[b]TL; DR[/b] If you like the other titles, you will likely enjoy [i]Mercenaries (4) Wings[/i] as well. It changed little in terms of mechanics, but it does have major changes in its presentation, some of that is better and other things are worse, which is fitting since the same can be said for the quality of the game. My actual issues with the game are unrelated to the gameplay, so if you only care about that then I guess this would be a recommendation.
[b]Note[/b] keyboard only
[h1] Story [/h1]
The kingdom is in yet another war, and now it is swarming with rebels. The Crimson Birds are one of many companies hired to assist the monarchy, but King Harold might not be as noble as they thought, not only are their pays delayed but when they get them, they are less than what they would like. As if that was not bad enough, the King decides to give mercenaries the right to plunder liberated towns something that goes against the morals of a mercenary, apparently. Does he really deserve your loyalty?
The premise is about as interesting as previous titles, a few hooks and some engaging ideas but not executed as well as I had hoped. They are definitely more ambitious with [i]the False Pheonix[/i], trying to develop more natural characters and relationships, I would say these characters are better if only because of the effort to make them seem more human but some of them are very suspect which was never the case in the [i]Saga[/i] games. Take Cecil, the main character, she is in love with Jeremy, who is her dead sister’s boyfriend, her boss, and her foster brother who raised her. Does he reciprocate? Take a guess. There is also Anemone, she should probably be in jail.
On a positive note, I am very pleased to announce that you do not have to serve a tyrant, in fact you are given a choice a third in which sets you in your route, I like that. Yet there are also moments that feel far more contrived than in earlier titles, especially in the “Breakaway” route, and that is disappointing because it is the route I recommend. If you do not pick that route you enter the darker timeline where you find out whether or not Jeremy reciprocates Cecil’s feelings. Maybe just skip that.
[h1] Presentation [/h1]
Most of the changes introduced by [i]the False Pheonix[/i] are related to its visuals or its audio. All environments have received a face lift looking more detailed and clearer; however, the character sprites remain in the old, pixelated style which creates an odd disconnect. At least it is very easy to see your enemies, I guess.
There are also the portraits, these are a lot more detailed, which is good, and they lean more into an anime style, which I am neutral on. I do think it is nice that we get some expressions that can be used during dialogue to give us some sense of mood and emotion, but um character design?
What even is this? The men typically look alright, maybe a bit overdesigned for mercenaries, but then you have the women. Dear lord. Take Anemone as an example, you can see a screenshot of her on the store page, does not seem very practical if you ask me. And pretty much every other woman has the same sort of fanservicy design. If my choices are this, and what we had in the [i]Mercenaries Saga[/i] games then I pick the latter.
Every [i]Mercenaries[/i] game I have played has the same issue. They blind the player with a white flash each and every time anyone gets a critical hit, as well as when other specific things happen. Glad to see that [i]the False Pheonix[/i] keeps the tradition alive.
So the soundtrack is a more engaging than it has ever been, but I am not sure if it is actually good. I do think that I like the majority of the track, and I like them a lot, they fit the mood of the Chapter or are otherwise nice rhythmic songs that goes well for the combat, but then there are other songs that I just do not understand what they were thinking. I asked myself "what is this? Why is this here?" which is not something I should be doing. It is certainly a memorable soundtrack, but probably not for a good reason.
All sound effects have been redone, as far as I can tell, and some of these are better but the level-up is a noticeable downgrade. There is this very clear windup to it and (others) that sort of ruins the mood and turns something that should have a bit of pomp into something anticlimactic and disappointing.
[h1] Gameplay [/h1]
Combat has received one new mechanic, some balance changes, but is otherwise identical. You kill your enemies before they kill you, you use positioning to your advantage, and you check the store between every battle just in case it has a good item.
The new addition is the leadership mechanic, one party-member is designated as a leader, and you get a buff depending on their class. Some have per-turn healing, others simply boost your health or your stats, and some are more interesting. One of Cecil’s skills lets you move even after taking an action which can be really useful to take advantages positions or to quickly move to the next target.
[i]the False Pheonix[/i] features several combat encounters that are interesting, sometimes your enemies will come at you in waves, spawn all around you, and at a few times you will need to guard someone lest you lose the mission. You also get to use your entire party, that can be a good thing because you can try them all out and you have more options in every fight, but it can also be a bad thing, because it means you will have the same party every playthrough.
There are also a number of encounters that are [i]not[/i] interesting, especially the first few fights. They seemed uninspired, did not try anything worthwhile, nor did it try and push me with any sort of specific challenge. It mostly felt like filler that was necessary to keep the story at an okay pace, which is not exactly an excuse, because previous titles did try harder for their filler. I think the combat is enjoyable enough, so it is not like I hate these encounters, they are just very very bland and forgettable.
While not as grind heavy as [i]Will of the White Lions[/i], it is likely that you will need to play scenarios to increase your level and unlock new skills, otherwise [i]the False Pheonix[/i] can turn into swamp. These missions are repurposed from the campaign; however, they pull from Chapters of each route meaning you will be able to play maps that would otherwise be inaccessible to you.
Yet it is possible to completely skip the free-battles, since the campaign gives you a number of Puzzle-Pieces to unlock new classes or rare items and since the secret items are no longer hidden, you can always see them so there is little excuse to miss most of the good equipment.
