Over the years I have played a lot of RPGs. I specifically love checking out Indie RPGs because they often take concepts I love from classics and turn them on their head. Years ago, I first saw Virgo Versus the Zodiac when it was crowdfunded on a site called Fig. The site was meant to be a competitor for Kickstarter, and Virgo Versus the Zodiac was one of its success stories.

Virgo Versus the Zodiac is built around an interesting premise. You play as the embodiment of the Zodiac sign Virgo, known in this universe as Virgo the Holy Queen. Prior to the events of the game, each monarch of the Zodiac ruled their own territory but worked together under rulers who created a treaty to keep everyone cooperating. This was known as the Golden Age.

Now, the rulers aren’t around and the treaty has been broken, so each monarch has taken to ruling their realm on their own. As the Holy Queen, it is Virgo’s mission to try and bring back the Golden Age, even if she has to shed the blood of her Zodiac kin to do so. However, not everything is as it seems, and as the story progresses Virgo (and you by extension) will have choices to make that determine whether the universe thrives or dies.

There are three endings to Virgo Versus the Zodiac, but all of them revolve around choice. Some of the outcomes of your choices may not be fully obvious. In fact, Virgo is not infallible, and even with the best intentions, your choices may not lead to where you expect them to. Interestingly enough, the developers of Virgo Versus the Zodiac were inspired by the Mother (Earthbound) games, as well as the Mario and Luigi RPG series, though the latter’s influence comes mainly in regards to the combat.

Over the course of your time with Virgo Versus the Zodiac, you’ll gather a group of party members. Each one will have their actions in combat tied to one of the face buttons (Triangle, Circle, Square, and X, or Cross in Japan) Combat is reactionary. Every action has a timing-based mini-game associated with it. However, to make this more accessible you can play on an easier difficulty, and even slow the timing elements down or make them only assigned to a single button.

There are no random encounters, and each domain of a Zodiac that you explore will have side quests and other things to find. The story is actually very interesting, and the detailed pixel-based art style is complemented by gorgeous character artwork and designs that really show the love and care the development team put into the game.

The part of Virgo Versus the Zodiac that gets to be frustrating is the equipment and how character stats are arranged. Instead of going with a more traditional stat system, there are three different base stats each identified by a color, red, blue, and green. Each one has a strength and a weakness, like the weapon triangle in Fire Emblem. The problem is that there are also seven other stats with obscure names. They’re all based on personality traits or cosmic concepts, except things like counterattack and purge attack.

This in itself isn’t really an issue, but every weapon offers a unique attack skill and 3 stats. Conversely, each armor type offers a unique counter skill and 3 stats. Two of the stats are positive, but one is negative. As such, the weapons and armor eventually get to a point where it is based on the build/role your characters are playing.

You can look up what the stats mean in the menu, but it is not friendly for beginners, and it took me several (around 5) in-game hours to really understand even a piece of what I was supposed to be doing in terms of outfitting each character. Also, you can get colored outfits for your characters that actually can influence (according to the developers) what stats upgrade when you level. However, this isn’t stated anywhere in the game. I assumed they were cosmetic until I went to research for this review.

RPG veterans probably won’t have a problem with this, but I think it will turn off a lot of players. In fact, it almost turned me off Virgo Versus the Zodiac after about 5 hours of playing and not really feeling like I was getting stronger. Once I took the time to try and understand things though, I started to lose myself in the world and storyline the game offers.

The bottom line is simple. Virgo Versus the Zodiac is a solid RPG, but it isn’t for everyone. RPG beginners should look elsewhere, and this is not a game suited for impatient players who want to dive right in and get a feel for things. It takes some learning, and it takes some effort. The combat isn’t easy, even on the easiest difficulty. There is strategy involved and quite a bit of patience will be needed while you start to grasp what the game wants from you.

With that said, for the right type of player, I think there is a lot to love here. The characters are fun and interesting, and the side quests are unique, breaking things up with some fun detours as well. There are a variety of mini-games to enjoy, and the accessibility options make it much more palatable for people (like myself) who have problems with timing or precision-based combat.

If you haven’t played Virgo Versus the Zodiac since it was released on PC in 2019, I highly recommend checking it out on PlayStation 5 if the above applies to you. It isn’t the greatest RPG I’ve played all year, but it is one of the more charming and unique hidden gems I’ve seen.

A PlayStation 5 review copy of Virgo Versus the Zodiac was provided by Serenity Forge for this review.

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Virgo Versus the Zodiac

$15.99 USD

7

Score

7.0/10

Pros

• Engaging, Strategic Combat
• A Variety of Accessibility Options
• Gorgeous Pixel Artwork
• Decent Replay Value
• Compelling Story

Cons

• Some Mechanics Aren't Explained Well
• Not for Beginners
• Stats are Confusing