Checking your memory at the lost and found

You know, it really sucks losing your memory. Where are the car keys? Where is the dog? Do I have kids? Amnesia is a serious epidemic that affects many people. Most Japanese video games can attest to this fact.

Baroque is a Role Playing game for the Wii, developed by Sting (not the singer) and published by Atlus. Amnesia claims another victim in this game, that of your character. Along with being inflicted with amnesia, he is also mute. Probably not the kind of person you would want at your Super Bowl party. Waking up one day, you are visited by a red-eyed angel who tells you that the world needs saving. A cataclysmic event called ‘The Blaze’ has completely distorted the world. Your character is somehow responsible, and is told by the angel to atone for your sins and travel to a structure called the Neuro Tower. Of course, you don’t remember what happened.

Welcoming Death

Contrary to what you are used to in games, death is necessary. When your character dies, he returns to the world. Characters that you interact with change their dialogue based on what you have accomplished in your past life. In fact, death is necessary sometimes in order to get into new areas, as well as to further the story. Death also brings changes to the Neuro Tower. As your primary dungeon, you can imagine it getting a bit drab if it was always the same. Luckily, the layout, item locations, and enemies are completely random, so every time you enter it will feel like a new dungeon.

There are two items of interest in the Neuro Tower. The Cursebringer Angel can be used to combine items to make them more powerful and is placed randomly in the tower. The Consciousness Orb can be used to save your game, or rather save your items. When you die, the items that you are carrying are lost. The Consciousness Orb saves the items so you can get them back after death. The Meta-Beings play the role of enemy in the game. There are two attacks your character can use to take them out, Normal and Special and these change depending on the weapon you are holding. It is also possible to hurl items at enemies to deal some damage. Different weapons have different stats that range from accuracy to attack speed and range. Power attacks can be performed by shaking the Wii remote a bit.

When defeated, Meta-Beings leave behind their heart. These hearts can be consumed for Vitality Points, which are very important. As long as you have these points, your health regenerates. However, you are constantly losing them. Attacks cost you health and vitality points and once you lose all your vitality points, your health starts to fall faster.

Don't buy it for the graphics

Like other dungeon crawler RPGs, you can expect a fair amount of customization. From items and weapons, to stat boosting parasites, there are a large number of changes that you can make to your character.

The graphics aren’t exactly stunning. To be fair, the game is a remake of the Sega Saturn original. Still, the Wii is capable of better graphics and it is a shame that the system isn’t used to its fullest. Baroque’s dark theme, combined with an intriguing storyline and unique gameplay features make it a game that dungeon crawler fans should keep an eye on.