A cool story with lots of narrative choices and decent tactical battles.
http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/review/47269/the-banner-saga-1-switch-review
The Banner Saga’s reputation preceded its Switch debut. The Kickstarter success received acclaim on other platforms following its 2014 launch and Switch might be the only active platform that doesn’t have access to the game as it’s launched on PC, mobile, and other current gen consoles. Through a heavy Nordic influence, this turn-based tactics game tells a dire story of caravans working their way through harsh landscapes avoiding a villainous war-hungry race and an all-consuming darkness. The more accurate read on The Banner Saga though is that it’s a beautifully illustrated visual novel with a lot of choose-your-own-adventure narrative decisions and frequent strategic battles.
The overall story is compelling, though outside of battles, I only really cared about a few key heroes. With the amount of characters that join your party, it can be a juggling act to keep track of who’s who, even more so because the game mostly bounces back and forth between two groups on opposite sides of the continent. A sense of impending doom hangs over both parties, and at many junctions, it feels like every decision you make is going to lead to something bad. That kind of fatalism could tear the story asunder, but with the regular battles and enough momentary triumphs, it never gets oppressively dark.
The battle system calls to mind various tactics games, like Final Fantasy Tactics or Shining Force. Your party of up to six moves around the gridded isometric map to use a mixture of attacks and special abilities to slay foes. The heart of it is relatively simple, as your heroes have limited options, but the key to success is managing your heroes in a way that lead to well-timed buffs and traps thinning the numbers of your enemies. Sometimes I wished the battles had more options as even when you upgraded heroes, their progress felt slow. I’d consider myself a decent turn-based tactics player and the Normal difficulty provided a devilishly good challenge. If it’s too easy or hard for you, other difficulty options are present and can be changed to and from at any point with no effect on the story.
That helps drive home the point that the story is the most important part of The Banner Saga. While full-on animated cutscenes and voice acting are a little sparse, it’s used often enough to set a tone that carries into the ample amounts of text. The art style is gorgeous, even more so in movement, evoking older animation from Don Bluth and Ralph Bakshi. The Austin Wintory soundtrack is beautiful. A decent chunk of the game is watching your caravan march through the land and it’s to the credit of the graphics and the music that I was never bothered by these slow-paced moments.
It might be four years later than its debut, but I’m glad I was able to experience The Banner Saga. I’m anxious for its sequel to arrive on Switch so I can continue my adventure through this Norse mythology-inspired land. If your favorite aspects of Fire Emblem games were the story and you’re antsy waiting for the series to arrive on Switch, sitting down with The Banner Saga might be a good way to sooth your tactical RPG desires. And hey - the next two entries will be out on Switch in the next two months.
Topic: The Banner Saga 1 (Switch) Review (Read 1325 times)
