Sometimes, you find out about an old game that inspired all your favorites, usually something older, and especially when we’re talking about indies. Unfortunately, though, some of those massively influential titles can become forgotten over time.
The biggest example of this, until recently, was OFF. It’s an indieRPGmade by Mortis Ghost, originally released as freeware in 2008 and only in French. Fan translations can only go so far, and that’s led to the game being quite obscure for a while.
Despite how many radars it flew under in the last 17 years, OFF is incredibly notable for being a big inspiration for games like Suits, OneShot, and especiallyUndertaleandDeltarune.
All that said, I was one of those people who always knew how important OFF was, but never played it, as some part of me believed we’d see an official English translation one day. That day has finally come.
Fangamer decided to use the funding from selling merchandise for years to develop a game, a complete from-the-ground-up remaster of OFF, with a proper translation and several revamped mechanics.
It remains a remaster, though, not a remake. Much of the game remains unchanged from back then, now officially available to many people for the first time. It’s time to find out if OFF still holds up to this day.
If you’re familiar with thecombat in games like Final Fantasy 7, you’re familiar with the combat system in OFF. It’s been expanded and balanced quite a bit from the original release, and it’s pretty damn fun.
You, your party members, and your enemies all have meters constantly charging, and when those meters fill, you get your turn in battle. Notably, it’s completely turn-based; you don’t need to be quick with your inputs.
This game never falls into the typical RPG pit of becoming overly grindy
This is in contrast to the original game, which didn’t stop the charging meters when it was someone’s turn, making you go as quickly as possible. The remaster has an option to restore the original combat mechanics.
These are enough to keep the combat interesting throughout the whole runtime, andwith the addition of Rock Paper Scissors-esque type advantages, every encounter gets a lovely layer of depth. Plus, I now know where In Stars and Time got its battle system.
The other half of the gameplay is the overworld exploration, and this is much more akin to traditional turn-based RPGs or narrative-focused RPG Maker games,mostly consisting of walking around, talking, and doing puzzles, which I don’t mind at all.
The puzzles are genuinely pretty difficult and frequently had me writing things down, but they didn’t stump me for so long that they became frustrating, or weren’t hard to brute force in some cases.
I’m very lucky to have gone into this game completely blind despite being a Toby Fox fan for a decade, and I think that made the experience feel extremely rewarding. I felt like I was solving a mystery that was genuinely tough to crack.
Plus, this game never falls into the typical RPG pit of becoming overly grindy, and the only real gameplay criticism I can levy towards it is that I hate random encounters and always will, but that’s probably just me.
The progression in OFF is just about the only place where the battle mechanics begin to falter. Namely, you don’t get to exploit every type of weakness until damn near the end of the game, where it feels mildly pointless.
Up until that point, quite a bit of the game is using the one or two weaknesses you can exploit, using your add-ons to deal some extra damage or buff yourself up, then continuing to use the one attack that works best.
The bosses are genuinely excellent at making you think creatively, managing your resources, and figuring out a way to win that isn’t just spamming your highest-damage move, though I can’t say the same for most of the normal enemies.
This comes especially to a head in the Purified versions of zones, where you encounter 1-4 of the same enemy type over and over again, and you can kill these rather mindlessly by doing nothing but attacking. It’s great when it’s good, and boring when it isn’t.
The Bleachers
While many things got updated in the remaster, the visuals were not one of them. While I wish I could say the art hasn’t aged a day, it most certainly has; however, it retains a level of charm that’s quite undeniable.
The animations are simple, the sprites are flat, but those basic sprites mixed with the surrealistic hand-drawn artwork clash in the best way possible, like something unnatural that shouldn’t exist is right in front of your face.
While I wish I could say the art hasn’t aged a day, it most certainly has
That said, I do wish the remaster had taken the massive effort of redrawing and upping the resolution on all the hand-drawn art, as it can become extremely pixelated, especially during cutscenes with a large diagram on screen.
It’s an incredibly unique style, and especially towards the end of the game, it evolves into something that’s unlike any other game I’ve ever seen, and all it needed was that little quality bump to make it perfect in my eyes.
The story of OFF isone of those game stories that I morally cannot bring myself to spoilfor anyone who hasn’t already experienced it. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience that needs to be witnessed firsthand.
That said, one thing that I don’t feel bad spoiling, as it’s made clear within the first few seconds of the game, is the connection between player and protagonist that this game establishes, far before any modern title had done the same.
Perhaps I’m just spoiled by games thatdo this far better, like Deltarune, DDLC, and especially OneShot, but it feels like the metanarrative in OFF just kinda exists because it’s cool, as it doesn’t particularly add anything to the game for me.
A once-in-a-lifetime experience that needs to be witnessed firsthand
The meta stuff near the very end is very novel and somewhat engaging, but the game’s story is already immaculate due to the worldbuilding, characters, and the way everything is executed and how it feels, for lack of a better word, off.
The player being part of the narrative serves the sole purpose of not making the batter take the blame for your actions, something that was done far more subtly in the future, and will likely continue to be done in games indirectly inspired by OFF.
I think it’s a good addition on the merits of being unique and a big novelty nearly two decades ago, and I adore the story that exists beyond the meta elements; it’s just an aspect that’s nowhere near as integrated as I’d like.
While the majority of the game’s creative elements were left 100% intact, the music was all remixed by various artists you probably recognize from other indie games.
I love all of these remixes, and I prefer them to the original tracks in most situations. Still, I have to ask, why is there no option to have the original soundtrack play instead of these remixes?
Themusical stylings of Toby Foxand Nightmargin are nothing to scoff at, sure, but every remake of a classic, incredibly influential game usually gets this right, letting you enjoy something as close to the original experience as possible.
The soundtrack is still incredible, with the industrial, horrific vibe of most of the tracks left completely intact, with the battle tracks in particular being bangers that I listen to on the regular.
Outside of potential licensing issues and whatnot, there should be some way to experience the game pretty much as it was originally intended, as this will be many people’s one and only way to play the game.
I can be critical all I want; it’s my job to do so. However, OFF is one of those games that only comes around every so often, one of those games that affects you in such a particular, damn near indescribable way.
If you like any of the games I’ve mentioned throughout this review, then you owe it to yourself to see their strange, French grandfather, as he’s got his own bag of tricks and is quite fun to talk to.
It’s incredibly difficult for me to put a number on this game. I loved it, put simply. In the same way, I adore OneShot and Undertale and can’t levy many critiques towards those games without feeling like I’m not being totally honest with myself.
If I remove all emotional attachment and bias, I think this game is just a fine RPG with a great soundtrack and story, but in a way, it tied together a ton of games that made me the person I am today, and gave me the context for how they are the way they are.
This game is important, and I think it’s worth playing. Even if you’re not a fan of somewhat traditional RPG combat or meta stories, it’s still a damn good time, and it does stand on its own after all these years.
I’m also quite thankful that this remaster didn’t change much, because it didn’t need to. It’s easily the best version of the game, and making this work of art accessible to more people is a task I’m glad Fangamer took on.
Closing Comments:
OFF is dated, but in the same charming, lovely way that a big grandfather clock is dated. It’s something you have to appreciate; you may enjoy the craftsmanship behind it, and it’s something that inspired so many things you love nowadays. The remaster doesn’t change that much, but it’s just enough of a facelift and refresh that it’s super easy to recommend to anyone interested in playing the game for the first time, even with its slightly crusty visuals and somewhat repetitive combat. This game is a definite masterpiece, and one that deserves to be remembered fondly.
