The DioField Chronicle Review (PS4) | Backlog Battle

[@somaliagainstpanafricanism4865]

I hope this game sells well so we see more games like this.

[@samfrito]

Alex, I knew your review would settle whether this was my game. I held off buying this until I got your full opinion. Thanks for always going in with an open mind and delving deeper. You have a great sense of scope and reason that really helps me know if a JRPG will be one I play and talk about for years. I tried Diofields demo and it took me back to the Square's game Vagrant Story, which I am longing to replay sometime this fall. I'm going to have to get Diofield Chronicle.

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you for always watching my videos! So much care and thought goes into each one that I'm always happy to see some familiar names show up in the comments! These encourage me to always keep improving, and I'm thankful that you've been with us for a long time!

[@branboom3342]

Did you play it then? If so, did you like it? I've seen many mixed reviews but think it looks quite good.

[@mew215]

I beat this game last night, close to 50 hours. Love love loved this game. First off, I beat it on the hardest difficulty and pretty much cake walked the last 15 hours or so because my party builds were just OP AF. Once you have the mechanics down, and if you're staying up to date with every available new weapon, the game is a cakewalk. That's actually my only critique of the game. Too easily exploited with certain ability combos, but what RPG isn't these days lol. I need a sequel to this game like yesterday lol Great review by the way. Highly recommended.

[@BacklogBattle]

If we're talking about easily exploitable mechanics, I seem to remember the Orders system in Cold Steel 3 and 4 to be easily exploitable haha! You are right though that RPGs these days seem to have these sorts of issues. Makes me wonder what the heck's in the water! Thank you for watching by the way!

[@mew215]

@@wolf0491 never

[@HybridAngelZero]

This game looks so fun. I personally love when games utilize elements from different disciplines of game design and storytelling. Also, the character designs, art and models are just lovely

[@xleaselife]

Excellent review, as always! You always do such a good job of really finding the good in games without rose tinting your point of view. Definitely looking forward to playing this down the line. Tooooo many games right now!

[@manakakisaragi9121]

Great review. One of my favorite games this year. Very well put together, specially considering the combination of subgenres it performs and how well defined and tight the systems are. Simple but very solid. Plays great, with how easy is to make your characters do exactly what you mean them to do. I want a bigger sequel, both story and gameplay deserve a deeper exploration in a higher budget sequel.

[@theverbingnoun]

can’t wait to get into it here around Christmas when i have time, thanks as always!

[@BacklogBattle]

No problem!

[@Road_to_Dawn]

I don’t normally play tactical RPGs, but DioField always seemed pretty cool to me. I’ve been playing nothing Xenoblade 2 for the past month and got close to 200 hours of game time and I’m still nowhere near done, so I don’t think I’ll be able to pick this up anytime terribly soon, but I’ll have to keep it in mind for when I’ve got some time for another game.

[@bentwigg9700]

Your reviews are fantastic. Everything you’ve been enjoying I’ve also been loving with this game! Really enjoy all your content! Keep up the amazing work! :)

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much! Glad you’re enjoying the game just as much as I was!

[@WaruiDeshou]

Loved this review! You point out lots of aspects of this game I find appealing that no one else is talking about e.g. the narrative and aesthetics. Keep up the great work!

[@BacklogBattle]

Glad you enjoyed it! I don't think a lot of people talk about the art and sound design of games sometimes, so I'm trying to incorporate that organically into my reviews! Thanks for noticing!

[@hulkasaurus]

I was hesitant being real time and on console. The four unit limit made it manageable though and i am so glad i bought it. After triangle strategy and this i am getting back in to strategy rpg's.

[@BacklogBattle]

Am glad it did! It worked out quite well, wouldn't you agree?

[@FearFactor-fq7iq]

I just started playing the demo and I think it’s fantastic. You did a great review and I just subbed to your channel 😎 great work

[@BacklogBattle]

Thank you so much!

[@michaelcoffey1991]

Glad the console got another banger in this genre. Thank you so much for covering this

[@BacklogBattle]

You're welcome! I hope you've been enjoying the reviews!

