Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception

Utawarerumono: Mask of Deception is an unusual hybrid in which most of the playtime is taken up by an extensive visual novel, with tactical battles arriving as the climax of individual chapters. A man with no memory, who comes to be called Haku, wakes up in the middle of a snowy wilderness in a world inhabited by people with animal-like features. He is rescued by a girl named Kuon, and together they travel to the capital, where Haku becomes entangled in court intrigue against his will. A substantial part of the game is calm, humorous, and devoted to everyday life, food, and relationships between the characters, which is a deliberate setup that makes later twists sting all the more.

Battles play out turn-based on a grid, where range, direction of attack, and how long it takes for a unit's turn to come round again all matter. The most distinctive mechanic is chaining attacks through precisely timed button presses, which lets the player extend an attack combo and increase damage, so that even passively watching a fight demands attention. Characters have their own roles, from heavy infantry to support mages, and their development comes from assigning points into skills. There are fewer battles than in classic tactical RPGs, but they are longer and serve as the story's dramatic moments rather than ordinary filler. The pace is therefore slow, and the game demands patience.

On the Vita the game works very well, since extensive reading suits a handheld console, and the fully voiced dialogue turns it into something close to a listening experience. The character and background art is meticulous, and the music draws on both traditional Japanese instruments and orchestra, shifting sensitively from peaceful melodies to themes of war. Reviews pointed out that the game is clearly the first half of a larger whole and ends just as the plot is really getting started, while also praising the writing and atmosphere. Today Mask of Deception is recommended as an entry point into one of the best-written Japanese series the Vita ever received.