In 2014, Idea Factory released Fairy Fencer F to the West. In 2016 they released an updated version called Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force. Now, 9 years after the original game’s release, Idea Factory and Compile Heart have released a bizarre sequel called Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Cord. How does it fare on Nintendo Switch? Well, I’m a little confused, to be honest.

I mentioned that Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Cord was a sequel, but that isn’t entirely accurate. It contains the characters from the original game and retells bits of the first game in a new way, so it is more of a reboot. Kind of? Researching the ending led me to discover that it apparently leaves things open and reveals things the first game didn’t, so it is confusing as to where it stands. You play as Fang, the obnoxious protagonist, who is a fencer. Fencers are warriors bonded to fairies via weapons called furies. Fang is on a quest (with his allies) to collect all the Furies in order to resurrect the Goddess of the world.

Upon one such adventure, he discovers two “Muses” who can empower people with songs. One character joins your party as a good muse named Fleur, while the other is evil and is named Glace. Glace brainwashes people with her song and consistently becomes a pain for your party. While these two new characters are introduced, none of the other characters from the previous game are introduced at all. There’s no indication of who they are or how Fang met them, aside from seeing their names pop up in the text.

On top of that, this game continues the biggest issue I had with the story of Fairy Fencer F. None of the characters are all that likable unless you invest considerable time into the game. For the first several hours or more, I disliked most of the dialogue. Part of this is due to the memes and (poorly done) stereotypical fan service thrown in. The other part (upon research) is because despite Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Cord not getting any sort of English dubbing or voice acting, the localization team also completely got entire sentences and sections of translation wrong, changing meanings of dialogue entirely.

As a result, unless you’re already attached to the characters from Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force, odds are you’ll find their interactions obnoxious. Between story missions, you can undergo side quests, customize/upgrade your party, or engage in “private conversations” which are little story vignettes. Some of these are vaguely amusing, but unless you’re willing to sit through a good portion of content that isn’t interesting (or you’ve played Fairy Fencer F: ADF) then even those private interactions won’t interest you.

Sadly, because of the transition to a Strategy RPG gameplay style, there isn’t any exploration like in Advent Dark Force. Because of this, you’re stuck moving from Visual Novel-style conversation segments to bland Strategy gameplay. I’m a fan of Idea Factory (and Compile Heart) but I didn’t even enjoy the combat in this.

Just like in Fairy Fencer F and Advent Dark Force, you can Fairize and combine with your fairy to increase your stats. As you battle enemies, you’ll earn XP and Fairy points. XP levels your main characters, while Fairy points level your Fairies and can be invested to learn new skills. Each main character (or Unit) in your party can equip a Fairy and a Sub Fairy.

Sub Fairies should be a way to provide options for builds etc, but none of them are really all that interesting. In fact, none of the progression systems are all that interesting. Even the skill options for fairies to learn either aren’t explained well or are just standard skills that don’t provide much in the way of variety.

Enemy encounters feel bland, especially when you fight the same types of monsters dozens (if not hundreds) of times while doing quests and side content. The new Muse characters aren’t all that interesting either. Glace buffs enemies which just makes them more of a pain, and Fleur buffs you to somewhat put you on an even playing field. Fleur has more options for songs, but again it just doesn’t feel interesting.

It really feels like the development team could have either used these resources on a potential sequel after a bit more time and effort, or just not bothered at all. I feel a little bad for the fans of the previous game who might have been excited about a sequel.

The visuals aren’t too bad, but they aren’t spectacular either. The art style for the characters is fairly similar to what Advent Dark Force had, and the strategy combat arenas and character models are fairly standard. Though I won’t disagree with several comments I’ve seen talking about how the character models and battle arenas look like a PS3 game, if not a PS2 game. I’ve seen The Witcher 3 and several other solid games do better on the Switch, so it isn’t a platform issue either.

Overall, if you liked Fairy Fencer F or Advent Dark Force, I can’t tell you not to give this a try. However, I will say that you should pick it up on sale. As a fan of Idea Factory and Compile Heart, I’m disappointed in the low-effort release of this game. Between unlikeable characters, bland combat, and no actual movement in the overarching story (at least that I can see) I’m just not sure who this game is really meant for.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord was provided by Idea Factory for this Review.

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Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord

$49.99 USD

4

Score

4.0/10

Pros

• Interesting Fairy System
• Solid Character Artwork

Cons

• Bland Combat
• Horrendous Dialogue and Character Fanservice
• Semi-Rehash of the Plot
• PS2/PS3 Graphics
• Low-Effort Concept