I’m going to preface this whole *thing* by clarifying that this is by no means a review of Chained Echoes, but just me sharing some of my thoughts on this truly brilliant experience. In fact, my ramblings on this beautiful 90s JRPG inspired indie game will be the first of an ongoing series on Tom’s World simply known as ‘Why I Love Indie Games’, I think the title may have given that away but anyhow, shall we get started?

Finding myself obsessed with a game is rare nowadays

Sometimes you’ll play a game at just the right moment in time, and you’ll experience something I believe is so rare it must be cherished. In an age of near infinite choice, I don’t often commit so much time to one video game in such a small period of time. An hour here, two hours there, I consume most of my games nowadays over such extended volumes of time (months, or even years) so it was a surprise to me when I wrapped up Chained Echoes‘ 30-hour adventure in just over two weeks.

A few things helped, the Christmas break for one, but I think that is a disservice to Chained Echoes, to even consider reasons why I specifically committed my time to this retro-JRPG instead of the 100s of other games I could choose. In the simplest terms, I can categorically say that Chained Echoes is the best experience I’ve had with any game since Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. In fact, I’d actually consider it amongst the best games of the last decade, big claims I know.

Remarkably, Chained Echoes has never managed to peak above 2,200 concurrent players on Steam (Credit to steamdb.info, a brilliant tool for any stat nerds out there), this isn’t indicative of sales, it’s just one platform after all, but with the buzz I’ve seen around the game from those who have played it, I did expect more. I think seeing this is part of why I am writing this piece, a game like Chained Echoes, like so many indie games, deserves more.

So why don’t I actually talk about it then? That’s a pretty good idea, and one that I imagine most people on this page are hoping for so I won’t delay any longer…

A Tale As Old As Dragon Quest (The NES one!)

Chained Echoes innovates many typical JRPG tropes but it holds onto the classic themes when appropriate, such as in its story and world. Taking place in the continent of Valandis, a clear ode to fantasy worlds of the past, you’d be mistaken for believing Chained Echoes is a very cookie cutter retro-inspired JRPG. In some ways it definitely is, the story is one of time travel, world ending events and a ragtag team of royal princesses, thieves and even some mercenaries, but its a tried and tested formula for a reason, and this all works incredibly well in Chained Echoes.

One significant area of change comes through a lack of main character, instead, Chained Echoes presents its whole cast in the starring role, with the relationships between these characters become the key driving force in pushing the story forward, and my word this story goes in some interesting directions… Some characters are definitely more centre stage than others, the games main story beats often revolve around the lives of Lenne, Glenn and Victor, but all three are (in my opinion) truly brilliant characters and suitable choices for the games main focus. This doesn’t mean the other playable characters are pushed to the side either, some are definitely lighter in story depth than others, but they all have a role to play by the end of the story, and the majority of interactions across the whole cast are both informative and enjoyable.

At times things can certainly feel a bit stretched, especially in the last arc of the story, it all makes sense but I finished the game with a fair few questions… Sequel when? Luckily for Chained Echoes, the goodwill it built up across the first 25 hours of its story meant by the time things get a bit murky storywise I was still heavily invested in the overall story because of my love for the characters involved, especially Sienna, a brilliant character who became a bit of a crutch for me in the endgame.

If you can deal with some of the plots more outlandish threads without rolling your eyes too much then you’ll find yourself experiencing a wonderfully abstract tale, one happy to take inspiration from juggernauts like Chrono Trigger but still stands on its own two feet as a fantastic adventure. As a sucker for time shenanigans, I always enjoy interesting interpretations of one of life’s greatest mysteries, and the idea explored in Chained Echoes led to a couple of unpredictable shifts in the narrative which I didn’t see coming at all.