[@TooMuchTuna7]

Great review! I’m on chapter 4 so far and I am really enjoying this game! A lot of reviewers didn’t care for it, I’m glad I went with my gut on it

[@BacklogBattle]

It's really fun! I do get a lot of people here saying it's too easy, but I think with a proper sequel they can address some of these issues! At least I hope it gets a sequel!

[@NintendanGX]

I'm having a blast with this game so far. It's a breath of fresh air in a lot of aspects, even when compared to the myriad of other strategy RPG's released this year (most of which are turn-based, so that also helps). I also love the interactions between characters, and seeing how little Andrias trusts a lot of his newer allies is entertaining in a way few main characters are. He's like a more desperate version of Ike who surrounds himself with political climbers and potential backstabbers. My only issue with the game is the lack of variety when it comes to enemy death-calls during gameplay. Hearing "LOOOONG LIIIIVE THE EMPIRE!" over and over again for every empire soldier killed got annoying fast. One or two more lines could've alleviated the issue, especially when they managed that much for the party members. Not a deal-breaker, but it does make me wish Bahamut would just blast a hole through the Trovelt-Shoevian Empire's diorama and be done with it.

[@mannsama7084]

I play some of the demo and the combat felt clunky. This was due to how selecting a character and issuing commands was finicky. Did this get improved or was still an issue through the full release?

[@BacklogBattle]

It’s the same

[@tyrannyrains5341]

on switch i literally press the left button key to select everyone. believe me makes combat much easier less clunky

[@varoennauraa]

I dreamed about game like this during Wii U times! Shame that they don’t utilize the touchpad in the DualShock controllers!

[@jonate79]

Man I just finished the game and I really enjoyed myself! I'm definitely looking forward to the free dlc in March.

[@BacklogBattle]

Same! Love me some Waltaquin!

[@00031849]

I really enjoyed the game. My only complain is that its too easy on the hard difficulty. Being easy on easy/normal I don't mind, but when there is an option for a hard difficulty I want to be challenged on at least some degree. Without any grinding I first cleared every mission, with all extra achievements, with less then half of the required time, in many cases without even using the summons, and many times without feeling like needing to think on different tactics, formations and such. Of course, if I restrict myself from using many of the game mechanics like skills, summons and such, of course the game would be hard, but so can be pokemon on a nuzlocke... A good hard difficulty would be one where unless I use every tool the game has to offer (and use well) then I should not clear all achievements on first try (or even clear mission). That being said, the game is VERY fun. If you look to have a challenging tactics game or something like that, this isnt the game. But if that is not what you look for, and just want to have fun with a tactics/rts kinda game, then I can't recommend this game more. Its VERY FUN.

[@BacklogBattle]

Lots of potential, for sure! I’d love a DioField 2 that’d address all of our critiques of the first game!

[@tyrannyrains5341]

i like it an im taking my time with it. just wish the base felt more alive. or had more npc walking around.

[@seanbcusack]

already sold on it but especially looking forward to it now. this is truly the year of the srpgs. and square. they're just kicking ass left and right with new properties that all hit hard. also i like that this looks like an anime-style game but with serious and dark plotlines and development instead of goofy shonen anime and fanservice. just like we got with xenoblade 3.

[@BacklogBattle]

It definitely has that feeling as you said! Square Enix is on a roll!

[@tempestsquall5882]

I played the demo on Switch and rlly enjoyed it, being able to take games like this and crono cross with me every where and still have physical copies of them is so worth it. The real time tactics here kept me engaged for a while, and the diorama camera helps push the strategic table top focus of the game.

[@BacklogBattle]

One of the reasons to get it on the Switch! It’s great that it performs well on it!

[@gikunchik7736]

Is the game frame rate good on ps4 ? Is it stabil

[@BacklogBattle]

Yes it is!

[@Qubicle.]

"you expected growlanser, but it was me, dio(field)!"

[@BacklogBattle]

I’ve also heard that, but I’ve looked at footage of Growlanser and this game’s nothing like that either

[@neil4692]

It's a shame that they didn't balance the difficulty correctly. It's far too easy even on hard for veterans. It's fine for newcomers to the genre but that makes it a hard sell considering how jam packed the year is with tactics games. It also doesn't help that they price it more than normal for these kind of games (it's usually around $40). If curious what I mean about that, Mortismal Gaming review on it does a great job of laying it out as a veteran of the genre.

