Monark

Monark is a perfectly functional JRPG with a great combat system, some strong aesthetic designs, and a decent story. It's held back a bit by its school setting and a lack of exposition early, and could have benefited from embracing its darker themes more readily to help establish stakes in the opening chapters. Still, what's here is a fun game with an addictive combat system, and lessons learned in Monark could make the next effort from FURYU Corporation even more appealing.

Monark brings many innovations to the table, yet ultimately feels unfinished and unpolished. Many of the traditional and obsolete aspects of the JRPG genre are present, yet if you are willing to look past them in order to reach some quality – it could truly shine up your experience. Interesting characters, mechanics and setting, may not feel enough for some, but to those that just need a long game and new ways to play, Monark is a great recommendation.

Rich and demanding, the clashes are gripping, worthy of frenzied chess games during which each placement must be thought out and calculated. On the other hand, the title is served by its technical shortcomings, a lack of depth in its dialogues, as well as a difficult attachment to the characters. Despite everything, Monark knows how to establish itself as an experience to live for any J-RPG lover looking for strategic brawls that oppose him with some resistance.

If you can accept its scope, accept that it falls short of its intentions almost as often as it realizes them, there is something in Monark to enjoy. The way it explores the ideas of personality traits and the dangers of excesses can be very intriguing, and the combat can be satisfying for a while. The localization is solid, with some sharp bits of writing here and there. And yes, there is just enough of a whiff of Persona about it that it might at least lightly scratch the itch for more Atlus-ish RPG enjoyment. But one can’t help but wonder what this could have been if the developers had had more resources to play with.

If I’m not having fun with an RPG I’ve noticed lately that I have to force myself to play it. Monark started strong but my opinion of it dropped rapidly every time I spent an hour checking everything I had unlocked in the school; I had to be missing SOMETHING that would get me to proceed, right? If you’re feeling sharp and are okay with little to no environmental variety then Monark might be worth a look - there’s a demo for it - but it’s nowhere near the best RPG from this developer in the last six months.