Hey everyone, welcome to my channel, it's me Gamerturk and it is finally time! It is
about time I put out my review for Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization.
You might ask what took me so long, but the fact of the matter is,
I'm glad I was a little late to the party, with the free Warriors of the Sky update fundamentally
changing the game and it's mechanics, so I can actually
review the game with its most recent version, which is version
2.01 for the western market, before the DLC Episode updates hit our update queues.
How is the story, how is gameplay, how is it compared to it's predecessors Hollow
Fragment and Lost Song, is it worth it if you are a Sword Art Online fan, is it worth it if you aren't,
I will be answering all those questions in this review.
Before I start with the story followed by the improved gameplay, I want to make a quick
mention of the Sword Art Online Amino app. If you don't know
what it is, it's essentially a huge community for any kind of Sword Art
Online fan, whether you only watch the anime, read the light novels
or play the games. To be 100% transparent with you guys,
I have been approached by them and decided to check the app to see what it's about and
I only have great experiences so far with the
amazing community there, since about a week ago when I first started using it. You can
post pictures, write blog posts, share videos, interact with other members
of the community. In our case here, you can ask others about their opinions of
Hollow Realization. I recently posted a poll up there to see which games' story people
enjoyed more in the SAO Amino community and as of the time I'm recording
this, Hollow Realization claims the top spot, with Lost Song surprisingly
racing for second slightly above Hollow Fragment. I find SAO Amino to be a much better place
than twitter or facebook, since I can share my content and thoughts
there, directly to many other SAO fans, like yourself.
You can follow me on Sword Art Online Amino that is available on iOS and Android to get
notified whenever I share something SAO related, I'm Gamerturk there
as well, but I'll talk more about it at the end of the video.
Now back to Hollow Realization, since this is now the third installment in the SAO gameverse,
we got more material to compare it to. And just like my previous
reviews, I will be making a clear distinction between the facts I want
to share with you about the game for you to judge and my own opinions I share with you
in this video, which I believe is critical for a review. I am here to inform
you, not to make a decision for you. Anyways, since we are gonna talk about the
story first, I want to initiate a spoiler warning here and to those
who do not want to be spoiled, all I'm gonna say is that the story is a huge improvement
over Lost Song's decent at most story. If you don't want to be spoiled, skip
the time mentioned on your screen. With Hollow Fragment, we got a a what-if scenario
about the original Sword Art Online going up till the 100th Floor
as originally intended due to a glitch during Kirito and Heathcliff's fight, continuing
the death game that blurred the line between what is actually real and
what is virtual and if both can be seperated at all.
With Lost Song we got a little departure from the serious tone, with basically Kirito and
Co wanting to play a game and a small clash of ideals between Kirito
and Seven. With Hollow Realization, we go back to the
premise of the original SAO again, as we jump into Sword Art: Origin. It's
a creation of a pre-Aincrad age, that is still based on Sword Art Online, so naturally, Cardinal
System is still in charge. Soon after starting Sword Art:
Origin, players realize it's similarity with Sword Art Online. It is a death
game. But this time, it is not players that are under danger, it is the NPC's. Once an
NPC dies in a duel, they do not respawn, they die for good and get replaced
with new NPC's as the developers, including Seven from Lost Song are
conducting a research on how people see the AI NPC's and I honestly believe that is a
very interesting premise, as our technology advances, we are going to find
ourselves in the middle of the same question. NPC's are essentially
living in Ainground, just like we are living in this real world. So are they merely expendable
NPC's, or are they actually more, with an algorithm that creates
a whole personality depending on their experiences with actual
players? A lot of philosophical debates can be done about this, but I'm here for the review.
Kirito and Co essentially come across a unique NPC, with no name, no
personality and a glitched quest attached to her. They take her in wanting
to protect her, since the other people might not be that kind to a seemingly "useless"
NPC. Over the course of time, she develops a personality and her quest seemingly
fixes itself step by step. Meanwhile, another character named Genesis
makes a reputation for himself as the "Black Swordsman". Kirito acts like he
doesn't care all that much, but you can tell it bugs him and everyone else a lot. The person
is seemingly using some sort of a hack called Digital Drugs, but for some
reason, unlike all the cheaters, Genesis doesn't get flagged by Cardinal.
