Farmagia review

Farmagia is one of those ambitious efforts that stives to merge a multitude of different genres. Beyond some Pokémon-esque monster management, there’s Story of Seasons-style farming, real-time strategy-driven battles, and even some visual novel-like storytelling. If that wasn’t varied enough, the game also flaunts Hiro Mashima’s (Fairy Tail, Edens Zero) distinctive character design.

Although many of Farmagia’s components lean toward simplicity, there’s a mildly addictive gameplay cycle that might hook players. There were several times that I couldn’t wait to jump back into the loop, training my Battle Buddies for their next showdown.

Freedom for Everyone but My Buddies

The plot begins with the ruler of Felicidad’s death and a power-hungry opportunist named Glaza attempting to seize world power. Like all too many politicians, his early rhetoric sounds progressive, but his actions reveal an intention to enslave folks across Felicidad’s five continents. You play as Ten, a Farmagia who’s able to sync with monsters and becomes a central figure in a mounting uprising.

Accompanied by a one-eyed sidekick named Lookie-Loo, the protagonist and his comical companion have personalities and a rapport much like Fairy Tail’s Natsu and Happy.  Yet, I didn’t find the slightly predictable story beats and reliance on tropes to be detrimental. Farmagia delivers the requisite banter, baddies, and busty shopkeepers that you’re probably expecting. Smartly, it keeps the dialog punchy and concise, so you can get back to the game’s other components. The only issue is that the script talks about the importance of bonding with your Battle Buddies. Sadly, you won’t spend much time truly getting to know them better; they’re little more than fighters.

Sprouting Fangs

Ten’s aspiration to defeat Glaza takes root in a small garden. Here, you’ll till the land, plant seeds, and diligently water your blossoming buddies until they are ready to be harvested and become part of your army. Like most agrarian-sims, you’ll have a limited amount of energy for monster gardening, which refills when you delve into the game’s dungeon-like mazes.

Expectedly, there are a number of obstacles like weeds, pieces of wood, rocks, as well as the diminutive size of your farm. But they’re all easily overcome as you progress through the campaign, spending money on new tools and using points to expand your ranch. After a day or three, your companion crops are ready to be harvested. Once uprooted, you’ll train them and keep your hordes content with their favorite snacks.

When You’re Hurt, I’m Injured Too

Undoubtedly, the most interesting element of Farmagia is found when exploring the game’s mazes. Here, Ten and his comparisons will be shadowed by up to four customizable teams of Battle Buddies. Play with a controller and a press of one of the face buttons sends a squad striking any nearby foes, while a hold sustains the assault.

Given that your troops have different attack styles (formation, melee, ranged, and support) as well as elemental traits, you’ll need to employ a bit of strategy with your attack orders. Predominantly, I relied on the game’s on-screen damage numbers which are conveniently color-coded. The important thing to remember is that when your troops are injured, your selected Farmagia can walk over them to disrupt their daze. But injury to your Battle Buddies will deplete your character’s health bar. Fortunately, a well-timed guard can help you recover your vitality while wearing down an enemy’s KO meter.

Fusion and Confusion

Exhausting a KO gauge is the best method to defeat bulky antagonists as well as hulking bosses. When this happens, you can provoke one of your factions to make a Unite Blitz or for all your groups to combine into a Legion Attack. The final possibility is assembling your Buddies and changing forms, with a hybrid delivering colossal amounts of damage.

At times, combat can feel both routine yet also chaotic. The former stems from issuing finisher-style assaults in response to on-screen prompts, which doesn’t convey autonomy. Yet, when you’re surrounded by assailing adversaries and the camera doesn’t offer a suitable perspective, guarding is a struggle. That said, conflict is also oddly engaging, especially when hit points are scarce. A bit of nuance is found in selectable perks that are scattered around each maze, that can either augment your farmagia, monsters, or even expand your unit numbers. Unfortunately, these bonuses are lost at the end of your expedition.

Not All of Your Buddies are Endearing

Although the title performs well on portable PCs like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally, there are a few visual sacrifices. Not only is there a shortage of environmental variety, but there’s also some enemy palette swapping. But a bigger issue is how some of the Battle Beasts look. Sure, the Fangs who resemble red foxes who run alongside you are enchanting. But the mantis-bird hybrids known as Arkies resemble faceless, bootleg Pokémon. Occasionally, the game can be fiddly. One side-quest tasked me with raising a Fang, which was easily accomplished. However, getting the game to acknowledge the competition of the task took several in-game days.

Yet, for every misstep, Farmagia seems to offer some cool features in return. It took three hours before I found a hexagonal tech-tree with dozens of helpful perks. Elsewhere, building affinity with elemental spirits will help unlock new Buddies and additional Fusions, which help strive to keep combat from becoming stale. Accompanying Farmagia can provide different kinds of passive effects, providing the edge needed to obliterate a monster nest. Sure, the game’s main components might not seem deep, but they are intensified by a wealth of clever nuances. Collectively, this strengthened Farmagia’s gameplay loop and helped me overlook several shortcomings.

Farmagia was played on PC with review code provided by the publisher.