Hello everyone, you’ll be required to bring your own weapons and torches for this journey because we’re doing some old fashioned dungeon diving in The Awakened Fate Ultimatum! This new game from Nippon Ichi Software brought to us courtesy of NIS America places players in the role of god as Shin Kamikaze, a young high school student who gets to live the high school dream of going to another world and fighting monsters. Ok, maybe it’s not the dream life, but it’s still pretty badass, right?

The Awakened Fate Ultimatum follows the trend of other NIS games with the anime look and feel for its graphics. The art style primarily follows a "good vs. evil" theme to fit in with the whole angel vs. devil focus. Characters are represented by 2D renders for cut scenes with only the main character Shin being animated in 3D for dungeon exploration. Backdrops for cut scenes change based on where the scene is taking place, like any regular game. The music, naturally, also changes with scenes to fit the mood. You can also skip or fast-forward through cut scenes if you’re not interested.

Almost every cut scene features voice acting, with only a few miscellaneous dungeon scenes featuring no voice acting. I personally think the voice acting was very well done and you anime fans may recognize some of the voice acting cast. Subtitles are present if you’d rather not play with volume on or something, but I highly recommend you play with volume on. On the topic of voicing, the monsters in game only grunt when they attack. Aside from that, they don’t do much… Besides die or kill you, that is.

As far as music is concerned, I quite enjoyed the pieces played. They were never really overpowering and added a nice ambiance as I went through dying in… Ahem, progressing through the dungeons. Generally, pieces were more dark and foreboding in dungeons with certain upbeat or faster-paced songs being used in certain different dungeon environments. In Celestia, I noticed a more tranquil theme, whereas the Netherworld featured a darker theme. For boss fights, an anime-like rock track would be played to give a more epic feel. Let me say, I did feel pretty awesome taking down bosses with a kicking rock track playing, but I’m weird.

The Awakened Fate Ultimatum is a dungeon crawler where players, as Shin Kamikaze, must strive to become a strong god for the angel people of Celestia. The game is pretty straightforward in that there’s no real outside exploration, only in the dungeons. You select either "Next Event" or pull up the dungeons list to advance the story. From the beginning, all the dungeons are locked and unlock as you progress through the story. The actual dungeons aren't too complex either. You pretty much follow the paths from room to room, clear out enemies as you see fit, and try to find the portal to the next floor. Dungeon floors range from 5 to 20, so they’re not incredibly long either. Inside the dungeon, players can see Shin’s HP, SP and AC gauges at the top of the screen. The HP gauge represents how much damage Shin can take before he dies. The SP gauge represents how long Shin may remain in one of his Deitized forms. Keep in mind that both the HP and SP gauges recharge as you walk around the dungeon. The AC gauge serves more as a hunger bar and once it hits 0, Shin’s HP and SP gauges no longer refill and your HP will drop over time. Eating something will replenish the AC gauge by a set amount, so keep it in mind. The dungeon is cleared once you complete the final floor and you fail if you die or give up. I highly recommend you don’t die or give up because if you do, you lose every item you had equipped and also everything in your pouch. It’s a real hassle, so try to stay alive.

As one should expect of a dungeon crawler, the main draw is combat and exploration. Players move around the dungeon using either the Left Analog Stick or the Directional Pad to control Shin. You can move faster by holding the Circle button as you walk, but be careful about running into an enemy or enemy group. Dungeons also have a variety of traps like giving you a status effect or blowing up and taking away Shin’s HP, so be careful how you maneuver.

The combat system in The Awakened Fate Ultimatum is pretty simple too. If you run into an enemy, you both alternate between attacking until one of you dies and hopefully, it’s the enemy. The player simply must press (X) to use a regular attack. Using (L1) allows you to perform either an Angelic or Devil attack and you can switch between the different attacks using the Right Analog Stick. Defeating enemies gives Shin experience points and once he collects a certain amount, he will level up. Leveling up increases his HP and base stats, while also giving him a point to spend on increasing the strength of his Fate Awakening Crystal, so make sure you slaughter as many monsters as you can.

