Introduction

Don’t shoot me but honestly, I’ve never been a big fan of the Touhou franchise. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind moe and adorable anime girls, but the franchise just never hooked me. It’s a bit ironic because I’ve still played a decent amount of the games from it. From shmups to beat ’em ups, I will always give credit that the Touhou brand tries to mix up its gameplay styles using its heavy roster of characters. Once more, another Touhou game enters the gaming world, and this time it’s a SRPG akin to Super Robot Wars, which is a franchise I love to the point I own almost every game. Anyways, moving on. Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER isn’t out just yet, but we here at SunsetNerdVerse were given a demo copy for review purposes and I decided why not step into this strange franchise once more. Here’s my demo review of Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER.

Gameplay

Let me prepare you now. I’m going to say Super Robot Wars a lot and I mean it. That’s because to best explain what Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is like, I have to compare it to Super Robot Wars. That being said… yes, if it wasn’t obvious, Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is more or less a Super Robot Wars title.

In the demo—and I’m presuming the main game too—players choose from one of several protagonists and enter their respective paths. Each girl’s story aligns with a different path, and choosing one over another does change the story and characters you’ll engage with. This is certainly a nice reason for multiple playthroughs, but given how the game is, even if this is just a demo, I’m not too sure how many people will want to replay it.

At its core, Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is a grid-based turn-based SRPG. You take control of your various warrior girls and position them across the map to attack, defend, or counter enemies. When an enemy falls within range, you initiate combat and choose from one of a handful of moves. Then you sit back and watch your little sprite girl unleash their attack on a static backdrop that moves slightly… if this sounds like Super Robot Wars, that’s because it’s more or less exactly that. You can also use various skills to bolster defenses, increase evasion, or just power up a girl’s stats. Simple, but as a Super Robot Wars fan, I always enjoy this gameplay style.

When combat is finally over, the mission ends, some story plays, and you’re brought to a briefing page. Here you can upgrade your girls, change the team, and move on to the next mission. Again, Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is barebones but it works.

My biggest gripe is the controls, which are absolutely terrible. Usually, I use a controller for most PC games, but I found myself unable to do so here… which is fine, I can rock my mouse and keyboard. Unfortunately, while the music was blasting my ears off (I’ll discuss this further soon), it didn’t help. After literally using every key on my full-sized keyboard, I found the accept button is Z and the escape button is X. Why? I don’t have the slightest idea. Maybe this is a Touhou thing, but when it takes me several minutes just to find the start button, that isn’t the best way to enjoy a game.

Graphics

If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for sprite and hand-drawn art in games. When done well, even the simplest game can look gorgeous. Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER goes for sprite-themed characters, which is fine honestly. Characters have a lot of detail and their various special attacks reminded me of the games I remember them from. Yeah, the backgrounds and menus look like they were done using RPG Maker, but I’ll give this game a pass as it’s meant to be a fan-themed project more than a big triple-A game.

Sound

Good news—the music in Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER is solid and quite diverse. Bad news—turn the game on with your volume low. This game’s sound is extremely loud on startup. With the controls being random as they are, I had to fiddle with buttons until I was blessed enough to find the options and reduce the sound to audible levels. Yes, the music is good and the OST is solid, but seriously… why is it so loud?

Story

The demo gives a very brief introduction for why these girls are here in this world but even then, I was a bit lost. Unlike Super Robot Wars, which gives a good reason for its various series characters to all meet, Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER just seems to happen “because.” Aside from that though, I didn’t get much invested in the story and even the dialogue was uneventful.

Overall Impression

Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER’s demo shows me that I probably am not the person this game is geared toward despite my love for Super Robot Wars. Yeah, the gameplay is simple fun and I did like the OST and visuals, but the story isn’t engaging for me and honestly the controls are just plain bad… which is silly for a SRPG. Do I think fans will like Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER when it properly releases? Yeah, Touhou fans will no doubt support it and find a lot to like. However, non-fans or those just looking for a nice Super Robot Wars clone will want to look elsewhere.

Conclusion

Again, maybe I’m the wrong person to rate Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER, but seeing it play like one of my favorite franchises does give me some room to debate how this game is. As a demo, I didn’t dislike it, but there’s not a lot selling me on this game. The gameplay is fun and really simple, but this feels like an indie developer’s first project. I don’t think Fantasy Maiden War – DREAM OF THE STRAY DREAMER will be bad—again, this is just a demo—but as a full game…I’m not sure.

—Aaron