It's tough to love turn-based JRPGs. Not many American gamers can relate to the simple battle system, feminine-faced characters and reused aspects. When JRPGs come around, the big hope is that they do something different, something really different. My World, My Way, tries to do that, but comes up a little short.
My World, My Way is a turn-based RPG, so the battles themselves aren't very dynamic. The challenge, however, is kept alive by quests that send you out into the world to take down an increasing number of monsters with a nice level curve. You will quickly see a pattern developing: go to a town, get some quests, pout your way to victory, get a key, fight a boss, repeat. Even the main character notices this.
"Wait," you tell me. "Why did you say, 'Pout'? This game already looks girlie enough, now I'm supposed to go around pouting?" And I tell you, "Yes. Remember how I said that My World, My Way tries to do things different?" It tries by allowing you to Pout for what you want. The monsters roam in areas each divided into a different "field" of sorts, and if you're displeased with the current state of the field (wasteland, flower field, graveyard, etc.) you can use some Pout Points and change it to whatever you want. Are the monsters too strong for your low-level character? Weaken them up by Pouting. Need the monsters to drop more money, or items? Pout for it. You can even Pout in battle to make the monsters run away, stop casting spells, or stop attacking you. If you don't like how something is, Pout about it. Complain, whine, do what you need to. You can even Pout away quests, although that costs you 99 Pout Points and 5 max Pout Points, which is a hefty, hefty price.
The story is simple, but the dialog is nice, especially if you're an RPG fan who notices the similarities between games and the strange character (non) discourse that occurs; My World, My Way's dialog points and laughs at all RPGs. If you take everything seriously, you will never be able to live down My World, My Way. If you can handle unwinding with a not-so-serious game, you'll find something in here.
Options to feed your character at inns allow you to customize your stats to a point, and your partner, a pink blob, can randomly mimic enemies. Your main customization is through him, as you will be allowed to chose between certain monsters and their stats and abilities. There's a good amount of weapons, but money is a little hard to come by without Pouting, so it's easiest to get them as drops from fallen enemies or in dungeons, which are sprinkled liberally throughout the towns. Dungeons are nice for refreshing your scenery--instead of battling in the Pout-controlled fields, you have the option of traversing an underground dungeon infested with monsters and treasure chests. (you can Pout in dungeons, too, of course, but you can't change its appearance like you can in the fields)
Menu interface is simple. You don't need the stylus for anything (but you can still use it if you want), and button functions are nicely outlined for you in the corner of the screen, where they never get in the way. Going through menus is never, ever a hassle. It's all very simple to deal with, which is good, because a messy menu is always a huge turn-off for RPGs.
The graphics are nothing to write home about. In fact, they're bad. Enemies look chunky and the main character looks, well, weird in 3D. The 2D graphics, however, are very nice--simple and pretty, which I particularly like, but since most of the time you're looking at the 3D screens, the nice 2D ones don't make up for it. (Although I really have to admit, there's a number of Pout fields I particularly enjoy, such as the Graveyard and Dancing Bonfire. The heroine really likes dancing things, as you will find out once you play the game) The music isn't anything to write home about, either, but at least it's upbeat and catchy.
The last point I want to bring up is the girlie air this game lets off. This game is girlie on purpose, but that purpose is not to cater to an all-female audience, it's to be funny. The gameplay is just as any other turn-based game, but it adds Pouting to give it variety and humor. Like I've said before, if you're so uptight that you can't let go of the idea of "Pouting, girlie, feminine," you will never survive through two minutes of this game. This is definitely not one of those uber-casual "girl games," it's an RPG.
In all, RPG fans should give this game at least a rent. It's a nice experience and will give you a good laugh (or at least a smile. If you don't at least smile, you are too uptight. Seriously!). Those who want to get into RPGs should also look into My World, My Way, as it's easy to get into, provides a challenge, and is very user-friendly in terms of battles and menus. But if you dislike RPGs for whatever reason, it would be a good idea to stay away from this title, as it's as RPG as RPGs get. I must say, it was a good experience for me--I hadn't played an RPG in a while, and it reminded me exactly how they were, and I'm very glad it did. My World, My Way is very charming, and while it's not the greatest RPG experience, it's one you'll remember for a long time to come.
