Compile Heart characters sure are pretty, aren’t they? For all of the delightful highs and unfortunate lows of series like Neptunia, Fairy Fencer, and Death end Re;Quest, there’s always one thing you can count on: Everyone, or to be more specific, every girl, is ever so photogenic. For JRPG aficionados, deciding which adorable young waifus make the main party out of a harem of cuties is often a key selling point of each game.
Not all Compile Heart classics hit as hard as others, though this is sometimes due to lack of availability rather than lack of trying. The Mary Skelter series of dark fairytale character team-up adventures found themselves restricted to the Vita for the first installment, Mary Skelter: Nightmares, while the second game, Mary Skelter 2, saw a PS4 release limited only to Japan, unless you feel like jumping ship to the Switch, which I’m pretty sure is a cardinal sin around here.
With the demise of the Vita and renewed interest in both reviving and finishing the trilogy, the final chapter of the Mary Skelter series would find its way back to PS4, internationally this time. Mary Skelter: Finale includes a ‘Before Story’ that features the stories of both Mary Skelter: Nightmares and Mary Skelter 2. Newcomers (such as myself) who have missed previous entries in the series will now be able to enjoy the story in full.
Introduction
Mary Skelter: Finale is a dungeon-crawling JRPG developed by Compile Heart for the PlayStation 4. It is a continuation of the True Ending of Mary Skelter: Nightmares after the completion of Mary Skelter 2. The game also doubles as a series ‘best bits’ feature package, including the above-mentioned ‘Before Story’ events from both previous games, along with other bonus content including series scene artwork, character art, and a music player.
You will also be able to play Love Prison Tower Mary Skelter, which was included as a pre-order bonus with Mary Skelter 2, and though not mentioned in promotional material, the game also gives access to Love Prison Tower Mary Skelter: True End too, giving us a total of five intertwined adventures to visit. The game was released on October 1st, 2021.
Story
Years ago, a forgotten Japanese city was swallowed up by the earth, disappearing beneath the surface. The city was lost to time and its people were considered dead, yet the reality of the situation was even more nightmarish. The city would fuse with a subterranean demon, becoming a colossal living prison for those trapped inside.
Inside the demon prison, known simply as “Jail” by the survivors, “Marchen” demons and their “Nightmare” generals round up the survivors and torture them until the living Jail is satisfied, and those that don’t survive these encounters find their bodies littering the dark, abandoned streets. Prisoners band together to give each other hope, including childhood friends Jack and Alice, who are beginning to manifest strange abilities from their time in Jail.
Alice is able to heal her body by drinking Jack’s blood, while Jack is developing mild psychic links to Alice and the Jail, even able to understand Jail’s terrifying screams. The pair are eventually rescued by members of the ‘Dawn’, a resistance group containing “Blood Maidens”, young women who were born within Jail and gain superhuman abilities from absorbing blood.
Alice is revealed to be a fellow Blood Maiden, while Jack is a similar anomaly known as a “Blood Youth”, whose blood can cure the physical injuries and mental deterioration of Blood Maidens. Blood Maidens and Blood Youths are modern-day reincarnations of classic fairy tale characters, with Jack and Alice joining the ranks of Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White, and many more.
The pair join the Dawn and begin searching for other survivors while making their way up Jail’s tower to the surface, growing in strength and numbers until they are able to escape, defying their fates in the process by merging two conflicting timelines, allowing a handful of allies who lost their lives along the way to receive a second chance at life. Sadly, this major victory may be short-lived.
Scaling Jail’s tower to the surface reveals the lands beyond are a ruined wasteland littered with fresh corpses. Escapees are hunted down and slaughtered by a bloodthirsty group known as Massacre Pink who also attack the party, forcing the members of the Dawn to split into groups to escape. Jack, Mary, Clara, Red Riding Hood, and newcomers Toh and Pyre will lead their respective groups in scaling ominous new towers to locate the mastermind behind Massacre Pink.
Gameplay
Mary Skelter: Finale holds the same basic gameplay that defined Mary Skelter: Nightmares and Mary Skelter 2. Dungeon-crawling and the timing of dungeon interactions work on an almost rhythmic turn-based system. Blood Maidens also have special field abilities used to solve puzzles and navigate dungeons.
By attacking the weaknesses of enemies or by ‘over-killing’ them, the party can accumulate Blood, allowing Blood Maidens to access the powered-up Massacre or Blood Skelter states depending on their Corruption. Nightmares make a return as an unkillable boss requiring quick-thinking to escape rather than fighting your way to victory.
The ‘Zapping’ system allows the player to switch between groups in real-time, allowing them to play with any available group whenever they wish. Items can be given to different groups through special ‘dustboxes’. Some groups will reach a dead-end in which case a different group will have to interact with the environment to pave the way forward.
The ‘Insectmare’ system is a negative status modifier that attaches to Blood Maidens. It causes certain commands to become unavailable, such as being unable to attack, use skills or even escape battle. However, it can be treated with blood packs which also generate blood for Massacre Mode. Leaving it untreated can cause further commands to become unavailable.
‘Commissions’ are fetch quests that the player can accept, and upon completion, will be rewarded with gold, items and/or blood crystals. Each group have their own set of missions which they can gain access to through the commissions at their own base of operations.
Graphics/Sound
Mary Skelter: Finale borrows a lot of assets from the previous games, and that’s not a great way to gain identity as a new game or embrace the PS4’s power. Dungeon exploring is still done in the same 90 degree rotatable 3D style, with a small mini-map in the corner. When you engage in battle, you will see your active character’s portrait down at the bottom, and enemies will appear as 3D models in the center of the screen.
Story sequences are told in a visual novel format with beautiful character portraits with a modern gothic style reminiscent of Death end re;Quest. Since this is a direct sequel to the previous games with most cast members remaining the same, there are many recycled models. 3D dungeon environments are built with reasonably detailed but reused cubes, which can lead to a lot of repetition, and doesn’t show much evolution from the series’ PS Vita origins.
Also like its predecessors, Finale has a solid soundtrack with some great new additions. The game features a partial yet excellent English dub, with Compile Heart favourites Christina Vee, Ryan Bartley, and Amber Lee Connors featured among the talented cast of returning voice actors.
Conclusion
Depending on how we view it, Mary Skelter: Finale can be a beautiful game with its large assortment of pretty characters which showcase Compile Heart’s knack for detailed 2D sprites, while the explorable environments borrow too heavily from the series basic Vita origins to create something less appealing when the actual gameplay kicks in.
There is a great story of teamwork and overcoming seemingly impossible odds here. We’ve also got a strong horror vibe going on which makes for a dark and harrowing tale, yet it’s still considerably less visceral than Death end Re;Quest and less likely to trigger a bout of nausea. The fairytale twist is also quite endearing as we work out the identities of some of the lesser known characters.
As such, we have a game that fixates on honouring the gameplay, visual style, and narrative traditions of its predecessors, making this installment one for the fans which never really goes above and beyond, or breaks away from its mostly functional yet repetitive dungeon-crawler theme. A respectable game, but not without its imperfections.
Joys
- A fun fusion of pretty fairytale characters
- A dark story of integrated character arcs
- Superb music and voice acting
Cons
- Basic, samey environments
- Not much evolution from the series’ Vita origins
- Repetitive by nature
