Fray~Xak Gaiden

~ FRAY~XAK GAIDEN ~

Micro Cabin

Super CD-ROM

1994

When I played through this game for the first time years ago, I was completely charmed by it. This was mainly because of Fray herself, who was the most adorable game character I'd ever come across. I found her goofy facial expressions and funny antics extraordinarily entertaining. I've played through the brilliant Madou Monogatari since then, and the incomparable Arle annihilates poor Fray on the adorability meter. But make no mistake about it: I still think Fray is a cool little character, and getting the chance to make her acquaintance should be reason enough for players to give this Xak side story a try.

But if you're thinking about purchasing this disc, do NOT expect an action-RPG in the vein of Ys or Zelda. This game is nothing at all like those titles. In Fray, you walk forward and shoot things. Picture a wacky, cartoony Final Zone II with platforming and between-stage town scenes thrown in, and you've basically got this.

There are also parts where Fray gets wings and takes to the sky to battle airships and demons, not to mention a mining cart ride and a surfboard stage.

But the names of the game are action and shooting, so don't expect much in the way of role playing here.

The graphics are quite nice and colorful, as is evident from screenshots. And if you like the Neutopia boss bunch, you might like the bosses here as well, as some of them are similar to Neutopia's goons but bigger, more colorful, and more charismatic.

What you might not like are the rather sloppy controls. Fray is kind of chubby and limited, and she doesn't play like a superstar when the screen gets crowded or there are tricky leaps to make.

Still, the game is very easy and ridiculously short.

I'd feel better about recommending Fray if it were showing up more often in the $20-30 price range than it is in the $40-50 one. But if you're willing to live with the sloppiness and you're not expecting it to be a true adventure game, you'll likely find it endearing, colorful, and worthwhile.