My World, My Way is a turn-based RPG, so the battles themselves aren't very dynamic. The challenge, however, is kept alive by quests that send you out into the world to take down an increasing number of monsters with a nice level curve. You will quickly see a pattern developing: go to a town, get some quests, pout your way to victory, get a key, fight a boss, repeat. Even the main character notices this.
"Wait," you tell me. "Why did you say, 'Pout'? This game already looks girlie enough, now I'm supposed to go around pouting?" And I tell you, "Yes. Remember how I said that My World, My Way tries to do things different?" It tries by allowing you to Pout for what you want. The monsters roam in areas each divided into a different "field" of sorts, and if you're displeased with the current state of the field (wasteland, flower field, graveyard, etc.) you can use some Pout Points and change it to whatever you want. Are the monsters too strong for your low-level character? Weaken them up by Pouting. Need the monsters to drop more money, or items? Pout for it. You can even Pout in battle to make the monsters run away, stop casting spells, or stop attacking you. If you don't like how something is, Pout about it. Complain, whine, do what you need to. You can even Pout away quests, although that costs you 99 Pout Points and 5 max Pout Points, which is a hefty, hefty price.
The story is simple, but the dialog is nice, especially if you're an RPG fan who notices the similarities between games and the strange character (non) discourse that occurs; My World, My Way's dialog points and laughs at all RPGs. If you take everything seriously, you will never be able to live down My World, My Way. If you can handle unwinding with a not-so-serious game, you'll find something in here.
Options to feed your character at inns allow you to customize your stats to a point, and your partner, a pink blob, can randomly mimic enemies. Your main customization is through him, as you will be allowed to chose between certain monsters and their stats and abilities. There's a good amount of weapons, but money is a little hard to come by without Pouting, so it's easiest to get them as drops from fallen enemies or in dungeons, which are sprinkled liberally throughout the towns. Dungeons are nice for refreshing your scenery--instead of battling in the Pout-controlled fields, you have the option of traversing an underground dungeon infested with monsters and treasure chests. (you can Pout in dungeons, too, of course, but you can't change its appearance like you can in the fields)
Menu interface is simple. You don't need the stylus for anything (but you can still use it if you want), and button functions are nicely outlined for you in the corner of the screen, where they never get in the way. Going through menus is never, ever a hassle. It's all very simple to deal with, which is good, because a messy menu is always a huge turn-off for RPGs.
The graphics are nothing to write home about. In fact, they're bad. Enemies look chunky and the main character looks, well, weird in 3D. The 2D graphics, however, are very nice--simple and pretty, which I particularly like, but since most of the time you're looking at the 3D screens, the nice 2D ones don't make up for it. (Although I really have to admit, there's a number of Pout fields I particularly enjoy, such as the Graveyard and Dancing Bonfire. The heroine really likes dancing things, as you will find out once you play the game) The music isn't anything to write home about, either, but at least it's upbeat and catchy.
The last point I want to bring up is the girlie air this game lets off. This game is girlie on purpose, but that purpose is not to cater to an all-female audience, it's to be funny. The gameplay is just as any other turn-based game, but it adds Pouting to give it variety and humor. Like I've said before, if you're so uptight that you can't let go of the idea of "Pouting, girlie, feminine," you will never survive through two minutes of this game. This is definitely not one of those uber-casual "girl games," it's an RPG.
In all, RPG fans should give this game at least a rent. It's a nice experience and will give you a good laugh (or at least a smile. If you don't at least smile, you are too uptight. Seriously!). Those who want to get into RPGs should also look into My World, My Way, as it's easy to get into, provides a challenge, and is very user-friendly in terms of battles and menus. But if you dislike RPGs for whatever reason, it would be a good idea to stay away from this title, as it's as RPG as RPGs get. I must say, it was a good experience for me--I hadn't played an RPG in a while, and it reminded me exactly how they were, and I'm very glad it did. My World, My Way is very charming, and while it's not the greatest RPG experience, it's one you'll remember for a long time to come.
