Let’s just cut to the chase, shall we? I am happy to report that Idea Factory has brought Fairy Fencer F, a PlayStation 3 game, to PlayStation 4 in the form of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force. It’s as much fun on PS4 as it was on PS3, whether it is a replay, or jumping in for the first time. Sure, a port may not have been necessary, but then again, the developers at Compile Heart went to great lengths and have implemented changes by adding a new twist with different story arcs, more challenging battles, and multiple endings.

For those that are unfamiliar with the story, the plot of Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark Force revolves around the character Fang, who stumbles upon a sword that he believes will grant him any wish he desires. Upon pulling out the sword he is greeted by Eryn, a fairy, who reveals that he is a fencer and takes him on an adventure to resurrect the goddess to bring peace to the land and restore her lost memory.

The biggest change Advent Dark Force brings is the story. Similar to Megadimension Neptunia VII, the main story is now split up into three different scenarios and offers three different outcomes depending on which arc is selected throughout the story while slightly altering character interactions. Originally from Fairy Fencer F, players can choose to resurrect the goddess or the vile god or remain neutral. Overall this gives players a reason to come back and explore all the possible endings.

Another noticeable change is the frame rate. The original version seemed to push the system to its limits to pull off 30 frames per second at 720p resolution, but with upgraded hardware, the PlayStation 4 runs Advent Dark Force at 60 frames per second and at 1080p resolution. The characters look absolutely gorgeous, showcasing how much work went into character and model design. Not only doubling the frame rate only provide an obvious aesthetic boost, it also enhances gameplay as well. With the new change of adding six characters to the party, combat is much faster and fluid assisted by it’s smooth silky frame rate.

Combat is probably the most fun I have had since the primary Neptunia games. Each character can unlock up to four combo moves that can be customized to the player’s preference. Each character has the “Fairize” ability that powers up the character, giving them flashy new armor much like the HDD mode from the Neptunia series. As mentioned earlier, another change that was implemented is the increased difficulty compared to the original PS3 version. I often found my attacks missing. However this did not take away from the experience. The overall combat was very entertaining and I thoroughly enjoyed the abundance of character customization at my disposal.

Back in 2014, we praised Fairy Fencer F on PlayStation 3 for being a fun game with innovative combat and tons of customization options; the same holds true in the PlayStation 4 “remastered” sibling. With Remastered we now can enjoy a better frame fate that smooths out combat, a prettier, sharper look, and multiple endings (not to mention a whole fresh set of Trophies to earn again, for the ambitious).

Fairy Fencer F: Advent Dark force is a welcome addition to the PlayStation 4 and definitely worth your time.

Pros: 

• -Upgraded graphics
• -Enhanced combat
• -Runs at 60 FPS 
• -New story ark 

Review copy courtesy of Idea Factory