Pier Solar and the Great Architects Review

Do not be surprised if you have never heard of Pier Solar before. Originally released in 2010 on the Sega Genesis, Pier Solar and the Great Architects (also currently known as Pier Solar HD) has been redesigned for a modern release on newer systems thanks to indie developer WaterMelon’s successful KickStarter campaign. As a turn-based RPG that relies heavily on the classic tropes established by games likes Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger, Pier Solar is a great example of a game that holds up due to the nostalgia factor with its 16-bit visuals, sense of discovery, and challenging gameplay.

The story of Pier Solar and the Great Architects is centered on three main characters in Hoston, Alina and Edessot, which are all teenagers trying to find the mysteries of their world. Each of them has its own unique personality and, despite having a lack of voice acting in the dialogue, you can really tell that they are all different in their special way because of their backgrounds and education. For example, Hoston is a botanist that is usually care-free, but, when something tragic occurs, he’s the first one risking his life to solve the situation, while Alina is the studied girl who is also strong and independent. To my big surprise, Pier Solar is a very narrative-driven game that has a weird, yet interesting plot that goes beyond the initial expectations. It’s really one of the best aspects of Pier Solar and the Great Architects.

As soon as you’ll enter the world of Pier Solar, you’ll feel a strong sense of déjà vu with its visual tone highly inspired by the SNES/Sega Genesis era of gaming. With its pixelated sprites and colorful backgrounds, it looks exactly like a game that originally came out on those systems, except it has that HD remaster spin to it with its redesigned environments. That’s right, all of Pier Solar’s environments have been redone to obtain an extra visual pop, while the characters and interactable objects keep the beloved 16-bit pixel art. In addition, you can play the entirety of Pier Solar and the Great Architects with its original Sega Genesis graphics and original soundtrack by enabling the feature via the Options menu. The switch is made instantly and you get to experience the game in a very different visual way. Sadly, it does not hold up that well, especially if you are playing on a big screen. Plus, I don’t see why you would play it in its original form because you’ll miss out on some of the best music I have ever heard in a video game. I cannot stress enough how amazing the remastered soundtrack of Pier Solar HD is with catchy sounds that are sure to stay in your head for hours, even after you have walked away from the game. It’s enchanting and makes you feel like you are going on a legitimate adventure.

Not only will the visuals remind you of classic games, but so will the gameplay. Pier Solar does not revolutionize the turn-based RPG genre by any means; in fact, it simply takes the core mechanics of the genre and makes its own game out of it. That being said, it keeps that old-school feeling by having literally no sense of direction as you must figure out where you must go next. This is great and frustrating at the same time because, if you miss a single dialogue line, you could be left wandering the world interacting with NPC’s trying to figure out what to do. There is a Notebook that provides some insightful tips, but most of them are very vague and don’t help you that much. And that aspect stands out the most when trying to complete sidequests. Additionally, since the game isn’t well known, there is a significant lack of guides on the web even if it’s an HD re-release. This means that, if you get stuck somewhere, good luck trying to figure it out on your own. Not only is the lack of hand-holding frustrating in terms of figuring out your objective, but it’s also annoying when discovering new game mechanics. Though you’ll have plenty of time to experience various options since the game lasts about 25 hours or so, I found myself discovering very useful tricks late in my playthrough. The biggest of them were the ability to run and warp back at the beginning of a section. This makes the game very difficult to fully master, and results in an inaccessible experience for new players.

As far as combat goes, Pier Solar works exactly the same as any other turn-based RPG. As you explore the various caves, forests and underground terrains, you’ll randomly encounter enemies that will take the game to a combat scenario. The members in your party each have their own unique attacks, stats and equipment that can all be customized when you are not in battle, or purchased in the various shops. Though, you’ll mostly spend your time attacking the bizarre-looking enemies, you also have the option to Defend, which is completely random, use Items, Gather, use Spells or Run Away from the fight. One unique thing present in Pier Solar’s combat system is the option to Manually or Auto fight your foes. At first, I honestly wondered why would anyone use this feature because it removes the biggest chunk of the game, which is strategy and risk taking, but I found myself using it a lot more than I thought when was stumped and simply did not know what move I should do next. It’s also great for newcomers that don’t fully understand the entire logistics around the combat system without being an insta-win button.

Unfortunately, the game’s biggest downside is with its combat. Not necessarily with the system around it, but more because of the tedious random encounters that happen every 10-15 seconds. If you are stuck in an area trying to figure where to go or what to do and you get attacked every instant, it makes the experience very frustrating because you’ll never have enough Life Points to get through the area. Plus, the saving system can be extremely buggy and unreliable, and will put you back at the start of the area after your death instead of the closest checkpoint. Ultimately, this made me walk away from the game at multiple occasions because I simply couldn’t stand the constant Running Away from fights and repetitive sequences. Pier Solar gets tedious very quickly as you reach of the game, and, after putting so many hours in doing the same thing, it felt more like a chore than an exciting quest liked it seemed at the beginning of my playthrough.

VERDICT

After all is said and done, Pier Solar and the Great Architects is the perfect game for any classic turn-based RPG fan seeking an engaging and lengthy experience. However, don’t expect it to blow your mind as it takes all the good parts of juggernauts like Final Fantasy and Chrono Trigger to create its own gameplay hooks. It is certainly not the most invigorating RPG experience you’ll ever play, but it’s a great nostalgia trip that will make you embrace and remember the classic tropes of the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis generation of gaming.