As Premiere's quest continues, Sinon starts to realize that her quest seems awfully familiar
to the Aincrad lore, more specifically, the event called Great Seperation,
which created Aincrad. In a turn of events, everyone figures out
that Cardinal, being the same core system from the original Sword Art Online, is still
trying to carry out Kayaba Akihiko's final command, the deletion of Aincrad,
but because there is no Aincrad in Sword Art Origin, it is trying
to create one and then delete the whole game with it as commanded. This is where things
start getting out of hand, since according to the lore, there are two
goddesses that created Aincrad, one of them being Premiere, and the other
one being her twin, named Tia by the antagonist Genesis, who is still continuing the questline
to create Aincrad and destroy Ainground. While everything seems
to come to an end with what I have to say would be an awesome and incredibly
badass and smart finale, where Kirito defeats Genesis while he's hacking and making him
admit he was hacking in a very clever way and sending him straight to jail,
Tia, with a personality created by hanging out with Genesis, decides to take
over and create Aincrad on her own. So for a finale, we go to an incomplete Aincrad and
defeat Tia at its core to put an end to all.
Afterwards, there is the very short Warriors of the Sky update story, which is essentially
a set up for the DLC episodes. And in addition to that, countless
other storylines, with every single character you can think of
will make a Sword Art Online fan very happy, as every character gets their moment in the
spotlight. Just like Mother's Rosario arc adapted into Lost Song, Death
Gun arc has been adapted to Hollow Realization and doesn't even get
a conclusion in this game, possibly hinting at a Gun Gale Online game.
So all in all, if it is story you are looking for, this game offers it. It is a very interesting
take on the original premise of Sword Art Online and as I mentioned
in my spoilery part, I think it gives us something to think about. If not
today, I feel like it is a question we will be asking ourselves in the next decades for
certain.
And of course, the question in every non Sword Art Online fans mind is "Do I need to have
prior knowledge of the series to enjoy the game?" and to that, I
say no. You will definitely get an enjoyment out of the game, if you know
nothing about SAO, provided you enjoy the company of these characters. They are an entertaining
and interesting bunch for me and many other people, it might be
so for you as well. The game does a good job at introducing characters so you
will at least have the basic knowledge of who is who and what their relationship with
Kirito and other characters are. Except for the cameos, like Kizmel from the
Progressive novels, and Shinkawa Kyouji, aka Death Gun from the Phantom Bullet
arc, but that's a tease and mystery for a future game anyway.
The question in every SAO fans mind, who have not played the previous games, "Can I enjoy
this game on it's own, without prior knowledge of the first two games?".
Yes and no. Since you are already a fan, you probably enjoy the overall
continuity and while the standalone experience of Hollow Realization might be enjoyable,
as an involved fan, it might leave some questions in your head, so at the
very least, I suggest reading the wikipedia summaries of Hollow Fragment
and Lost Song, or you can also watch my review of those games, which also feature a short
summary for you and if you still want more but don't want to buy
the games, you can watch my playthroughs of them. But of course
playing those games will make you truly understand the whole canon and the new characters the
gameverse previously introduced into the series.
But that is all I have to say about the story, it is more serious than Lost Song and it is
at least on par with Hollow Fragment, but keep in mind that Hollow
Fragment was essentially a wish come true being a continuation of
Aincrad to Floor 100, so that really says a lot. And in my opinion, Hollow Realization
has a solid story with a very good main question it asks you. And the
moment Kirito and Genesis actually face each other in a duel is
one of the most epic scenes that I have seen in this franchise, so that alone is worth
a watch.
But we have talked a lot about the story, but now, it's time for the other major half
of what makes a game and arguably the more important part. The gameplay. The
first two games, Hollow Fragment and Lost Song were significantly
different than each other. As expected from Aquria, who made Hollow Fragment, they improved
upon their own formula with Hollow Realization, while the studio who made
Lost Song, Artdink, focused on theirs for the upcoming Accel World vs.
Sword Art Online game. So does that mean Hollow Realization is Hollow Fragment 2.0? That is
a clear no. Yes, Aquria has improved on their core concept, but the
point is how much they have improved. Hollow Realization feels like
a brand new game, as it should feel like. It is comparable to Hollow Fragment at a very
primitive level, but Realization is miles ahead.
