If you hear the name KEMCO and jump for joy, then you must be a fan of old school RPGs done well. Once again, KEMCO delivers yet another RPG in the form of Chronus Arc! Did this new RPG appeal to us here at Honey’s Anime? Will you want to pick up Chronus Arc for yourselves, especially if you’re into retro JRPGs? Find out by scrolling on down and reading our review of Chronus Arc for the PS4!

Chronus Arc is a retro themed JRPG that will appeal to gamers who like the older Final Fantasy games as well as any other KEMCO branded RPG. Players will assume the role of a young man named Loka who must adventure around the world trying to find out what happened to his master and to stop a horrible event from befalling. Engage in classic turn-based battles and solve puzzles set in various dungeons within Chronus Arc. While Chronus Arc isn’t styled in the more modern day age of RPGs, it’s geared for audiences who love nostalgic gaming entries.

In this world, a powerful artifact exists called the Chronus Fragment and allows for a special ritual dubbed Time Rewinding to be performed every decade. Now with the time once more approaching, a young man named Loka is sent with his master to retrieve a fragment. However, things go quite wrong with Loka and his master when they are ambushed and Loka runs barely escaping. Upon returning with his kingdom’s aid, Loka learn his master is gone and now must find out what occurred. Loka will now the chance to prove his worth and he enters a long journey in Chronus Arc!

Originally released on mobile device, Chronus Arc is another JRPG crafted by KEMCO famous for making some rather old school RPGs perfect for those who love nostalgic adventures. We originally played the original mobile version of Chronus Arc when it dropped around 2017 and enjoyed our time slaying monsters in turn-based combat and roaming around puzzle filled dungeons that often tested our minds slightly. Now in 2018, Chronus Arc—like many other KEMCO titles—has found its way to consoles and we once more tried out this neat little JRPG. Does KEMCO again deliver a great classic inspired title? Let us find out as we review Chronus Arc for the PS4.

Chronus Arc is a very simple game to explain as a whole. Players assume the role of a young man named Loka who ends up on a journey when his master vanishes after an ambush and he discovers a villainous plot is afoot. From here, players will navigate various landscapes fighting monsters and baddies in classic turn-based stylings akin to most older titles. Chronus Arc isn’t focused on delivering high end graphics or new age mechanics to its audience though. At its core, Chronus Arc is focused on reminding gamers of titles like Final Fantasy. This is where many will either love Chronus Arc or feel its being overly cautious to not mold itself differently than the games its inspired from.

Chronus Arc’s gameplay is split into two themes, RPG elements and exploration. The brunt of gameplay in Chronus Arc is tackling enemies you see on the field—thankfully not random battles—and dealing out classic turn-based warfare on them by attacking, using spells or unleashing special attacks. Akin to most RPG/JRPGs, Chronus Arc has you level up, equip new items/spells and generally level grind your way to beating anything that stands before you. Combat can be sped up—thank you KEMCO—and it allows players to avoid hours of fighting low grade enemies making most battles last minutes or seconds. We won’t say Chronus Arc is the best turn based JRPG but we love simplicity at times and it makes Chronus Arc approachable to all ages and fans of the genre.

The secondary element to Chronus Arc that we briefly mentioned above is exploration. Where Chronus Arc shines above other JRPGs is the simple—but occasionally tricky—puzzles that occupy most dungeons in Chronus Arc. We won’t spoil the puzzles and often the mechanics you must utilize but we enjoyed finding hidden areas or using our minds a bit more than older JRPGs required us to. Just be ready for the occasional repetition to set in as Chronus Arc doesn’t change up its formula often. Remember folks, Chronus Arc is at its heart an old school themed JRPG that will appeal to fans of the yesteryear of RPGs.

Lastly, let us talk briefly about the graphics and sound for Chronus Arc. For the most part, we loved the music and art that was offered in Chronus Arc. While some towns had annoying tunes—like we muted our audio annoying—battles and dungeons had some pretty good music overall. What shines brightest about Chronus Arc though is the sprites and designs of the characters. All of the characters/enemies in Chronus Arc look solid at a sprite level and when their portraits appear during text dialogue sequences, they have an air of originality to them not seen often in JRPGs that mirror the past. Chronus Arc won’t win any awards for the best-looking game out there but we think it does perfectly fine with what it offers.

Here at Honey’s Anime, we’ve come to appreciate what KEMCO is trying to do with their JRPGs/RPGs. Rather than just make new age titles, they want to keep gamers from forgetting the classics by delivering solid titles like Chronus Arc. For only $14.99, Chronus Arc will take you at least around 10+ hours to beat and that’s assuming you’re not exploring every area to its fullest. We recommend fans of older JRPGs to download Chronus Arc as we think it’s a solid game overall. Just remember though that old school doesn’t mean you’re going to see anything super flashy and/or new age.

We’ve played numerous KEMCO games and we rarely ever dislike our time playing them. Chronus Arc can now be added to that list as we think many RPG fans will enjoy the retro styled gameplay that it offers. Chronus Arc might not appeal to newer gamers who eat and breathe modern RPGs only, but if you’re looking for a trip back in time to a simpler time, you’ll most definitely like Chronus Arc. Are you playing Chronus Arc or plan on doing so? Comment below to let us know in the comments below! Be sure to keep stuck to our beautiful hive for even more game reviews curtsey of us here at Honey’s Anime.