Overview – developed by Nippon Ichi Software and published by NIS America, Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles is a double pack of two RPG titles from the NIS vault. Experience the story of Rhapsody II & III on modern consoles, with full English voiced dialogue and official translations in the west for the first time ever. This release is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5 and Steam (sold individually) with a link to each version at the bottom of this review.
Disclaimer: before I get into the review, I would like to thank NIS America for providing the copy of Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles that was used for this piece. The provision of this software has not influenced the contents of this review, all thoughts and opinions contained within are my own.
Now with the introductions out of the way, let’s get into the review. As this is a compilation title, I will be discussing the two games in their own sections, with a brief plot summary and then the core of the gameplay for each title. The other elements will be discussed together, covering the package as a whole.
Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess
Story – taking place many years after Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure, Cornet has now married her prince and together they rule the Marl Kingdom. They have a daughter named Kururu, who sets out on an adventure to find her own prince, accompanied by her best friend Crea. During Kururu’s quest for true love, there is a dark battle brewing between two witch families, which has the potential for catastrophe for the princess.
Gameplay – this entry is a traditional JRPG where the player roams the Marl Kingdom, interacting with NPC characters, battling enemies completing quests. The game is broken up into chapters, called ACTs that feature character dialogue scenes, pushing the narrative forward, as well as musical numbers between different characters. Each of the chapters has a main objective that needs to be completed in order to progress to the next.
The player controls the Princess Kururu, moving her through the kingdom and interacting with characters while investigating the different areas of the kingdom. When exploring the lands of Marl, the player can uncover important areas ahead of time, giving a semi-open feel to the kingdoms. There are goddess statues that can be used to heal the player party. There is also a set of merchants that the player can use to buy/sell equipment.
During the course of the game, other characters will join the princess in her quest, aiding her during the adventure. These team members will also assist Kururu in battle, using their skills in combat against the foes that appear. The player can assign equipment for the party increasing their stats in battle, along with some being able to use puppets to provide them with combat support (discussed below). The party characters will follow Kururu around on her quest.
Speaking of battles, throughout the adventure there are battles that will occur randomly and at set points in the narrative. The combat for this title follows a rather traditional RPG approach, using turn based actions for the party characters. During these battles, the player has several options for what they want to do for their turn. The pre turn actions are Fight which lets the player make manual actions, Auto to skip deciding and Escape to try and flee.
When the player selects the Fight option, the player can select from the following options for their turn allowing them to assign actions for all party members. The order of battle is usually the player party, then the enemies, but there are factors that can affect this. Here is a list of options party members can use in battle;
- Attack – use a physical attack to deal damage to the target enemy, the damage is based on the equipment that they are holding.
- Defend – brace yourself for incoming attack, trying to reduce damage taken.
- Items – use an item in battle, including healing items and special damage items.
- Specials – use a characters special skills, using health as a resource to perform these abilities.
- Puppets – use the skills of the puppets equipped to the party member, with different magical spells for each puppet. These skills use Intonium (the money in this game) and will add musical notes to the music meter, leveling it up when enough are earned.
- Rewards – use the music note levels to perform special attacks, with the stronger spells needing more musical points to be used. There is also a chance to recruit enemies defeated with rewards.
When a battle is completed, the player will receive rewards based on the strength of the enemies. The rewards that players can receive are Experience points to level up, the currency Intonium and special items. When characters and puppets level up, their stats increase and at different milestones, they will gain new skills for battles. If the party is defeated, the player will be sent back to the main menu, needing to continue from the last save.
Now with the first title covered, it is onto the next title in this double pack.
Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom
Story – Memories of Marl Kingdom is an anthology, telling stories outside of the main narratives from the first two Rhapsody titles. These stories feature different characters of the first two Rhapsody games, with each of the adventures showing the path that the different characters will travel for those they love. These tales span the past, present and future of the Marl Kingdom, presenting the events that transpire outside of what we already know.
Gameplay – This title is very similar on a base level to Rhapsody II, but with some rather significant differences that allow it to stand out on its own. As this is an anthology title, the stories are told disconnected from each other, like episodes of a TV drama or Anime. This makes for an experience that capitalizes on the storybook feel of the world that the series takes place in. However, this is still a JRPG at its core and doesn’t forget it.
With each of the episodes, the player will control the main protagonist of that tale, using them to navigate the different environments and locations that are contained within. Each of the plotlines will have a fairly clear objective to achieve, but the steps needed to get to that point may not be easy. There is some puzzle solving, along with scripted and random battles that the players will encounter, oh and more musical scenes too.
Just like the previous entry, the battles that the player will encounter follow traditional turn based combat rules. However, there is a difference to these battles that spices the action up, making it more interesting compared to others in the genre. Instead of a standard party of heroes and adventurers, there are squads that consist of a leader and up to three supporters/partners. This adds more of a strategic edge to the combat and allows for some creative flexibility.
