Your partner will behave in combat based on how you set up their tactics. This is done via conversations in the field. This is where your affection level comes into play. The higher your affection, the more options you will have available to you. Depending on what kinds of tactics you have set up, you may get more SP for praising your partner in combat. You can also earn more SP by performing the requested actions of your partner during combat. This also controls unlocking the special armor for each of the main gals in the game. Another factor your affinity will affect is what gifts you can give your partner. With a high enough level, you can give them new weapons, armor, and head accessories. This is pretty awesome since each piece of armor has a different look.
The Hollow missions will be pretty straightforward. You will go to the places marked on the map and complete objectives to open all the different areas. You can always check your map, events list or talk to Philia if you get stuck. In Aincrad, you will have to find the boss room on each floor and gather important information before taking them on. You do this by completing certain quests or by killing special monsters on each floor. These are generally pretty easy to find and complete. You can check Guilds page in your menu if you need help. When you have met those requirements, talk to the NPC at the gate and get ready for boss action. There will be tons of NPCs, as well as your partner in this battle, so make sure you get the last hit on each boss to receive a bonus item.
This all sounds a lot more complicated than it actually is, but I will admit I was pretty overwhelmed at first. You can talk to Argo — she is standing near the teleport gate — for lots of in-game help and tips. You can also check out the many guides and FAQs online for even more information, since there is a lot of aspects of combat I did not cover in this review.
Lastly, I would like to talk about the multiplayer features. The Vita version only featured ad hoc multiplayer. Thankfully, this version has full online and offline multiplayer. Players can create rooms and team up with friends to take on all of the various quests in The Hollow. There are a few options, such as difficulty, that can be set up for each room. If you make it harder on yourself, you may just get a rare drop. You can also play this mode offline with bots. Anything you obtain in this mode will carry over to the main game.
I very much enjoyed my time with Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment. The combat is fun, the music is top notch, and the story is filled with crazy scenes featuring my favorite characters. There are some technical issues that hold it back, such as the graphics, a few odd glitches and the fact they swapped the O and X buttons back, which confused the hell out of me. Those issues aside, this is one of the best RPGs on the PS4 and Vita. If you love Sword Art Online, this is a no-brainer, or if you like an MMO-style game, but don’t want the hassle of being online, this is for you. For the $20 price tag (or free if you pre-order Sword Art Online: Lost Song on PSN), which is totally different, but great, as well, you get over 100 hours of content, making this one of the best values I’ve seen in gaming in a long time.
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Game was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Sword Art Online Re: Hollow Fragment is available on Amazon:
