After spending over 40 hours completing Shin Megami Tensei IV, and enjoying every second of such a wonderfully produced jrpg, I decided that it was time to go into my backlog and finish up one of the final games that was brought to America thanks to the demand of fans. Operation Rainfall, a fan driven which ensured that those in the US would be able to play Last Story, as well as Xenoblade Chronicles, also brought Pandora’s Tower, an action game that uses the Wii’s motion control in a pretty cool way.

The Story follows the stereotypical blonde haired hero named Aeron, who shares an uncanny resemblance to the protagonist of the upcoming Final Fantasy XV release, in a mission to keep Elena, his young friend, from succumbing to a curse that will turn her into a beast if left unchecked. Keeping the curse at bay is done through the exploration of thirteen dungeons, which will feel even more like they took place in the Zelda universe than even Darksiders 2 did, and slaying monsters for their sweaty, smelly, dripping flesh to feed to the young girl. If you are not a fan of vegetarians, this game is for you!

Combat takes full control of the Wii’s motion gimick by giving the player control over a magic infused chain that can be used to grapple various enemies, solve puzzles, collect beast flesh, and opening new paths throughout the dungeons. This, on top of allowing the player to find various different weapons and types of equipment, give the player many combat choices to fit various styles of play, although you will almost always have the best results with the weapons that are given to you at the start. Boss battles allow the combat style to shine, though. requiring players to use their equipment and the chain to their fullest potential in various unique ways to slay the titans to ensure Elena receives their flesh in hopes of a cure.

The game also gives the player a sense of urgency in their quest as well as show how dire Elena’s situation is by giving a timer to the player. As the timer ticks down, Elena’s symptoms become worse, and the closer you get to the end of the clock, the further along in her progression to becoming a beast she will be. If the clock is allowed to pass to zero, the player will have failed at saving her, requiring you to fine tune your decisions while traversing the towers. This in theory could become a burden upon the player, or even ensure that you are becoming more invested in her safety, however it takes quite a while for the timer to actually effect the gameplay. Dungeons can be completed without risking timing out the clock for the most part, making the game feel much more linear that it would with the restriction of time placed upon Aeron. While it was refreshing to actually be forced to feel that your actions are important to the progression of the plot, and that there is a real danger in place, it is almost wasted by the straight line that is each tower.

It wouldn’t be a jrpg without an attempt at character development, however, and making the player invested in Elena is very important to ensure that she doesn’t end up feeling like enough of a burden for the Aeron to just give up and say that she is really sweet, but he just isn’t interested anymore. With a gift system, the player can purchase or find things to give Elena almost as if he was a middle school boy that is borderline stalking his crush, never saying much, but making sure that her cell in the basement feels comfortable with a few drapes and candles before the poison kicks in. Your interactions do become important, however, because the game has six possible endings that are effected by choices that you make, but it comes to no surprise that if you end up ignoring her for long enough, you are sure to get the “bad” ending.





While the game may come off as a Frankenstein combination of various adventure games, the time restrictions, unique use of the motion controls, opera infused soundtrack, and overall dark atmosphere make the game one of the strongest that the Wii had to offer, and a very fitting end to the highly successful fan campaign that was Operation Rainfall. Although the plot isn’t the most unique or memorable, focusing on Elena as a damsel in distress, as well as a fairly straight forward religious conflict, the highly British voice acting is something that you will have a hard time forgetting. That, and the slurping sounds of raw purple flesh being eaten, a sound that will reverberate through your memories for longer than you will be comfortable with.