Enigma (game)

Enigma is an video game being developed for the PlayStation 4 and the Wii U. It follows the adventures of a silent (or not-so-silent) protagonist. There is a prequel for this game, called The Life of Riley. Despite not being an actual Final Fantasy game, it has many references to the Final Fantasy series.

Primary Characters

 * The Hero - The Hero is the main playable character and protagonist of Enigma. His/Her first name is never revealed throughout the game, although his/her last name is Enigma. The Hero is naturally pure-hearted, and almost never speaks, communicating by using different visual gestures, or using Inari, his/her partner, to speak for him/her (if the Hero should speak, it is about something important). The Hero has no set appearance, as this is set by the player and is the representation of the player throughout the game. All decisions (regarding the player) are made by the player, and the Hero will act differently corresponding to the amount of good, bad, or neutral decisions the player makes throughout the game (but there is only one ending).


 * Inari - Inari is the first partner of The Hero and is met shortly after the events in Old York's presidential sector. She is a young girl that has a pet fox with many tails (that she also uses for transport), whom she names Kitsune. She is kind and is quite technologically savvy, but hides something from The Hero for most of the game.


 * Robin - Robin is the second partner of The Hero and is met after The Hero arrives at the continent of his/her choice. She is also technologically savvy (like Inari) and is rather blunt when giving advice, but she only wants to help The Hero. She hides an important secret about her from The Hero for most of the game, like Inari.
 * The President - The President is the main antagonist of the game, and is directly responsible for the change of Old York. Even though he is not seen very often at first (showing sparse appearances before the second act of the game) he still runs proceedings and is in charge of what happens in Old York, despite frequently being absent from office. His ultimate goal is to rule the world, because he believes that he can usher in a new era for the world, like he did with Old York.

Secondary Characters

 * Jane - Jane is the daughter of the game's primary antagonist, and as such, she is a secondary antagonist. She first meets The Hero after s/he enters Old York's presidential palace. She is obstinate, stubborn and feisty, and is always looking for a fight. Jane is the older twin and (therefore) the middle sister.


 * Vanessa - Vanessa is another daughter of the game's primary antagonist, and as such, she is viewed as a secondary antagonist. She meets The Hero with her twin sister, Jane. She is the polar opposite of her sister, Jane and is graceful, intelligent, mature (for her age) and obedient - although only to her family. Vanessa is the younger twin and (therefore) the youngest sister.


 * Nicole - Nicole is the eldest sister of the trio, and the leader of the sisters. The game's primary antagonist bestows the majority of the responsibilities on her while he is away. She meets The Hero soon after s/he meets Jane and Vanessa. She is a cold woman who decided to hide her good heart with from others, due to past events, and this heart of gold is only seen in her care for her sisters and father.


 * Jason - Jason is a secret playable character, and meets with The Hero in the beginning of the game. He specializes in warrior-style combat,and wields a tomahawk (a fusion between a sword and axe) in battle, that can be thrown at an enemy and immediately returning to Jason's hand after throwing it, thanks to the chain at the end of the blade.


 * Deuce - Deuce is a secret playable character, and meets with The Hero in the beginning of the game. He specializes in thievery and ranged combat and wields two arrowguns that can shoot at a fast rate and can blast arrow-shaped bullets at a high firing rate - and these arrowguns can produce a pair of thin, short blades, used for close-ranged attacks.


 * Bella - Bella is a secret playable character in and meets with The Hero in the beginning of the game. She specializes in magical combat and wields a metamorphosis chakram that can change appearance depending on the situation, ranging from a rod for focused magic attacks to a staff for widespread magic skills.

Other Characters

 * William - William is the mayor of Retro Village and is The Hero's teacher and guardian. He is the source of the game's tutorials (which are him teaching The Hero about the game's mechanics in the form of lessons). He sends The Hero, Jason, Deuce and Bella on the mission to sabotage Old York and convince The President to give Retro Village and the other villages around Old York advanced technology and other benefits that Old York has.