A Refinement Of The Classic Formula

The area where Chained Echoes establishes itself as truly distinct from its 90s inspiration is in its gameplay. In an interview with Touch Arcade, Matthias Linda describes Chained Echoes in the following way…

Think of the old SNES and PSX era RPGs. Add Magic. Add Mechs. And think of these old games as you remember them, not as they actually were. Boom. You’ve got Chained Echoes. See, my main approach was to develop a game which captures the feelings and the images in my head I had of these times.

Matthias Linda, (Touch Arcade Interview)

It’s hard to disagree with Matthias’ answer, most gamers are guilty of remembering their favourite games in ways that eliminate any issues they had. Classic JRPGs such as Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI are brilliant games, but they clearly lack some of the refinements and QoL improvements that we now take for granted. To develop a game that inspires the aura of these older games means trying to match an experience created by the player, not the true experience they played.

It’s a good job then that Chained Echoes has improvements and refinements at every turn. A cast of towns, cities and settlements packed with content and lore to uncover are joined by semi-open zones that invite players to explore, and they’ll be rewarded well for heading off the marked path with a range of weapons, armours, and crafting supplies amongst other useful items. There’s secret bosses too, and a couple of non-essential dungeon areas that also reward players for their curiosity. Initially, these open areas can be a bit overwhelming, but once you realise you’ll return to these areas often (and with upgrades, more on that later), things become a lot more relaxing, very little content is time-gated so there’s no rush to completing side quests and so on.

Over time most locations in Chained Echoes change to reflect the world that is forming around them, the carnival atmosphere that you initially encounter in The Dancing City of Farnsport is dashed away once the continent becomes embroiled in another civil war. NPCs who previously were full of joy and excitement over the festival taking place within the city now appear hopeless and long for the war, and their suffering, to end. Small decisions like this have a huge impact on immersion, seeing the world evolve around your playable party makes Valandis feel lived in, as if without your presence it would all carry on anyway. You’ll often meet characters who embark on a minor arc of their own across your adventure too, the world of Valandis is not a static one, and this makes the stakes even greater when you have to save it.

Any great JRPG lives and dies by the sword, well by combat, but you get what I mean… It’s a good job then that Chained Echoes delivers exceedingly well on this front too. In all honesty, I can’t recall a game with turn-based combat that I enjoyed as much as Chained Echoes, with a combination of, yet again, refinements and innovations producing a satisfying combat experience that challenges as much as it rewards. I very rarely blamed anyone but myself for a defeat in combat, the systems are pretty easy to understand, you’ll just have to find ways to exploit them.

The most interesting additions to traditional combat come in the form of ultra moves, character pairing and the overdrive meter. Character pairing lets you build pairs of characters who can interchange in battle, it’s a great way to synergise certain characters’ skill sets, and is an effective way of letting more nuanced characters thrive. I found certain combinations of characters worked well in this format, whereas others are definitely hindered by not appearing together on the battlefield. Experimentation is the name of the game here, and finding a set of pairings that work well for you is a game changing moment.

The ultrameter lets each party member unleash a unique ‘ultra move’ that can have a variety of different effects dependent on which character uses it. The majority are offensively geared, dealing heavy damage and handing out a list of debuffs that can give you the upperhand in most encounters. Some are more defensively inclined though, healing the party, providing TP (that allows you to use special moves) being two examples. I found myself heavily reliant on Glenn’s ultramove in a lot of situations, but before the credits rolled I’d used pretty much all of the ultra moves and they all serve a key purpose in battle.

Chained Echoes‘ overdrive system is where things get interesting though. Performing most actions will shift the overdrive bar to the right, your aim is to keep it in the narrow green zone, whilst avoiding the red tip. Maintaining a position in the green zone will increase your damage dealt, reduce damage taken and also reduce the TP cost of all moves. That’s all well and good, but if you relax too much and end up in the final red zone your whole party will receive heavy debuffs and swing the momentum away from you. Chained Echoes‘ combat can often become a puzzle in itself, with the player being required to defeat enemies and engage in a constantly moving balancing act to do so.