[@BacklogBattle]

I think this is also why I started removing Adrias in my party. His abilities are so OP that he can just clear a whole map by himself!

[@neil4692]

Yep. Assassination with refresh cooldown timer was broken even in the demo. I'll wait for a sale myself with hopes they fix the balance.

[@sikevillain]

I'm rather new to this genre but something about The Diofield Chronicles demo that I really enjoyed. My physical copy came in today and I can't wait to play it. thanks for the review!

[@BacklogBattle]

You're welcome! Hope you enjoy it!

[@eugene9122]

so you would recommend this too someone? trying to decide between this or Valkyrie E but having a hard time choosing.

[@BacklogBattle]

Yes! Really enjoyable! It’s longer than Valkyrie too, from what I’ve been told!

[@eugene9122]

@@BacklogBattle thanks for the feedback just bought it and subscribed

[@alexstrand2440]

Really glad square is trying different game styles/formats for their games. I’m not a huge fan of a lot of western games, so seeing Japanese devs trying new genres is really nice.

[@BacklogBattle]

With so many games coming out, they’re definitely in a position to shake up Japanese RPGs again, like in the PS1 days!

[@MrDarksol]

I tried out the demo for myself because a friend said that I may like it and that according to him, it is better then fire emblem. I'm very very unsure about that little comparison because the 2 are totally different games like yes there is a bass just like there was in 3 houses but that's literally the only thing that they have in common. I would say this game is more online to some of those tabletop strategy rpg games that we would make and since I never played any of those before this was OK. I felt that there was a reason why I wasn't really jelling with the art style and it's because they were trying to basically mix 2 styles together which is why it feels so jarring. Not to mention there are times where the game to me keeps feeling like another thing in the final fantasy multi verse verse write down to the title card which just screams the usual final fantasy bravely default and octopath traveler affair. I'm not denying that the combat isn't good it's just that I don't think I like this type of combat. And the characters they feel kind of basic which I know it's kind of bad for me to say about that just for my experiences with the demo but that's what it feels like to me. I will say that if this does gets successful and it gets a sequel then I'm all for any improvements that the sequel will probably bring if it'll be better than this. Again I'm sure my friend knows what hes talking about but I'm just not that into this type of game and I'll just stick back to waiting for Disgaea 7 to come out soon lol. Good review all the same Alex!

[@BacklogBattle]

I would never compare this game to Fire Emblem! I don't make too much of a habit comparing games to one another anyway, so I suppose there's that! I'm sorry you didn't gel with the gameplay, but I totally understand where you're coming from. I like the visceral and fast nature of the combat, piling on attacks one after another until you really dominate the battle, which gives it a different flavor than other tactical games. Thank you for your comment as always!

[@MrDarksol]

@@BacklogBattle No problem and that's something I'm trying to do less of as time goes on because I feel that every time you try to compare one game to another game, it completely diminishes whatever interesting quality that the game you're playing and the game the person is comparing with has.

[@mrcaos999]

The game is also way to easy sadly! You should mention this. The game is very easy to break even on hard. You not even have to try but just play normaly. And the player has way to many tools compared to the enemy. Imagine FE turn wheel... But as main gameplay loop. This is a big deal break for a tqctical Rpg for many player.

[@BacklogBattle]

It's pretty much why I approached my review from the perspective of someone who's never played games in the genre! It didn't really seem to me as though it was targeting veteran RPG players and I unfortunately didn't really have to time to play through it on Hard to confirm my suspicions. I did mention in the review to appropriately choose the difficult that's right for them, but that might be a bit too vague. That being said, your points are equally valid!

[@mrcaos999]

@@BacklogBattle Its a pity. As the game has good ideas. But even on hard the enemys barely try to outflank you and you as the player can dodge special attacks while they can't. Their are also some early moves you get that can trivilize many battles once you realize how powerful they are. I think the game needs a more aggresive Ai or just balance it with stronger hitting enemies. (Like Valkyria chronicles 3 and 4 solved)

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm hoping for a follow-up that addresses many of the things you mentioned! Lots of good potential here, and not a bad first effort despite the easy difficulty!

