This is a lesser know game for the Wii, but I guess you have to shovel through all the crap of what Wii calls games these days to find something decent apart from their main franchises, Wii Sports and Wii fit not included. I almost gave up on my Wii until I came across this game. The art style is beautiful for a Wii game, but for it not being HD I had no complaints. It shows that good graphics can come from a Wii game. But enough Wii bashing and more about the actual game.
Fragile Dreams is about a boy finding himself alone after the apocalypse. With a message from his dead grandfather telling him to head towards the red tower, he sets off along in the search for other survivors. You find many new friends along the way, most of them not being human. These new friends either help you or make you missions or "games" in order for you to gain their trust and let you continue on.
You the player have no idea why the world is in such a start at the beginning of the game, I'm still not sure if your character knew anything about it before you are revealed the answers near the end of the game. As you play you will find random items that you will hear a memory from when you go to rest at a campfire, which is your save point, health restorer, item management and shop all in one. I will go into greater details about campfires in a bit. In hearing these memories at the campfires you will learn that others around you knew something was going to happen, but it's very vague. But this just drove me to play more and more. I couldn't put the game down I was so intrigued in the story wanting to know more.
The game for me seemed to be a melting pot for an RPG and a survival horror game, though neither is done to the extreme. Your character will level as you battle enemies that appear only in certain sections of a room and once you leave that section they no longer follow you. You also have an array of weapons with different functions and attack points which break with use so you will have to carry more than one with you at a time and buy extras of the weapons you use most. You can also only store so much with you at a time, bringing me back to the Resident Evil style of carrying items. The game also has creepy settings and music making you beg for the few light areas of the game where you feel you can breath again as the brightness of your screen allows you to not only see all areas without your flashlight, but also gives you a safe secure feeling.
Some of the enemies can be truly creepy to add to that survival horror factor, or maybe it's just me. I don't like to face killer robots, maybe it's a terminator thing from my scarred childhood, but those things freaked me out. Among the killer robots, there were enemies like angry dogs, strange jellyfish and these strange crying women with pins coming out of their backs. When they curled up exposing a hole on their backs was the only time they were vulnerable to your attacks. I'm guessing they were test subjects, but that just made them a bit more creepy.
As for the Bosses, which is where I am less impressed with the game, they are not creepy in the slightest and the first few, which happens to be a floating mask is way too easy. I beat him in a matter of minutes each time and never received any damage. Some of the basic enemies in the game were much tougher then he was. And even the final boss was a quick battle where I never died once. In fact the only time I did die in the game was with the crying women. Those girls can be brutal.
With the difficulty of this game being a joke they sure give you a lot of save points which just insure your safe survival as you restore your health. There was a campfire every few rooms sometimes being only a couple rooms apart literally. It was nice though to be able to unload those random story revealing objects though as they took up space in your inventory. So when you come to a campfire you first open up any secret items you receive and then sometimes the merchant comes along, who is very weird may I add. He's almost creepy in his own right. After that you can organize your inventory and save.
The one thing that really confuses me about this game is all the cats that can be found just wandering around. You can buy or find a cat toy and use it to have the cat follow you in a small area. This seems pretty much pointless with the exception of one cat later in the game which ties into the story a tiny bit. Plus the cats help you out near the end of the game, but whether they continue to help you out if you haven't done this is something I don't know.
So what does it all boil down to?
Game Play 7/10
While it is a fun game to play, it is also a very easy game to play. It is also on the short side, but not as short as many of the newer games I've seen. It took me about 15 hours to complete which can be cut down if you don't like to explore like I do. But I did also feel like some areas, like this really long hallway, were there just to lengthen the game. While it does have a linear storyline some of the areas are pretty large and can be explored to find goodies which aren't necessary to complete the game since you do see the merchant a lot to get weapons and health items and the random items don't fill you in on the main reason why the world has ended. As for replay value this game doesn't have much. You can try to go through again and collect all the random items that you missed the first time, but I haven't found a way for you to know which you've collected and if you missed any and missing an item will not add anything new to the overall story.
Controls 7/10
I thought it was fun that the game utilizes the wiimote as the flashlight in game. A lot of the areas are rather dark so you really do need the flashlight to search around. You move by using the analog stick on the numchuck, but the combination of the two movements can become a bit tricky making it hard for you to turn around quickly with monsters all around you. The A button is your attack and action button and B is to cancel. Rarely you will need to crawl around, but it is used and is fairly easy by just tapping C to crouch and uncrouch. I hate it when a you have to hold down a button the whole time while crouching and crawling which you do not need to do here.
Graphics 9/10
Sure it's the Wii so no HD, but it doesn't mean that the art style of a game has to be lacking, which this game does not. I found the environments beautiful. The atmosphere also helps the game be a bit more creepier as things are dim and grimy looking at times, but it still manages to keep it's beauty. The cut scenes are nice and some near the beginning are even done in a anime style giving it a nice feel.
Sound 8/10
I enjoyed the music and was glad that I pre-ordered with a bonus of the sound track. I really enjoyed the music to the final battle and the music helps create a mood for the game, however I found it to be less creepy for the most part compared to other horror type games.
Story 9/10
As I've previously state I enjoyed the story and it had me hooked. Throughout the whole game you get little hints as to what was going on, but nothing to revealing that can have you guess as to what really happened. When it is finally revealed it is a bit strange, but I feel it doesn't disappoint. However I think that the story could have been strengthened a bit with a little more details throughout the game.
In the end I found this to be a good game worth my money to knock out in a weekend. If you are a wii owner and are looking for something other then party games and shovelware then I suggest you try out this game. If you are still unsure you can rent the game and finish it before you have to return it. But I for one am glad that I have added this game to my gaming collection.
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