Some moves will assist in reducing overdrive, and they’re highlighted as such, but you can still choose to use something else should you wish. It’s all about balancing the risk between making the move you want, and falling out of the perfect overdrive zone, or playing things a bit safer. It’s a brilliant addition to combat and does a great job of removing some of the dull button mashing I normally fall into when playing JRPGs.

Eventually you’ll unlock the mech suits too, well you use one for the first ten minutes of the game, but in true video game style you quickly lose the ability to wield this skybound, near invincible weapon, back to the ol’ reliable sword I guess. Arriving at around the halfway point, Mechs are a refreshing addition to combat and provide an interesting new take on the system established in the first half. They operate similarly to the base characters, making use of a slightly modified overdrive system and new unique ultra moves, although a new gear system shakes everything up a fair bit. Rotating between each gear, and the slight alterations they bring, adds another small element to these encounters which stops them from becoming too similar to the smaller scale fights.

Perhaps the two most brilliant parts of Chained Echoes combat though are the ability to fast forward through animations, as well as each battle concluding with your characters being fully healed and TP bars refilled. JRPGs can be a hell of a slog, especially when you’re constantly moving in and out of combat encounters, both of these features largely streamline this process and make everything so much smoother. Having picked up Pokemon Violet around the same time as Chained Echoes, I was surprised by how long certain processes take in Game Freak’s latest adventure, especially when compared to the fast-paced Chained Echoes. Full healing between combat encounters also allowed me to have a lot more fun during said encounters, without worrying about managing healing items, or keeping an eye on my TP amount, I was able to try out some crazy combinations in the easiest of fights, because why not?! The emphasis is on having fun, and removing this constant responsibility from the player is a great way to do that.

That Sure Isn’t a Letter Opener!

All good JRPGs love a bit of character levelling, gear finding and skill unlocking, and Chained Echoes is certainly no different. Instead of utilising the classic XP bar though, each member of your party can be upgraded through acquiring Grimoire Stones after major story beats. Every stone allows each character to unlock a new upgrade, with options from stat boosts, to passive and active combat skills, all of which can be freely chosen allowing you to really refine the style of play you want a certain adventurer to possess. I am a huge fan of this system, it gives a degree of individuality in how you choose to build up certain characters, and makes a rather linear process feel a lot more open ended.

Rewards aren’t tied solely to Grimoire Stones luckily, every battle you achieve victory in will also see your crew acquire ‘SP’ which can then be used to upgrade existing abilities. Increase damage of active skills, reduce the TP cost of others, or opt to increase passive abilities such as increased resistance or health. I again found myself enjoying this way of levelling up characters, and it was very rewarding to finally get an upgrade I’d been eyeing up for the last few battles as I edged closer to the required SP.

The final piece in this puzzle is all the wild and wonderful gear that Chained Echoes lets you get your hands on. Considering you end the game with 8 playable characters, there’s a lot of gear to find and use, ranging from swords, to magic staffs and a range of different armour types and equippable trinkets. Every piece of gear can be used by any member of your party, I wouldn’t advise mismatching gear too much, but you can if you want. It’s clear from the start that certain gear types are better matched with certain characters, Lenne is a magical focused character, so naturally it is sensible to use weapons and armour that enhances her magical prowess. As I said, you don’t need to follow the ‘recommended’ routes for gear allocation at all, but doing so can produce some incredibly powerful combat sequences in the endgame.

Accompanying the gear system is the ability to enhance every piece of it using crystals you create, or discover, during your overworld expeditions. I wasn’t a huge fan of the crystal system, mainly because I struggled to understand how to make the most of it. You’ll acquire a lot of these crystals, and some of them have great effects, most of which are focused on buffing key character traits such as Mind, Magic, Attack and Defense, although some specifically synergise with certain buffs and debuffs. Applying these to weapons or armour then gives that boost to the character who uses that piece of gear in battle. As I said, I won’t comment too much on all this because I never truly understood how it worked. I made use of crystals a lot on my playthrough but without dipping below a very surface level understanding. I think it is quite obtuse in design though, and probably one of the only areas of weakness across the whole game, nothing can be truly perfect right?

