Fable of the Sword
- February 8, 2018
- 蔷薇千墨游戏组
Get on SteamThis is a galgame with a story of ancient. It takes the developing group 蔷薇千墨 6 years to finish. With full-audio, this game will present you an experience when swords did the talk for you. And with the amazing theme song, it will like returning to the ancient, simpler time.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Nice art and character designs that appeal to fans of the genre.
- Good voice acting that enhances the overall experience.
- Fair price for the content offered.
- Poor English translation that makes the story difficult to follow.
- Boring and unengaging story with lackluster gameplay.
- Inconsistent formatting and presentation issues that detract from the reading experience.
- story21 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it boring and difficult to follow due to poor English translation, which obscures important plot points and character motivations. While some appreciate the fantasy elements and the central theme of familial bonds, the overall narrative is considered average and lacks innovation, with the flawed localization significantly detracting from the experience. Despite these issues, there are moments of enjoyment and unexpected twists that some players found redeeming.
“Not what I expected, but the story is decent.”
“At the center of the story is the tale of two brothers, their familial bond fueling their devotion to each other.”
“The story itself is fairly complicated, weaving multiple characters' motivations into the plot, of which most will remain mysterious unless you replay the game using alternative paths.”
“There are important/interesting plot points where the translation is so bad that it isn't clear what is happening.”
“In addition to this, the actual grammar of the game is terribly off-putting and makes the story incredibly opaque at times, due to the difficulty in attempting to understand it.”
“The lack of proper localization has seriously hurt the title, both in how the text itself is displayed, and in making the story unnecessarily difficult to understand.”
- music13 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally appreciated for its quality, particularly the main-menu theme and the incorporation of Chinese musical elements, appealing to fans of the genre. However, players have noted significant issues with the lack of background music and sound effects during gameplay, leading to a sparse auditory experience. While the Chinese version offers a more robust soundtrack and additional features, the English version has a limited variety of music and some inconsistencies in translation.
“The art, voice acting, and music are all lovely.”
“Having played the titles from the love bundle by Sakuragame for at least 2 hours each to qualify for the free visual novel key promotions, all the Chinese visual novels featured in this bundle often have great artwork and soundtracks.”
“The Chinese version of this game has more features with a music gallery, lyrics for the theme song, and unlockable chibi cartoons for reaching a good ending.”
“The first unpleasant thing I had to notice was the absence of any music or sound (I had no voiceovers, too, because I turned them off in the options - since I don't understand the language).”
“Just: 'go east' / 'go west' / 'leave the town' ... and then after choosing an option there appeared another picture, but the music died again and there only played some little short sounds (and only once) when a special line of text appeared - no environmental sounds / music - nothing!”
“[Fable of the Sword] uses Chinese painting artwork style that is different from the anime artwork in the other titles and has a smaller soundtrack variety where it has 7 BGM and one theme song with vocals.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are praised for their lovely visuals, particularly the superb character art and unique Chinese painting style, which sets it apart from typical anime artwork. While the background art can be inconsistent, the overall aesthetic is appealing, especially for fans of Asian art and culture. However, players should be aware of some translation errors and character naming inconsistencies in the English version.
“The visuals of the game are quite lovely; the background art is sometimes inconsistent, but the character art is always superb.”
“Having played the titles from the love bundle by Sakuragame for at least 2 hours each to qualify for the free visual novel key promotions, all the Chinese visual novels featured in this bundle often have great artwork and soundtracks.”
“[Fable of the Sword] uses a Chinese painting artwork style that is different from the anime artwork in the other titles and has a smaller soundtrack variety, featuring 7 background music tracks and one theme song with vocals.”
“Fable of the Sword uses a Chinese painting artwork style that is different from the anime artwork in other titles, but the graphics feel lacking in detail and vibrancy.”
“The graphics in Fable of the Sword are underwhelming, especially when compared to other visual novels that utilize more dynamic and engaging art styles.”
“While I appreciate the attempt at a unique art style, the graphics in Fable of the Sword come off as flat and uninspired, failing to capture the essence of the story.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a visual novel experience with minimal interactivity, featuring poorly written dialogue and outdated minigames reminiscent of mid-2000s mobile games. While the gameplay is easy and stress-free, it lacks depth, relying on a relationship status mechanic that adds some engagement through character interactions and multiple endings. Overall, the gameplay experience is underwhelming and fails to elevate the narrative.
“The gameplay is easy, and even the minigames felt that they were simple enough to be done without much stress (which I approve!).”
“It also has a relationship status screen which shows the character sprite of each main character that will start initially in black and white and more color will be added while making various gameplay and dialogue options to gain positive relations with the character and help players reach the various different endings in the game.”
“As a visual/interactive novel, this doesn't feature any notable gameplay; it's just a lot of clicking through badly written dialogue that would never have been accepted or published in print, which poses the question, 'how did something this badly written end up on Steam?'”
“The 'gameplay', aka minigames, are sporadic and very outdated, playing like a mobile game from the mid-2000s.”
“The gameplay is easy, and even the minigames felt simple enough to be done without much stress.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lack of engagement, with users describing the story as boring and unimpactful. This suggests that the narrative fails to evoke strong feelings or connections with the players.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users find the grinding aspect of visual novels and e-books tedious, likening the experience to a frustratingly slow reading process where each sentence requires a mouse click, detracting from the enjoyment of the narrative.
“Visual novels/e-books are tedious at best. Imagine the best novel you ever read, whether it's 'Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy', '2001: A Space Odyssey', or 'Twilight' (if you have terrible taste in literature), but then translate that to a format where the words dribble out and you have to click your mouse every time you want to read the next sentence, instead of just turning the pages.”
“Grinding feels like an endless loop of repetitive tasks that drain the enjoyment out of the game. It turns what could be an engaging experience into a chore.”
“The grind is so excessive that it overshadows the story and character development, making it hard to stay invested in the game.”
