Mugen Souls came out almost exactly 10 years ago, yet is being re-released on the Nintendo Switch—albeit with previously cut content and all additional DLC included. The cut content ranges from 100s of, previous before, never seen CGs to mini games. For fans of either the series or Compile Heart, this is wonderful – for anyone else the question would remain if it is worth it for a decade old title.
Visually the game has aged fairly well. The anime style never really pushed the PS3 on its original release, so when it is running on a more powerful hardware the game will as good – if not slightly better – than it did before. For those that didn’t play it when it came out, it is fine; standard fair for a Compile Heart game.
The issues start with the load times. For some reason they feel like they are longer on this version than previous—although the last time I experienced the title was on a PC, which is not a fair comparison. Given that this is an older game, the load times seem excessively long even compared to other more modern titles. The redeeming factor is that the game doesn’t seem to have that bad of a loading problem when the player is entering battle, which is good as this is still a turn based RPG.
The issues don’t completely go away when in battle either, though. The battle system of the game can be convoluted, intricate, long, and overly flashy. This isn’t all bad, as when/if the battle system is truly figured out it can be rewarding. The latter two complaints come from the attacks/special moves the characters do and how some seem to go on forever. The first handful of times they are experienced they are always amusing and fun, but any charm diminishes after the 150th time. These can be skipped, by turning off the animations in the systems menu—the issue is that it turns all animations off. This functionality would have been better served through a button skip, speed up option, or both.
The real selling point is that all previously censored items have been added back to the game. This is the same with the bathhouse mini game. Many complaints about the original release came from the removal of the last feature, as it provided stat bonuses that greatly helped in battle and almost became mandatory in the later sections. Previously they were removed kind of sloppily, and it is nice that the game can finally be experienced to the fullest and true version in English.
Compile Heart is also rather famous/infamous for adding DLC to their games that entirely breaks anything that even passingly resembles game balance. All of these have been included with the base game, and can be turned on from the title screen (they are off by default). While these are technically what most would consider cheat items, there inclusion does truly make this the most complete version of the game ever released stateside. They also don’t have to be used if not desired, but for anyone that wants to experience the entirety of the game itself while being short on time they are a blessing.
It might sound like there are reasons not to buy Mugen Souls, but the game has a level of heart that can’t be matched. No one will ever look at this title and say it was the best in any one thing, but anyone who has played it and can look back at it fondly. The fact that the game is rough around the edges just adds to the charm and the fun. It is great when you pick up a game that you know is going to be good, but there is no comparing that to the feeling of finding something odd that has some several elements tied together in just the right way.
At 40 dollars the title might only be for those that truly missed out the first time, those that remember the game with fondness, or true fans of this type of game. There is nothing deal breaking with the title, but the price makes it hard to recommend to anyone who might be averse to the more anime of tropes. If you are a fan, though, it is worth every penny.