Analysis of The Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society: This JRPG arrives without making much noise and if it hooks you, about 50 hours of good Japanese role-playing await you

If the magnificent study stands out for something Nippon Ichi Software (NIS), it is for continuing to create Titles “artisanal” and tremendously linked to classic Japanese tastes. In other words, far from trying to “westernize” their productions as other Japanese companies tend to do -and let this not sound like a criticism on my part, each company is free to take the path it deems most appropriate-, NIS continues with its games that, outside the Japanese borders, are considered in the vast majority of cases as works of a niche nature.

Despite this, NIS has managed to create some other quite successful works in the West, such as the wonderful Disgaea series, whose latest installment appeared in our territory (Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny) is a true marvel… as is the case with Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, which just opened in Japan! But of course, Disgaea is an exception.

The usual thing is that the games of this company go a lot on tiptoe and unnoticed in our territory, something that already happened with the forgotten Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk PS Vita and its subsequent reissue in other formats (including Switch) a few years ago. Will the same be true of the direct sequel to this recently released work, Labyrinth of Galleria: The Moon Society? Well… surely. And it would be a shame because here you have an old-fashioned role-playing game that hooks you.

A vintage flavored Dungeon Crawler

As it happened with the aforementioned Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk, in this continuation we find ourselves face to face with a title with a clear dungeon crawler orientation… and like the ones before, in addition. In fact, it is impossible not to think about classic sagas like Wizardry or Ultima as you embark on this adventure, although one of my favorites is Etrian Odysseywhich is much more recent… and bears the Atlus stamp, a real guarantee.

after a rather dark and sinister plot In which a kind of witch named Madame Marta and her assistant meet, we have to manage to explore and enter an almost infinite labyrinth that no one can enter. So how the hell can we get to him? Well, using inanimate objects… such as dolls or puppets, which become the main protagonists of this work. Some puppets that, as if by magic, can be breathed in with life, artificially endowing them with a soul.

Precisely, one of the main attractions of the title has to do with these characters. Although at first we do not have a very large group of these types, as we progress it is possible to create a awesome compendium of heroes, each with its own characteristics. And there are all kinds of them, from the classic all-terrain ones to other experts in the tactical team component, the classic tanks that can withstand any rival offensive, etc.

There are more than 40 of these puppets endowed with life, and the most striking of all is that we can customize them to unsuspected limits. Choosing your appearance, gender, voice, abilities or name are just some of the options before us. And, once all this is established, we have to create our perfect team to enter the labyrinth of yore, there are numerous different formations that we must try.

How to play The Labyrinth of Galleria

The game system that reveals this production is very easy to explain. Every time we plunge into the labyrinth, we have to make our way through its many corridors, rooms and open spaces. Always from a first-person perspective, we have to try to create the map as we go through doors, activate switches, jump over holes and, of course, fight against the numerous beasts that can be seen inside the dungeon.

While we explore the sets (to name them in some way), we must keep an eye on a kind of alarm that tells us the level of danger we are in, that is, if there are rivals hanging around the place where we are. And, if the time comes to fight, we run into the classic turn-based combat system.

The battles are quite interesting, although it is also true that they are not surprising at all because during them it is necessary to carry out the usual attacks in this type of works, to be aware of their effectiveness depending on the class and characteristics of the adversaries, etc Some confrontations that, I already warn you, many times will result in the death of our group, so we will have to return to the lair to make the necessary adjustments… and enjoy the rewards that we have been finding ourselves inside the labyrinth.

The interior of the dungeon is not only home to traps, traps, and monsters, but is also full of treasures that it is necessary to obtain. The RPG factor that this game has is very attractive, and it allows us to meet certain secondary characters to market, improve the characters’ weapons using alchemy, enhance the skills of the soldiers and other traditional ingredients of role-playing titles.

In each new foray into the maze, the idea is to get as far as possible and get as many useful items as possible. Some missions that can keep us entertained for a few 40 or 50 hours easilybecause it is also a fairly demanding adventure and one that provides us with some curious difficulty peaks.

The experience that this adventure provides us is quite absorbing… but it is necessary to make it clear that it is not a title for everyone, rather the opposite. If you don’t really like the genre, chances are you’ll find it too dense and repetitive sooner rather than later. And this is not helped by the fact that the texts are in perfect englishsomething that was totally predictable.

As if that were not enough, the technical issue is not very remarkable either, since although the recreation of the characters is quite attractive, the funds are as basic as they are repetitive. It’s not the most beautiful game in the worldthat is clear, but it is also true that works of this style have never stood out for that, so you can forgive him.

The sound is another matter entirely. He dubbing is very good and the melodies, without being particularly striking, do not become tiresome at all, something essential in this type of production.