The depth, sophistication, and variety on display in Shadow Fate's combat system would be staggering for most JRPGs, let alone a one-man indie project. Had these mechanics been attached to a project that didn't quite hit the nail on the head in terms of story or pacing, said project would likely still be worth tolerating in order to enjoy some solid battlin'. Commendably, that’s not even remotely the case here. Even when considered independently of its standout combat mechanics, this really is a quality (keeping in mind the low-tech engine) indie release, deserving of high marks across the board. Less than a month removed from 2023, Shadow Fate remains in pole position for my 2022 game of the year.
Structurally, SF provides a largely linear, high-on-forward-momentum style of adventure. You eventually gain the ability to zap back to previously visited areas, but the main plot is keen on getting the player to put one foot in front of the other, keeping you constantly on the move through new dungeons and towns. Both casual JRPG sightseers and completionists will, however, have plenty of reason to want to go back, as Shadow Fate is generous with its hidden treasures and clever about their locations. And, most notably, it diversifies playthroughs for all but the most hardcore of character loyalists by having certain things only be reachable if your 3-person party happens to contain whoever possesses the exploration ability that any given treasure happens to call for.
Shadow Fate’s cast of 8 characters is a fun bunch of misfits. Even the ones that are clearly not the leading actors in the shadowplay feel like more than the sum of… well, their lines—I suppose—thanks to the meticulously designed synergy that develops between each character’s personality, fighting style, and exploration ability. There’s also an earnestness to their friendships and conflicts that just works for me. I'd say it's because their interactions often feel like they belong somewhere in the late PS1 era, leaning slightly closer toward the brisk and concise style of the SNES era than of the twenty-minute cutscene format that awaited in the PS2 era and (especially) beyond. Aside from what almost seem to be mandatory tone-lightening jokes (which are mostly character-appropriate, and obviously serve to keep tense, disastrous situations and intra-party conflict from spilling over into feeling outright oppressive to the player), cutscenes are usually quick to explain, resolve, reveal, progress, etc. whatever a given scenario needs, making for a rare (relatively) fast-paced page-turner experience in the genre, with major main plot developments and minor character side story reveals often progressing just a coupla textboxes apart from one another. These scenes are usually brought to the next level of quality by way of brilliant visual flourishes. The small character details and action animations add as much drama to scenes as additional dialogue would have, and lift the presentation above most of its similarly-styled contemporaries without hurting its solid pacing.
Every playable character has their own cool-looking, often enemy-deleting limit break-type Super move—a mechanic that in many games would have been enough to call the battle system a job well done. Shadow Fate doesn't settle there, though. Not by a long shot. On top of having visually and mechanically distinct finishing maneuver, your allies all come fully loaded with bespoke skillsets that set every character apart from one another. Additionally, these already fairly flexible archetypes are able to—through equipment and in-combat use, Final Fantasy IX-style—accrue additional skills and magic abilities. Most of them are universal, but even there, you have certain items that are character-specific, and further serve to develop the identity of each companion.
Shadow Fate also has an absurdly deep—and essentially optional—preemptive system in place. Every companion again brings their own unique—and often game-changing—ability to the table if you enter battle shrouded in darkness. Between being able to steal items, recover SP, gain temporary boons like making yourself impervious to critical hits or assuming a stance that makes you counter physical attacks, there's no shortage of ways with which to get an immediate edge in battles you see coming.
Oh, and some of these skills—including certain pre-emptive ones—allow you to activate them without using up your turn, with this Instant marker adding yet another layer of tactical complexity to the proceedings.
... And let’s not forget about the icing on the cake: The fighting game-inspired EX system. Every character gains a bit of EX when doing certain character-specific things. A fully-charged EX meter then allows a character to unleash their Super--or limit break, if you will--but the meter itself comprises 4 bars of EX, with just 1 of those being all you need to enhance and transform many regular abilities into something more impactful, longer-lasting, element-specific, status-inflicting, etc. With about a dozen abilities per character, that’s well over 50 additional tricks to pull out of one’s sleeve in combat.
Also! My absolute favorite thing about battles might be the visual panache of not just the heroes, but especially the enemies. So many of the monster types have uniquely animated combat sequences, and they're often some combination of inventive and hilarious. And that's not even touching on the tons of different status effects, food items, etc. that also play a significant part in combat.
Simply put, Shadow Fate's battle system has quite the amount of tricks up its sleeve. An utterly absurd amount. It didn't have to go this hard, really. Dang. But I'm glad it did. Although boss fights came to be slightly on the "unfair final boss fight in fighting game that requires several gameovers" side of things for me a bit earlier than I expect will be the case for most, I'm looking forward to starting over and doing better from the get-go in a future playthrough. You can tell from the amount of variety and polish that this is a passion project--and, in my view, it's an extremely triumphant one.
