Game Review: Scarlett Nexus (Xbox Series X)

Scarlett Nexus is an action JRPG developed by Bandai Namco Studios/Tose and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It released in 2021 onto Xbox One & Xbox Series X before being added to Game Pass later that year.

The game is played from a third-person perspective. Players can assume control of either Yuito Sumeragi or Kasane Randall, members of the Other Suppression Force (OSF). They are tasked to defend New Himuka from creatures known as the Others. While they are equipped with short-range weapons like a sword, both Yuito and Kasane possess the ability of psychokinesis, allowing them to hurl objects and debris at enemies. Their powers can be upgraded through the “brain map”, which serves as the game’s skill tree. As players progress, they encounter different party members who can assist them in combat. Each companion has their own unique combat abilities, which can then be acquired by the player through an ability named “brain link”.

Set in the year 2020, a nation faces the pervasive threat of mysterious monsters who fall from the sky and feed on human brains, otherwise known as “Others”. At the same time, a hormone that gives certain people extrasensory abilities that are effective against the Others, is discovered in the human body. Subsequently, the nation’s founder establishes the Other Suppression Force (OSF) to combat these monsters and save humanity. Commonly referred to as the Scarlet Guardians, young individuals with abilities undergo intensive training to join this group.

One day, the nation prepares an induction ceremony for the exceptional recruits who completed the gruelling training to become Scarlet Guardians. Among these young elites is Yuito Sumeragi, the determined son of the nation’s founder. At the age of five, he was rescued by a woman in the OSF. To repay this debt, he joins the organization, eager to put his training to good use. As he meets his new comrades, he faces a big problem—the woman who saved him years ago closely resembles one of his teammates. However, this should be the least of his worries—unbeknownst to him, a conspiracy is brewing, one with the capability to shake the entire country.

Scarlett Nexus is a JRPG in every possible way. You’re either a fan of this genre or not and this game is unlikely to sway you. It’s filled to the brim with many of the tropes and clichés that are often rife in these games. Still, as a JRPG fan I see these constants as aspects that more often than not, work. As the adage goes, if it isn’t broke then why fix it?

Let this be a warning, this game has a hell of a lot of cutscenes. I know this won’t be for everyone. At times, you’d be forgiven for thinking that you were actually watching an anime instead of playing a video game. However, as anyone who is a fan of this genre knows, there’s a purpose to this. Simply put, it is designed to extensively flesh out the narrative and the characters within it.  Scarlett Nexus goes hard on character development in a way that only this type of game can. Every single one of these characters gets their own backstory and individual moments to shine. You’ll care for some more than others but that’s personal to each player. However, it does more than enough to make you feel something for each character no matter how small.

During visits to your hideout you can buy gifts for characters, increasing your relationship with them and unlocking special “bond episodes”. I recommend doing them all as you’ll really get to know each character as much as possible. There are some really great ones. Especially the few “Team bond episodes”.

The story is right up there with one of the best I have experienced with any game in this genre. It goes in some surprising directions. Some may say that it attempts to do far too much but I thought it worked out quite nicely in the end. Is it convoluted? Does it have plot holes here and there? Yes and yes but it’s still highly enjoyable. You’ll get lost fairly quickly if you don’t pay full attention though, I found myself fully invested in where it was going.

Another hugely strong aspect of this game is the combat. While it’s repetitive and formulaic, I never once found it dull. Its super satisfying to easily pull off stunning looking attacks and combos. The brain crushing finishing moves look awesome and make you feel like a complete badass. There is a variety of ways you can tackle each battle using the many different SAS at your disposal. Also, while Yuito is stuck with a standard sword. Kasane has floating knives that she spins/throws and its damn cool. Then, there’s the fact that your primary ability is psychokinesis meaning you can throw a variety of objects and use them to do special moves.

One area that could have been improved is enemy variety. It can get tiresome fighting the same types over and over. Once you figure out the best combination of SAS to defeat them you’ll find yourself doing that each time. Still, their designs are really cool. Some of the monsters look like something fresh out of a Silent Hill game.

Visually, the game looks pretty good. The main party members are each well designed but again, predictable looking for this type of game. A lot of the conversations take place through static storyboards and yes, it’s disappointing. However, considering the amount of dialogue at play I can see why it was done. Also, it’s something a bit different to what we usually see so I didn’t really mind all that much.

The main city is a bit rough looking up close but it’s very uniquely designed. It’s a shame though that many of the pathways you find yourself on are extremely linear, with very few if any options to go off of the beaten path. The city looks big and inviting but there’s nothing there. No mini games, activities or shops. You can pick up quests from NPC’s but they’re all fetch quests or kill a certain enemy x amount of times. Basically, the side quests suck.

There are certain areas in the game that do look really beautiful though. Like a snow filled mountaintop that has an entire city frozen below ice. There’s a lot going on with this game visually, props to whoever had such a wild imagination. Some of the moments involving the “red strings” blew me away.

Additionally, having two separate campaigns that weave and intertwine with each other was a really neat idea. Personally, I played as Kasane at first and I’m glad I did because in my opinion hers is definitely superior. Also, your entire progress carries over to whoever you play as 2nd so getting through battles is much faster.

Overall, I really enjoyed Scarlett Nexus and I will be highly recommending it to anyone who enjoys a JRPG. I would love a sequel as there are some very fascinating directions it could go in. Don’t overlook this game if you’re on the lookout for a new, high quality JPRG to play. I had never even heard of it before it was added to Game Pass.