Alter Age Review – Ah, To Be Young Again…

My first experience with KEMCO’s ever-growing collection of retro-style JRPGs takes me back to the very early days of the PS4. It was a time of hesitancy and uncertainty, as investing in the powerful new PlayStation 4 was very much the future for PlayStation gamers, yet doing so could mean a hefty sacrifice for the retro gamers among us since the system wasn’t backwards compatible at all.

Those of us still hoping for a system that would allow us to finally play older titles would sadly have to pick up a very different sort of console. With emulators flooding mobile devices en masse, the mobile-hardware-based microconsole would be born, resulting in my rather unreturned investment in the Android-based Ouya console.

There were some advantages to the misbehaving system, with one being console gamers being able to play Android-based JRPGs on their TVs for the first time. It’s here that I was first introduced to the quirky, retro-style JRPGs of KEMCO, beginning with a fun little adventure called End of Aspiration which got the job done. Now, it’s time to return to KEMCO’s collection and see how things have evolved over the last decade.

Introduction

Alter Age is produced by pixel-art RPG powerhouse Exe-Create, and partner publisher KEMCO. The game released as a cross-buy title for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 7th March, 2025. While a traditional KEMCO JRPG in appearance, the game also features the unique mechanic where party members can alternate between child and adult forms at almost any time.

Story

Arga has been training daily to prove himself superior to his negligent father, who abandoned his family years ago in order to claim the title ‘Astera’, the strongest ‘Braver’ in the world. Through vigorous training, young Bravers are able to unlock a ‘Class’, usually in their teenage years, which allows the warrior to utilise a specific set of fixed magical abilities as well as gaining superhuman strength and skill.

Despite his unyielding efforts, Arga failed to unlock his Class in his youth, resulting in him repeatedly failing his combat trials which were necessary for him to earn his freedom to leave his home village of Ruse. Though a late bloomer, Arga finally unlocks his Class at the age of 23, and while he struggles to see the benefit of his new ‘Soul Alter’ Class, his enhanced skills finally allow him to defeat his childhood friend Melty in combat and earn his freedom.

Now free to leave and follow his dream of punching his absent father, who did not return even after the death of his mother, Arga sets out into the wide open world in search of his father and even greater power. As a Soul Alter, Arga is able to transform into his preteen self to see the world and its people from another perspective, while also befriending two young girls, Elsie and Lillieka, who can also utilise Arga’s powers of transformation.

Gameplay

Story conversations will change depending on whether you progress with Arga in adult or preteen form. In preteen form, you can receive pocket money from a benefactor, however you’ll need to be an adult to take on optional quests which offer bigger cash payouts. The personalities of Arga’s companions will also change depending on their form, which can offer some quirky, additional dialogue options.

There is a vast, expanding world to explore, filled with towns and other settlements to spend your hard-earned cash in, while dungeons offer cash, experience and loot, with many being entirely optional. Dungeons may also have a particular theme in their design, such as more challenging and/or rewarding battles, or simple puzzles to mix up the gameplay. Recovery items are available to buy at shops, however collecting ingredients while exploring will allow you to cook meals too.

In combat, the player can ‘alter’ the team between grownup and preteen forms in turn-based battles to alternate between attack or support type strategies. Being in preteen form places the respective party member in a defensive, support role which consumes less MP. Grownup form takes an offensive stance for increased damage. Stat boosts can also be supplemented by upgrading equipment and utilising passive skills.

Graphics/Sound

Exe-Create’s textbook high-end 16bit-era pixel art graphics make their return once again here, though there are little improvements and modernisations here and there. Environments are bright and colourful, with added shade textures to make the world feel that bit more realistically detailed, while still feeling very nostalgic of classic early ’90s gaming.

Though still highly pixelated, the 2D characters come to life with welcome animations, swaying and manoeuvring in combat rather than simply flickering in and out of the action. Elevating the presentation further are the big, beautiful 2D character sprites used in cutscenes, which are bold and considerably more detailed.

We’re back to the unvoiced dialogue once again, though the text boxes present is well-translated and on-point, never feeling over-long and wordy. The soundtrack cleverly infuses retro midi tracks with crisper, modern synthesised instruments to, once again, build a nostalgic yet fresh atmosphere featuring some incredibly catchy tracks.

Conclusion

While not everyone will be able to see past all those pixels in this retro-style, classic JRPG, it should be noted that Alter Age features a fair few quality of life improvements which really help bring the experience into the modern era, and this isn’t just limited to the outstanding soundtrack and robust clarity throughout.

The game already feels expertly simplified and refined, yet we can further shape our experience with the generous variety of difficulty settings which can modify our journey considerably, altering the amounts of EXP, money, and upgrade items which we find along the way, alongside the general combat efficiency of the enemies.

There is an immensely satisfying experience to be had here if you take the time to give it a chance. My only ask is that maybe give the price point some review. 2D games tend to fall under the budget pricing formula, and Alter Age does fit this category, though I’m sure most would rather keep their pocket money games under £10 rather than £16. Just a thought.