Dungeon Encounters

Well, I hope you’re looking for some encounters that take place in a dungeon because here’s Dungeon Encounters by Square Enix. No, I don’t mean the kind of dungeon encounters that require some therapy afterward, I mean battles with spooky monsters and demons who want to munch on you and your party of colorful heroes. This game takes on a whole new approach to the dungeon crawling formula by making it bizarre and confusing, but once you get the hang of it, its actually really engaging and the different approach is refreshing. If you are looking for some new challenges presented in a new way, this is the dungeon crawler for you. Let’s get into it.

Gameplay

For those of you who are familiar with Final Fantasy’s classic Active Time Battle, you will be more prepared than most for this title that brings back that classic mechanic but polished and refined like never before.

DUNGEON ENCOUNTERS features a whole heaping helping of colorful characters for you to get to know and to fight alongside. You must delve deeper than ever into this bizarre labyrinthian construct and defeat its many foes to uncover its purpose, with 100 levels to traverse, you have quite the expedition on your hands.

This game utilizes a simple 2D grid-based movement system and has you jump around it as though it was Mario Party or the battle system of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. That said, the system still maintains a unique but simplified presentation in comparison. The combat is by the book turn-based combat between your party and the enemies and focuses largely on strategy as opposed to a clean-cut numbers game. That said, this is Dungeon Encounters, not dungeon battles, so there is more to it than just combat. There are traps and obstacles scattered across your path too, so make sure you keep your wits about you.

Visuals

As I have stated, the visuals are very simple. The characters themselves are all unique and have plenty of visual differences so you aren’t getting bored by looking at them. These companions range from knights and warriors to a very large cat. The world itself is kind of bland, you can’t really see anything as its all a warbly grey space that you walk through for some sections. Its mostly in the combat sections when the backgrounds liven up to suit the encounter.

Music

The music in this game has been overseen by the legendary musical director Nobuo Uematsu, who has some fresh takes on some classic tracks. I, personally, find the music to be a real standout here. Due to the limited art and backgrounds, the music carries a lot of the weight of setting the tone and it absolutely nails it. It’s a sound track that is perfectly viable to chill with in your free time.

Pros

• Great combat system
• Unique presentation

Cons

• Lackluster visuals