Cats! I love cats, games about cats, movies about cats, and my cat (obviously). I grew up around cats, and I know they can be a bit… moody? My cat is one of those cats that sometimes confuse themselves with a dog. They react to the mailman, fetch certain items, and like to go for walks (yes, on a leash). But Kitaria Fables isn’t about walking cats – it’s a hybrid mix between Catquest and Harvest Cat mixed with some Legend of Catda elements. A good mix? In a way.
Kitaria Fables
Welcome to the world of Kitaria – A peaceful land where nature lives in harmony – until now. As the wildlife around Paw Village becomes increasingly aggressive, The Empire has called upon you to investigate and defend its citizens.
We can summarize Kitaria Fables as a delightfully cute action-adventure RPG with farming and crafting elements. Armed with a sword, bow, and spellbook, you have to fight back against rising darkness threatening the world. Throughout the game, you discover diverse regions searching for relics and resources, tend to your farm to grow your provisions, and take on quests solo or with a friend in local co-op mode!
Story time
Your orders are sent from the capital to a remote village to help the unarmed and untrained villagers defend against suddenly appearing monsters. So you travel to the peaceful, little town of Paw, accompanied by a Dragon Quest-esque pink blob with the name of Macaron (food puns everywhere). Like in most Harvest-Moon-type of games, you settle in the old farmhouse of a deceased relative and begin to… well, buy seeds and grow plants. Your grandfather was a battle-mage-farmer enthusiast – since, well, aren’t all cats?
Combat felt familiar since Kitaria Fables give you the option to attack with your sword or bow – or throw some magic at the monster in question. If they counterattack, you can dash out of danger. They took notes of Zelda when designing this part of the game. Most of the fights are not too demanding; even (the early) bosses can be defeated on the first try. If you wonder if you’re able to defeat a specific monster, be sure to check the ‘aura’; the darker the color, the stronger the monster. Another thing to keep in mind is that monster attacks are not interrupted when you hit them, so you have to be ready to dash away all the time.
Magic Cats!
As I mentioned before, you will learn magic spells and new abilities to fight during the game – primarily by collecting certain items in the world and upgrading them at the old sage. Everything about the overworld and monsters looks cute, though. My two-year-old daughter adored most of the vibrant colored monsters and tried slaying some herself. So you spent most of your traveling around the world slashing the respawning cute monsters with your large sword or roast them with a fireball like a real hero and explore region after region. When you carry enough resources, you can return to the village or castle and sell them to buy better equipment. A helmet, ring, and armor complete your fighting gear. Minor quests forward the story and earn you extra resources, and you will soon be on a larger quest to find ancient relics (which are, of course, hidden deep in the various dungeons).
My main problem with this system is that you have to gather resources for everything. Keys? Resources. Armour? Resources. Etcetera. Thus, entering the gameplay loop consists of slaying monsters, collecting resources, upgrading your equipment and farm while you accept little missions and progress through the story. The farming part felt a bit too grindy to me. In the beginning, you spend a good portion of the day tending to your farm and growing lots of different things to make provisions and potions and sell any surplus to get money.
Contrary to most other games, the shopkeepers require a few coins and you to provide you with the most advanced items – Hence, my main problem is that you have to bring those lazy bastards the money and help. And I mean – a lot of help. So get your grind on.
Food & Farming
Skyrim made fun of eating cheese wheels to restore health, Kitaria gives you… cat food, or at least, food my cat eats! Your diet consists of croissants and milk to restore health points. Kind reminder, don’t give cats cow milk; it’s bad for the intestines. If you feel lost, a map of the region with your quests marked is always a button-press away, but it is not easy to get lost since the maps are tiny. New areas or even places inside maps are only unlocked as you progress the story. Portals allow you to fast travel; they appear in towns or even after you defeated a boss, so you don’t have to run all the way back. Unfortunately, time progresses without pause, it gets dark at night and the shops are closed. Fortunately, you do not have to eat or look after your hygiene, but you can sleep in your bed to pass the night (and restore your health) – Thanks not-Harvest Moon-ing. Your character’s appearance can be changed in front of the mirror in the house, which also means you can change into certain cat species.
Catclusion
So, to catclude – Kitaria Fables is a nice mixture of different games with some added cat-sauce. This results in a great step up from people who liked Cat Quest but found Zelda a bit too complex. The same goes for the people that think Harvest Moon (the new additions, not Story of Seasons) is a bit too much about farming and less about slaying monsters. But, on the other hand, it offers an excellent time to look past grinding for resources so that you can progress ingame. Unfortunately, this feature deducted a whole point from my score – since it rained a bit on my parade, to be honest. Still, Kitaria Fables will be one of those games I boot up regularly to play with my little ones.
