Review – Stray Children – Gamerview

Before talking about Stray Children, I need to go back in time… In the PlayStation 1 era, more precisely in 1997, Love-de-Lic (currently Onion Games) released a game called Moon exclusively in Japan. It is a JRPG that takes advantage of the genre’s clichés, placing the hero as responsible for the destruction, looting of houses and the massacre of hundreds of creatures. The player takes on a secondary character whose mission is to undo the “heroic acts”. This game messed with the head of Toby Fox, creator of Undertale.

In 2019, Moon was translated into English and released in the West first on the Nintendo Switch. It was later released for PlayStation 4 and PC with the subtitle, with some adjustments and widescreen resolution. And, of course, many people were enchanted by this incredible and humorous anti-RPG. Where do I want to get to? Well… Moon inspired Undertale, and Undertale inspired Stray Children in return. So, my excitement to enjoy this “new old-school JRPG” was at an all-time high.

The black cartridge game

Stray Children begins with a child alone in an apartment in Japan. The protagonist, who you name whatever you wish, has the face of a dog. Your father disappeared and your mother left a note saying that there is food ready, but you can’t find anything to eat. The doorbell rings and a strange guy named Kenken appears at the door, saying he might know the reason for his father’s disappearance. The two head to an abandoned subway and there you discover a hiding place where your father worked on a retro game called Crescent Moon. His father disappeared the same day the game’s production concluded, leaving behind a mysterious black cartridge. Kenken says not to touch anything as he runs to the bathroom, but curiosity gets the better of him and they both get sucked into the game.

Falling into this world, we discover that everything is collapsing. Most of the inhabitants have been transformed into slimes, while others lament the imminent end of the world. After a new event, Kenken and the protagonist end up in Childonia, a country inhabited by children dressed as animals. Outside the fort, where these children live, are the Elderly. They were transformed into hostile creatures that devour children. Following Moon’s style, your goal is to save creatures from their own misfortune through dialogue and compassion. But don’t think it will be an easy task: each creature has an internal pain that, if you choose the wrong dialogue sequence, can trigger an arduous battle.

Open-tea Sesame

Combat takes place randomly and in turns, following the classic style of JRPGs, but also includes moments of bullet hell for you to try to escape the enemy attack – as we saw in Undertale. You can choose between attacking, using an item or talking. Dialogue is the most pacifist path, but it requires the player to follow a correct sequence of sentences. By choosing correctly, the enemy reacts positively, which does not prevent an attack (due to heightened emotion). If you make a mistake, you are attacked and the conversation will be reset. Once the order is correct, the creature begins to cry and a new option appears in the conversation menu (Open Sesame), with which you free the opponent’s soul. It seems simple, but it’s much more difficult than defeating him the traditional way.

The problem is that, to know how to deal with the creatures, you have to explore the world and find important items and tips that are written down in a book. But as encounters occur by surprise, you can enter a battle completely unprepared and not be able to get the sequence of phrases right. When this happens, the solution is to go back to the save or go on the attack. Worse is when you decide to defeat him and, a while later, discover how to beat him through dialogue. The game does this on purpose, including using nonsense dialogue to hinder your progress.

To do well in Stray Children, you need to explore every corner, read signs, look for chests, equip yourself with loot, check if anything has changed in the scenery and, most importantly, talk to all the NPCs you meet along the way. Just like in PlayStation 1 JRPGs, there are things that are initially unclear and make you feel lost, not knowing where to go or which item to use. For example: what should I do with a dirty bra? In battle, how the hell am I supposed to understand a conversation with a bird? In other words, this game is definitely not for everyone.

Purposefully difficult

Despite the high difficulty, the path of stones (of dialogue, pacifist) makes you deal with subjects such as sadness, tiredness and depression, promoting a deeper narrative experience. It’s as if the game wanted to make you feel the same as the creatures, being exposed to flaws and having to deal with your own impatience. Life is like that, a rollercoaster of ups and downs, isn’t it? My tip is: write down each correct answer until you decipher the order of the conversation and unlock Open Sesame.

The presentation of Stray Children is wonderful, with a unique artistic style that mimics the rendering and resolution limitations of the PlayStation 1. The settings, the characters, the combat, everything in Stray Children is strangely beautiful and charming. The excellent soundtrack also suits everything, be it exploration or combat. But the special touch lies in the humor that only the Japanese can give, as we saw in . You really feel like you’re playing a game from the 90s, but with the creativity of experienced minds in the market.