Mugen Souls Z (Switch) Review

Mugen Souls was released on the Playstation 3 over a decade ago.  Its direct sequel was released just over a year later.  While Compile Heart has continued to release titles since then, there have been no further entries in the franchise.  This could be due to various things; including massive fan backlash at the localization at the time removing some key features.  Now Eastasiasoft has stepped up to release this series on the Switch, non-censored.  While this game was entertaining in its original state, the real question fall back to if it has held up to current JRPGs.

As mentioned before, Mugen Souls Z is a direct sequel to the events that happened in the first title, picking up a short time after Chou-Chou managed to conquer the Seven Worlds.  While playing the first game will give some additional information on a handful of the core characters, playing it isn’t needed to enjoy this title as most of the humor in it is completely random, goofy, and rarely relies on call backs for a punchline.  

The combat is pretty straight forward turn-based JRPG style battle.  Battles take place on a 3D field, so position matters depending on attacks due to range and amount of enemies gathered.  The basics of battle are not Earth shattering, nor is that where anything different is done.  The main difference is that the player can turn enemies into “minions” to be used to work menial jobs for them at the home base.  This mainly serves the purpose of giving another option to winning a battle besides killing everyone on the other team, as they can be captured to work for the player—just a small addition to the insanity of the game.

The game also allows the player to participate in robot/spaceship battles in a simple rock/paper/scissors type battle system.  While these battles are in no way impossible, I never really got the hang of them.  This isn’t to say that they are bad in anyway, just that I am probably one of the worst people on the planet at figuring out anything that is telegraphed ahead of time.  I am sure that there are some people that will see this as the highlight of the title, as they look super cool.  I simply end up brute forcing the entire experience.

Eastasiasoft has done a great job in porting this game to the Switch.  That point should be remembered, as this is a port and not a remaster.  While that means that the title is thankfully able to be played by a new generation of players, it also means that it does show its age.  This shows the most in the graphics as everything feels just a little fuzzy at times.  There is only so much that upscaling can do when an asset was only ever meant to be seen at a lower resolution.  This never impacts the gameplay, just a game from two generations ago showing its age.

Mugen Souls Z is a good game.  As the Sony has made it publicly known that they are planning on shutting down the digital store at some point in the future, it is wonderful to know that this title is on more systems, meaning it is easier to grab a copy.  And while rough around the edges due to being a decade old, it is still an obscure gem for any JRPG fan.