It’s always exciting to dive into a new JRPG from one of the genre's veterans at the helm. Monark comes to us from Kazunari Suzuki, best known for his work on the Megami Tensei and Shin Megami Tensei franchises, so it had a ton of potential. To its credit, it does introduce some fresh combat mechanics to an otherwise-straightforward tactical JRPG structure. But Monark continuously trips over itself elsewhere due to a disjointed story, static puzzles, and repetitive level design that made staying interested a lot harder than it could have been.

Monark is a new RPG from Lancarse and FuRyu, with some help from a few former Shin Megami Tensei developers. It’s got the vibe of an SMT game; Shin Mikado Academy has been cut off from the outside world by a magical dome barrier, and inside, a mysterious mist is flooding the grounds, driving students mad. Amid a lot of horror are Pactbearers, individuals who’ve made a deal with the patron deity of one of the seven deadly sins to see their wish fulfilled. It’s a bad time to be a normal, everyday student at Shin Mikado.

The game is divided into two chapters, each including different acts led by each of the companions. As the game progresses, the story proves to be a little more complex than simply defeating Pactbearers. The main characters are deeply developed and have peculiar ways of thinking, with many being intriguing since they seem to be allies and enemies at the same time. The writing manages to get players interested in figuring out who is really pulling the strings during the course of the game, including welcome plot twists, and the mysterious mood is well preserved throughout the whole game. The first chapter has good pacing and allows players to understand the motivations of the main cast, making the story enjoyable and the characters engaging. However, without wishing to spoil too much, the second chapter very much slows the game down and features some significant repetition. It certainly doesn’t help retain interest in the gameplay, and even when it does have narrative reasons, it could have been designed in a more efficient way to prevent players from replaying some dungeons. Fortunately, the conclusion of the story after the second chapter is satisfying and the loose ends are tied up nicely.

The turn-based battles you fight when you reach an Ideal is one of the few shining highlights of Monark, thanks to fun abilities, unique combat mechanics, and the best part: an excellent soundtrack during boss fights. Your Madness meter level transfers from the real world into battle, but here if a character hits 100% you’ll lose control of them and they’ll attack whoever is closest with dramatically increased power. That can be bad, but it also allows you to make some clever gambles if the situation is right, like isolating the rest of your units away so that the character who goes Mad can wipe out your enemies. 

Monark‘s setting is one of its biggest strengths. While an RPG set in a school might not be novel, the mist and Pactbearers—who can use their Authorities to change the real world—make for a creepy, horror-tinged world to explore. Breaking the Pactbearers means going into the mist to find points where your cell phone can connect to their Ideals in the Otherworld, all the while avoiding maddened students and watching your own sanity drip away, tick by tick.

Monark is an unrefined gem, but it is definitely a game worth checking out. While it certainly has some similar ideas as other properties, it pulls out enough tricks to make it different and individually inviting. Despite some issues, it’s a good first attempt with plenty of room for polish in any subsequent follow-up.

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