What a shame it is that Shin isn't Link and can hold near unlimited items, but the Item option will still be a shining light for you. By pressing the (Triangle) button, you can bring up a Menu that allows you to choose between Items, Footing, Action Log, and Others. Footing allows you to perform an action on an item under you. The Action Log allows you to see all the Actions you've taken on a specific floor and it is reset when you go to the next floor. The Others option allows you to access the Options, Manual or simply use the Give Up option and leave the damage at the cost of all your items. Shin’s pouch can hold up to 30 items which includes his Weapon, Shield, Accessories and then the consumable items. Consumable items include Med Kits, SP Bottles and Pills. I really recommend that you keep a good stock of the Consumable items so you can heal on demand with a Med Kit or give yourself a free status boost with one of the Pill items. You could also use them on enemies to lower one of their stats and make them easier to kill. Keep a good balance of items to make your life in the dungeon easier, and last longer.

Customization is present in The Awakened Fate Ultimatum and despite being somewhat limited, it makes a big difference. Players are able to choose and change their Weapon, Shield and Accessory. Weapons give Shin a higher Attack stat, meaning he’ll do more damage to monsters in dungeons. More damage means you’ll have an easier time killing them. Shields give Shin higher defense, so you can take more hits before you meet an untimely demise. As you get to higher level dungeons, you’ll really notice how much you need higher defense because those monsters hit pretty dang hard. Accessories give a nice little bonus depending on which you equip. Some help your stats while some give you an effect, like increased health regeneration. I really recommend collecting a lot to keep a nice edge on the monsters trying to slay you. Your Weapons and Shields may also be upgraded by either equipping them with a gem item or by using the Item Boost. Item Boost allows you to take a base weapon or shield and combine it with another to get a stronger version of that item. These boosted items display a number next to them to show that they've been boosted and usually have a plus sign in front of that number representing the increase, but if you step on certain traps in dungeons, then the item you have may display a negative number which means it’s worse than the base. The gems give your weapon an extra effect, like a higher critical strike chance or the ability to attack twice, and shields gain extra defense against certain enemy types. Always check your gems and change them around at your leisure.

The Awakened Fate Ultimatum doesn’t have any specific difficulty level and while that may sound like a drag, you’ll be happy about it once you get to harder dungeons. Assuming you were like me and blitzed through earlier dungeons, you’ll notice that Shin has a harder time keeping up with the enemies in the later dungeons. I really recommend that you take a decent amount of time exploring dungeons so you can level up and be ready for the later challenges, otherwise you’ll see that "Dungeon Failed" screen almost as many times as I did.

Your best friend and Shin’s most reliable ally in The Awakened Fate Ultimatum will be his ability to Deitize. This allows Shin to take on either his Angel form or Devil form, allowing him to access a list of special attacks based on the form. Deitize is done by pressing either the (R2) or (L2) button depending on whether you want Angel or Devil form. Monsters in dungeons have one of two set attributes, good and evil, so using the opposite form on them will allow you to do extra damage to them and take less damage from them. So basically, if you see a devil creature coming to slay you, use your Angel form and you’ll have a much easier time dealing with it. Keep in mind that using either of your Deitized forms uses up your SP gauge, and if it hits 0, you will be unable to Deitize. The gauge regens over time, so try to avoid fights or just use an item to replenish it.

Shin’s new to this whole fighting thing, so you’ll have to help him out by upgrading his Fate Awakening Crystal. The Crystal is what gives Shin his Angel and Devil powers, so upgrading it makes those forms stronger. You can upgrade them with points received from either leveling up or making a paragon choice. The choices will give you either Angel or Devil points, depending on which you choose, which allows you to only upgrade either Angel or Devil powers based on which point it is. Upgrades unlock new attacks and give each form bonus stats, such as bonus attack power or HP. These forms give Shin a big edge in battle, so upgrading them as much as you can will be very beneficial and probably keep you from losing your mind as well.

Boss fights are pretty tough generally, so make good use of the Resonant Deitize ability during them. Resonant Deitize allows Shin to access a more powerful Angel or Devil form which gives him access to a new move for one of those forms. He can only Resonant Deitize once the Resonant Gauge is full, and that gauge is displayed in the lower right of the screen where the Deitize attacks are located. While the Resonant Deitize form is activated, Shin’s actions won’t cost any SP for as long as the Resonant Gauge is not empty. However, once you use your Resonant Deitize special ability, both your SP and the Resonant Gauge will drop to 0. Be careful how you use that form.

Finally, the end of the dungeon. Oh wait, this isn't the game. Ahem, if you’re looking for a few hours of dungeon crawler fix, then The Awakened Fate Ultimatum might be right up your alley. Personally, I was more drawn in by the story than the gameplay, but I feel both work together pretty well to provide a satisfying experience for both newcomers and veterans alike. I’m not too experienced with games of this genre, but I still had a blast with this game and definitely recommend giving it a shot.