When I dove into the release version of Fara, I was immediately struck by the amount of extra polish Pixel and Texel were able to pump into this one since the preview build; no doubt many cups of coffee were consumed, and much midnight oil burned, since the preview. The most important addition is a traditional user interface – virtual joystick and attack button – to back up the default gesture-driven controls. Both interfaces feel well implemented, but I stuck with the traditional option because I found I could pull off the scientist’s dash maneuver more swiftly that way. This is important because the scientist’s walking pace is pretty slow relative to the environments he explores; the option to dash around like a speed demon with quick double taps at the joystick ring is simply too good to pass up! Building a reliable dash into a virtual joystick is a technical achievement in and of itself, and like Mage Gauntlet’s “Pro Stick,” this is a useful reference for future Action RPGs.
It’s also worth touching on some improvements made to Fara’s default gesture interface since the preview build. My greatest pet peeve on iOS is when things happen at the edge of the touchscreen, where the player’s finger is liable to slip off the sensitive screen area of the smaller iDevices and muddle up intended actions. I feared this problem might kick in during room transitions, with destination taps or dashes directed into the next room lost at the touchscreen edge. I’m not sure what Pixel and Texel did exactly, but they’ve managed to pre-empt that dilemma entirely — moving from one environment to the next works consistently even if the player’s finger runs right off the touchscreen in the process. Hallelujah! The default control scheme also benefits from the player’s ability to make the scientist walk by swiping and holding. I recall the interface being strictly tap-and-go in the preview build.
While the gesture interface saves on screen clutter, its pop-out system for accessing menus still feels a tad wonky at first blush, and having a hotlinked overworld map with the alternative UI gives the more traditional joystick scheme an extra edge in my opinion. One general improvement I would love to see in updates is a way to calibrate the game’s tilt functions — the way it’s currently set up, the poor scientist always shoots toward screen bottom the moment I activate his float shield. In the wrestle to gain control, I end up with my iPod Touch tilted away at an uncomfortable angle.
Fara has an unusual aesthetic, and in more ways than one. Most noticeable from screenshots is the fact that the game’s environments are gorgeously rendered, whereas its sprites are on the primitive side in the grand scheme of pixel art. The experimental contrast and the sprites themselves are an acquired taste, but it helps that the scientist is very well animated. Fara is yet more proof that a character can never go wrong with a stylish long coat! A careful look at the dungeon walls in-game will reveal an homage to Zelda in that Fara’s environments lack perspective in the artistic sense. This is something Pixel and Texel explain on their dev blog if you’re curious. Having been weaned almost exclusively on anime-friendly Asian art styles, I found the Nordic realism of Fara’s character portraits vaguely eerie. This actually works in the story’s favor, because it emphasizes the Viking NPCs’ medieval dinginess for me. It is the unnamed scientist that players are likely to be most drawn to, and no doubt his spiky hair has much to do with that! (You’ll get the joke when you play the game).
iFanzine Verdict: Another 2D Action RPG that’s well worth the time of genre fans who have otherwise written off the iOS library until now. Don’t go into Fara expecting a serious story, a very deep combat system, or a massive campaign, but it packs lots of fun exploration into the few hours’ content it does have. The way Fara tosses stats and inventory management out the window allows it to comfortably straddle the divide between Action RPG and Action/Adventure; if you want a fantasy world to explore without sifting through tons of confusing equipment, this one should be right up your alley.
[xrr rating=4/5]