My relationship withSword Art Onlinevideo games is love-hate. Apart from the still stagnant Dot Hack series, it is the only isekai-based pseudo-MMORPG video game series out there.I love Dot Hack. I have tried to settle for the SAO video games as a replacement, but it’s been a mostly terrible experience.
I first started my adventure with Sword Art Online:Hollow Fragmenton PS4. I was so excited to dive into the game because, for the most part, I enjoyed the earlier seasons of the accompanying anime. I had become a big fan of Asuna and her strong character…until she became quite the damsel in distress and, much like many other female characters within the series, became part of Kirito’s ever-growing harem.
My Sword Art Online Video Game Journey Began With Hollow Fragment
I had hoped that hopping into Hollow Fragment would be my chance to feel like I’m playing my own version of the events in the earlier parts of the series. Unfortunately, with Kirito being the main focus, the exciting trapped-within-an-MMO narrative is lost among the tiresome “talking heads” visual novel-style cutscenes in which characters spend ages talking about their lives, their feelings for Kirito, and being jealous of one another. I tried to push through it multiple times but just couldn’t complete the game.
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Then cameLost Song,Hollow Realization, andAccel World VS Sword Art Online. Each game had something that initially interested me. Lost Song and Hollow Realization in particular showed that the combat mechanics were seeing gradual improvements. The mechanics felt less floaty, especially in Hollow Realization, which is something I would still consider an odd staple of the game series as a whole. In short, button inputs for attacks and dodges don’t quite respond as quickly as you’d want for an action RPG.
But even with the improved gameplay and performance of the games, the story boiled down to the same point of contention for me: the MMO story I was desperately craving was buried under too many talking heads surrounding Kirito, and ignoring the overall isekai theme.
Fatal Bullet Is My Favorite Of The Sword Art Online Series
Then cameFatal Bulletin early 2018. I was in grad school when I played it on PS4. It was different from the other games in two ways: it had more gun-based fighting and YOU were the star of the show.
In Fatal Bullet, you find yourself immersed in the Gun Gale Online (GGO) VRMMORPG from the anime’s second season. As you create your character, you join GGO alongside your friend Kureha. Throughout the story, you encounter ArFA-sys, a humanoid AI, and cross paths with familiar faces like Asuna.
Automatically, I was enticed by creating my own character. FINALLY, I got to step into the game world as my own avatar. I created a dark-skinned male character with pink tinted hair and made my ArFA-sys (who was also customizable) into his male counterpart.
I already knew that walking into this game wouldn’t be amazing. All the previous games had a story that didn’t quite go anywhere for a while, but I was fine with that in Fatal Bullet. My character was the center of attention now, even though Kirito and the gang were there. Everyone praised me for being lucky enough to obtain my ArFA-sys, which was super rare in GGO. As I expected, the story led to my character having a harem, though in my case, I avoided the female characters and spent most of my time talking with the male characters.
The combat in Fatal Bullet is also quite engaging. Guns and swords come in various types, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. you may customize them in several ways based on your playstyle. In addition to healing bullets and acrobatic shots, gadgets such as hidden bombs and stealth knives enhance the gameplay. There is also a generous aiming system.
The system still works like an RPG, as I had Kureha being a tank, I was a DPS focusing on using rifles, and my ArFA-sys and Asuna were more support/healer types, focusing on using bullets that healed and buffed the party. Overall, the elements of the game came together to create an imperfect but very immersive experience for me — one that I’d been craving since Hollow Fragment.
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I enjoyed the game so much that in 2020, I bought the ultimate version with all the DLC on the Switch. I started playing it again, and it sparked a big interest in me. I wondered what the next game would have in it, but unfortunately, it seemed like the Fatal Bullet formula was a one-time thing.
The next entry in the series, Alicization Lycoris, was released in 2020 during the pandemic. As soon as I saw that Kirito once again took center stage and the story returned to the pre-Fatal Bullet style, I was irritated. I think under regular circumstances, I wouldn’t have picked up the game, but like many people during that time, I was bored and trapped inside. I bought it for Xbox One and found some interest in it at first. I got about 10 hours in when the focus on Kirito got to be too much, and not even the sheer boredom of the pandemic could keep me playing the game. I ditched it like the others.
Time To Go, Kirito
Recently, the full game and accompanying demo for Last Recollection came out. As the conclusive installment in the SAO gameverse, Last Recollection concludes the narrative of the alternative continuity crafted for the game series. It marks a potential endpoint, signifying that it could be a considerable amount of time before we witness another Sword Art Online game.
I tried out the demo because I’m a glutton for disappointment. I’ve known about the entry for a while, with video game outlets discussing how it would be the final part of the overarching story. I could tell from the previews that there wouldn’t be any custom character to cling to, but maybe something would pull me in.
It didn’t.
The demo featured the characters that I remembered from the Alicization entry, as it showed me that all the drama found within it had been resolved and Kirito’s ever-growing harem had gained more groupies to it. The combat felt a little more responsive compared to Alicization, and part of me wondered if maybe, at some point when it’s heavily discounted, I may try the game out. But there’s a greater part of me that thinks that I’m better off just going back to Fatal Bullet on my Switch.
There was one thing that made me smile while playing the Last Recollection demo — it’s the final entry of the current SAO gameverse. This gives me hope — hope that if there is a next entry, Kirito will be left behind, and we have the chance to play a custom character. Let us become the stars of the show. Oh, and maybe fewer talking heads moments as well, please.
