It’s very rare that I’m over-the-moon for a game from the beginning. Ikenfell took me by surprise despite being a Kickstarter success (raising more than double the developer, Chevy Ray Johnston’s, initial goal) and having some star composers behind it, like Steven Universe’s aivi & surasshu. However, learning these facts didn’t necessarily sway my opinion. The story behind the game is interesting, but what about the game itself? Well, Ikenfell captivated me in a way that reminded me precisely why video games are my favorite artistic medium.
Ikenfell
Developer: Happy Ray Games
Price: $20
Platform: PS4 (Reviewed), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Ikenfell puts you in the role of Maritte, a young-ish red-headed girl who is heading to the magical school of Ikenfell where her sister has gone missing. Along the way she’s harassed by ghosts and discovers that she has inexplicably obtained magical powers. Throughout her journey, she meets other students that have all connected with her sister, Safina. Unfortunately for Maritte, she discovers that her sister had been keeping her a secret from her friends at Ikenfell. Even more unfortunate, some bad stuff is going down at the school that her friends now think might be related to Safina. Teaming up with other students of Ikenfelll, Maritte continues searching for her sister while unlocking some deep, dark secrets at this mysterious magical school.
While the narrative itself is responsible for my enjoyment in a game, Ikenfell is a character-driven story. While Maritte meets what initially seems like a supporting cast of characters, each gets equivalent screen time and their own character building. One of my favorite things about Ikenfell is that it leans into that old JRPG trope of saving the world with friendship. The game isn’t just a story about magicians fighting evil, it’s about friends forming bonds and learning to work together. Everyone has something to overcome no matter how big or small, and they need to work through it with each other and others at the school. Everyone has a role to play, and their role grows organically in a way that made my time away from Ikenfell painful.
Artistically, Ikenfell is reminiscent of an older style of game with incredible pixel art. While the overworld sprites of the characters are nothing too special, the portraits of each character and the world itself is stunning. Navigating the school and finding new characters to talk to was an absolute treat. Enemy and boss sprites were also exquisitely done. Likewise, the spells, while somewhat ancient looking in their presentation due to the pixel limitations, were still quite gorgeous. I would occasionally mess up in battle wanting to see a spell animation again. Thematically, Ikenfell remains consistent. Right down to being able to save at cats sleeping around the magic school grounds. And if I could just say, I really appreciated just how many cats there were placed throughout the game and what a time saver having the save point heal you can be.
The 8-bit style pixel art blends well with the Mario & Luigi/Paper Mario style of turn-based combat. Ikenfell is a game full of magical combat that goes beyond simply selecting spells from a menu: You must execute a timed hit. This manifests by having you press the execute command button at the exact time a projectile hits an enemy or there’s an obvious flash during the spell animation. The game has three tiers of timed hits you can achieve: Great! Nice! And Oops! Great is exact and means you’re getting the full effect of the spell. Nice means you got close and are doing a moderate amount of damage. Oops is a complete whiff and generally results in the spell doing minimal damage at best. The timed hits aren’t just for offensive spells either. Defensive spells like healing, regen, and cure require timing as well. There were times when I was confident in a hit that ultimately resulted in an “oops.” The more I played, however, the better I got at the game, and the more damage I started to do.
I struggled with some elements of combat. For example, there are stats that equipment will increase while a character wears them. You know, basic RPG shit. It seemed like no matter how much I pumped up the speed stat, I couldn’t advance a character on the turn order. In fact, I’d get a character up to 100+ speed and even delay the turn order of enemies and they wouldn’t budge. Towards the end of the game, I often felt a little overwhelmed at the number of turns the enemy got against how few I was given. Worst, it didn’t remain consistent. Some battles I’d go into where the enemies got the same amount of turns I did and the next battle with a similar group of enemies, I’d be overwhelmed. Despite this, I never once felt like a boss fight was beyond my capabilities nor did I ever feel the need or desire to grind. Even with these complaints, I still greatly enjoyed my time with the battle system and overall thought it was stellar.
At last, I absolutely must talk about the music in this fine game. The best thing I can say about the music is that it is incredibly thematic. It does an incredible job of taking elements of nostalgia that would bring you back to retro gaming to compliment the art. Along with this nostalgia, we’re given a taste of the modern-day soundtrack with lyrical bangers for each character that not only captures the character’s individual style but are incredible tunes in their own right. Occasionally, even if I really enjoy the music for a particular game, if I hear a song too much I’ll grow tired of it. Despite having only a few battle themes, I never even considered muting my television. This soundtrack is amazing.
The Final Word
What can I say about Ikenfell that I haven’t already said? This game blends every element I deem important so well and delivers it with a gripping, heartwarming story that keeps things interesting and fun. I really dug the art and will be listening to the soundtrack for the next few months, I can guarantee that. If you’re into JRPGs and love a good narrative you won’t want to miss Ikenfell. I’d even argue Ikenfell might be a good place for people new to the genre to start out.
– MonsterVine Rating: 5 out of 5 – Excellent
