I doubt anyone will disagree with me when I say that putting something back together is difficult. Ask Humpty Dumpty. That egg had the assistance of all the king’s horses and men and still couldn’t pull it together. So as a lone Redcap in EGGLIA: Rebirth from Brownies Inc., how can you put a whole kingdom back together. While I felt scrambled a bit by this Nintendo Switch title, overall I feel it manages tot keep things sunny side up.
EGGLIA: Rebirth
Developer: Brownies Inc.
Studio: Brownies Inc.
Available on: Nintendo Switch
EGGLIA: Rebirth is the platformer “port” for publisher Brownies smart phone RPG EGGLIA: The Legend of Redcap. There is rarely a 1 to 1 transfer when a game is made available on a new platform. EGGLIA: Rebirth appears to have lost no features and instead gained some additional areas to explore. Save for the updated user interface accommodating for Switch controls over touch screen the two games play similar. I did notice that the smart phone version refers to your character as Chabo while I was able to select a name.
In terms of story, EGGLIA affords players hours of opportunities for engaging in the tale. In the opening your character has a very Humpty moment as you crash to the ground. Your descent attracts the two inhabitants of the lone open area in Egglia, Robin a elf and Marigold a fairie. While initially fearful of your intentions, you are a Redcap after all, that changes once they realize you are powerful enough to open special “eggs”. (Though it also doesn’t hurt you’ve lost your horns providing you with a less menacing appearance.)
Robin and Marigold explain that Egglia was once a vast kingdom. However to stop ogres that attempted to lay claim to Egglia the powerful wizard Kuff had only one chance to save the kingdom. Each portion of Egglia lies sealed away inside one of several eggs. Putting it all in one basket so to speak, Robin and Marigold ask you to help find the rest of the eggs and restore Egglia.
It is in these earliest moments that I quickly found the most enjoyable parts of the game. The development team makes excellent use of vibrant and playful colors to bring the inhabitants of Egglia to life. Each character has been drawn with amazing detail which shows through with their lively expressions and emotions. The same attention was clearly shown to the the games music department as the game is filled with magical melodies. I found myself drifting away as the harps and flutes distracted me from my adventurers objective.
In Order to Make An Omlette
Cracking a few eggs isn’t just the task in EGGLIA: Rebirth, it’s also how I would the explain the type of game you experience. On the most basic level it is a table top adventure with the benefits of technology. You explore the unlocked environments of Egglia, each area broken down into sub-areas some with multiple floors. To advance the player rolls a dice, then you choose your route along the hexagonal grip map. The only real objective is to clear the area and ultimately the environment. But that’s only fun if you’re a chicken, and you’re a Redcap so there is a lot more to it. For starters while the game politely suggests early on you can choose a path of avoidance at times, these encounters often provide important items.
While each environment is a challenge in it’s own, the objective of the game is to restore Egglia. The game makes use of several ingredients from various games to help with that goal. The first is the cast of Egglians you encounter. While Robin and Marigold are the first,but Egglia is overflowing with every potential magickal creature for you to meet. Soon your group will grow to include gremlin sister merchants and builder dwarves to mention a few. They all have something you can help with and in turn offer you some aid as well. Some of the activities you can accomplish as you advance on the grid map while others take place in the village. You can do additional tasks and offer gifts to improve your relationships with each.
Customization is a component of this game. From the location you place new areas around Egglia to the decorations of your own house. The villagers have dwellings as well, which you place and upgrade as a relationship task.
As the game went on the levels stopped being over easy. The items you gather in each area are useful in gaining helpful upgrades from kind entities you meet. They allow you to grow plants or ore. There is also a well you visit which provides you the help of some elemental Spirits, that is if you can craft the dish they desire. Combining the correct Spirit team unlocks boosts that can provide assistance in battle.
As you enter each sub-area a brief area summary/staging menu appears. Before you enter you select your team for the journey as well as change up your Spirit lineup. The game also gives a hint at some optional objectives. While you can overlook these extras they provide items you need for your inventory. They vary from completing the level in under X number of turns to take/don’t take this character on the journey.
I Do Not Like It Sam I Am
Most of the components of this game work to provide the framework for a table top RPG that practically any age can enjoy. Some things work better than others however there is one aspect that you can’t walk around eggshells about. This is where the game lost much of the enjoyment. There is far too much dialogue in EGGLIA:Rebirth.
The skip button offers an out but that is a disappointment when you truly want to follow the story. The story, the fantasy world the studio provides is worthy of the move to allow more gamers access to it. But the dialogue can go on for sometimes 9-10 flips/cuts and that’s per sub-area. By the time you unlock the second egg this begins to drain the life out of the game, just as you are restoring life to Egglia.
I can’t help but feel that games such as EGGLIA: Rebirth would benefit from incorporating the same thought process that the table top games it emulates did. Perhaps as streaming services begin making their own content they can incorporate animation studios for these portions. I certainly would love to see the art in this game fully animated. I also feel EGGLIA: Rebirth, with areas to unlock, could have multiple episodes/seasons, aka egg-spansion packs.
Not every aspect of EGGLIA: Rebirth is all that it is cracked up to be. There is a bit of excellence to unlock with this titles captivating visuals, sound and stories.
Score: 8.0
EGGLIA: Rebirth
A new Legend begins. A story of hello-s and goodbye-s, bursting from a magical egg.
Release Date: 2/10/2022
Available On: Nintendo Switch