Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris (SAO), originally made for PC, PS4 and Xbox One in 2020, comes to Nintendo Switch in September 2022 and returns to the spotlight of the gamer universe. With very divided opinions about its quality, the game takes inspiration from the anime of the same name and so beloved by the public in the last decade. 

The game was developed by a famous company, Bandai Namco, founded in 2005 after a merger between Bandai and Namco. It has Japanese nationality and owns other huge successes, for example, Tekken and Dragon Ball Super, which carry a huge fame, but this you surely know. In addition, Aquria also participated in the development of SAO, but this company is much younger, founded in the year 2022, also in Japan.

Anyway, Kirito, our main character, awakens in a totally unknown virtual world and goes into insane battles, meeting amazing people along the way as he battles steadily against sinister monsters and death itself.

(Kirito)

Made for fans

Well, the first impression I wanted to get about the game was if it was possible to enjoy it without having watched and enjoyed the anime, and for me, that answer is no. I'll explain. The game, unfortunately, carries some problems that are often commented on in forums all around the gamer world. Even for this new platform, which we already expected the fixes, such as polishing, which I will discuss later. Having to face these problems without at least liking the anime and seeking that charm we had when watching its release can be a serious problem for the progression.

It's funny how it may not be mandatory to have played other games in the franchise, since the story is divided, half relying on your knowledge of the anime, half completely original. That is, you will probably not understand a certain part of the game if you have not played all the other games in the franchise.



Still, I think it is worth commenting on how surprisingly good the story is. With some adaptations here and there, the creators managed to convince me to enjoy following the narrative of this RPG, with pertinent and really interesting themes.

In addition, there is Medina, a completely new and original character, who certainly should be in the anime making part on the list of favorites with some ease. You get touched by her story, because unlike the other new characters, who even seem to have no life, completely immobile, giving an idea of superficiality, this one does not have a generic story just to complete the plot.


(Medina)

The prettiest of all

Speaking about graphics, here you will find both praise and criticism, mainly regarding the game's graphic returns, however, there is a positive point: SAO still receives updates from Bandai and these errors can be fixed. First of all, it is impressive how much they managed to perfect the underworld scenarios, the history and visuals of each empire was written beautifully and coherently, each with its own characteristics and qualities, even if the platform carries lower potential compared to the others.

Still about the art, it is worth mentioning the great variety of enemies created, unlike the second game, Fatal Bullet, in which the monsters seemed to be always the same, here the creations are great, which pleases me by showing our progression even by the enemies


(scenery of a city)

Taking the opportunity, I don't believe it is necessary to separate a topic only for the soundtrack and audios of the game, because there isn't much to comment on. The soundtrack is excellent, with very memorable songs combined with the scenery, as well as the other sounds, except for certain moments, because I felt a lack of sound feedback especially in combat. Many times it seemed to be silent scenes.

Now, let's go to a problem of Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris on Nintendo Switch and apparently on other platforms too. Along with some optimization problems, the game has a very poor polishing, the characters and their actions are pretty heavy, this is very easy to check, especially in cutscenes, and also in fights, because the combat of the game itself seems to be slow, much due to the fact that the game is not graphically polished, the animations are heavy and, even compared to other games, it seems not to be possible to spam skills, making everything feels very slow.

It doesn't stop there, the game's transitions are simply bad, there is no other adjective. They take forever and happen with a frustrating frequency, all the time.


(fighting)

Other points

The online system of SAO Alicization Lycoris is excellent and fun, among the best in the franchise for sure, as it is possible for you to run the campaign in co-op, which I consider extremely good value. You can put up to 16 players together at the same time in the open world, do the quests, and face the infinite dungeon with more than 100 floors.

The developers got the interaction with other players really right. Being able to invite friends, along with many side quests available, more than even in Fatal Bullet, we can go out by the 4 empires and spend good hours having fun, even more if the problems related to the game are fixed.



Leveling system

To finish off, I think it is very valid to comment on the grind system presented by the developers. Well, in relation to the previous ones of the franchise, Alicization Lycoris, referring to the XP gains is much more balanced. You will not need to spend a lot of time and
play like there is no tomorrow to be able to level up. 

It also has an incredible skill tree, where you can find buffs, attack skills and passives, with several options, giving the player the option to choose which path he wants to follow with his swordsman. 

Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris is available now for Nintendo Switch! It was previously available for PC, Xbox One, and PS4.

Our thanks to the Bandai PR team, who provided us with the key for Nintendo Switch and made it possible to create this content.