When it comes to JRPGs, Square Enix is one of the best companies out there, constantly delivering new stories and new games to keep fans of the genre as happy as possible. The DioField Chronicle is the latest addition to their impressive library and it offers a deep JRPG adventure filled with mystery and thrilling action.

Game of The DioField Chronicle

The Diofield Chronicle takes place in a world at war. The world of men is been at war for years on end, and with no proper victor, it doesn’t seem likely that the world will be at peace anytime soon. You don’t play as one of the army’s veterans or renowned soldiers. You take control over a band of elite soldiers who are calling themselves Blue Fox. This elite band works as mercenaries and although they might not truly understand it, they might be the light in the darkness the world has been hoping for. The story is filled with political power plays and intrigues to alter the outcome of he who is to be named the new king. In a way, it reminded me a lot of Game of Thrones. The DioField Chronicle is also set in a medieval fantasy world where people are doing everything to bring power to their houses. Throughout your adventure, you’ll learn more about the story and unravel more details and secrets along the way. The main parts of the story get explained over a constantly evolving world map where you’ll see the advancements of your troops and the forces of the enemies. These story segments are never too long and keep you invested in the lore without ever becoming boring to watch. Aside from the explanation during these scenes, you can run around in the barracks in between combat to learn more about the true story. This reminded me a lot of Fire Emblem: Three Hopes and just like that game, I loved the way the story builds up to a lot of twists and surprises.

Tactical combat

Running around in barracks is just one of the gameplay elements but it’s an important one to upgrade your gear and skills. It is here that you’ll upgrade your squad of elite soldiers and take some time to check in with your teammates. It’s not as complicated or big like in other JRPG games but that’s a benefit in my opinion. There’s no needless running around trying to find the right person for the right job. The barracks are kept compact but effective for the advancement of the game. The second and most interesting part of the game is its tactical combat, which comes with some interesting innovations in the genre.

While on the battlefield, you can command a group of eight soldiers, four will be on the screen while the other four will act like shadow characters assisting you in combat. Combat takes place in a top-down view where all the action happens at once. The developers call it Innovative Tactics Battle that Proceeds in Real Time and I really love it. The idea is that you start by giving your troops certain commands. These commands can be given to individuals or the entire party all at once. After you give the command, your characters will go to the directed point on the map and start attacking the enemies automatically in real time. Your characters aren’t limited in their movements, this isn’t like tons of other tactical games where your movements are limited to a virtual raster. Instead, you can point your characters to wherever you like. This also means that you can attack different enemies all at once, which is great to take down several troops all at once but the downside is the fact that you’ll need to control a lot of the action all at once.

It doesn’t stop with just automatic attacks. Each character has a special more powerful move that can inflict a lot of damage. Switching between characters and stringing different special attacks together as powerful combos proved the be a great strategy. I love how the combat this handled in this game and it really feels like that breath of fresh air this genre needed for too long. It still offers some rather deep gameplay elements but since it’s all happing in real-time, the pacing of the combat is a lot more intense. If you want to save everyone on the battlefield, you’ll need to plan out your skills and attacks carefully in order to take down your enemies.

The best part of combat is its variation and the possibility to approach your goal in a lot of different ways. It all starts rather easy with a small group of warriors but the more you advance, the more warriors you unlock and the more strategic choices you have to make. Are you going for a powerful squad and just trying to rush to the camp of your enemies or are you using long-ranged warriors to lure your enemies into strategically placed traps where your other troops are waiting to inflict some deadly damage? The missions are never too long and offer fun variations ranging from regular fights and mini-bosses to battlefields including undead dragons. The action really is top-notch and due to the short length of the missions, the game wants you to replay them as much as possible. If you’re a completionist who wants to clear all the secondary goals, you’ll have a lot of fun playing this one.

Conclusion:

The DioField Chronicle is a fun JRPG that dares to innovate on the formula and combines an interesting story with great combat mechanics. I love that it’s more a bite-size adventure instead of one of those games where you need to sink in tons of hours before it finally becomes enjoyable.

8.5/10

Tested on PlayStation 5