Omega Quintet is a game that combines the JRPG genre with that of an idol simulator. The player is tasked with managing a party of idols both in battle and on-stage. The battle system is very robust for a JRPG and manages to throw in several idol-like features too. It was a very different experience compared to other JRPGs, but Omega Quintet manages to pull it off.
Pros:
Complex battle system. Omega Quintet’s battle system can easily be summed up with the saying “easy to learn, hard to master”. There is just so much to this battle system that I felt overwhelmed at times. It is the game’s main feature and where most of the player’s time will be spent, after all, so the complexity is warranted. Even then though, the game was constantly introducing new mechanics to the battle system, some not even appearing until much later in the game, like the harmonics or live concert mechanics.
It definitely took a lot of effort on my part to learn how all of the mechanics worked, but I got used to it eventually, after the thirty or so tutorials the game threw at me. The game can just as easily be completed without making use of all of these mechanics (given that the player is on a lower difficulty), but there is a lot of strategy involved in taking down some of the tougher enemies when playing on a harder difficult. That strategizing is where the complexity of the battle system really shines.
Animation skipping. The ability to skip or fast-forward battle animations is a very important feature to me when playing JRPGs. Omega Quintet does not disappoint in this regard, offering two different animation skips to be used during the game’s battle sequences. The first of which skips battle animations until a quicktime event prompt pops up (for paired defense and pursuit attacks) and the second of which skips everything until the player’s next turn. I made heavy use of the latter, which made farming a much easier and less repetitive task.
Lots of customization options. Omega Quintet has a plethora of customization options for each character in the player’s party. Hair, clothing, eye color, and even underwear can all be changed and customized as the player sees fit. New options can be purchased using tokens that are found scattered throughout the game world. The game even has a fully customizable PV mode, in which the player can direct and produce their own idol PVs. New songs and such for this mode are also unlocked as the story progresses.
Cons:
Boring story. I am glad that this game offers a skip feature during dialogue sequences because some of them were just painful to get through. During the first few chapters there were so many dialogue scenes that I just lost interest entirely by chapter four. Being pulled out of the otherwise excellent gameplay just to have to sit through the most mind-numbing dialogue sequences was really just a shame. The story simply does not compare to the rest of the game.
Lack of exploration. The environments in Omega Quintet look great, but have a massive drawback: they cannot really be explored. The very first area outside of the city that the player is tasked with going to is some apocalyptic looking city remains overgrown with nature. Buildings covered in green, wide open fields with ruins scattered about, and even a castle-like structure. I was so excited to finally get to move about in this environment, only to realize that the game severely limits where I can go. A ledge that I can reach by jumping? Nope, invisible wall. A staircase leading down to an overgrown building? Nope, invisible wall. Even the walls along the edge of the path I am traveling have invisible walls around them, preventing me from getting too close to them. It felt like I was in a box the entire time, being lead along a single path.
Despite the boring story and the lack of exploration, Omega Quintet is still a great game. The battle system alone is enough for me to recommend the game, but the game’s pros go beyond just that. Plenty of customization options, helpful skipping features, and a general wealth of content just to name a few. If you are into JRPGs, definitely give Omega Quintet a look. Even more so if you are an idol fan.
You can buy Omega Quintet on Steam here.
I was provided a free review copy of the game in order to write this review. Read more about how I do my game reviews here.
cublikefoot 