The Guided Fate Paradox stars a young high school student named Renya. Renya is an unlucky schmuck who, by happenstance, wins a random lottery, which grants him the status of God. His personal angel, Lilliel, explains he’s in charge of granting wishes via a machine called the Fate Revolution Circuit. Each wish is like an episode of an anime. Some episodes are serious, while others are hilarious. Unfortunately the overarching plot of angels battling demons is a slow crawl. Like most anime, it won’t appeal to all, but to those who stick with it will be pleasantly surprised.
The gameplay is a unique blend of a dungeon crawler mixed with a turn based RPG. Conquer randomly generated dungeon floors by fighting monsters and collecting loot in order to make it to the next floor, progressing the story. Dungeons can be replayed after passing them, which is a must considering the challenge of the game. There’s a lot to dive into here with the mechanics, but hopefully this video will explain things better in detail. TGFP is one of those complex RPGs with a risk, reward system much like Demon Souls. Take the risk and get rewarded handsomely. Fail said risk and well, chances are some screaming will ensue.
At the outset, TGFP looks a lot like Disgaea: the sprites, the environments, the music, and even the humor. Aside from the beautifully rendered characters, the game’s style is a bit mediocre and looks like it belongs on a handheld. That’s not to say it’s bad, but the simple and repetitive design leaves something to be desired. The one thing that is actually a painful issue here is only being able to save once a dungeon is complete which can take an hour if not more. There is a suspend feature, but once reloaded, that progress will vanish. If a death occurs in the dungeon, every item is lost. It’s frustrating and frankly an outdated way of thinking. There are other ways to make a game challenging without regressing to arbitrary save withholding.
The Guided Fate Paradox has an interesting premise. The story is funny, but a little slow and the combat is deep and addicting, but brutally difficult. It’s a paradox within itself. Hardcore RPG fans will dig it, but it definitely isn’t for everyone.
Score: 3/5 Stars
Special Notes: The publisher provided a review code for the game. This article was originally published on November 1, 2013 via my Examiner account before the website shut down. Check out the supporting video review on the accompanying YouTube Channel, ReActionExaminer.
Game Jurk 