Chained Echoes Reviews
Chained Echoes is without a doubt the best RPG I've played all year, and should be pushed to the top of your backlog immediately.
Chained Echoes is a 16-bit-era JRPG that lends itself well to the genre. A definite pickup if you are wanting to do a run of more SNES-era games but still have some quality-of-life adjustments of the modern era.
Chained Echoes rises above its SNES-era inspirations, crafting an experience that easily stands out for its own merits.
Simply put, Chained Echoes is a heartfelt love letter to the SNES JRPG classics from the 90s that boasts an incredible cast of characters, amazing pixel artwork, a brilliant soundtrack, impeccable attention to detail, and a complex narrative.
If you like the classics of the 16-bit era role-playing, you will enjoy Chained Echoes like a pig in a puddle. It takes everything that has aged badly of the genre (random combats, rhythm ...) and brings it up to date with exquisite taste. For something it has been 7 years in development, and it is something that shows. Too bad it doesn't have texts in Spanish.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The one person passion project from German developer Matthias Linda re-works and banishes some of the genre's more frustrating staples and presents an exciting, fleshed out fantasy world meshed with some of the best strategic turn-based combat the genre has seen in years.
On the surface, Chained Echoes is an amazing game, but one that offers you an even better experience overall the more you play.
Chained Echoes is an incredibly passionate love letter to 16-32 bit era JRPGs, but it also knows when to try new things and add modern conveniences. Its battle system is one of the best in the genre, and feels genuinely revolutionary. I was slightly underwhelmed by the game’s rushed final act and a couple of party members but Chained Echoes is a great game and is absolutely worth your time if you’re a fan of the genre.
Chained Echoes is a fantastic game that hearkens back to the good old days of the 16-bit RPGs and adds its own flair to make it stand out from the bunch. The turn-based combat system is very involved thanks to the Overdrive mechanic, and the art style is simply eye candy, which is music to the ears of all old-school RPG lovers out there. The first few hours of the game can get a bit messy and confusing, events-wise, but really gathers itself and goes on to tell a solid and heartfelt story across multiple characters that is punctuated by stellar gameplay. The experience has been mostly bug-free and the game has simply been a surprise, as I’m sure many didn’t expect such a gem amidst all of the big triple A titles this month.
It's not every day you get to experience a game like Chained Echoes. With an incredible story, excellent writing, characters you can connect with and a combat system that takes a traditional turn-based system and turns it into a strategic, thought-provoking experience. What's not to like about that?
Chained Echoes is a must-play both for fans of old school JRPGs as well as story-centric role-playing games.
Chained Echoes is a deep JRPG that will satisfy fans of the genre but is easy enough to understand to attract novices. The combat system, centered Overdrive balancing, is interesting and pretty fast for the genre. The universe, with its mix of influences and retro presentation, offers plenty of secrets and details.
Fans of old school 2D JRPGs, who would like something made today that resembles the great Super Nintendo and PS1 classics, need to play Chained Echoes. It’s a wonderful game. It’s more ambitious than the common indie throwback JRPG, but has many of their modernizations. Every single element of Chained Echoes is full of loving attention to detail. Hopefully Chained Echoes is a success and we can see future projects from its creator. I’ve already ordered a physical copy.
This single-developer passion project sets a standard for how the classic 16-bit JRPG can still be improved upon
If you’re a fan of JRPGs and/or turn-based games, Chained Echoes is a must of a time sink. It’s not only an impressive work of solo developer Matthias Linda but a well crafted one at that.
I couldn’t have been happier with my time with Matthias Linda and Deck13’s Chained Echos. It does everything right. Taking retro inspired designs and making it an RPG worthy of today’s standards, the characters, the environments, the music, the gameplay, essentially the works, you have it here. Thank you for this early holiday present!
Chained Echoes is a wonderful mash-up of '90s JRPG tropes, masterfully woven together to produce an experience that feels simultaneously nostalgic and fresh. A well-paced story, unconventional progression system, tactical combat system, and expansive world all come together to make for a game that is shockingly one of the very best RPGs that we've played this year. Really, there's no place where it feels like Chained Echoes drops the ball, which is all the more impressive when you consider that the vast majority of it was put together by one person. If you consider yourself a fan of JRPGs, you owe it to yourself to pick this one up as soon as possible. Even if you aren't a fan of the genre, we'd still encourage you to snap this one up; it stands as a shining example of everything that makes RPGs great.
Chained Echoes is a great throwback to the old JRPGs of the SNES era, and for those who loved those sorts of games, this one is definitely worth your time. This game is also for those who are not looking for a nostalgia trip though. This comes from someone who does not ordinarily enjoy JRPGs, but Chained Echoes is chockful of content, systems, and loads of great characters and complex mechanics. You’ll probably love it if you do or don’t love those old-school JRPG classics.
A love letter to console RPGs that left a mark on the life of many players in the past, Chained Echoes succeeds in delivering an adventure worthy of the titles it pays homage to, and it can already be considered a modern classic. The charismatic characters, excellent soundtrack and enticing plot from the very start will definitely please fans of the genre looking for something new that smartly reminds them of the past. Thus, for all intents and purposes, do not let yourself be deceived: though it may seem small, this is one of the big titles of 2022.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
There are so many “retro homage” JRPGs these days that I tend to approach them with caution. Even when they’re made well, they rarely live up to the standards of the games that inspired them. Chained Echoes not only meets that standard but, were this released back on the SNES when Final Fantasy IV, V, and VI were flying high, people would have considered them comparable. It’s more than a homage. It’s a genuine and powerful contribution to the genre.