I’m Still Not Tired of Pixel Art

It doesn’t matter how good everything I’ve already mentioned is if the way it is presented is terrible. Luckily for me, and of course you, Chained Echoes continues to excel here, with both visual and aural delights for players to feast upon. I want to focus on the soundtrack first, Eddie Marianukroh has created a wonderful list of melodies to accompany Chained Echoes. From inspiring battle music to more relaxing tracks that are ever present during exploration, I highly recommend giving the full soundtrack a listen. Whenever you expect the soundtrack to rise to the occasion, especially in key story moments, it matches and exceeds those expectations every time. My personal favourite has to be The Dancing City of Farnsport, one of the first you’ll hear, and to me, the best!

The visual design of Chained Echoes is also great, lifting heavy 32-bit inspiration but not being afraid to use some of the more modern pixel art techniques seen in Square Enix’s ‘HD-2D’ revival as of late. I know many players are a little tired of pixel art, especially after a decade of seeing ‘indie, pixel art and retro’ in what feels like every other announcement at this point. I do not consider myself one of these people though, I bloody love pixel art and the creative ways that it is used by developers. Who needs ‘realism’ in their games anyway, not me!

The environments are the star of the show here, from the vibrant and bouncing city of Farnsport, to the mysterious underground world of Nyhsa, pretty much every locale you stumble onto is a distinct and beautiful presentation of some fantastic pixel art. Small details help make each town you explore feel alive, with flags waving in the wind, and animals grazing on the meadows, as I mentioned previously, Matthias Linda does a great job of making Valandis feel very lived in, and this is further demonstrated in these minor touches.

I think the enemy designs are great too, especially the larger hostiles you’ll encounter, just take a look at the giant Octopus! This is echoed across the majority of monsters you encounter, the endgame throws some truly awful-looking enemies your way, but they still look good, just grotesque and nasty. This level of care is evident across every enemy type, even human characters you’ll face off against are distinct from each other, it’s a world bursting at the seams with personality and charm.

Probably my biggest criticism of Chained Echoes‘ presentation is a lack of idle animations for the playable cast. Everything looks great in motion, but as soon as you stop moving your party locks in place as if they’ve had a strong petrificus totalus spell cast upon them. It’s an odd thing to note I know, but it really stands out, especially because this definitely isn’t the case in combat. Ultimately it doesn’t change much at all, but I found it an odd detail to miss in a game full of the smallest details being well executed.

(Chained) Echoes Of The Past

I think now is a good point to pull everything together and come to what I would say is a fairly predictable conclusion. I’m not a fan of JRPGs on the whole, and I was born too late to experience the majesty of Chrono Trigger, so on the surface I wouldn’t consider myself the target audience for a Chrono Trigger-inspired JRPG, but here we are. I didn’t play a better game than Chained Echoes in 2022 and I already consider it to be a solid top ten in my all time favourites, what more can I really say?

I don’t believe in scoring games, I’d hope my words are clear enough in presenting my thoughts on this modern-day masterpiece. This was a really fun piece to write, and it makes me excited to see what comes next from Matthias Linda, hopefully some more Chained Echoes-related adventures! Good indie games are a dime a dozen nowadays, but an experience at the level of Chained Echoes is not something you stumble across often. So go buy it I guess, or don’t, but at least wishlist it and buy it in the future, and let me know when you do so I can relive a truly brilliant adventure with you!

Thanks for reading this latest piece on Tom’s World, I get so much joy from producing content like this, and it means the world that I have a way to share my thoughts with everyone who takes the time to read through my work. I’m working on a few different ideas at the moment, but I do plan to produce more reviews on indie games as and when I can. Until next time…