Having since played Caligula Effect 2Â another unique looking game caught my attention, Monark. The baroque chess piece looking designs with the vibrant red ominous color surrounding what may be the main character of the game, I had to see what it was all about. Thankfully our good friends over at NIS America graciously gifted us a review copy of Monark.
Monark is published by NIS America (Disgaea, Prinny 1•2: Exploded and Reloaded, Phantom Brave) and developed by FuRyu (The Caligula Effect, Caligula Effect: Overdose, Crystar) all of these games are unique in their own way so it’s no surprise that Monark would be the same. Crafted by a well-known team that includes director Fuyuki Hayashi, character artist so-bin and staff from Shin Megami Tensei series such as Ryutaro Ito, Monark is sure to deliver an amazing story and a unique gameplay experience.
Upon starting the game, you are thrown into a battle paired with some cryptic explanation of things you don’t quite understand. You’re then greeted by an unexpected opening movie followed by a series of cut scenes and introductions that set the scene that something is not right. While the friendly introduction to a fun psychology test might not mean something to you at that moment, it is important and will affect some or your abilities and opportunities to pick up items later on in the game. As you continue through Monark you will come to realize that these multiple psych tests are important to the main character and how the story is based on these tests and the results of your ego.Â
Speaking of Ego, here’s mine.
Based in a very large school named Shin Mikado, the game is separated into different buildings. You’ll come to understand that something is very wrong: students have gone missing lost in a mist that has spread to multiple buildings and causes people to go mad. You and your friends are not immune to this as you are quickly introduced to another world beyond what is reality through your phone of course. After a near death experience, introduction to what could be considered the game’s mascot and more explanations; you are informed of the Otherworld where daemons run free to feast on those whose wills and egos are weak.Â
One thing I will mention is that is important to read through the battle tutorials for Monark. They will definitely help you through battles and understand the abilities of your characters. After returning from the Otherworld and attempting to get a grasp on what’s going on, you are informed by a very familiar looking woman by the name of Sora, of what’s going on: the madness inducing mist that’s affecting everyone originated from a tear between the worlds due to someone making a pact with a daemon. It is now up to you and friends to stop these Pactbarers and remove the mist from Shin Mikado.
Another thing I want to mention is the Pactbarers are in fully aware of their actions and consequences, their reasons maybe some you resonate with and some you might not. By no means Monark is not a sunshine and rainbows, it does have dark tendencies. The game is split into two types of investigative dungeon crawling and then battling. Your main goal is to get rid of the anomalies on each other floors to progress to the next stage. To do that you need to find the access point: a strange and unsettling noise that is a phone call. However it’s not that easy, through clever puzzles, conversations with the students that haven’t gone mad, and some sleuthing you’ll overcome these puzzles. But it’s not easy, as you progress through the mist you have to be weary of your madness gauge, avoiding the zombie like students that are docile until a Death Call.Â
I want to note something here, one of the most interesting aspects of Monark is the use of the cellphone. Call for help? No there’s no service in the school which is all explained during your first exploration. You are allowed to dial any Japanese number; however do it at your own risk. You’ll be warned early on about doing this and honestly it was fun dialing random numbers until you continuously are faced against daemons at level 99. In addition to dialing numbers and your investigation phase, you’ll receive something called a Death Call. This phone call will cause the once docile stu
dents to ominously approach you and try to drag you into madness. You can avoid them easily but as for the call itself, don’t answer it. Trust me, just avoid answering it until you find the access point, call another number or leave the floor.Â
On to the battling, just like the first official battle of the game you have your circle of movement, options for a weapon specific basic attack and special attacks. Special attacks use HP and if you’re not careful you could die AND if the main character dies it’s game over. Something else to note, while exploring your madness gauge steadily increases and that gauge will also be transferred into battles. Also certain abilities will also cause your madness gauge to increase in battle.
If you die, game over. If you go mad in a battle, game over. Madness, Spirit and Strategy are important to survive battles. Speaking of Spirit, Monark does not have your conventional leveling up system, you don’t level up from battling, but you gain Spirit from the battles. Spirit is used to level up your already determined abilities. By unlocking and leveling these abilities your stats and level increases. There is a trade off since spirit is used for leveling and also for purchasing items. However once you understand the game better you will be able to balance between item usage and leveling.
There are many things about Monark that makes it different and kept me wanting more, specifically investigation and puzzles. It was more enjoyable to explore and solve puzzles without having to worry about battling. The story and the creepy atmosphere paired with psych tests gives Monark a unique RPG twist. I highly recommend checking out and exploring Monark for its story development, gameplay, and its unconventional but familiar JRPG action.Â
Monark releases 02.22.2022 on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. Be sure to grab a copy!
