"Fairy Tail: Dungeons" Review
The presentation is top notch for someone who enjoys 16 bit style sprites. The combat system takes some getting used to as it starts simple with balancing attack/defense/enhancement cards but once chains and counter attacks are introduced I got overwhelmed with analysis paralysis but the good kind where you feel elated at the variety of choices at your disposal. You could start with the outfit swapping Lucy to lay down a chain attack and heal the rest of the crew and then call in Natsu to finish with 1-2 solid finisher move as his health limit is lower but packs a bigger punch with a fire damage debuff so it'd help bring down the main boss's health much faster or you could try it in the opposite direction and focus all attacks on the main big boss as they're the main spawn point for all the smaller guys taking pot shots at your character's health. Focusing your attacks on the small fry is like playing whack a mole. The turn based design gives you moments to think through these decisions like in chess but far more engaging than wooden pieces on a board. The design of the combat is one thing but the main appeal to me is the pandering for fans of the "Fairy tail" anime, a fantasy action anime series that follows a guild and it's members as they fight dragons, wizards and other guilds in a cartoonishly feelgood world where the answer to all of life's problems is the power of friendship. It's not high art and that's part of the reason I love it as not every piece of media in your life has to be the citizen Kane of it's medium. If you get excited at the prospect of managing the main gang from the fairy tail series including Natsu, Erza, Lucy, and Gray then get the demo and give the game a try. You'll see plenty of recognizable side characters from the main series that you can call on in a pinch. You can find the game here on Steam:
Fairy Tail: Dungeons Steam link
Edit: In writing this blog, I've discovered there's been a major January 7th 2026 update that added 7 more characters and 3 major boss characters so I'm heading back to those dungeons, LET'S FUCKING GOOOOOOOO