Ready to go on a fantasy RPG adventure that switches between two worlds? My Elrentaros Wanderings Review will take you on a journey to Elrentaros and explain why this is one of my new favourite fantasy RPGs! It is the perfect balance of a cosy game, mixed with action and adventure.
If you want more information on the game, you can visit the official Elrentaros Wanderings website.
Elrentaros Wanderings Review
I love fantasy, and I love RPGs… so this was the perfect mix. I’m also a huge fan of the ‘main character falls into a brand new world and switches between them’ trope, like in Deltarune or Omori for example. You start by waking up in the world of Elrentaros, and you have no idea how you ended up here.
From there, you can explore the village and start talking to the other townsfolk. Later that day, you fall asleep and suddenly see a bright light, only to end up in a classroom. The people in the classroom seem to know you, and they look the same as the villagers in Elrentaros, but you don’t remember them. I was hoping there would be more back-and-forth between the two worlds, but unfortunately, a lot more takes place in Elrentaros. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, although it would have been interesting to see you go back-and-forth between the two more often.
I love the visuals, and the game itself is very easy to understand and follow. If you open the main menu, the game will give you tips for each section. It also notes character details, dungeon information, your build (as well as any weapons you have), and game settings. Here, you can change the difficulty. I played in normal mode. You can also choose to rest here. If you rest, you will be brought to the following day.
The Characters
What drew me into the world of Elrentaros Wanderings was the fact that you can gift characters and build relationships with them. In total, there are ten partner characters, and to earn their friendship you complete different quests and tasks for them. However, I was a little disappointed in the depth and complexity of each character, especially the partner ones. They are very simple, and the dialogue is short.
To improve your bonds with a character, you can give them gifts and complete tasks they set. As your friendship builds over time, you can invite them into your tent, or have a meal with them. Maybe I’m asking for too much because I love Otome games, but it would have been interesting to get different character routes. That way you would get more information and depth about each partner character, subsequently letting you learn more about them.
I was a fan of the main character you play as, especially the multiple dialogue options! I love games where you have multiple choices when speaking (although I don’t have it in me to choose the mean option). You get to choose either a male or female character to play as, and you can also rename them (however I stuck with the name they were given). I do wish you could customize your character more, such as changing your hair, skin, outfits, etc to make it feel more personalized.
What To Do In Elrentaros
Elrentaros is the fantasy world you arrive in, and it is a small town away from the capital of Melvania. Within a few minutes or arriving you are tasked with exploring the Cave Pick dungeon. I had a lot of fun the first time round. Monsters spawn from the ground, and you can obtain items and buffs through drops. Each dungeon quest has 10 stages, and once you reach stage 10, you must defeat all the monsters to progress to the boss. A new “Challenge Level” becomes available when you clear a dungeon. After defeating the boss, you unlock new weapons you can purchase and upgrade.
However I then realized that exploring the cave was one of the main parts of the game. If you want to do a task that a townsperson has set you, you have to complete a mission. Each Challenge Level comes with different missions. So for example ‘Take no damage from the spiked floor’ is one of them. Each mission correlates to a task set by the townsfolk, so to complete their task, you need to finish the mission in the dungeon.
On the topic of dungeons, the monsters do drop buffs, but the buffs only last between 4-10 seconds, which I found wasn’t very long, especially if you have just finished a stage and are moving onto the next one. The buff includes the time it takes you to move to the next stage, so it runs out relatively quickly too.
Aside from going into dungeons, you can also farm and grow crops. To get the seeds you simply have to hope they are dropped by monsters. Basically, everything you need (items to complete tasks, gifts to give to characters) is obtained through the dungeons and missions. Maybe I’m too much of a Stardew Valley fan, but I would have liked to see a wider range of activities to obtain items. Such as fishing, or mining.
Back To The Real World
Overall though, I enjoyed my time with Elrentaros Wanderings. It was a great balance between a cosy game with a variety of characters to talk to (despite them being a little basic), a nice soundtrack, good visuals and graphics, and an action-adventure RPG with fighting and exploration. I loved the fact that you could customize your build and choose what weapons to have, and upgrade them each time you complete a new dungeon quest.
I also liked the range of characters there are, and there is definitely a partner character for everyone. The characters I focused on increasing my friendship with were Brad and Hajime. One has glasses and one is blunt and stoic… you can’t blame me for not being able to choose a favourite! Again however, I wish the partner characters had a more romantic route. Or, more complexity and a backstory to them. Either way, I still had fun talking to them.
If you like cosy fantasy games, but with a hint of action, then Elrentros Wanderings comes highly recommended – as long as you’re okay with things getting a little repetitive at times.
The good
- Two worlds to explore
- Cute graphics and visuals
- Easy to follow, and can change game difficulty
The bad
- Gameplay gets a little repetitive
- Simple characters that lack depth