 * Cid - Cid is an airship salesman and engineer, and owns his own studio located outside of Old York. He works on a new airship that will be greater than all of his other airships and has already built many airship replicas. Unlike other Cid characters, he is rather young and adventurous, but realizes that it's better for business if he stays in his studio and sends his younger brother, Roger, to find out more about different cultures, which Cid incorporates into new airship designs.


 * The Blacksmith - The Blacksmith is a weapons manufacturer. The Hero meets her on The Floating Continent and after obtaining the four crystals from the four dungeons on the continent, she builds the Ultima Weapon for you. She is also capable of building powerful weapons for each class, just with the base weapon.


 * Fujin - Fujin is one of Inari's old friends and appears on The Floating Continent. She is trying to become even stronger by obtaining the Wind Crystal, as she believes that she can become a true hero if her Wind magic is more powerful. She is capable of using the most powerful Wind magic.


 * Raijin - Raijin is one of Inari's old friends and appears on The Floating Continent. He is trying to become even stronger by helping Fujin obtain the Wind Crystal, so that he can help Fujin become a true hero. He is capable of using the most powerful Electric magic.

Gameplay

 * Main Article: Battle System of Enigma

Enigma's battle system is an action-based system where you can chain many attacks together, attack from many different angles, interact with the environment and use it to your advantage, as well as having no random battles (it isn't possible to have an extreme action game like this and have random battles). It emphasizes attacking the opponent's weak spot and transitioning from attack to defense very quickly.

The battle style is designed to be similar to Advent Children, with fast-paced action and epic boss battles that require to you to use anything you can to your advantage. For example, if you block against a fighter who uses multiple sword strikes, by holding the block button, you will block the attack and be capable of countering instantly.

Job System

 * Main Article: Class System

The main ability system is a modified version of Final Fantasy's classic Job System. This time, classes are divided into three sections: Warrior Type, Speed Type and Mage Type. The divide is chosen at a certain point in the game, and after that point, a Warrior Type can't become a Mage Type or an Speed Type at any time.

One can access a total of 18 classes on each playthrough with this method, and each class gives a different experience when using it. Also, with the New Game + function, one can keep the job abilities and weapons for the section that was chosen (i.e. mastering the Warrior section will allow you to access the weapons and functions of that class with the Freelancer job class in the last act of the game).

Story

 * Main article: Enigma/Story

Depending on what class section you have chosen, you will experience different events throughout the game. This game is somewhat non-linear, and you can journey across the land of this game once you has obtained a hoverbike, and beyond the sky once you gain an airship. Sequence breaking is encouraged, as more powerful weapons can be obtained earlier, and the game has unique scenes if you return to places far stronger than if you went to the location at the first chance you got.

The game tackles issues such as change, rebellion, partnership and power (at first, then it starts discussing violence as a viable option, control and choice). Enigma shows what someone is capable of doing if he or she has power thrust onto them and shows the contrast between ambition and passiveness, the rich and the poor and the potential that power holds (and the results of using that power).

Interesting Facts

 * Cameos in Enigma - Characters from the Final Fantasy series appear in this game, but are portrayed differently.


 * Presentation of Enigma - The graphical style, cutscene style and everything else that involves graphics are on this page.


 * Secrets - There are a few secrets that can change how the game is played, as well as post-game dungeons, new game modes, etc.

Trivia

 * The game's damage limits, and the amount of force enemies use against you depends on the difficulty set when battling (the difficulty can be changed in game, explained as the player releasing an aura that stimulates a different response in enemies depending on the strength of the aura).
 * Novice has a damage modifier of 2 and enemies will use less aggressive battle tactics and less dangerous battle techniques when battling.
 * Professional has a damage modifier of 1 and enemies use standard battle tactics and standard battle techniques.
 * Hero has a damage modifier of 0.5 and enemies use more dangerous battle tactics and techniques.
 * Legend has a damage modifier of 0.33. Enemies use extremely aggressive battle tactics and extremely dangerous battle techniques, as well as doing 3x the amount of damage towards you.
 * Enigma has a damage modifier of 0.2 and enemies use the most dangerous battle tactics and battle strategies in their arsenal. This difficulty is only unlocked after completing the game for the first time.