Review: Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. (DS)

Following hot on the heels of their last release, the folks over at The Game Factory have brought us back into the digital world of Code Lyoko. This time, set in the storyline which would be the long stalled fourth season of the hit French cartoon aired on Cartoon Network in the US, Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A. takes players into the Digital Sea with the Lyoko Warriors. Fans of the television show should feel right at home with the game as it follows the adventures of Ulrich, Yumi, Odd and Aelita as they try and save the Worldwide Web from a new virus called X.A.N.A. in pure RPG flair. Unfortunately if you’re not a fan of the show and this is your first dive into the Digital Sea, you’ll have a difficult time relating with the content and genuinely caring about what is happening in the world of Lyoko.

Gameplay

Beginning the game, you’ll find yourself staring at very nice 2D animated cells that look like they’re straight out of the cartoon itself. Set in the Kadic School, you’ll visit this hub numerous times as you setup each individual mission in the game. Talking to students and teachers alike will give you story elements outside of the digital world of Lyoko, but often never seem to gel correctly with the overall feel of the game. Entering the factory, Jeremy will give you a brief rundown of what is expected of you when you enter the Digital Sea and try to save Lyoko. Once in, controls are fairly straight forward as you lead your main character around the map by holding down the stylus in the direction you’d like them to go. Monsters appear on the screen and serve as a nice cover-up for the often criticized random encounters that plague a lot of other RPGs. Get too close to the on-screen monsters and you’ll be in for a fight.

Fighting in the game begins as your usual turn-based RPG. The active time battle system will ensure you must stay on your toes, but the tried and true turn-based combat system allows you to jump right into the action without much setup or explanation. You’ll choose between Attack, Power, Function and Item and each action has their own respective purpose. Get attacked too much and your Tension bar will fill up. Once full, the Attack command will be replaced with a Tension command allowing you to unleash a powerful attack if the sequence on screen is done correctly.

The system is overly simplistic for veteran gamers, but ideally this game is not targeted for the hardcore. Speaking with representatives from The Game Factory, it was learned that this title was meant as a lightweight RPG in hopes of getting younger gamers an introduction into the RPG world and I believe they’ve accomplished just that. The system does not burden you with too many things at once, but still provides enough variety from leveling up to be fun.

Story

The world is in great danger as the X.A.N.A. virus has begun infecting the Worldwide Web. You’ll take control of the Lyoko warriors and lead them into the Digital Sea battling powerful monsters lead by their old friend William who is under the control of X.A.N.A. That is the basic story in a nutshell. If you are having troubles deciphering what exactly any of that means, then you’re obviously not a fan of the cartoon and the game will really do nothing to educate you in that regard. Taking for granted that every player will know the backstory of Code Lyoko is where this game seems to fall apart. While the story is fairly deep and gives you a sense of impending doom, without knowing who’s related to whom and what any of it means in relation to said impending doom, the player doesn’t seem to care. Newcomers hoping to get a rich RPG experience will get just that, lacking any story cohesiveness to bring it all together. Fans of the series and fans that have played The Game Factory’s first DS endeavor will be able to relate quite well and probably enjoy the story immensely.

Graphics

While some of the graphics on Code Lyoko rank up there with even some skillful designs as the upcoming Final Fantasy IV on the DS, the developer’s choice of using super deformed characters takes away from the overall look of the game. Some monsters in the game however are pretty splendidly done and a pleasure to look at while battling. With such detail being put into the monsters, it makes one wish they would have put more emphasis on the heroes themselves. Beginning the mission, you’re treated with nicely drawn animated sequences. Unfortunately those characters become flat and uninteresting when entering the world of Lyoko. The 3D rich world of the animated series doesn’t come through with the boring and unimaginative world presented in the game.

Sound

If you haven’t heard the theme of the show, you’ll get your chance to become intimately acquainted with it as it is reproduced several times throughout the game. In the various stages of the game, the background music becomes familiar but forgettable. Sound effects for the different attacks and character actions represent a fair likeness to how the sounds should be, but don’t really do anything ground breaking in this category. This is not to say that any of the sounds are bad, they’re just nothing innovative in the genre.

Controls

The developers have made good use of the Nintendo DS stylus in this game as that becomes your primary way of controlling the Lyoko Warriors. The system works quite well and is very easy to pick up and go with. Control within the world of Lyoko is as simple as dragging your stylus in the direction you’d like your character to move. When its time for battle, tapping on the corresponding command and then the target that you wish to perform the action on is all it takes to successfully navigate your way through a battle scene. As mentioned before, when your character is hit enough, their Tension gauge fills up giving you the ability to unleash a more powerful attack. This is done by a small sequence of stylus movements to correctly perform the Tension attack. None of them are too tricky to accomplish, but it’s a great distraction from just mindlessly tapping the Attack button.

Conclusion

Fans of the Code Lyoko series and previous games will be excited to control their favorite heroes in the Digital Sea through a relatively robust and lengthy RPG. The game mechanics also lend themselves well to younger gamers who wish to try their hands at a beginner RPG. If you are neither of these, unfortunately you’ll end up with a mediocre RPG experience in which you have little to no link with the characters and story. It’s obvious the developers set out to appease their fanbase and I believe they’ve done just that. They’ve given their fans a nice true RPG to flesh out the series with.