KANSAS CITY — The city’s biggest JRPG enthusiast, Greg Motlin, has been pestering everyone he even slightly knows about what he describes as the ultimate hidden gem.
“It’s a really transformative experience. Seeing the protagonist, whose name I don’t know how to read, say goodbye to what I think is his sister but might actually be his best friend, hit me with such a whirlwind of emotions,” Motlin said during our interview. “It’s moments like this that make Inverted Fantasia Xth Symphony: Purgatory Over Death such a masterpiece.”
Motlin then showed off some gameplay and attempted to describe how the combat worked based on his time with the game as well as the in-game terms he’d run through Google Translate..
“So this green meter is your soul gauge, and that increases with every attack. Once it’s maxed out, you can activate your Hyperion Shift, where the protagonist uses the power of his half-phantasmal soul to augment his attacks with one of fourteen different damage types,” explained Motlin as he gestured wildly at the screen. “First is physical, then there’s magic, and then there’s heavy, which lowers the enemy’s defense by 27%. If you combine that with the royal damage type, you can set up this crazy combo that deals a huge chunk of damage.”
One of Motlin’s Discord friends, a user by the name of EepyDinosaur, provided their opinion on his latest recommendation.
“I mean, it looks alright,” EepyDinosaur said. “I’ve never been afraid to try out niche titles, but even I have limits. Even if we put aside the language barrier, nobody in our server has been able to get the emulation to work. Apparently he’s been playing a physical copy on a Japanese PSP, so he’s no help in that regard.”
“Besides, I’m a little busy with other niche JRPGs at the moment,” EepyDinosaur added. “Right now I’m playing this really obscure game called Shin Megami Tensei, and oh man, did you know you can turn your dog into a demon? So cool.”
Attempts were made to contact the game’s director, Takashima Yukio, for comment. However, after extensive digging through public records, Hard Drive was unable to verify if he even exists.
