Vortex Gaming

On May 28th, 'Genesis War Mobile' returned with Tempest. It wasn't a surprise, as the Tempest update had been teased with return events and a teaser page since mid-May. Rather, fans likely felt a complex mix of fear, worry, and nostalgia.

Personally, I was also very concerned when I first heard this news. Bringing out 'Tempest' before Rhapsody of Zephyr felt like hastily attaching the most heterogeneous work in the series. I had left 'Genesis War Mobile' due to accumulated problems, and I wondered if adding more content without addressing the root issues would be effective. However, it felt like Genesis War Mobile was finally taking the initiative to break free from its constraints and lead the way in reviving 'memories' starting with 'Tempest'.

Modeling that broke free from the shackles of 'Gray Remnants'

To be honest, when I first encountered 'Genesis War Mobile,' I wondered, "Why did they bother designing it exactly like the console version?" Of course, I could somewhat understand the context and strategy. Since 'Gray Remnants' was already in development, they could reduce the effort of designing and applying new assets by basing the work on its resources and designs. It might also have been an attempt to maintain consistency in the process of remaking the Genesis War IP.

However, the way characters are perceived when playing console package games and collectible RPGs is quite different. 'Gray Remnants' is a game that was fully played and paid for in the old days, so there's room to accept the classic and clunky design. Of course, that doesn't mean it's good. There's no end to the things you could talk about, like graphics, effects, and details. No matter how much I wanted to bear with it, I couldn't recover from the cold feeling I got when I first saw Cheonji Payeolmu and Triple Elemental Blast. Still, I can say that it didn't prevent me from recalling the classic sensibility and memories while reading through the grand story.

Genesis War Mobile, released as a collectible RPG, is a different story. Characters who would have originally just become companions have become gacha items that can only be collected with resources and luck. So, users can't help but look at it with a microscope, and I wondered if it could meet those standards.

So, I was surprised that they pulled out 'Tempest,' the part I was most worried about being added later. Tony Taka and Kim Hyung-tae. Weren't these the works that decorated the early careers of two outstanding artists who have made a name for themselves? I can't help but think that a lot of preparation would be needed to overcome the unique art style and the barrier of that 'aura' that is still talked about today.

Since there was no mention of collaborating with either of them, it's natural to feel uneasy, recalling the rough precedent of 'Genesis War Mobile' if there's nothing special. This is because character designs are usually unified within a game unless there are special circumstances.

Fortunately, the developer, Mircat Games, has introduced new modeling and designs tailored to 'Tempest.' Since the game originally featured outstanding illustrators, it's difficult to say that it 100% recreated the aura of that era. At the time of the initial reveal, some questioned whether it was the same character, pointing out that the outfit was slightly different or that they were holding weapons not commonly used in the original work. Furthermore, there was a sense of unease that it would stand out among the rough characters of 'Genesis War Mobile.'

However, it didn't stand out as much as expected because the visual quality was upgraded in cutscenes and character windows, but it was applied in-game in a way that didn't stand out too much. Also, the fact that the illustration style felt consistent with the illustrations was significant, as it was different from the existing style that didn't consider cartoon rendering. Lina McLoerin feels like a completely different character as the Jushin Church outfit has changed, but they showed a lot of effort from the PV to alleviate that anxiety. We'll encounter these cases in the future, and even if it's not 100% satisfactory, I'd say they've raised it to the point where you can check how it's been reinterpreted.

Originally a project that started as a 'dating sim,' modernized and included

As is already widely known among Genesis War fans, 'Tempest' was not originally a game being made as part of the Genesis War series. It was originally being developed as a dating sim with no connection at all, but when the IMF crisis hit and things got worse, it was hastily switched to Genesis War. Therefore, it had no choice but to introduce the most heterogeneous system in the series.

For users who are new to the Genesis War series, 'Tempest' is mainly set in the succession war that took place in the Kingdom of Pan Dragon after Genesis War. After Rashid, who became the Holy King after 'Genesis War,' died at the age of 74, his sons waged a war for the right to succeed him. William Pan Dragon, the fourth son, wins the war, but dies shortly after ascending the throne, and the youngest son, Richard Pan Dragon, eventually takes the throne. And Richard Pan Dragon plans to deal with Elizabeth, Mary, Philip, and John, William's children and his nephews, to cut off the seeds of unrest.

Fortunately, Elizabeth and Mary escape the palace and rely on Scharnhorst, who conquered the Tomb of the Brave, and that's how the story of 'Tempest' begins. Unlike the previous work, which told a series of grand stories in the form of an SRPG, 'Tempest' features Scharnhorst, already a top-tier character from the previous work, training the heroines, and the stories that unfold in between disguising themselves as a circus troupe and contacting nobles in each region in a nurturing simulation style.

Genesis War Mobile has rebuilt this to fit 'mobile.' In the original, the party would train as a team and manage their affinity and levels to capture each route, which is quite complicated. Furthermore, there were elements of wandering around the village to find useful items, so it seemed difficult to implement within the existing framework of Genesis War Mobile.

Genesis War Mobile solved this problem with the familiar formula of 'mobile nurturing simulation' for users. The method of focusing on training only one target to capture, and focusing random events and various stories on that one person, was already familiar to recent mobile game users through games like 'Uma Musume.' Mircat Games has refined this method to fit 'Genesis War Mobile.'

