Pandora’s Tower is a bit of a weird piece of work. It starts off as a fairly typical action JRPG, with a fairly typical spikey-haired male protagonist being accompanied by an equally spikey-haired female heroine. But then you start bringing things such as a dangerous curse, the consumption of raw monster flesh to stave off said curse, and a fairly expansive backstory that has troubles explaining itself, and you start to wonder just what exactly you’re playing, and where it fits in at.

XSeed’s little creation, now finally seeing North American shores after two years of being enjoyed by Japan and Europe, definitely fills a unique niche in the JRPG genre, and especially as a Wii title. That’s not saying it isn’t any less of an enjoyable experience, but it definitely has its share of quirks.

Pandora’s Tower puts you in the shoes of Aeron, the spikey-haired male mentioned earlier with the personality of a rock. Despite his uncanny ability to make Cloud Strife look like a social butterfly by comparison, he accompanies Elena, who ends up being the carrier of a curse that changes her into a monstrous beast if left unchecked, which causes a fair amount of chaos when it decides to show itself at a harvest festival. After being guided to an abandoned observatory by Mavda, a traveling merchant of an ancient race, Aeron learns of how to cure Elena of the curse, though it’s going to take a fair amount of work on his part.

Aeron’s quest at this point is to explore each of the thirteen towers that are situated above a giant chasm referred to as the Scar and defeat the master beasts that dwell in each, take their flesh, and have Elena feast on them. The idea for doing so is to cause the curse to weaken, and eventually be lifted altogether.

Obviously the idea of feeding a young woman raw monster flesh is a bit of a grotesque act in itself. But, when you catch a glimpse of the even more grotesque beast that she can change into if the curse is left to its own devices, you start to understand that it’s a necessary evil to prevent an even greater danger from occurring.

As Aeron is a soldier, he’s already quite capable of standing toe-to-toe with the various servant beasts that dwell in each of the towers. Aeron has access to evasive rolls, guarding, and some basic combos with his sword. He can also acquire new weapons along his journey, such as a large scythe that has a wide swing and great power but slow speed, and a pair of dual blades that attack very fast and hit multiple times, but lack raw power. These weapons can also be upgraded with Mavda, provided you have the required materials to do so, which you can also find in each of the towers.

The core aspect of the gameplay, however, falls on the central theme of chains, both as a metaphor and as a crucial gameplay mechanic. Early on, Aeron gains access to the Oroclos chain, which serves as his multi-purpose tool for many situations. He can use this to swing from grapple points to reach other areas, latch onto objects and drag them elsewhere, and latch onto switches to pull them and activate machines. All of this allows for some pretty engaging platforming and some especially creative puzzles. For example, using the chain to grab a piece of ore and swinging it into a wall allows it to act as a grapple point, allowing you to progress. You can also latch onto points on conveyor belts and use them like elevators to reach other floors.

The Oroclos chain also allows you to bind enemies in combat and make them easier to deal with. For example, you can bind a beast’s face to make them unable to see and use certain abilities, or bind their legs to keep them from moving while you focus on other targets. Binding two enemies to the same chain also allows damage sustained from one to be shared with the other, allowing another option for dealing with groups. And if you’re looking for an exceptional piece of hilarity, try binding a beast and swinging it around like a wrecking ball, knocking back anything that gets close.

The primary function of the chain, however, is to extract monster flesh from fallen foes. To do this, you need to bind a monster in its death throes and pull back on it to increase its strength. Doing so allows the chain to become stronger when you tear it out, increasing your chances of getting a better drop, such as high quality flesh. You can also strengthen the chain in combat to make it persist longer when binding an adversary, or deal more damage when you forcefully pull it out.

Surprisingly, aiming the chain is a fairly simple process done either using the Wiimote or the classic controller. While the Wiimote allows you to aim by pointing at the screen, the controller uses the right stick instead. If you need to aim for a specific spot, you can even use the zoom function to focus on a specific body part which also slows down the action to help your aim, though this comes at the cost of the game’s framerate taking a steep dive, a reminder of the weaker graphical power compared to the Wii U. This also means that there’s no direct way to control the camera, though the preset angles do their best to keep everything you need to see in sight.

However, one can’t just run into one of the thirteen towers and spend as much time as they want gathering meat. There is a bit of a time limit in how long you can stay in a tower, and the longer you stay away from the observatory base, the more Elena’s curse will progress. If you take too long to get back to her with the meat supply, then she will transform into a full beast, resulting in an automatic game over. Because of this, making a mental note of where enemies that drop appropriate meat are and managing your time inside the towers are crucial in making sure that Elena stays healthy.

Because of the need to keep an eye on your lady friend, you’ll often need to make several trips to the same tower to prevent her from changing. This can sometimes be annoying, but the towers do have shortcuts you can enable, allowing for faster subsequent visits. You also have items that can allow you to teleport out of a tower and straight to the observatory if you need to get back quickly.

There is more to the game than just farming up meat and exploring the towers; spending time with Elena is also a crucial aspect of the game. Talking to her, giving her gifts to boost her spirits, and giving her flesh before the curse starts to progress strengthens the bond between her and Aeron, improving their relationship. Elena can also translate ancient texts that help to explain the history of the game world and about the curse itself, and she even gives you items that can help you on your journey. Having a good relationship with Elena not only helps you during the course of the game, but also alters the game’s ending depending on how strong the bond between her and Aeron is. 

Mavda also contributes to the cause in her own way. Besides the aforementioned service of improving your weapons, she also sells various items, including gifts for Elena. Mavda also gives some words of advice on each of the towers, and about the curse itself. She also allows you to create new items by combining various materials together, although the recipes for such tend to make little sense.

For example, one recipe to make mercury requires three silver coins, one nymph water, and three metal lumps. Meanwhile, a recipe for a lump of metal requires one mercury, five sticky muds, and one crystal core. And if you’re trying to get those materials for a sword upgrade, one recipes calls for one metal lump, two mercury, and two crystal cores. To quote a classic Looney Tunes cartoon, it just don’t add up. Still, item creation does allow you to make rare items, including gifts for Elena and equipment for Aeron, so it’s a good idea not to completely disregard it.

While the game as a whole definitely feels dated, considering that it’s a two year old title that was released on an older platform, it’s a unique twist on typical action RPGs. Traveling through the thirteen towers is definitely the game’s strongpoint, allowing for some interesting combat and exploration. It’s got its share of imperfections, but thankfully they don’t tarnish the experience too much.

Pandora’s Tower may have taken a while to finally get to North America, and it may not be as grand as some may hope it is, but it is still an adventure worth taking part in. Just don’t show this game to your vegetarian friends.

Hint: Use Shards of Divinity if you need to make a quick escape from a tower to get to Elena before the curse takes hold.

Related Links: 
Official Site 

by Michael Revis