Pick your protagonist and set off on an early 3D adventure.
What Is It? Threads of Fate is an action-adventure game from SquareSoft that was released in 1999 on the original PlayStation. The game features the utterly unique, and instantly recognizable, character model stylings of Final Fantasy VII and Brave Fencer Musashi. That’s a minor detail to lead with, but I’m a total sucker for it and PS1-era SquareSoft, so it was a massive reason I decided to give Threads of Fate a try. I’m glad I did.
Before beginning, you choose between playing as Mint or Rue. I chose Mint for this playthrough and some of the gameplay details discussed here will be specific to her mechanics. Rue showed up frequently throughout my adventure, but only in passing. I was not getting his entire story and there appear to be entire levels/areas unique to each character. This is a really fun twist, pulled from Resident Evil 2, among others.
Mint is overthrown as the princess in waiting by her sister Maya and, a couple of years later, you begin as Mint on a quest to recover a long lost relic so she can take over the world and enact revenge. You find yourself in a small waterfront town and will head out to a handful of different locations as the story unfolds.
The game is a 3D action-adventure title. Some might call it action-RPG which probably works as well, but this game was way closer to Zeldas of the era than <insert late ‘90s action-RPG reference of choice here>. You run around fighting whatever shows up on the screen. Mint has a basic melee attack and the ability to fire off magic of various types. Rue can transform into monsters he defeats and use their attacks.
Most levels have a lot of fighting, a bit of platforming, possibly an extremely light puzzle, and then a boss fight or two to round things out. The platforming is light and roughly as janky as you would expect. I enjoyed it overall, but there were times I definitely didn’t. The bosses are a mixed bag. They are mostly pretty simple once you identify whatever weakness they have, but a few I couldn’t ever figure out how to avoid attacks which is never a fun feeling.
Along the way you can upgrade your equipment and stats (fine, this is a little ARPG-like) both through normal playing and also by purchasing upgrades in the hub town. I love the HP and MP stat progression in this game. You gain more HP based on how much damage you take and you gain MP simply by way of using magic.
There are no consumable items to heal or refill MP. A melee hit will also recharge a bit of MP for Mint which is always a fun mechanic in my book. You can heal with potions enemies drop after being defeated. You can collect coins which will respawn you upon death, with stronger coins giving you more MP upon revival.
A playthrough will likely take around 11 hours with Mint, but there is a decent amount of hidden, optional content you can engage in if you want to max out your stats and gear. Plus, the entire second playthrough as the other character looms if you want to tackle that.
The Best Part: Mint is a jerk. Not a lovable jerk like the titular Brave Fencer Musashi, just a straight up spoiled brat jerk. She whines, schemes, talks smack, lies, and is mostly quite unlikeable throughout the game. It is funny to see some NPCs embrace this as her being passionate, but it’s much more fun when NPCs call her out for her behavior. This is such a foreign concept in videogames, letting you play as someone best described as a total jerk, that it makes the entire experience incredibly refreshing.
The Worst Part: There are so many aspects, big and small, which could have been taken a step or two further to make this game truly special. The boss fights are an obvious example. It’s not that they are phoned in here, but some of them are so bland that I had already forgotten them by the mini boss run you go through late in the game. The “puzzles” are a weird mix as well, with some being seemingly random guessing of which exit to take in a maze of rooms whereas others have an actual bit of thought and fun behind them. There are a few platform-heavy sections but they get squished back-to-back-to-back which make them feel annoying instead of fun. There are many great individual aspects here, but too often they miss the mark just enough to stand out in the wrong way.
The Verdict: I played this game because Brave Fencer Musashi is one of my favorite PS1 titles. The very early vibes here screamed BFM and I was ecstatic to see that. While Threads of Fate never veered too far from the path BFM laid, it consistently comes up a hair short for me. I’ll stop with the BFM references now, realizing that itself is a pretty niche game best known for its inclusion of a FFVIII demo disc.
The combat is a standout in Threads of Fate. Mint’s mix of melee and magic is a good time, and needing to use various different elemental magic types to bypass obstacles or deal more damage offers fun micro-puzzles to the action. The characters and story also shine throughout. It isn’t the deepest story by any means, but it is fun to follow and having the game give you hints of the story the other character is going through is a nice hook to get you to play their story as well.
Overall, Threads of Fate is a good time, even today. It may not quite reach the heights of other PS1 SquareSoft games, but if you are looking for a fun 3D action-adventure title from the era, you won’t be disappointed with this one.
How to Play: PlayStation 1
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