Originally posted on Aug. 24, 2017; Revised Dec. 12, 2021

Perhaps, I am a child at heart but I really prefer the simplistic gameplay approach, especially when the story is the focal point.  The content of this game is quite mature but with light gameplay, which is both suitable for adults and children. Fragile Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon, an action-adventure RPG, developed by Namco and Tri-Crescendo, is about a boy’s journey toward finding warmth in the post-apocalyptic world. It has a typical story but it took advantage of the video game medium to produce a unique experience.

What I enjoyed about the game is that it’s beautiful and atmospheric.  According to the trailer, it is supposed to have horror elements, which ironically, it’s far from scary, but more so cute like Casper the ghost, but a little lonely.  The player plays the protagonist, a young man named Seto who is on the search for human civilization.

Throughout the game, Seto is accompanied by caring loving companions who are not humans.  The most memorable companion to me is Crow, who appears to be a big tea drinker like myself based on his clothes. His encounter with the robot is my favorite part of the game.

It was fun chasing and hunting down Crow because it reminded me of playing hide and seek and playing tag. For a moment, I didn’t mind taking a break from trying to find the silver hair girl.

That section of the game illustrates an important point made by one of the characters, Chiyo:

“It’s the sunbeams, the wind rolling over grass and the idle chit chat with friends [are] the gems of life.”

The moment where Seto chased Crow to get his locket back is special and left a huge impression on me. It made realized how we must not forget during our journey in life to enjoy the present moments. That is called living. However, the game also wanted to make another important point: Crow is a robot. Even if we find happiness in the substitution of artificial life, including digital ones–it does not replace real-life human interaction.  Thus, it’s the silver hair girl that can offer Seto a real authentic relationship even if it involves conflict and misunderstanding between both people. Lastly, Sai, one of the main supporting characters, helped me understand that words may not always be the best form of expression, but it’s not entirely useless. Words fill in the part where visual cue fails to communicate simple things such as Seto wanting Ren, the silver hair girl, to be his companion. He wants his memories to live on by sharing them with someone.

Overall, the game provided a philosophical explanation for the continuation of existence, despite the dark side of humanity where most people would want to withdraw and disconnect from all forms of human interaction. The world would be a pretty lonely place when we only answer to ourselves. I thought the game successfully illustrated these points through gameplay and atmosphere. If you haven’t played this game already, check it out. And if you have played it, let me know what you think. I’d love to hear them.

Credits: Picture sources found at fragiledreams.fandom.com/wiki