Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten from NIS America is the latest entry in the Utawarerumono series. Learn more in our Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten review!

 

Hello everybody! How does diving into a nice JRPG on PlayStation 5 sound to you? Well, I have one right now from one of the best in the business: NIS America. Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is the latest entry in the Utawarerumono franchise, a series on which EdEN has worked on reviewing a game or two. This is the first time that this series has made it to the PlayStation 5, and it mixes things around when compared to previous games in the franchise.

The story follows a young warrior named Oshtor who, after meeting a young girl known as Shunya, decides to set off on a perilous journey to find out the history of his family – with Shunya in tow! The story is full of twists and turns, which will surely keep you engaged. Do know there will be some segments of the game that are a bit more on the slow burner side of things, but be sure to have some patience and give Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten a chance!

The game offers large maps to explore that are full of visible potential turn-based battles. You can choose to ignore the enemies and focus on reaching your destination if you want to, but this will keep you from engaging in the fun combat segments, which will reward you for your efforts. There are also some fetch quests here and there that must be completed as needed. You can get quests from notice boards and via the people who have a green exclamation mark to signal that your help is needed.

 

As for the combat, each member of your party has their own set of combat skills and magic skills, which are linked to a ring known as the Action Ring. You can manipulate the Action Ring to ascend to the third ring by using the right spells at the right time. It’s not something that you can abuse since it is trickier than it looks, but I’m sure you’ll get the hang of things with a bit of practice and some patience.

Other gameplay mechanics include issuing commands to your party members to launch either melee attacks or magical attacks. Your turn and the turn of your party members depend on the turn order on the Action Ring. Since you can manipulate the Action Ring to boost your turn order, paying attention to when an opponent will get its turn is crucial for your survival. If you can stagger your opponent, you’ll delay their turn, which will give you some extra time to redirect course and change your strategy.

If you collapse one of them, you could potentially enter a special overdrive state known as Overzeal. You will know when you’re ready to perform this special attack by viewing the orange meter beside your character’s avatar. Using the manipulation will work better as you progress in the game and the enemies get more difficult. The more hits you get in, the easier it is to stagger your enemies, which will be one of your tools to use in combat.

 

The exploration side of the game is also a fun part of the equation! Some of the sidequests you’ll take on are time-limited, so you’ll have to keep them in mind to be able to complete them before you ruin your chance at success. This is why your mileage with the game will vary since you have time constraints for completing this, or that is not going to be for everyone. I would have preferred things to be a bit more chill, but that’s just me.

Graphics-wise, Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is a really beautiful and very polished game, which is to be expected from the great folks at NIS America, who have again and again given us some excellent games that play, look, and feel great – especially on PlayStation 5! The controls feel tight and comfortable, and you can, of course, remap controls to suit your needs, but I found it to be comfortable as is. The save points are plentiful, and you can also manually save from the options menu, which is a nice bonus.

Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten has a full trophy list with a Platinum trophy for you to work on. It’s a long list with 14 Bronze trophies, 10 Silver trophies, and 5 Gold trophies in total. Several of them will pop up as you progress through the game’s story, but there are several that unlock when you complete specific objectives that might need you to go a bit out of your way. It’s certainly not going to be a short trophy run, but it will be a fun one!

 

All in all, Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is a fun and enjoyable game. Fans of the Utawarerumono franchise are going to get a kick out of this one as they make the Action Ring work in their favor in combat. Taking on some sidequests here and there, exploring the world around you, and letting it all sink in makes for a good time on Sony’s console. Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten is available as a Cross-Buy title, so your $59.99 purchase will allow you to download both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game at no extra cost.

Disclaimer
This Monochrome Mobius: Rights and Wrongs Forgotten review is based on a PlayStation 5 copy provided by NIS America.