DeckMake Fantasy

Translation errors in games are nothing new - some of the most treasured and loved games in history have contained discrepancies.

However, some games have been so mistranslated that they're unplayable.

While DeckMake Fantasy’s poor translation doesn’t offer up anything to rival Zero Wing’s “All your base are belong to us”, it underlines the game's weak story and lack of depth.

The story takes place in a continent of five kingdoms, where weapons, magic, and items are contained in cards. The kings of these realms rely on the cardmasters to harness these elements and protect the towns from monsters.

In true RPG style, you're cast in the role of a young boy determined to become a great cardmaster and protect the kingdom of Firsta before moving onto the equally imaginatively titled Secondaria.

The guild in each town alerts you to all the monsters that must be vanquished, and is the place to get advice from the presumably intoxicated regulars. Beginning with simple enemies such as goblins before moving onto more difficult foes, you must defeat all the enemies in each town before moving onto the next kingdom.

Money earned from defeating these monsters can be used in the town shop to purchase more cards, with different types being available in each town.

These cards take the form of weapons such as swords, defensive items such as shields, or magic. Each card has an HP value, which increases the health of your character, as well as an offensive or defensive value.

Decks are constructed by selecting up to 20 cards of any type you wish. As you progress through the kingdoms, more powerful cards become available and you must construct the optimum deck for offence and defence.

Four random cards are drawn from your deck and each unleashes an attack or improves your defences. Battles are similar to other turn-based RPG’s with each combatant taking turns to make their move.

Despite there being a fair number of cards and strategies to utilise, DeckMake Fantasy is inescapably a shallow experience.

The story serves as little more than a loose explanation for events rather than offering anything engaging, while translation issues plague the game.

Battles become fairly predictable and repetitive once you learn a particular enemy’s behaviour. For example, once a monster uses spirit to raise its attack power, you know to use a defensive item in your next move.

This more simplified nature and traditional JRPG look will offer thrills to those who aren’t willing to sit through numerous spreadsheets of stats to get their RPG fix, but more hardcore players are better served elsewhere.