Once again, we are only able to use Kirito, which might be a bummer after Lost Song allowed
us to use pretty much everyone in the roster, but rejoice, Kirito
gets the whole arsenal again. You can use one handed swords, two handed
swords, katanas, spears, axes, every weapon you find, you can use, which brings a lot
of fresh air after Lost Song limited each character to 3 weapon types.
As you use your weapon, you gain weapon proficiency and skill points, which
you can use to unlock more sword skills. There are also EX skills that complement your playstyle.
With every new feature this game shoves down your throat and the
lackluster tutorials, these might get overwhelming a bit, but once you get used
to them and understand how they work, they offer you a huge advantage in battle. You
can stock up on defence with the Tank skill, focus on healing with the Healer,
get an insane amount of damage with the Attacker, it's all up to you.
Although later, you realize there are hidden EX skills, that are the equivalent of Unique
Skills back in Sword Art Online, and just decide to focus on Dual Blades again.
I'm not the only one who did that right?
And the gameplay is smooth as butter. One thing I complained about Lost Song was that
the combat did not feel right, let alone the skills never felt powerful like
they did back in Hollow Fragment. Well, Aquria managed to hit that
sweet spot once again, especially after their Warriors of the Sky free update that reworked
the whole combat system, which is one of the main reasons why
I was so glad on waiting on this review. If it was before the update,
I could say the Sword Skills still feel like they are missing something compared to Hollow
Fragment, but thankfully, that is no longer the case. And you do not
need to worry about saying "Oh but that wasnt the game that was released",
well, the update is free for everyone who buys the game, so unless you live in a country
without internet, this is the game you are getting and using and chaining
Sword Skills one after the other feel extremely rewarding.
Honestly, there a lot of things I can mention about why combat works and feels great in
this game, but that would only confuse a player who is just trying to
get into the game. Because it is overwhelming as hell as I mentioned
earlier. There are tons of mechanics that matter during combat, so many skills and synergies,
it will just confuse you, but don't let that discourage you, because
the game is long enough to experience all those with a natural learning
curve, since the game doesnt bother explaining you all the useful stuff you can be using.
You can literally watch my playthrough of the whole game and see my combat
skills evolve as I figure out more of the stuff that should have had
a decent tutorial.
But I have to mention something that has been a problem with SAO games for a while now and
that is recycled enemies. The areas are fine, there are 6 areas, each
feeling truly unique, with a 7th one added in the free update and
more coming with the upcoming DLC's, again, all unique areas. But one thing you will notice
a lot is that you are fighting the same enemies over and over. There is the
boar, the treant, the reaper, fireballs, golems, wasps, crabs, skeletons,
kobold enemies, bats, giant knights, dragons, plants, when I say them one by one, it might
sound a lot, but as you play such a long game, you realize the available
variety falls short. That's not really a fault in terms of enemy variety,
but rather it failing to live up to the games lenght.
The Area bosses, which are the equivalent of Floor bosses in Ainground are a whole diferent
matter though. They are all unique except for the first one, which
is a nice throwback to the Floor 1 boss of Aincrad, with their own
mechanics, patterns and weaknesses. And I mentioned Floor bosses as one of the best
aspects of Hollow Fragment and Hollow Realization does not fail in that aspect,
You go in with a 16 people raid party against this epic boss with
the beautiful theme playing in the background, taking care of your party, pulling aggro,
going for crit spots, it is a very exciting experience. They are
once again the highest point in the game. Duels are an improvement,
compared to both previous games. Mainly due to the fact that the developers realized they
were not good enough. So we are only presented with a single duel in the whole
game against Genesis, and honestly, it is very well executed. It is easy,
but it is very well paced with certain gimmicks involved. With the free update though, a revamped
duel system has been added to the game aaand... I don't know, it's
a nice short gimmick, but I don't feel like it is a good long term
gamemode, as it is very barebones in terms of combat, despite having a lot of depth and
thought put into it in the background.
Of course, once you are done with the main story of the game, these kinds of titles offer
a New Game+, where you keep your level, and start the story again, with
more challenging enemies. As of now, the game does not feature an NG+
feature which leaves a lot of fans disappointed, but personally, I don't worry too much. Maybe
it is because I don't want to go through the story again, just for
higher level enemies, but the main reason is that Hollow Realization
offers an actual endgame content called Sacraments. They are extremely high level dungeons, that
each present a different objective and rewards you based on your performance,
which is a great addition to the series.
