Stand by me…in a turn based battle, Echo Generation Midnight Edition but is it worth staying up late for?
Echo Generation Midnight Edition hails from Canada from indie developer Cococucumber with support from Canada Media Fund and Ontario Creates. Echo Generation has made it’s way to the Nintendo Switch with it’s Midnight Edition. The Midnight Edition features upgraded graphics, fast travel as well as a host of quality of life upgrades.
Echo Generation Midnight Edition is a Turn based RPG set in a small town during the 1990’s and if that starts hitting you in the nostalgia feels then buckle up as you’ve got more to come. As soon as you load up Echo Generation Midnight Edition you’ll appreciate it’s art style, everything about the game is distinctly vintage but without looked dated, thats to say it looks old school but with the crispness you’d expect from a modern release. The first thing you’ll need to do is select and name your player character. I went with the character model I thought had the most 90’s vibe, then I had to name them, so with nostalgia in mind, I went for Ripley. The name of your character has 0 impact but I did get a fair bit if enjoyment out of the name choice once with more sci-fi elements of the games plot started to unfold.
Once you’ve selected your avatar you’re in your bed room which looks perfectly 90s, posters on the walls, a tape cassette player, old school looking PC, toy chests and of course (Ice) Hockey equipment, we’re in Canada remember (Although no Canadian team has won Lord Stanley’s cup since 1993) but being a big hockey fan myself, it was a nice touch. You leave your bedroom all set to start shooting a Sci-Fi movie with your friends, when your mother forces you to take your little sister with you. Now, in most stories this will be a chore, but Lily is a fully capable member of your party, in fact you party will make out at 3 members, You, Lily and a ‘Pet’, one of five to choose from, although pick Meowsy the cat, easily the best support character.
As always I like to keep narrative spoilers to a minimum but Echo Generation Midnight Edition features a great cast of characters, including a psychotic headteacher, hipster bubble tea store proprietors, a distracted inventor who’s some what of a lack lustre father to a Racoon in a baseball cap. As far as the games writing is concerned it’s sensational, it hits the Saturday morning adventure vibe perfectly. I’m sure comparisons to Stranger Things are guaranteed but I’ll be honest, I kept thinking about Enid Blyton’s The Famous Five, which is entirely anachronistic and makes me feel old, but be it Stranger Things, Stand By Me or any other rites of passage coming of age story and you’re in the right spot. The plot is the perfect adventure, the characters and their dialogue reach Buffy levels of witty banter and it’s pacing is perfect, the game clocks in around 10 hours and at no point in time did it feel anything other than compelling.
You’ll spend the 10 or so hours of the games length exploring a variety of locations, the suburbs (engaged in a turf war between kids and a Racoon street gang), the woods, a secret research lab and many more, and you’ll be running back and forth between these locations in an almost Metroidvania-esque fashion. The world features a myriad of NPCs, many of whom are memorable and add a huge amount of charm to the game.
Battles in Echo Generation Midnight Edition are turn based and for the most part they are pretty much what you’d expect for the most part. Each character has a basic attack and a decent selection of special moves. You’ll unlock these special moves by finding comic books (who says funny books aren’t educational) and each book is themed to each character. The main characters moves are all (Ice) Hockey themed which I really enjoyed. Having blocked a few shots in my time a puck being sent into your face via a slapshot would certainly be an effective tactic in battle. Each special attack has a unique mini-game, pass and you’ll do critical damage, fail and you’ll have time to make do with the attacks base damage. This can be increased be levelling up. Each time you level up you’ll be rewarded with points to spend in one of three categories, health, attack and skill points.
This brings me to the only really downside of Echo Generation Midnight Edition, aside from the first boss, grinding isn’t needed. Now, there are of course there are two schools of thought when it comes to grinding. To some, it’s a classic part of the TTRPG experience, to others its an outdated mechanic that needs to be left behind. I’m somewhere between the tow and if I’m honest the only game I think nailed it was Final Fantasy XIII. Echo Generation Midnight Edition doesn’t really have what you’d call a difficulty curve, it’s more of a small bump followed by a steep decline. Battles provide little challenge, even the final boss is a breeze and while the mystery of the narrative was rewarding enough but the ease of the combat did dull the feeling of accomplishment somewhat.
