14 DAY TRIAL // 
Developer CyberConnect2 is mostly known for their work on an intimidating number of Naruto games, but I’m mostly attached to the studio’s Asura’s Wrath. In between these numerous Naruto titles, the fine folks at CyberConnect2 have found the time to build an entirely new series within a new universe loosely tied to Naruto’s.
The game’s Steam page does a good job of describing what Fuga: Melodies of Steel is all about, but there’s so much more to enjoy beyond that short snippet that’s trying to attract RPG fans. At its core, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a pretty decent RPG “where you place children, each with their own unique characteristics and skills, at different gun turrets in a tank to fight against the enemy.”
As a genre, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a turn-based strategy RPG with some social sim elements akin to Persona series. Raising the bond between the children will provide them with much needed benefit in fights.
Although it might sound harsh to have children operating a tank and killing adults, let me assure you that everything makes sense once you actually get to play the game. Set in an alternate fantasy version of France populated by anthropomorphic animals, Fuga: Melodies of Steel tells the story of a group of kids in search of their parents.
Caught in a middle of a conflict between the evil Berman Empire (previously Germany) and Gasco (previously France), a group of children finds and boards the legendary Taranis, a giant tank, and start to push back at the oppressor. The Taranis is not just a steel fortress on wheel, but it will also soon become the home and base of operations for the children.
Living inside the tank requires children to develop certain skills like cooking, washing, farming, livestock raising, fishing and much more. That’s in addition to learning how to fight the Bermans. This is where the game mixes social sim and strategy RPG elements, as you have to raise the bonds between the children and find their best fighting slot during battles.
The best parts of the game are, obviously, the turn-based battles. Your giant tank hides a lot of mysteries that you’ll be able to uncover as you progress, but most of the time you’ll be using Taranis’ three guns to destroy the enemy: machine guns, grenade launchers, and cannons. Each of these weapons are good against a certain type of enemy and/or defense.
On top of that, each child has unique skills that impact every weapon on the Taranis. Usually, they work in pairs, each controlling a weapon and switching between them whenever needed. It adds an extra layer of strategy that you must factor in when deciding your team’s synergies.
Guiding the Taranis through the countryside is not just a simple drive from battle to battle. At the beginning of a new chapter, you must choose between two predetermined paths that sometime cross each other, which typically end with a boss fight. Each of these timelines has enemies interspersed along, so you can choose whichever you feel like you’re up to. Sometimes you find crates that contain health packs for the tank, which come in handy before fighting a boss.
Remember that I said the Taranis hides a lot of mysteries and that you can typically use any of its three weapons in battles? Well, there’s a fourth weapon hidden inside the tank, the Soul Cannon, which only becomes available when you’re close to failing an encounter. The catch is that you must sacrifice one of the children to power it, so this is a pretty important decision: will you go forward at the expense of a life or you die in a blaze of glory?
The action per se is pretty harrowing, but the rest of the children will be marked by the unfortunate event as well, so you’ll be stuck with the guilt sacrificing one of the kids for the rest of the playthrough. I’d recommend not using the Soul Cannon and try to replay the scenario instead. Nevertheless, it’s an interesting, yet brutal gameplay mechanic.
In between the battles, you get to bond with the children during so called Intermissions. You’re given a certain pool of points that you can spend on various actions like cooking meals, fishing, or simply talking to other characters to raise the affinity between them. I should also point out that you can switch between characters at any point for affinity purposes.
More often than not, you’ll find so-called Expeditions, which are very basic dungeons that can be explored by a team of children. They usually contain decent loot, so it’s worth not skipping them if only for that purpose alone.
Despite spending most of the time fighting in a huge tank, Fuga: Melodies of Steel offers a compelling narrative experience. It’s not just the bonding between the characters and the interactions between them, but also how the story unfolds. Make no mistake, this is a dark story, not a jolly ride through the countryside.
The Good
- Interesting characters, good writing
- Great world-building
- Solid combat system
- Enjoyable social sim aspect
The Bad
- Lacks mouse support
- Expeditions are too basic
- Please remove the Soul Cannon
Conclusion
The visuals, music and great writing enhance the gameplay to the point of addiction. While I’m not expecting everyone to like the characters and unsettling atmosphere, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is an engaging strategy romp through an alternate fantasy world at the helm of a legendary tank.
If you’re a fan of JRPGs, there’s a lot of fun to be had in Fuga: Melodies of Steel. The series deserves more games like this and a lot more people to play them. It’s not a masterpiece, but it’s a very interesting take on the turn-based strategy genre.
Review code was provided by the publisher.