Genesis War fans would have already guessed from the fact that the Valkyrie Armor didn't appear, but the 'Tempest' part is not yet fully released. Even the characters only have routes for Elizabeth, Ophelia, and Lina, as already announced, and even those only go up to right after winning in the Breadfort territory. There are a total of 7 mandatory quests up to that stage, and 9 turns are given between those quests. The gameplay of the 'Tempest' part is to distribute training, rest, combat, and circus well during those 9 turns to secure the reputation and stats to win the mandatory quests, and the affinity to enjoy the true ending.

As it was tailored to the formula of 'mobile nurturing simulation,' the 'circus' that is performed to raise the combat and reputation and affinity that utilize the characters raised in that way is solved with auto. It's a shame that the combat, which had the fun of operating to some extent, or the fun of improvising by making various items on the spot and picking up weapons in the early stages, has become like that. However, since it was released as a separate mode by modding a game with a different foundation, this choice was strategically understandable. Here, the series of processes of crying and laughing at the random events and buffs and debuffs that were attached randomly during the nurturing process has been implemented in a Tempest-style way, so you can feel the feeling of calculating the number of cases and creating an efficient nurturing course to finish with an S grade in 'Genesis War Mobile.'

'Genesis War Mobile,' I hope you can piece together even fragmented memories well

There may be individual differences, but among Genesis War fans, there will probably be many people who are so indignant that they would say that even talking about this is absurd. That's how rough the Genesis War IP's journey has been, beyond not being smooth, it was 'hope torture' itself. The 'Gray Remnants,' which they had been waiting for with hope, showed catharsis and solved the core story well, such as foreshadowing the Rhapsody of Zephyr, but there were many issues. In the end, the development team was disbanded, and there is a sense of skepticism about whether we will be able to see Genesis War again as a single package game.

Here, the Genesis War development team was disbanded only two days after the release of 'Genesis War Mobile,' so 'Genesis War Mobile' had no choice but to be frowned upon. Furthermore, the 'Genesis War Mobile' also looked too similar to 'Gray Remnants' on the surface, so there was a high risk that users who had played Genesis War would see it with more ambivalence.

In fact, after personally watching the ending of 'Gray Remnants,' I looked through 'Genesis War Mobile' again and thought it was too naive, so I didn't touch it well. I didn't not understand the efforts of Genesis War Mobile itself. The gameplay, which had been tailored to Genesis War based on the know-how of the pioneers who had already put effort into restoring the classic SRPG on mobile, was well-organized. Here, the quality was raised with various job change systems that were omitted in 'Gray Remnants' and more detailed story directing. I rated those points highly, but it was difficult to erase the impression that I was seeing something I had already seen. And at the time, there was a lack of killer content to attract users other than the story, and it was compounded by the problem of resource acquisition that some mobile classic SRPGs were all experiencing.

After that, they updated new content tailored to the concept of Genesis War, such as the roguelike content 'Escape from Bingryong Castle' and 'Tomb of the Brave,' which challenges high-difficulty stages with more conditions, but the process was not smooth. There were many extended inspections and emergency inspections, and there were frequent character balance issues. Here, even when adding a character lineup, Erica Meyer, who had no presence in the original work, suddenly came out as a legend, which caused resentment. How much would Director Nam Ki-ryong have to explain this part at the After Talk Seminar?

I felt that 'Genesis War Mobile,' which had been like that, was taking its first step to revive 'memories' on its own initiative from this 'Tempest.' Along with that, I also noticed a more flexible attitude in dealing with the problems in the early stages. The existing Genesis War had a significant lack of action power or content entry count to farm equipment or resources, so there was a problem that nurturing would stop for quite a long time unless it reached a certain orbit. This problem was alleviated by exchanging resources with coins obtained from the 'Tempest' part. This is because the 'Tempest' part, which is a mobile nurturing simulation, can be cleared regardless of the level of the current Genesis War Mobile. A virtuous cycle has been created in which characters are nurtured based on the resources obtained here, and the remaining content of Genesis War Mobile is overcome one by one, and then resources are acquired again from 'Tempest.'

Of course, that virtuous cycle is not perfect. After clearing it once, it becomes a 'homework,' but no measures have been taken to relieve the burden and fatigue. There are still character lineups to capture, such as Mary, Ann, and Cordelia, and the story has not been fully shown, so there is still time to treat the current stage as 'homework' that has been completed. However, relying entirely on this returns to the fundamental problem that fans' anxiety has not been completely resolved.

In particular, the 'Genesis War' IP has a history of not being able to fully release its story and dropping out midway or being sluggish in the story development, except for single package games. In such a situation, it is not easy to resolve the anxiety at once because external events that are not very good have continued.

Furthermore, there was a precedent in the Genesis War IP for taking out the 'Tempest' card in a crisis situation, so it is too early to tell us to rest assured with this one step. The end of the meme 'Hate You But Love You Again' will come to mind. And it will seem presumptuous to defend this in a situation where the memories of single package games seemed to be revived, but that dream has no choice but to be stranded for a while.

However, through this update, I was able to confirm the sincerity of struggling to contain the story of 'Genesis War' within its limits. But now, 'heart' alone is not enough. A roadmap to show the process of renewing one's mind and a process of proving it while practicing it are needed. I hope that 'Genesis War Mobile,' which has taken that difficult step, will be able to fully release the story of Tempest, and further, the story of Genesis War so far, and move on to the path that has not yet been taken.

Webzine InvenYoon Seo-ho Reporter
2024-06-04