, let's go home.''
''We are home.''
''That was fast.''

That little vignette of dialogue, from the Simpsons episode where Homer finds that his face is the logo of a Japanese brand of dishwashing soap, more or less pinpoints the experience of Threads of Fate, known to the Japanese as DewPrism. (Why do they get the cool game names? We want some too!) It was a great ride while it lasted, but holy MOLY it goes quick, even with the option to play as two characters, each one the polar opposite of the other. In one corner: Rue, the boy who was stripped of everything when the Doll Master invaded his quaint cabin and killed his caretaker and girlfriend Claire. In the other corner: Mint, an annoyingly precocious, ostentatiously wealthy princess whose undying ambition is to rule the world and mold everyone to her own brand of big-picture thinking. The two of them inevitably meet when they both go to search for an ancient relic (a word that is mysteriously placed in parentheses whenever said in the game) with power exceeding the limits of their feeble mortal imaginations. Each has their own purpose for it: Rue plans to use its power to resurrect Claire, and Mint wants it as an aid in her conquest for world domination. These motives both come off as awfully selfish, and the game does teach preachy, hackneyed lessons of greed and humility - mostly to Mint who needs it desperately. Beyond the thick veil of cliches, though, is a game that provides fun in an action/RPG format but is too short to enjoy to its most thorough extent.

If you've played games along the same vein as Secret of Mana, games where the battles are fought in real time, none of that turn-based schlock that would never fly in real life, then Threads of Fate will be familiar ground to you. The two characters both go on the same quest (the only variation being that Rue and Mint both have one level that only they get to play) and use their weapons in the same manner. Rue gets an axe that I love to have and can turn into monsters he has encountered to get out of some tight spots, and Mint has magic rings that shoot different types of (duh) magic. They find new magical endowments for their weapons as they progress, and this magic can be used in many different ways, such as in spread-fire form or mass genocide-style explosions. They gain levels by being injured, the thought behind that being what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. Fortunately, healing items are abundant, and until the last parts of the game dying and having to continue is a fairly uncommon occurrence.

Control for Mint and Rue is fairly basic. You get the normal running around, hacking at things, and getting powerups that a lot of your generic platformers consist entirely of. You get to select your spells and monster types (Rue can be a monster, remember?) through an item ring á la Secret of Mana; this is easy to navigate. You should have the hang of it in no time. The controls are one of the game's lesser gripes - most of my beef deals with the issues the game presents.

Because there are exploration and character interaction elements, and because Squaresoft made it, the RPG tag is also applied, although somewhat tentatively it seems. Squaresoft should have gone in a direction that would have made this game copy Secret of Mana a bit more; SoM stands currently as my favorite video game of all time, and a PlayStation game like it would have fit the bill and even been a relief to me since Legend of Mana strayed way too far from its roots to be entertaining. The unique characters and engaging story (however overdone) are good enough to save it from totally drowning, but the gameplay, and some moral issues I have yet to get to, are what give it a relatively low score.

The graphics, music and sounds of ToF are totally uninspired. There is nothing that sets my eyes ablaze with wonder except for Mel's Atelier, a cutesy place that's just the right shade of pink and has some interesting diversions. The soundtrack is virtually nonexistent, and the only tune that stands out to me is that one that plays while you're in town, a fascinating mix of strings, percussion, and an accordion that gives you the sense of being in a very safe, serene place. I've already had to drop the score I initially gave this game some, and the more I think about it, the worse it was, because it had almost nothing of note to save it except for the vivid personalities of the characters. They had to have vivid personalities that could be easily expressed through dialogue, because their faces don't move at all. They are like rag dolls (some of them literally, but you won't get that unless you've played it), no facial hints of any surprise or shock at anything. They use body language, but even that is rare. And when you think about the lessons it tries to teach, you'll only find yourself hating it more from there.

Also, speaking of dialogue, for an E-rated game, I was surprised by the number of times ''damn,'' ''hell,'' and ''(expletive deleted)'' were used. I'm not totally against this, but it's like it was the only way Squaresoft knew how to give boring dialogue more of a punch. Two words: dry wit.

This game can easily be cruised through with minimal friction in twenty hours - and that's playing both quests. You can play through them indefinitely, and begin each new quest with the things you earned in the last one. It's some attempt at a stab for replay value, which is sorely needed because this is the least replayable RPG I've ever seen. One CD is not nearly long enough, and the teasers at the end of the game leave it practically screaming out for a sequel, although it will probably (rightly) never get one. I got it for Christmas one year - asked for it and got it - and liked it when I had it, but never took time to analyze it. And now that I have, it astounds me how much lower I think of it. Sad, really, to have lost a love for a game. I wonder who has my copy now (we pawned our PlayStation stuff to get a GameCube).

And one more thing that is just bugging the living crap out of me: isn't this whole undertaking of going after an almighty relic, a tool that could potentially end a fantasy world's troubles, reduced to the lowest common denominator by putting it in the hands of two whiners who indulge freely in wishful thinking? I understand that would have Defeated The Purpose Of Making The Game, but the main characters' own juvenile crybaby wishes make this game almost sickening to me now. Would have originally gotten an 8, but dwelling too much on it reduces it to this pittance. Sorry, Threads.

Score: 4

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/02, Updated 06/07/02