I was interested in Divine Dynamo Flamefrit when I saw that Japanese indie studio Inti Creates was behind it. I was on board the instant I saw the pixel-perfect '90s anime aesthetic and heard the era-appropriate title screen music. And I was in love the moment the giant mech boss battle kicked off. I'm not sure how I feel now that I know that the game is at least partly a marketing bonus for a much bigger and hornier deckbuilder JRPG, but I'm still all on board for Flamefrit.
At its most basic level, Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is an action-RPG steeped in SNES vibes. The Steam Next Fest demo puts you in control of a little dude with a sword, and it superficially resembles games like Zelda: A Link to the Past and Secret of Mana. But, dare I say it, there's a little bit of Dark Souls here. Your attack is big, weighty, and can't be canceled, so the game is largely about learning the rhythm of enemy strikes and positioning yourself to take advantage of them.
My favorite gimmick in combat is that you can set grass ablaze with a mana-powered sword charge, instantly killing any enemies that get caught in the flames. Deciding exactly when to use your mana is a nice little resource management consideration, and timing the flames just right so that they take out as many foes as possible is very satisfying.
- The devs of a legendary indie Zelda-like have a new retro action game with "bumpslash" combat, and its Steam Next Fest demo is a gem: "Fans of Ys, take note!"
- The most popular Metroidvania in Steam Next Fest is just what I'd expect from one of the best names in anime games, and it's also coming to consoles
Then there's the mecha boss battle, which gives you a first-person cockpit view of the enemy. It plays out like a round of Punch-Out at a massive scale, where you react to enemy attacks by blocking in various directions and countering when the time is right. It's simple, but it's a fun dash of spectacle and a great way to break up the action.
Much as I enjoyed the demo for Divine Dynamo Flamefrit, I have to admit that the game seems a little slight - and there seems to be a reason for that. Developer Inti Creates is also promoting a roguelike deckbuilder called Card-en-Ciel, which is due to launch on October 24, and the idea of that game is that you're doing battle with and against a roster of video game characters that have invaded a particular corner of cyberspace.
The game characters referenced in Card-en-Ciel consist of both figures from Inti Creates' own cult hits and a roster of people from completely fictional games. Card-en-Ciel was initially revealed on March 20 earlier this year, and Divine Dynamo Flamefrit was announced just a short time later - on April Fools' Day. It seemed likely Flamefrit was just going to be a goofy trailer for a fake game that'd factor into the card battler, but Inti Creates was apparently serious about the whole thing, turning the action-RPG into a full standalone game. Now Flamefrit is being offered as a pre-order bonus for Card-en-Ciel, and while it's also eventually launching separately, that should probably give you an idea of the scope of the project.
Card-en-Ciel also has a demo available, and now that I'd fallen this deep into the rabbit hole I had to check it out. It's pretty good! The cyberspace grid arenas you fight in have distinct Mega Man Battle Network vibes - appropriate given the debt Inti Creates' Gunvolt series owes Mega Man - but it's got a fun turn-based battle system where you can choose to spend cards on either their written abilities or a bit of movement to dodge tiles that are going to be hit by enemy attacks.
Your enjoyment of Card-en-Ciel is going to depend on how deeply you pine for waifus, however. Your character is a nerdy dude known as the "Gaming Chair Detective," and in a move that panders deeply to otaku fantasies, most of your support characters are cute girls that broadly play into cloying anime tropes. I occasionally enjoy trashy anime and I even found it all a Bit Much.
Still, the knowledge that Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is tied to a game that's probably not for me hasn't really taken down my enthusiasm for it - and honestly, the fact that it might be smaller in scope than a fully standalone game might be a point in its favor. Init Creates' Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon, itself a promotional bonus for a much larger game that took on a life of its own, is one of the best 8-bit tributes out there today, and I'm hopeful Divine Dynamo Flamefrit can be a similarly excellent look back at the 16-bit era.
Just a short time with Divine Dynamo Flamefrit has me longing for some of the best SNES games.
