Reynatis Preview

The combat is certainly fast paced, generating lots of quick switches between attack and defence in short amounts of time.

Tokyo is a familiar setting for RPG fans, with many titles heading to and utilising some of the famed sights and locales in the metropolis. FuRyu and Natsume-Atari’s Reynatis is the latest title to combine modern day and fantasy within its implementation of the ever-popular Shibuya Ward. Ahead of the game’s western release next month courtesy of NIS America, RPGamer was giving a hands-off demonstration from some early parts of the game and see what awaits players.

Reynatis’s version of Tokyo is part of a world where magic is real and feared by the general citizenry. Wizards are forced to conceal their powers, and come under the control of the Magic Enforcement Administration (MEA). The game features two primary protagonists sitting on different sides of the conflict between liberation and regulation of magic. Marin Kirizumi is a 19-year-old college student who found himself under the restrictions of magic users and aims to free himself of it by becoming the strongest wizard there is. Meanwhile, Sari Nishijima is a 24-year-old former police officer who joined the MEA after awakening her magic powers and has (unwantingly) become the poster child of the organisation.

The MEA is tasked with keeping public order in the face of magic.

The game sees players swapping back and forth each chapter between the perspectives of Marin and Sari, who are joined by various allies, though the pair invariably cross paths multiple times. Characters will discuss relevant story points or events as players explore; the game is fully voiced in Japanese only, with full subtitles. There wasn’t too much to be gleaned from the presentation in terms of how the story will play out, but there are plenty of elements to it, including a separate magical world called Another, a volunteer vigilante group called Owl that operates where the MEA can’t, and the freedom-seeking wizardry group know as the Guild that has been distributing a magic-inducing drug called rubrum. In addition to its main story, the game features a collaboration crossover with NEO: The World Ends with You, which is accessible at around the halfway point of the game. There will also be nine periodic free post-launch content updates designed to add to the story and characters.

Players are given the direction and distance to their next mission objective, but can pick up various sidequests along the way; one early example shown was Sari removing fault-containing posters depicting her. One of Reynatis’s unique elements, which plays a major role in both combat and exploration is the Hoodie System. All Wizards can switch between Suppressed Mode and Liberation Mode. While exploring, Suppressed Mode hides their magical nature, allowing players to talk to NPCs and otherwise act like regular citizens, allowing find to find and advance quests. Meanwhile, Liberation Mode lets them use magic for benefits such as moving around quickly. However, Liberation Mode attracts the attention of citizens and, if kept up long enough, the attention of the MEA, who will swoop down upon them. In the demonstration, this acted a bit like a race against time as Marin rushed to reach the dedicated area where he could switch back to Suppressed Mode and escape the unwanted attention. As a recognised MEA officer, however, Sari doesn’t have the same concern.

Running through the streets in Liberation Mode invites unwanted attention.

Reynatis features an authentic implementation of Shibuya, including the real-life storefronts and locations such as Shibuya 109, with its own decently distinct visual design than combines with a smartphone-style menu system. The wards are made up of a series of interconnected smaller maps that players travel through while exploring and completing quests, with the available area to explore expanding as the game goes on. Exploration will see players finding Wizart, special artwork that when found provides new skills, experience or money boosts, and more. Players can upgrade their Wizart skills and even transform some of them for more impressive attacks. Exploration also impacts Stress and Malice systems. Stress can build up when talking to people and learning certain information, but can be lower by eating snacks — purchasable from many sources such as vending machines — or petting cats. Higher Stress leads to greater attack power, but if it gets too high then players cannot maintain Suppressed Mode. Meanwhile, Malice is a measure of the corruption in Shibuya and can be reduced by completing sidequests, which unlocks new Wizart.

Both Marin and Sari are joined in combat by up to two allies, with players able to swap between the three party members on the fly. The Hoodie System is a key part of combat. While in Suppressed Mode, players will find that all enemy attacks are slowed down and easy to dodge. Dodging allows the wizard to absorb magical power needed for their attacks. While in Liberation Mode, players are able to unleash their full attacks, but are also effectively defenceless. Combat therefore becomes a back-and-forth between using Suppressed Mode to defend and build up relevant meters before switching to Liberation Mode to unleash attacks effectively. Despite the strategy involved, the combat is certainly fast paced, generating lots of quick switches between attack and defence in short amounts of time. Each battle comes with a results screen providing a score, rank, and potential bonus to experience received based on that rank.

There’s an appreciable difference between each character and the skills they utilise; for example, Marin is quite melee-focused while his ally Nika makes use of summon-style magic, and the game encourages players to swap between characters during combat, especially on the tougher bosses. Each character can equip two active skills from the Wizart they have found, some of which are character-specific while others can be equipped by multiple characters. Each of the Wizart can be enhanced, which increases their power and other potential effects, such as duration. Characters can also equip ability Wizart, which provides various passive bonuses to that character, with up to five slots to unlock. Reynatis includes a singular difficulty, with NIS America stating it offers a decent challenge, but that the game is forgiving on defeats, letting players access the menu before retrying any fight.

Combat is fast paced, encouraging plenty of swapping between characters and between attack and defence.

In addition to Shibuya, players will also be taken to the otherworldly realm of Another. These act as dungeons with vastly different scenery to the urban jungle of Shibuya, with one shown offering some lush green woodland and NIS America mentioning that others include a desert and a past version of Shibuya. The change in scenery is accompanied by a striking change in music from renowned composer Yoko Shimomura as well, which heightens the contrast.

Reynatis is looking to entice players with its authentic, yet distinct version of Shibuya and a fast-paced action combat system, and there’s certainly potential for the game to earn a lot of fans. RPGamers will get the opportunity to dive into its version of Shibuya on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on September 27, 2024. Players will be also able to try out a demo ahead of its release, though NIS America was unable to provide exact details on the timing and contents of the demo yet.