If you’re anything like me, then you like a good bit of customization in your games, especially in your RPGs. A game with good customization can really get the creative gears in my brain turning, and I love it when a game has a customization system good enough that lets me cut loose with my characters. Thankfully, Cladun X3, Nippon Ichi Software’s latest entry in the Cladun series, offers players like myself more than enough freedom to tailor their experience exactly how they like. Though deceptively simple, Cladun X3 is a dense dungeon crawler that will surprise you with both its mechanical depth and breadth of personality.
Cladun X3’s premise is simple. The game takes place in a world that was once besieged by villains but has since found peace. If you’re wondering what the solution to their aforementioned villain problem was, the game is all too quick to tell you. The kingdoms of this world banished their villains to the land of Arcanus Cella and forced them to participate in a vicious death game. Starting out, players will take on the role of a villain in said death game as they are forced to brave the dangers of perilous dungeons and their fellow competitors. Cladun X3’s plot is a charming romp that effectively sets the stage for the fantasy adventure you’ll be going through.
But the plot isn’t the main selling point. No, players will come to Cladun X3 for two things: gameplay and customization. The former is incredibly fun. The main gameplay loop sees players take their custom characters into short dungeons to collect gold, weapons, and other artifacts. Though each individual level in a dungeon is short, they are incredibly dense with varied enemy and trap designs. No two dungeon levels in the campaign are exactly the same, and it gives extended play sessions a good amount of variety. It’s hard to get bored with Cladun X3.
I am also fond of how player characters control. The game gives you ten different character classes and 6 different weapon types to choose from when creating your custom characters. Character classes have their own unique spells and preferred weapon types, and weapons vary both in combat and in how they allow the player to interact with the environment, as some weapon types can allow you to break certain parts of the environment. You’ll need a wide arsenal of characters with varied builds if you want to get full advantage of the game’s arsenal as well as the magic circle system. Magic Circles are an interesting aspect of gameplay and leveling. Each character can use a magic circle where they can connect with two or more sub-characters. Each sub-character on the circle adds their own HP to the total HP of the designated main character, and the player can also attach different artifacts and charms to the magic circle to buff the central character. Magic circles operate as a kind of circuit to power up whichever character you choose, with the mana of your sub-characters charging the different parts of the circuit. While it might be tempting to set up one character with which to go through the game, Cladun X3 incentivizes players to utilize their full cast of characters by having main and sub characters get different stat increases depending on when they’re used. So, you’re encouraged to switch up your characters if you want them to be well-rounded.
Finally, Cladun X3’s customization systems are intensive. They’re so intensive that I struggle to adequately describe them. You’re able to customize the general look of your characters alongside their names and NPC dialogue. That’s the stuff you might be accustomed to. You’re also able to create brand new art assets for both your characters and your weapons. You read that right. You’re able to create your own weapons in this game. If that wasn’t enough, you’re also able to create your own overworld and dungeon maps, and you are able to share them with other players. Now, I hear your interest piquing, but I haven’t even gotten to the most interesting part. For my more musically inclined gamers, you are able to create your own music tracks for the game. I admit that I had trouble coming to grips with the sheer amount of things you can make and tweak to your satisfaction during my time with the game, but that should tell you the sheer amount of stuff you can do with the game’s customization systems.
In my opinion, Cladun X3 is a fascinating experience for the more creatively inclined gamers out there. On top of being a really solid dungeon crawler, the game’s multiple customization systems ensure that no two people’s copies of the game are exactly the same, and I find that level of creative freedom an interesting rarity in the gaming sphere. I give Cladun X3 a 9/10.
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Related: Reviews by Josh Freeman
I love games and love talking about games. Some of my favorites include action games (both 2D and 3D), metroidvanias, roguelikes, shooters, and Indies.
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