When a combat encounter occurs, the player has several options that they can select from. These action options are the same as Rhapsody II, with Attack, Defend, Special, etc. However, what makes this combat system different from the previous entry is the way that the squads work in battle. During the players turn, the player can choose an action for either the leader or a squad member, with the units that have unassigned characters making independent actions.
During battles the player uses SP instead of Intonium in this entry, giving the special skills a rather limited amount of usage which makes it more tactical. There is also the chance for chests to drop during a battle, giving the chance to earn some bonus rewards during combat. These chests need to be broken open in order to obtain the rewards inside, if the battle is ended before this, the reward is lost. This adds a risk/reward element to some battles.
When the battle is ended, the player will earn experience points to level their character up and Intonium to purchase items from the various shops. All characters active in the party will gain the same amount of points, allowing units to level up at a balanced pace. When a unit levels up, their stats will be increased as well as obtaining new skills that can be used in battle. There is even the chance to gain new party members in stages or by defeating them with Rewards.
There is a maximum of 16 units that can be built up and assigned as leaders/partners, but there are some restrictions that are tied to building squads. There are 4 different character types that can be recruited to the party, these are Puppeteer, Human, Monster and Puppet. The only unit type that cannot be put in a leader position is Puppets as they can only be used as a partner. There are also special combos that can be made with leaders and partners.
The monsters that have been recruited by the player serve many purposes, not just as a member of the party in battle. There are goddess statues scattered throughout the lands, healing the party, letting players summon monsters recruited and using them to perform miracles. When the monsters are used for miracles, they are removed from the roster but will either fill the reward meter or give XP to the other members of the party.
All characters can be equipped with items to make them stronger in battle, this also extends to the partner units that players can equip. The equipment that is added to the party is rather generalized, allowing them to be used by all members. There are also changes to the stats of a leader depending on the partners they have, modulating their stats either positively or negatively depending on their affinity to the leader.
Last to discuss is the unique progression of the individual stories. When a chapter is cleared, there will be a unique credits screen, which makes the experience feel like a collection of mini games. The player can then save the clear data for that stage, allowing them to try them again at a higher difficulty increasing the challenge significantly. This is due to resetting the story characters to their locations, but equipment is retained and monsters can be summoned.
Now with the gameplay for both titles covered, I will be moving onto discussing the other parts of the package as a whole, starting with the controls.
Controls – the controls for both titles are functionally identical to each other, with thumbstick/D-pad control for the movement of characters. The core functions are tied to the face buttons, with all battle inputs and menu navigation attached to the D-pad. The player can also speed up the dialogue and musical scenes by holding down the Y button, which can speed up repeat runs. All of the controls are comfortable regardless of the controller used.
Difficulty – as these are JRPGs there is a fairly moderate difficulty curve that will occur, with the monsters getting stronger as the narratives progress. The toughest parts of the game are the boss battles, but the challenge can be eased by grinding a little. There is the ability to save freely in both titles, which lessens the pain of getting a game over. The challenge increases further in Rhapsody III if the player replays the cleared storylines, but this is optional.
Presentation – the visual style for this collection has the signature Nippon Ichi look, with cute anime style sprite work and art that is consistent throughout both titles. The environments featured in Rhapsody II uses pre-rendered pixel backdrops that are mostly flat, whereas Rhapsody III uses Polygons for all of areas the player can roam. The visuals are a snapshot of the time they were made, with enhancement filters that can smooth the visuals and a CRT filter.
The sound for this title has a fantastical and whimsical feel to it, with bright melodies and brooding compositions depending on the area they are in. Then we have the musicals, with Japanese vocals and subtitles providing lyrics for both languages. These scenes make for a unique experience that adds to the fun of the adventures. These titles also have English dialogue for the first time ever, featuring the talents of Kayli Mills (River City Girls), Emi Lo (Higurashi) and Dawn M. Bennet (My Hero Academia).
Final Thoughts – last year I had the pleasure of playing Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure as part of NIS Classics Vol 3, with the positive experience making me excited when Marl Kingdom Chronicles was announced. This excitement was not misplaced as both of the games maintained the charm, whimsy and challenge of the first, while also expanding on the narrative of the trilogy. There is a tremendous amount of depth to this collection, while still being an approachable experience.
This is an excellent double pack that has a lot of content to offer players both old and new, with stories that are rather straight forward, but are told in a way that is engaging throughout. I am very happy to recommend this release to fans of the first game, as well as those who enjoy the library from Nippon Ichi, as it is one of the best titles to come from the vault. The overall package is a joy to play and I am so happy that these titles have finally come to the west.
In the end, I give Rhapsody: Marl Kingdom Chronicles a final score of 5/5. This double pack offers a magical experience for all players, with stories, characters and musical set pieces that breathe life into the world of Rhapsody. This release finally brings the full trilogy to the west and deserves to be in the library of any Nippon Ichi fan. If you want to check it out for yourself, a link to each version of the game is below.
Link to Nintendo Switch version (HERE)
Link to PlayStation 5 version (HERE)
W.Kohaku Media 