A young singer named Elena is mysteriously struck with a curse that will slowly transform her into a slug monster. Accompanied by her friend Aeron, the two travel to a large chasm in the earth called the "scar". Aeron must find the masters of twelve towers suspended over the "scar" and bring their hearts back to Elena who must consume them to remove her "beast's curse". The prospect of devouring flesh of any kind is rough on a vegetarian like Elena, and the longer Aeron takes to traverse the towers the further Elena's transformation takes hold.
An old military outpost called the "Observatory" acts as a base for Aeron and a temporary home for Elena. The bond between the two can fluctuate, impacting the ending; there are six different outcomes. New Game+ will let you to keep all of your items, relationship progress, levels, and let you skip to specific sections of the game so you don't have to replay/grind through it again. Giving Elena gifts, or even just having the two talk to each other will increase their bond. The gifts are also put to use: seeds are grown, dresses are worn, pictures and potted plants are moved around, and some may trigger special scenes between the two like gardening together. It's clear early on that the Observatory is a lived in space and Aeron's gifts to Elena aren't your typical "improve relationship status" items. The relationship gifts aren't a one way thing either. Elena tries to help Aeron where she can, such as preparing healing items or translating important texts.
Aeron's time is split between the Observatory and fighting his way through the towers. Each tower is themed around a specific element and has one or more massive chains running through-out it's structure. They all link back to the master's door, which will remain sealed until every chain is severed. A special, much smaller, chain is used by Aeron to traverse the towers and combat the enemies within by tearing flesh from their bodies. Its a versatile tool that can be used to swing from one place to another, open special locks on doors, pull out of reach levers, and bind or throw enemies. In addition to the chain Aeron also carries a host of other melee weapons like swords and scythes. Every boss has a weak-spot or way to immobilize it that makes excellent use of the chain and the tower's element. For example, a plant monster that thrives in the sunlight.
While Aeron is out battling beasts, Elena is fighting a different kind of battle. The longer Aeron takes to retrieve the master flesh the further Elena's transformation will progress. A timer is always present, counting down. I normally hate being timed in games, but Pandora's Tower balanced the time allotment well. I was pressured enough to want to get back to Elena as quickly as possible, but never enough that I didn't have time for exploration. There are plenty of shortcuts everywhere, so leaving and getting back to where you left off is convenient. A single-use item also exists that will instantly teleport Aeron back to the Observatory. If for some reason you are still pressured for time, the towers contain a host servant beasts from which materials and servant flesh can be harvested depending on which part of their body you attack. The hearts of servant beasts can be fed to Elena to roll back the clock a smidgen, giving Aeron more time to access the Master.
Pandora's Tower is a rather unique title, and a highlight for a console (Wii) with such a limited library of games - an easy one to recommend. My only complaint is a bug during the last two towers that halts progress. Fortunately, I was able to find a solution.
Pandora's Tower was one of three games that were part of the Operation Rainfall campaign. An attempt to get Wii games released outside of Japan. Two of the campaign's games, Xenoblade Chronicle and The Last Story were picked up by publishers and localized almost a year after the campaign started. As the launch of the Wii U drew near and with the Wii's end within the foreseeable future, Operation Rainfall made one final attempt to get a publisher's attention. They pitched the game themselves and were successful. Of the three games that were part of Operation Rainfall's campaign, Xenoblade Chronicles was by far the best. Followed by Pandora's Tower and The Last Story (which I did not like at all).
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