Video Game Review: Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon by Namco, tri-Crescendo

Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
(Fragile: Sayonara Tsuki no Haikyo)
Namco, tri-Crescendo, 2009/2010
When the old man he lives with dies, young Seto leaves home for the first time. He encounters a mysterious girl, and when she flees he sets out to search for her through the decaying wasteland of his abandoned world. Fragile Dreams is a beautiful game—beautiful in a way that shouldn't be underestimated or undervalued. It's a work of art, with a strong and stunning visual style and a well developed dream-like atmosphere, rich with introspective and heartfelt (if sometimes heavy-handed) themes. Borrowing from the survival horror genre, it sets you up as one under-equipped boy alone in a vast, ghost-haunted world, and the ghost are genuinely dangerous and frightening. But from the vivid sunsets which dye the sky to the detailed, crumbling environments to the sparse and skillful soundtrack, the atmosphere is haunted in a different way, romantic and dreamy. Seto's search for companionship leads him into delicate relationships; along his journey he picks up items which convey snippets of the lives—and deaths—of the past. For much of the game, plot takes a backseat to this slow exploration—of broken-down themeparks, doomed emotions, and lost lives. There are flashes of humor and more than a little joy, and the resulting balance is as beautiful as it is emotional.

The controls take understated advantage of the Wii remote: it acts as the flashlight with which Seto explores and reveals the world, but combat is a simple pushbutton. These simple controls will be acceptable even to diehard anti-stick wagglers, and they're natural and immersive. They're still problematic: button placement on the Wiimote is unavoidably cumbersome, and looking around can be slow and sticky (especially when turning around). For most of the game this isn't a big deal—combat is moderately difficult, but, alongside breakable weapons, it's difficult in a way that encourages the run-rather-than-fight mentality of a survival horror game. But as the game progresses, battles become more prevalent, unskippable, and difficult, and threaten to grow irritating. The Wii also weakens the game's graphics—the art design is incredible, and the game doesn't push the Wii too hard, but there are some mushy textures and moments of lag which are all the more a pity when everything else is so beautiful.

The tail end of the game also has faster pacing, and it grows emotionally and thematically clunky during the final reveals. Without the slow, graceful, and multifaceted development of the rest of the game, the conclusion has less emotional impact; set at a whirlwind place, events are hurried and themes have little time to ring at all, least of all to ring true. This downturn in quality is neither total nor unforgivable, and there are some highlights, both emotional and visual, at the end of the game. But it is comparably weak, and upsetting the game's erstwhile strengths makes for a sad endnote. But where the ending may falter, it's not enough to ruin a good game—and Fragile Dreams is good. It's an experience, an exploration, a piece of art—sometimes slow and laborsome, often breathtakingly beautiful, a tear-jerker that edges up on emotionally transparent; the game has flaws, and not everyone will appreciate its style, but it's a beauty. I recommend it. This is a leap forward for tri-Crescendo, and despite its flaws a quietly successful game.