The Rising of the Shield Hero: Reliving the Animation Review

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Reliving the Animation

The Rising of the Shield Hero: Reliving the Animation is produced and developed by the Kadokawa Corporation and is made in RPG Maker MV.

My review is based on the story and how it is adapted to RPG Maker MV, not the engine the game is made on.

This game is based on the anime The Rising of the Shield Hero. As such, it follows the main character Naofumi Iwatani and his trials in this harsh and uncaring world he was summoned to. The story of the game stops before Naofumi meets the Queen of Melromarc.

During this time, he is treated with great animosity and hatred due to him being summoned with the legendary shield and a few other incidents. He sets out on his adventure alone until he earns enough money to buy a slave named Raphtalia. It is at this point the game gets much easier to play. Before meeting Raphtalia, you are limited to punching your enemy which does 1 point of damage. The battles are long, but you tend to take no damage due to your high defense stat.

Game play is what you would expect from the RPG Maker series. Very much like the older Final Fantasy games for the Super Nintendo. During the adventure, you are able to gather materials from specific spots on the map. The fights are very basic. Naofumi has a special skill called vigilance that allows him to see who enemies will attack. There are special skills related to the anime, like shield prison and air strike shield. He eventually learns magic and has access to buffing spells. The other characters have basic attack, spells and changing their equipment. Combat is a little lack luster.

In the typical style of the classic Final Fantasy games, you choose an attack, pick an enemy and hope you connect. You do gain equipment to alter your stats, but in Naofumi’s case, once you attain the right level, you will unlock different shields that will boost your stats. Some shields you unlock will have added bonuses like counter attack. Once I unlocked the chimera shield, I have stuck with that. It allows a counter attack with poison damage.

Kadokawa designed pixel characters specifically for the unique people Naofumi runs into. My favourite would have to be the weapon smith Erhard in Melromarc.

The characters are easily identifiable compared to their anime selves. There are unique structures like the dragon hourglasses that have been designed for this game as well. And they have done a wonderful job on recreating them in pixel form.

The music is very nice and atmospheric. There are 8 different tracks included that can be used for any projects using RPG Maker series. The tracks are original and composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko.

The game stops before the Cal Mira story arc in the anime. We do get to see the trial of the King Aultcray and Princess Myne. The Rising of the Shield Hero: Relive the Animation follows the anime exactly. It is quite enjoyable playing and seeing the world rendered into RPG Maker MV.