Wander Stars Review
Apple Head’s Misadventures
The 90s were an amazing time to be an anime fan. I often find myself nostalgic for older anime, especially when I am seeking comfort television after a long day of work. I’ve rewatched some of the classics, such as Sailor Moon and Gundam Wing, and appreciate the fact that these shows represent such a different time and vibe that is hard to replicate now. The 90s are often cited as a generation that struggled to have an identity, and yet it’s also one many of us have grown nostalgic for because a lot of the media reflected a much simpler time. Paper Castle Games’s Wander Stars is all about capturing the nostalgia of 90s anime culture, and while it does that on multiple levels, the game has some issues that hold it back from greatness.
Players are introduced to Ringo, a young warrior in pursuit of becoming the best kiai martial artist, as she also searches for her missing brother. After trying and failing to complete chores for her aunt, Ringo ends up encountering Wolfe, a mysterious individual searching for pieces of the Wander Star map. When Wolfe learns that Ringo has a piece of the map, the two of them begin their zany adventures, wherein they meet Canela, a singing witch, and Ax, an enemy-turned-ally who has a mysterious past with Wolfe. Bounty hunters, pirates, and other foes begin to hunt Ringo and friends in a highly entertaining adventure across the game’s ten episodes.
Episodic RPGs are a rare and welcome change from the more usual, less-structured plots of many other games. Each episode has a runtime of sixty to ninety minutes, giving the player bite-sized stories to enjoy. Given Wander Stars‘ inspiration from 90s anime, with Dragon Ball being the most noticeable influence, the game does a great job of providing a likable and funny cast of characters who constantly find themselves in chaotic situations. The game does a great job of balancing humour and serious moments, and the writing is very cheeky without being cringy. The entire cast is quite lovable, as Ringo is sassy and carefree, while Wolfe is stoic until he has to wrangle Ringo when she decides to march to the beat of her own drum. Even the nameless side characters that the cast encounter have great and funny dialogue. While the overall story is very cliché and camp, there’s no denying the amount of charm that Wander Stars exudes in its characters and writing.
Don’t mess with Anzu.
The game advertises itself as an anime one can play, and that statement couldn’t be more perfect. While there are tons of homages to 90s anime, it’s most apparent in the game’s visuals, which are detailed and defined. Character designs look like they could be straight out of Dragon Ball, particularly Ringo’s facial expressions, which are super detailed and animated. Even the backgrounds make players feel as though they are moving around in a Saturday morning cartoon. From facial expressions to simple animations, a lot of work has been put into Wander Stars‘ visual aesthetic. If there is anything to criticize, it would be that more animation in this style would have been welcomed, though what the game provides is still quite excellent. Even the game’s soundtrack does a great job of playing into the 90s aesthetic, with the combat theme being an absolute bop that gets the player hyped for battle. There is a playfulness in the music that is both charming and energetic, always managing to fit perfectly with whatever is playing out on screen, even if not every track stands out.
Combat comes in the form of using one’s words — literally. While Ringo is the only fighter on screen, she and her companions have words that can string together an attack. There are action words, which are for the attacks being used, like “kick” or “stab,” to elements, such as “thunder,” and lastly modifying words, which are the most plentiful, as more of them can be used than the other two categories. There are a number of slots for each word, with more powerful or useful words needing more slots to be used. More powerful words also have longer cooldown times than shorter ones, meaning players need to be strategic during turns to ensure they are inflicting the maximum amount of damage. Each word has a specific attachment to it, whether it’s adding elemental damage, increasing the amount of damage, or inflicting a status ailment. One downside is the obscurity of enemy weakness or immunity info, which is hidden in the game’s interface and requires players to hover over the enemy to see it. This still isn’t obvious, resulting in a lot of trial and error.
Combat also lacks flexibility, as the string of word combos becomes too routine, and there isn’t a lot of creativity in the process, especially for a game that prides itself on wordplay. Why can’t a player have a string of more elemental words or action words? While it is recognized that Wander Stars is not Street Fighter, and there’s no real way to string combos, it could have been a nice touch and perhaps made the word battle system a bit more bonkers. If this is an homage to 90s anime, there is no reason for the battle system to play it safe.
Use your words!
One nice addition is that if Ringo hits an enemy’s armor threshold, she can peace out of the battle, escaping and being awarded a pep up, allowing her to befriend her foes and have both a new word and a passive ability bestowed upon her. Much like everything else in the battle system, there’s a limited amount of pep ups that Ringo can have at one time, though this is a good thing, as pep ups can be game changers in tough battles. Ending battles peacefully also earns Ringo honour points, which she can spend at the beginning of every chapter to open up more word slots, pep up slots, or increase her stats. While it’s interesting and more rewarding to end battles peacefully, it stinks that stats can only be upgraded once a new chapter begins and cannot be used during the current one. The battle system has a lot of interesting ideas, but not all of them feel cohesive. As a result, battles don’t feel as rewarding as they could be.
Exploration comes in the form of a game board, wherein Ringo can wander from node to node to encounter enemies, have a random event, or pick up items. Players can roam about and do as much or as little of each map as they please, though missing nodes often lead to lost rewards, such as items or new words. While it’s not necessary to stop at every node, it’s worth the effort because the boons often outweigh the risks. However, it’s also easy to get wrapped up in so many battles as healing items are not always plentiful, meaning Ringo may go multiple battles without her health or cooldowns being restored. The game is great at telegraphing when players have reached an important plot point, and are always given the option to prepare before tougher boss battles. Boss battles themselves are the right amount of challenge without feeling too cheap, and the game’s difficulty, for the most part, is very manageable overall.
Gotta find the goal!
Unfortunately, the Nintendo Switch version of Wander Stars had quite a number of performance issues throughout its ten-hour runtime. Battles where too much was happening on screen experienced noticeable slowdown. Even stranger were the game’s menus, where the cursors moved beyond the listed options, but were visibly still on screen. Lastly, this reviewer had multiple crashes during their playthrough, including during the game’s ending. While Wander Stars is a fun game, these issues dragged down the experience and were too noticeable to ignore. The game’s menus are also cumbersome, as it’s hard to know if something is equipped or not, meaning the player may need to click on a word or pep up multiple times to ensure it is. It’s also fairly easy to accidentally hit the wrong button and have all the words cleared, meaning players will need to take time to reset everything.
If there is anything that should be praised, it’s that Wander Stars is a great reminder that episodic RPGs are a fantastic, if rare, thing. At no point does the game outstay its welcome across its ten episodes, and the writing and characters do a wonderful job of bringing players back. The battle system is interesting, though it ultimately plays a bit too safe, which is a shame given how playful the idea of using one’s words is. There is a lot to enjoy in this tiny package, but the Switch’s performance issues hold it back from being excellent. That being said, Wander Stars is a very joyful game that, if a sequel were made and its issues ironed out, I would be on board to play in an instant.
Disclosure: This review is based on a free copy of the game provided by the publisher.
90's anime vibes are on point
Great soundtrack
Cheeky characters and writing
Battle system should be more robust
Performance issues on Switch drag down the experience
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