Empire of Angels IV isn’t named after “Angels” just for show. It’s an SRPG where you won’t find any male characters; not even an NPC. Its entire cast revolves around female characters. Despite its name or plot, the intention of its entire female cast makes sense because of the dash of fanservice included in the game. It’s apparent who this game is targeted towards, although it shouldn’t deter the experience from others.
Story
A mysterious plague infects the people of Asgard, turning them into bloodthirsty savages. Village after village has fallen victim to the infected. To combat the nuisance, the Namtar Investigation Team was formed. Led by the captain of the Valkyrie Kingdom’s legion, Niya, it’s their responsibility to clean up the mess while discovering a deeper truth along the way.
As Empire of Angels IV was my first Empire of Angels game, I did not know what to expect. The story and character dialogue are quirky and sufficient enough to keep the engagement going. I was not completely satisfied with its ending, though. It’s the fourth game in the series and its sequel might expand on where it left off, so there is still hope if for those who are content with sequenced stories.
Do You Have To Play Previous Empire Of Angels Games?
Although Empire of Angels IV is the fourth game in the series, no prior knowledge is required to understand its story. You’ll be able to jump straight into its gameplay without having to worry about any missing plot holes. The start of the game runs you through a quick intro of the story’s events, but it isn’t as memorable as when you’re experiencing the adventure firsthand during the gameplay.
Gameplay
Beginning from a world map, Empire of Angels IV is an SRPG where you choose from a number of stages to complete in an unlockable linear format. Besides revisiting previous stages for side quests, there isn’t much more to do in the game other than adjusting settings and growing your characters.
Stages and Difficulty
Battles take place across a grid-based battlefield where you advance your units towards the enemy with the intention of completing one of the primary objectives. The stages in the game are small and nice, but are straightforward. There won’t be many puzzling hazards or field advantages to overcome. What you’ll find of these in this game is usually a rare sighting to behold. Even when encountering them, they aren’t impressive enough to make the game stand out. Yet, the battles remain entertaining, but won’t get overly complicated to satisfy the thirst of a tactician-style player.
Empire of Angels IV’s gameplay isn’t challenging in the slightest; however, that does not mean you won’t lose if you’re not careful or if you’re under classed in a small number of late game stages. Completing each stage by clearing all of the objectives is what makes the game slightly difficult. It’s here where you’ll take more time to think up strategies to organize your units in a way to finish all of the additional objectives each stage has to offer. But these are optional tasks to dwell in that only grant a better completion grade. The higher the grade, the greater the rewards; sadly, these rewards never really proved their worth to warrant seeking.
One aspect I appreciated was the inclusion of different battle scenes when executing a character’s action, whether it be a regular or special skill, and it isn’t too long or too short. It’s set at the perfect timing, and the numerous character classes significantly help cut down repetition. Every skill you use will consume MP, even basic attacks. It’s not too bothersome as MP recovers after each turn or through the use of an MP-recovering skill. There will be situations in which you will need to carefully use a unit’s special skill, as they consume the most amount of MP which cripples any chance of using it soon again.
Character Classes
There are a great number of characters and character classes in the game. They substantially help differentiate each character from another in terms of appearance and the different sets of skills. Each basic class branches off into another set of classes. You will have to be careful with deciding on your preferable classes as some actions are irreversible.
Fanservice
All of the characters, whether they be foes or allies, are all female. This is far from a coincidence. Although it’s not overly done, there is some fanservice to boot. When a unit retreats from battle, they’ll be stripped of their outer clothing. Additionally, your characters will present themselves in their underwear when the time comes to change their class.
Voice Acting
I’ll start off by saying I’m used to English and Japanese voice acting. There’s the occasional Chinese voice acting in one out of 30 anime I’d watch, so listening to the Chinese voice acting in Empire of Angels IV was a bit weird to me. There’s no option to switch to English voice acting in the game, but this isn’t all bad because it may only take a short while to get accustomed to it. From there, it might be smooth sailing.
Graphics and Soundtrack
Coming from a mobile game, it’s no surprise that Empire of Angels IV’s graphics does not shine on the Nintendo Switch. Not only that, but its soundtrack falls short and has a lot of room for improvement. The repeated battle music gets tiring, but it can be tolerable. The only thing praising here is that the visuals and performance aren’t bad. Each stage gives you a preview of the battlefield before you engage your foes in combat. It’s also easy to navigate and everything is clearly visible on the screen.
Conclusion
Empire of Angels IV is a fine choice if you’re looking for a game with tactical combat and fanservice. But it’s just that; it doesn’t particularly excel in areas outside of the two. It’s a quirky game and it may take some players time to grow accustomed to the Chinese voice acting.
Empire of Angels IV gets a 6/10.
