Jeremy Gallen's Game Reviews

Secret of Mana: The FPS

I'm normally wary of Western RPGs, given their basis in complex pen-and-paper roleplaying mechanics, although there are occasional titles that break the mold, such as Borderlands, which combines RPG and shooter gameplay. I originally played it on my PC, and while there were plenty times when my computer couldn't handle the game, it had a place in my heart. Several ports to consoles would come, along with the occasional remaster, among them being Borderlands: Game of the Year Enhanced, which I happened to get for free due to owning the original Steam version, and last played on my trusty Steam Deck.

The game is set several centuries in the future when mega-corporations seek to control various planets across the galaxy and mine them for their mineral wealth and resources. Prior to the first game's events, one of said companies, the Atlas Corporation, uncovered an alien Vault with advanced weapons technology, another found on the planetary setting of Pandora. One of four playable characters seeks the Vault and its key, with various colorful persons encountered throughout the game and good backstory accounting for a satisfying narrative experience, although whichever protagonist the player chooses doesn't seem to affect events.

Fortunately, solid gameplay backs the storyline, with the player's character initially limited to two equipped weapons that they can swap at any time, a shield generator, and a grenade modifier that determines the attributes and strength of throwable grenades. These limits eventually increase to four equippable weapons along with a class modifier with boosts to various attributes of the character's skill tree, into which they can begin investing points at level five, with one skill point gained per level after that. The first ability the player will unlock is one native to their class, with Mordecai, for instance, able to send out his pet avian to attack the enemy, necessitating a recharge time afterward.

There are different weapon types, some characters having an affinity for certain ones, such as Mordecai with pistols and sniper rifles, although any character can wield most any weapon as long as their level is high enough, and repeated use of specific types gradually levels the player's proficiency with them, sort of like Secret of Mana with an emphasis on firearms. Characters can also execute a melee attack when enemies are close, though these tend not to be the difference between victory and defeat, with only a handful of skills on each character's ability tree able to increase their effectiveness.

Odds are, however, that most players will stick with weapons, the player able to purchase new ones at vending machines along with shield, grenade, and class modifiers through money gained from killing foes, containers like safes, and by selling unwanted armaments. Killing enemies also grants experience for occasional level-ups, with proportional distribution dependent upon the player's current level, foes too having levels whereas killing those with higher levels than the player give more experience than lower-level ones, and in the case of low-level adversaries, the player can mostly get away without having to fight them.

Ultimately, the gameplay is definitely enjoyable, with some additional quirks such as the experience obtained through completing story and side missions, although there are a few instances where the player might find themselves dying without an enemy nearby to kill, but fortunately the death penalty is more than generous, and wasted playtime is minimal. Those not skilled with first-person shooters, moreover, might have a difficult time keeping steady trigger fingers, but the game is definitely more than playable, the mechanics a surefire boon to Borderlands, the skill customization augmenting the mechanical appeal.

The first game mostly has clear direction on how to advance the main storyline, given the in-game maps and associated waypoints towards mission objectives, and most sidequests are beatable without referencing the internet. However, there are issues such as the lack of an in-game clock, not to mention a limit on inventory space only increasable by helping robotic claptraps get back on their wheels, and occasional glitches such as getting caught by treasure chests some foes may drop. Regardless, things could have definitely been worse in terms of control.

Most Western RPGs tend to feature solid voicework, and Borderlands is no exception, with some humorous banter from enemies occasionally littered with profanity, and one Russian-accented character having a memorable dialect, along with realistic sound effects. Some of the music such as the ending vocal theme is also good, although most, as with many titles originating in the West, is fairly unmemorable, with a greater emphasis on ambience, although the aurals help more than hurt.

The visuals too help Borderlands more than hurt it, with a nice cel-shaded style for the character models, the environments, and the enemies, although there is rare inconsistency in the framerate, and occasional blurry and pixilated texturing for the scenery.

Overall, the enhanced Steam version of the original Borderlands is a fun looter-shooter RPG, given its fun game mechanics, the endearing narrative, the superb voice acting, the pretty cel-shaded visuals, and the endless lasting appeal. Granted, it does have issues with regards to its control aspect not to mention some blemishes in terms of the mostly unmemorable soundtrack and occasional graphical anomalies, although even these weaker areas have plenty of things going for them, and in the end, I definitely relished to chance to play the definitive version of the game on my Steam Deck and would recommend it to those in search of a solid Western RPG.