When Sting and Idea Factory joined forces, they had the audacity to brand their collaboration as “Super Sting.” It reeks of hubris, but I’d expect nothing less from Idea Factory. On paper it sounds like a really promising venture as Sting consistently creates unique gameplay options while drudging a bit on the story. Idea Factory is a well known visual novel producer in Japan, so pairing a gameplay focused studio with a story driven one is just a good idea.
On paper at least.
With this being Generation of Chaos’ sixth entry, it begs to question whether Sting would be able to rejuvenate the series. Did this super collaboration prove successful?
Pandora's Reflection is a strategy game in real time with some elements of turn-based strategy. Its stage Hades, an inhospitable place, where the poor are oppressed and a gray rain falls from the sky and malignant slowly weakens living beings throughout their existence, culminating in his death. People live in fear of both the gray rain as corrupt men, the rich of the world, a bit like our world with the addition of a rain.
The story revolves around a young alchemist named Claude and his sister Yuri. Yuri was inflicted with a curse that inflicts constant pain. Claude uses his powers of alchemy to create medicines for her, and the two travel the land in search of an ingredient quite coveted, snowdrops.
Go Critic: As a Vita owner, the lack of exclusive releases (or releases in general) can be quite frustrating. Fortunately, there is a large well of PSP titles with which to draw from that continues to expand despite that console’s status as a “dead” system. Generation of Chaos: Pandora’s Reflection is the latest to breathe life into Sony’s handheld market and despite its label as a niche Japanese title, does an admirable job of providing a unique and enjoyable experience.
Gaming Union: "Generation of Chaos Pandora's Reflection is a toned down SRPG that is a good choice for people who want an easy to understand experience with no strings attached. However, players will find that the real challenge lies in effectively moving your characters in on the map and not in the actual battles themselves. There are some decent concepts here, but also quite few that fall a bit flat."
