Gyromancer
Available for Xbox 360 (XBLA) and PC (Steam)
Game Developer: Square Enix Studios and PopCap Games
Game Publisher: Square Enix Studios
Release Date: November 18, 2009
Official Website: dlgames.square-enix.com
Review Summary:
Gyromancer rolls up addictive puzzle gameplay with beautiful fantasy artwork and a memorable score into one game. The difficulty curve spikes up quick but if you’re persistent, you’ll enjoy this puzzle game while getting wrapped into a unique, if somewhat convoluted, fantasy story. Gyromancer is definitely more puzzle than RPG, but there’s stuff in there that will appeal to gamers of both genres.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Gyromancer review
In Gyromancer, you know you are in for a rare treat when you hear that PopCap Games (creators of Bejeweled puzzle games) and Square Enix (creators of Final Fantasy role-playing games) have collaborated on creating it. You play as the protagonist and summoner of beasts, Rivel. Searching your way through the paths of Aldemona Wood, you’re out to best Qraist the Countslayer and his minions. You’ll encounter new party members along your trek, and capture over 50 monster types for battling.
You’ll quickly identify with the gem-colored puzzle grid when you first play Gyromancer. If you’ve played Bejeweled or Bejeweled Twist, you’ll be up and spinning away at no time. Final Fantasy players will identify with some elements in Gyromancer. From the game’s currency, which happens to be in Gil, to the act of summoning creatures to do battle and Limit Breaks. You may even spot some familiar names.
The heart of the gameplay is on the puzzle grid, where you have to chain together 3 or more like colors. Successful matches fill your action gauge, which are unique to each monster, and allow you to execute an Ability Attack. The ultimate goal is to drain your adversary of their Hit Points. You don’t see your enemy make their moves on the screen, which saves you time during your battles and keeps you focused. Your enemy will place a move-timed gem when their gauge fills. Basically you get 5 turns to clear your enemies’ charged gem. If you don’t clear it out with a gem match (or explosion from one of your charged gems), your HP will be penalized. This takes out the typical turn-based puzzle gameplay, which works out great. You’ll also have to figure out when to use some items to your advantage, like Magick Keys that break locked gems, or Magick Mirrors that allow you to change the rotation of gems.
Along the way, you’ll be introduced to the new gameplay mechanic of selecting the right monster for different battles you encounter on the Aldemona Wood map. You’ll encounter monsters wandering through the map or guarding key paths, and some boss monsters at the end of each level. You can save your place on the map, making it easy to jump in and out of gameplay. Stop by the Summoner’s Den to get higher level and new creatures that you find from Gyro Codes on the map (those glowing symbols that look like the game’s logo).
Gyromancer’s difficulty spikes up fairly quick about halfway into the game, where you are penalized for moves that don’t lead to a gem match. Your enemies get quicker Ability Attacks, which means more HP damage to you. The battles will also tend to go on longer. I found the jump up in difficulty fairly abrupt, and was pretty frustrated at the spike. Maybe I was enjoying coasting through the beginning of the game, but I found I needed more breaks from Gyromancer after the ramp up in difficulty.
The illustrations for Gyromancer look fantastic. This is the kind of artwork that fantasy buffs will appreciate. Although the illustrations are static, they express movement and fluidity. To me, just seeing more characters and finding more monsters was a visual treat. There are glowing animated treatments when you’re playing, and getting a "Rush" combination is really when it is most fun to watch gems sparkle and explode.
You’re probably wondering how Gyromancer compares to the other puzzle-RPG, Puzzle Quest. That’s really one of the few games you can compare it too. Like in Puzzle Quest, Gyromancer has an ongoing storyline, a map, and creatures among the map you can encounter and battle. The options in how you equip yourself in battle are much more limited in Gyromancer. That may be good or bad for you, depending on how involved you like to get in prepping for battle. In Gyromancer, you have a few items you can use during battle, and mainly different creatures you can summon, up to 3 at a time in your party from up to 50 different types.
The soundtrack is a rich accompaniment to the fantasy illustrations, battles and climactic boss sequences. You can definitely feel the years of Square Enix games laced into the scores because it comes from Tsuyoshi Sekito, who has worked with Square Enix for many years. His work includes soundtracks for recent games like The Last Remnant and all the way back to his contributions to the score in Chrono Trigger.
As for gameplay life, Gyromancer has its legs. You can go back and try to fully complete one of the 12 stages, or play some more at the Challenger’s Door. There is also some downloadable content available for it, the Gyromancer Map Pack for 240 Microsoft Points ($3). Gyromancer’s $15 price is definitely worth the download on your Xbox 360 or Steam (PC). Give Gyromancer a spin and get your fantasy puzzle fix!
Gyromancer trailer from Square Enix:
