Mercenaries Saga is a series of Japanese tactical RPGs in the spirit of Final Fantasy Tactics, which have been published since 2010 and each time talk about a new group of mercenaries. The stories are dramatic and even relevant in terms of social issues. This especially applies to Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons, the fifth part, which was released first on Switch and PS4, and not so long ago reached computers.
Socialism in Japan
Plot Mercenaries Blaze tells about a group of mercenaries Twin Dragons. It is headed by a warrior named Lester, the son of a famous and respected, but deceased general. The circumstances of his death were not the most pleasant, and now Lester cannot simply start serving and follow in his father’s footsteps in order to restore his good name – he first needs to earn a reputation. And he decides that working as a mercenary is best suited for this.
Twin Dragons do quite dirty work – they not only hunt monsters, but also catch illegal immigrants to send them to refugee camps. No, the action takes place not in the modern world, but in a fictional world close to fantasy and the Middle Ages, but the references and parallels are obvious. Here, after the conflict between the two kingdoms, many refugees have accumulated, who, fleeing the war, flood the neighboring regions.
Locals openly do not like “guests” and consider them a breeding ground for crime. And there are outright fascists among the authorities. And in order to give all this a special intensity, the scriptwriters made it so that among the members of Lester’s squad and among his friends there are just newcomers. And our hero periodically finds himself in extremely delicate situations – he may, for example, rush to the defense of an old friend who was almost lynched, but then will still be forced to hand him over to the local guard as an illegal immigrant.
At some point, the Twin Dragons begin working for one of the influential ministers, who is known for his extreme right-wing views and is confident (or pretends to?) that immigrants specifically create monsters against the local population. This is a contract beneficial for the group, but everyone understands what a bad minister is.
Soon Lester is approached by https://tedbingocasino.co.uk/ one of his father’s former comrades, a royal general, who invites the hero to serve under his command. It would seem that this is an ideal option to achieve what Leicester wanted – to return an honest name to the family and serve in the royal army.
However, in this case he will have to leave almost all of his Twin Dragons comrades. We decide for ourselves what to do – stay true to our friends or continue the game with other characters. Agree, you rarely see this even in full-fledged party RPGs.
In the traditions of the genre and with a sparkle
Leveling up the party and fighting is the main course Mercenaries Blaze. For the first time in the series, battles take place on three-dimensional maps: here it is important to take into account the distance to the enemy, the difference in heights, where you hit – frontally, from the flank or from the rear (hits from the back cause critical damage).
There are also especially powerful skills that are activated only after filling the corresponding meter. And the leadership abilities of each character give effects to the entire group – Lester, for example, can increase the health of allies, the archer Connie gives bonuses to critical damage when we hit those who cannot counterattack, and so on. Therefore, it is important to choose who exactly will be the leader in each battle – it becomes the one whom we place first on the field before the fight.
And, of course, it is important to cover each other, heal, strengthen, resurrect the fallen with the help of skills or soul stones. Some characters can walk even after an attack or other main action – this increases the importance of positioning and expands tactical options.
Right in battle, our fighters receive new levels and experience points, which then, in between missions, can be spent on upgrading their abilities. Upon reaching the 10th, and then 20th level, the option to choose a new class appears – this increases the characteristics and gives new skills. True, it is not a fact that they will be better than the previous ones, so they also allow the use.
At the same time, there is always a choice of which additional class to learn. So, a witch is free to retrain as a druid or sorceress, and a cleric – as a priest or templar.
Also, according to all the rules of the genre, in between battles we do shopping. Right there in the store, you can compare things, evaluate how the characteristics will change, and put on new things. And all this is really useful, because the game is quite complex. Therefore, it is no less useful to go through side missions again (and perhaps more than once) before embarking on the next story. Yes, it’s a grind, but in the traditions of the genre, appropriate, organized (not chaotic) and therefore not too annoying.
Basically, all Mercenaries Blaze: Dawn of the Twin Dragons fits into the traditions of the genre – it doesn’t introduce anything particularly new, but doesn’t lower the bar either. And to reach real masterpieces, she lacks details, depth and scale. But even without this, it’s interesting to play and test your tactical skills – connoisseurs of the genre should try it.
Pros: an interesting story that raises current social issues; exciting and challenging tactical battles; many classes and skills; nice picture.
Cons: Compared to the best representatives of the genre, it still lacks scale, depth and detail.