[@MrSupersmash93]

Btw this was co developed by Lancrise and furyu.

[@BacklogBattle]

I don’t recall seeing Furyu in the credits. Lancarse, yes.

[@MrWhiterunGuard]

I’m probably going to pass, Diofield for me just doesn’t have the charms of Triangle Strategy. Not only that but Tactics Ogre is coming out soon.

[@chariothe9013]

It’s just a rts games but only heroes.

[@BacklogBattle]

That’s not necessarily wrong!

[@UndeadGuardian1]

Thanks for the review/overview. The "real-time" aspect of this game still has me a little nervous, and I'm not a strategist either. Being able to turn down the difficulty will likely be a godsend if I do decide to pick it up. Solid "wait for sale" game for me. :)

[@BacklogBattle]

I think you’ll do fine! I’m usually terrible at these games but DioField is quite easy and fun!

[@popsgarcia2859]

It's a cool game I just think sqaure enix shouldn't be selling the b tier games at full price while this game and valkirye elysium are fun they def aren't worth 60 bucks!

[@BacklogBattle]

I personally don’t care to try and label games that way since all I care about is if they’re good. I get that the price can be an issue though, but that can get weird too

[@Anni_ka]

Perfect timing, my copy just arrived (note to self: don't preorder directly from Square Enix Europe again 🤦‍♀️)!:D The reason this one caught my eye was simply the art style. The character designs just look so pretty! I'm glad it is a bit on the easier side, since I haven't really played a tactical RPG yet (Triangle Strategy is patiently waiting in my backlog). And your enthusiasm is really motivating me to start the game right away!😁 A very unimportant side note: the steelbook for this game is gorgeous, but I found that it's a US version (?), because the title on the back of the case isn't in the centre (as is usual for European Switch games). I am trying to not let this bother me...but I might just have to reorganise my game shelf 🥲

[@BacklogBattle]

I'm sorry about your experience with Square Enix Europe! I personally have had similar problems with Square Enix US' store, which has made me reluctant to order anything from them myself. That said, I do have Amazon / PC store links on the description now should you wish to get these from a different store next time! And thank you for the nice comment! I'm trying to inject more of "me" into my reviews, which goes with what we were talking about in the Community Post poll that I posted today!

[@Anni_ka]

@@BacklogBattle I'm glad (and disappointed) to hear I'm not the only one who's had issues! In the end, I didn't particularly mind that the game arrived later, but I do expect better from the literal source. I actually have Tactics Ogre still preordered from them (bc of a steelbook again), which I will keep, but I'm definitely not gonna preorder something I want to have right away 😅 And I try to not use amazon (there's a few local stores I'd rather support), but if they end up having a good pre-order bonus in the future I'll use that link for sure!:) Ohhh, I see! Now I'm definitely gonna go back and compare, haha, but I definitely think you're doing a good job!👍

[@hmmmm6157]

I just finished the game few days ago. I did enjoy the story until that clown cliffhanger ending. Not only the ending, many central plot of the story also left unfinished. Waltaquin said she will meet andrias again in the future, iscarion's departure from blue foxes, the identity of the noble that raised andrias, the skull wyvern ressurected in the mine, etc. None of that being answered.. it felt more like rushed and unfinished rather than intentional

[@jrpgaddict7726]

Very average game, get it on discount.

[@BacklogBattle]

I respect that assessment

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

Saying you don't like politics in games is more than a little vague.

[@BacklogBattle]

It's not that I don't like it in games, just that the subject matter typically doesn't hook me. Often times, I find that when I play games that focus on that, the drama that can be had by examining what's happening at the individual level tends to get lost in the shuffle. This also may be due to the fact that the way its presented is often bland to me. All told, I don't want to make you think that I set aside games whenever I find that they have political leanings. I'm the type of person that'll keep retrying games even years after I tried them to see if my opinions on them change. Not just for this specific concept, but for any parts of games that I've played.

[@noneofyourbusiness4616]

@@BacklogBattle Fair enough. Sorry for my simplistic interpretation of what you were saying.

[@BacklogBattle]

No worries! Thank you for taking the time to want to find clarity in what I say! It helps me more than you know!