The Return of Alphadia

Gameplay: There’s a lot of QoL here compared to other EXE Create RPG’s, including x3 battle speed, faster field movement and other stuff that’s unlockable via quests and story progression w/o need for IAP here. Alphadia Neo also introduces a fishing minigame that gives you special currency that you can exchange for some awesome rewards that you’ll definitely need for the Postgame.
Unfortunately there is a Postgame dungeon that *is* paywalled behind IAP for the iOS/Android version of Alphadia Neo though (which is the version I played here.)
Controls: I played the Android version and controls were pretty smooth/responsive unlike some of the older Kemco RPG’s I’d played on my phone (at the time of this review, a 2020 model Moto G Power which is an older budget/midrange phone.)
The game is also full screen on my phone compared to some older Kemco RPG’s, too.
Story: Alphadia Neo’s story harkens back to older entries of the series, including Alphadia 1 w/it’s tragic tone, Alphadia Genesis 1 w/it’s themes of Energi clones being mistreated and used as tools, and the JP Feature Phone-only Alphadia 4 w/its themes of a world in crisis because of Energi Crystals. Overall the story is very well-written w/the exception of a plot hole at the end of the game where one major character’s fate is ambiguous. I wasn’t a fan of this in Final Fantasy 16’s ending and I wasn’t a fan of this here in Alphadia Neo.
Battle System: Battles are a huge improvement from Alphadia Genesis 2, with more diversity in Energi Arts and character-specific Break Skills to deploy in battle. You also get Resonant Skills which are tag-team skills that involve multiple party members, along w/Styles for characters that give them different stat and battle effects/bonuses when you switch between them mid-battle.
Skill System: Characters learn Break and Resonant Skills as they level up, and you have 6 different types of Energi this time to level up via equipping different elemental Energi Rings to your characters, along w/extremely powerful Hybrid Energi skills. Learning new skills is overall a lot less tedious compared to previous EXE Create RPG’s because of all the QoL in this game.

I love Fishing.

Fishing is Fun!

The world will see a second rebirth, feel the energi once more. - An Alphadia Neo review

Alphadia Neo is a new installment in the Alphadia series and is set in the world of Olden, a world that abounds with Energi and is guided by the Energi Crystals. You play as Alt, a man with no memories, as he sets out on an adventure to help a former princess of a ruined kingdom with the help of an energi clone and an adherent on their way to end the war and prevent the emperor of an empire to conquer the world with immense power from the Crystals.

Alphadia Neo’s gameplay is very similar to their recent RPG engine with some differences and added features such as Style and Resonant Skills. And since this is an Alphadia game, Alphadia Neo has six different elemental magics you can learn and different magics to take advantage of in your battles.
It also has a new feature, a fishing mini-game. A fun addition to the game to take a break from battles and relax.

The game also has an amazing soundtrack. Composed by Rie Yamane, the main composer of the Alphadia series, and Goro Asano, the main composer of the Asdivine series, and a lovely characters art/portraits by Oshiharu to give life to the characters.

Overall, Alphadia Neo is a not-bad but not-good either RPG by EXE-CREATE.
I can’t deny the fact that they cut a lot of things, reused assets, and possible extra story scenarios that were cut during the final days of production. And some of its are presented via assets within the game file of the game like a cut dark-green energi crystal. It does have plot holes but not as bad as in other games.
What makes this game interesting (in my case) is they finally bring the concept of Energi Crystals to the west via this game. So probably, we might get an Alphadia IV remake in the future.

Not worth paying for

This could have been a decent game, but as with so many recent Kemco releases is is, sadly, disappointing.

There are some good aspects to the game:
There is the usual in-game shop & lottery tickets
It has user friendly features, such as:
* Repeat last action button
* Daily roulette and Missions, plus panel challenges, where you can recieve ANP and other prizes
* QUESTS are clearly marked in towns and on zoom map, once completed you can zoom back to the client
Other positive aspects include:
Fishing – I am not a big fan of fishing, but this wasn’t too tedious
Promising story & characters – though names are a bit strange (Alt & Soufflé in particular)
Good range of skills and resonant skills utilising multiple protagonists
Various Boots can be equipped from the main screen (heavy boots, attract enemies each step etc) – you don’t have to purchase these and are easy to change.
The Monsters and scenery are not simply recoloured/reused, which make a refreshing change from some recent game.
However:
There is no Defend/wait option during battle – so the fastest ends up doing most of the fighting
Items in chests are generally not worth as good as you already have
No weapon upgrading/customization
I found much of the Help Section ambiguous or downright unhelpful
Very little of use in the in-game shop

Extremely short – this is easily the shortest Kemco game I have played & I have played majority of those released for ps4; I spent less than a third of the time I spent on Fernz Gate, Asdivine games etc (and I am a completionist)

A game with much promise, once again spoiled by lack of time? Budget? Laziness?
Not worth the £8.99 I paid (cheap for a ps4 game)

Recommended if you want a quick easy platinum – otherwise I would give this a miss

a very stable game but with a disappointing ending and missing arena and legendary weapons