Before moving on the additional points, I should mention that the game has a multiplayer
mode. You can play with your friends or strangers on maps, defeat high
level bosses, even take on Sacraments which makes things a lot more efficient,
so I highly recommend checking that out, especially if you are trying to level up, multiplayer
is the way to go. There is also the PvP mode, but as I said,
I am not a fan of the duel system. The whole mode comes down to who staggers
who first and the rest is just spamming skills.
All in all, the gameplay in Hollow Realization feel very good and solid, while it lacks quite
a bit when it comes to explaining how all these intricate mechanics
work, but once you get the hang of things, you are rewarded very well
for your skill and dedication.
Story and gameplay, we are done with the main dish and the next ones will be just complementary
to the overall experience, like cutscenes and music.
Speaking of them, music is good and that speaks a lot, coming from a Sonic fan. Of course,
this is more personal opinion than factual stuff, but compared to
Fragment and Lost Song, which had 2 or 3 memorable tracks for me, Realization
had more than a handful of tracks that stuck to my mind, especially the fifth area music,
the boss raid music, some battle themes and the amazing ending instrumental
theme.
While the Opening theme is not among my favourites, I'm sure there will be a lot of people disagreeing
with me, since that is a very personal opinion.
When it comes to the cutscenes, it leaves a lot to be desired. Not because they are
not good, they are amazing, especially the more action oriented ones, like the one
after your battle with Genesis, but because of the fact you are left wanting
more animated cutscenes. Picture gallery, which is how most events
are depicted are once again top notch like Hollow Fragment, after having a
slight drop in terms of quality in Lost Song. Voice acting as usual is great, I love the
Japanese actors... Oh wait, I haven't mentioned this, have I? The game is only
available in Japanese dub, so if you are a fan of the English or your regional cast,
you need to adjust your ears. I'm glad that Kirito is once again fully voice
acted, but of course should you decide to turn Kirito into your own
character, which you can, you can turn of his speaking and read the lines in your preferred
voice of choice. One thing you might not enjoy is of course
the fanservice in this game and I have to say, it is not all that
dominant in this game. Sure there are a couple scenes with sexy instances of various SAO
heroines, the bed time pictures or the occasional accidential grab
here and there, but let's be honest, it could've been a lot worse with a
main cast that has 70% females and still decides to push Agil and Klein as far away from the
events as possible for some reason. I'm not gonna lie, yes, there is fanservice,
but nothing that I cannot live with and I am someone who does
not enjoy fanservice.
All in all, I think Hollow Realization is a great Sword Art Online game, and improves
the foundation that was built with Hollow Fragment immensely, making it
an overall good JRPG game that is not to be underestimated. And with the
upcoming Maiden of the Abyss DLC episodes introducing more story and a couple brand
new characters that some of you might know from the Light Novels' upcoming
Alicization Arc, it's only gonna get better, untill Accel World vs.
Sword Art Online Millennium Twilight gets released in Summer.
Before I wrap this video up, I once again would like to bring Sword Art Online Amino
App to your attention. It is a great community to be a part of and you can follow
me there to see when I upload new videos exclusively about Sword Art Online,
as well as other things I post there. You can take part in polls and see what else the
community shares! I'll be honest, I got some news regarding an upcoming event
in Sword Art Online Memory Defrag mobile game there, before I saw it on
platforms I follow. You can even share gifs! Who doesn't like some beautiful SAO gifs?!
You can find the links for Sword Art Online Amino App in the description for both iOS
and Android devices and you can find me there with the same name as here on
Youtube, this has been Gamerturk, hope you found this review helpful,
if you did, make sure to hit that like button, if you have any specific questions or anything
you feel like I've missed to cover, you can ask them right here in the
comments or any other platform I am using. You can find me on SAO Amino
by searching for Gamerturk, on twitter @gamerturk95 and on facebook.com/gamerturk.
And make sure to subscribe for more Sword Art Online content, especially the news regarding
the upcoming DLC Episodes for Hollow Realization and the upcoming
Accel World vs Sword Art Online Millennium Twilight. Untill then,
I'll see you guys in the next video. Take care!
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