*Note that 1 achievement is broken as of this time of writing (30 Dec 2021).
[b]Playing status:[/b] 42/43 achievements, finished the game twice (only 1 playthrough is needed to get all working achievements)
[b]Game length:[/b] 11.5h
[b]Grindy Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (3+ achievement that needs 4h+ grind to get).
[b]Optional Achievement(s):[/b] Yes (32 achievements).
[b]Difficult Achievement(s):[/b] No.
[h1]Intro[/h1]
[b]Millennium 4 - Beyond Sunset[/b] is the third installment of the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/3409][b]Millennium[/b][/url] series. It continues its story from the previous game, [url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/298830][b]Millennium 3 - Cry Wolf[/b][/url] ([url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198132503739/recommended/298830]my review[/url]), with Marine trying to recruit thirteen warriors for a showdown. The game offers a lot of party members to play with and sidescroller maps for most of its dungeons.
[b]Pros:[/b]
- 4 difficulties
- Sidescroller dungeons give a fresh look from other RPG Maker games
- Optional tasks to do (side quests, bosses, secret rooms)
- Options to choose random encounters or touch-based encounters
[b]Cons:[/b]
- The game can be difficult at the beginning due to the "grinding mechanic"
- Some bosses rely on RNG to beat
- Party members will leave your party from time to time, leaving you with unleveled characters if you are not careful
[b]Specs[/b]
Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
[h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1]
[b]Yes.[/b]
[i]If you enjoyed the previous games and don't mind playing another in a harder difficulty, buy this game at a sale.[/i]
[hr][/hr]
[h1]In-Depth Review[/h1]
[h3]Visuals[/h3]
The game might introduce some sidescroller dungeons in the previous episodes, but this episode topped it by number. Although some areas reuse the same sprites from the previous games, newer areas, especially the sidescroller sections, look fresh with their new style. I liked these types of dungeons since they are straightforward enough to traverse. Despite the numerous screens, the energetic background music that was played in these maps also motivates you as you play.
[h3]Story[/h3]
To be honest, I'm not sure whether I liked or hated the story. This episode tells you about how desperate Marine, the main character, is in getting 3 new characters for her party within a time limit, which doesn't affect the gameplay. There will be some touching moments when she feels uncertain whether she'll make it or not, which I found to be executed perfectly - both the background music and writing were done well to make you feel emotional. However, her desperation makes her unstable. I don't like the means that she used to recruit people to the party - she won't take no for an answer and will resort to drastic measures just to make sure that the others accept her proposal. This feels like a setback to her character, making her look selfish and annoying at the same time.
[h3]The Game[/h3]
[b]Gameplay[/b]
You'll have a lot of party members that will join and leave your party from time to time. People who don't know which party members should be kept will lose their leveled party members if they are unlucky since inactive party members won't get EXP in combat. Moreover, the main character, the only one that can't be switched and will always be in your party until the end, is too weak to carry the rest of the party to level up the others when this happens.
Characters are unbalanced at the beginning. You'll be stripped of all of your weapons in this episode, forcing you to use bare hands. You can increase your bare hands level to increase the damage, but you need to use that character to hit an enemy to gain an exp for that skill. This makes the early game to be tough since most of your characters are useless - one character can damage for ~100 while others will damage the enemy in the two-digit range, or even less. It wasn't until you level up the bare hands level and promote your characters before they become useful, and that will either require grind or knowledge on where you can access the promotion. The first dungeon is still tough though. You'll even need to save after every fight just to make sure that the RNG won't screw you up.
[b]Combat[/b]
RNG affects battles. Enemies are very tough when they show up for the first time, so you must either pray that they won't kill your party members or use items. Moreover, enemies, bosses included, can wipe your party members if you are not careful. You can get stun-locked by the paralyze or stun status, which is almost impossible to cure unless if you cast a certain skill in battle. Heck, there is even a boss that can KO most of your party members with one skill if you are unlucky.
I liked how you need to change your gears or party members when you need to take on a boss that is hard to beat. Sometimes, you'll also have to change your strategy too. Some bosses will counter some attacks from certain party members, so you need to make sure every hit counts. Most of them can be beaten similarly though. You still also need to rely on your luck with the RNG to some extent, or even items if you don't have the best gear.
[b]Length and Difficulty[/b]
The game seems to be shorter than the other three games. The in-game clock says that I finished the game in 11.5h with an imported save from the previous game, and that's after grinding for 2-3h for an achievement. I spent the rest of my playtime to get the other grindy achievements and replaying the game again from the beginning with a fresh save to test if one achievement will be granted that way. It turns out that the achievement is indeed broken no matter what you do.
Despite offering 4 difficulties, the game has another layer of difficulty embedded in. After playing the game twice, I found that playing the game in hard mode without importing your save makes the game more difficult. You need to use items, conserve more MP and skill usage, and even change your gear just to beat a certain boss. I still need to change my gear to some extent with imported save, but those changes are kept to a minimum. I even got frustrated with some of the bosses sometimes since they can be hard to beat without some items from the imported save.
[h1]Conclusion[/h1]
Apart from the touching moments, the story feels empty to me. The only thing that kept me playing this game was the fun sidescroller dungeons, which covers almost all dungeons in the game. I didn't have any trouble replaying the game again because I loved those maps so much. However, as a part of an episodic series, this game feels like a filler with an experimental dungeon design in it. There is no need to create a new title that only covers recruiting three people to your party members - I can't think of any other reason to do this except to drag the story.
Although the combat can be harsh at the beginning, it becomes bearable later on. The sidescroller dungeons also help to ensure that you don't get to battle too many enemies with the visible encounter. If you enjoyed the series up to this point, I suggest you buy this game at a sale if you like to play it in a different "format". I still can't recommend it to those who are new to the series though, simply because there is no story recap and the exclusive items that are only available from the previous games.
[quote]Visit SaveOrQuit.com for detailed game reviews, posted daily![/quote]
