Shadows of Adam: a review

I picked up Shadows of Adam, a retro-style JRPG, thinking it would be another fun but forgettable trip on the nostalgia train. But after finishing it, I was impressed enough that I wanted to share my thoughts on it.

Shadows of Adam is a JRPG intentionally in the style of Super Nintendo games like, well, Final Fantasy 4 and 6. There's no denying that this game is an intentional homage to those two games: from the high-fantasy-with-airships setting, to the character-driven plot, even down to a villain who is pleasantly reminiscent of Kefka. I've played quite a few retro JRPGs, but this one really nails the feel of the older Final Fantasy games.

One major strong point is the writing: the dialogue is well-crafted, but it doesn't need to cram lore down your throat like The Elder Scrolls. Each of the main characters has a unique personality and backstory that comes out in flashbacks and conversation, which really makes the party easy to empathize with. There are even little JRPG touches in the dialogue, like a faux-swear word ("Snakes!") that feels amusingly like it was translated from Japanese.

The combat system is simple but engaging, and encourages you to use skills by being very generous with your MP restoration. It's not hugely strategic, but it feels like an accomplishment to kill a boss.

Also, the pixel art is excellent in many places, and the soundtrack is exceptional. The boss theme and the volcano music are some of my favorites, and those tunes really jump out and add to the mood.

Clocking in at 10-15 hours, Shadows of Adam is a short and relatively manageable game, but fun all the way through. There's an open-world section at the end, as well as a New Game +, that should give completionists even more to do. I highly recommend this game to any SNES JRPG fans out there.

(A final note: this game is very fond of block-pushing puzzles, which I often like but some people may hate, so be warned.)

Submitted June 02, 2019 at 09:50PM by GaiusPompeius https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg_gamers/comments/bw0rh8/shadows_of_adam_a_review/?utm_source=ifttt