It’s the “Groundhog day plot” in a quiet Japanese town in this JRPG. Was Loop8 worth it?
Table of Contents
Background
Do you remember the Endless Eight arc of Haruhi? Well, Marvelous has decided to make a game loosely based on that premise.
You play as ninny Nini, a boy who has recently returned to Earth from space. As it turns out, humanity is constantly on the back foot against the Kegai, who show up every so often to wreck the place.
Here’s the issue: incremental progress is fun. That’s the entire conceit of numbers-based RPGs. However, game developers have caught on that you can disguise a lack of content behind gameplay loops, which is what we’ve got here. Loop8 wears out its welcome quickly. They could at least do the VN feature of skipping dialogue or cutscenes that you’ve seen before.
Hilariously, there was also some kind of snafu with this game’s release; some people got their copies almost a month early but most of them didn’t actually play it because they were busy with Tears of the Kingdom.
What does Loop8 do well?
This game is all about forging bonds and increasing your social standing. There are three tracks: friendship, affection, and hate. Think of this as choosing strong or agile style like in Pokemon Legends: Arceus, but without the added effects. Instead, this increases your your bonds with your teammates. I’m not sure how you can attack an enemy in a “friendly” or “affectionate” manner, but I see what they were going for. The dynamic of considering characters as more than a rank on the social link is good, but wasn’t realized well.
What could Loop8 do better?
Everything in this game is ploddingly slow, whether it’s conversations, cutscenes, exploration, or combat. Nini moves slowly, like he’s pretending to powerwalk through the map. The town itself is empty, with little in the way to do besides interact with other named characters. Objectives are rarely highlighted, so you’ll find yourself wandering around looking for something at a glacial pace while the in-game clock ticks away.
The game is full of short, panning cutscenes that last 5-10 seconds, interspersed with brief loading screens. I would much rather sit through a single continuous scene than the endless barrage, especially once I’ve seen them more than once.
The combat has an interesting visual aesthetic that almost seems as though you’re in an anime. Unfortunately, this effect is hampered by the poor performance on the Switch. Combat is already extremely slow, and there’s nearly no strategy. It’s essentially stat-checking an opponent. This leads to needing to repeat the cycle if you get stat checked by a boss.
This game does the “protagonist death = game over” trope, which is annoying considering that you can’t control your teammate’s actions. There’s a dual mechanic where you can “see” what enemies and allies may do in the next turn, but it’s wasted.
Was Loop8 fun?
No. Find a better way to waste time this summer.
Is Loop8 good value?
Not particularly. If you like seeing the beginning of the game recycled, then have at it.
Who is this game for?
If you are absolutely dying for a bad JRPG, then I have a strong contender for you. Play just about anything else.
Was Loop8 worth it?
This is the second “loop” game we’ve reviewed, and it’s definitely the worse of the two. I’m not sure why any developer would set out to make a game that you can sum up as “Persona, but bad” yet here we are. Time may rewind in Ashihara, but you can’t get yours back (or your money). I recommend avoiding Loop8.
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