Divine Dynamo Flamefrit

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit's Pinnochio-esque journey from a throwaway internet joke to a full-fledged real game is commendable in itself. However, the fact that it's as enjoyable as it is may be an even sweeter victory. It doesn't reinvent the wheel in any respect, and its limited action-adventure game mechanics are just about as basic as they come, but the moment-to-moment gameplay is more than satisfying and flashy enough to make up for it. Couple that with a keen sense of humour and a flurry of nostalgic aesthetic callbacks to classic anime and old-school RPGs, and you have quite the gem of a title. Just try to savour those fleeting few hours of runtime as much as you can.

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is like a playable version of your standard milquetoast seasonal anime. It’s short and doesn’t do anything to really upset me, but it also lacks any real sense of risk taking or depth. While in the moment, it can provide mild fun, it never once really becomes anything more than that because of how it never evolves and remains so simple. It also feels short on ideas despite its length, with repetitive stage design and few enemy types, with only the boss battles feeling like they got some originality injected into them. Even putting those aside, its aesthetic, music, and story are all quite bland, leaning so hard into its inspirations that it can’t really stand on its own two feet. A bad game? Not really, but even as of writing this, I’ve already forgotten about most of it.

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit delivers good moments and manages to entertain during its short duration, but the apparent and undeniable lack of ambition undermines the impact of a title that had everything to be one of the best of its genre on the Switch if it had been properly developed and larger. In the end, the April Fool's joke didn't justify the hype, but it could very well bear fruit in the future if it is one day revisited. I personally hope they do [revisit it].

It's time to save Hologard along with the other Dynamo Knights!

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is a project from INTI CREATES that pays a homage and a satire to various Japanese archetypes. While it might be short and not that memorable, I totally recommend that you give the game a try.

In the end, Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is a complementary experience that doesn't aim for the big spotlights in the indie scene, but hits the mark in what it proposes. With a beautiful visual filled with 1990's charm, it's a field day for anime and classic tokusatsu fans. The boss battles are the highlight (except for the last one), and the combat, while simple, manages to fulfill its mission.

There's a lot of potential hidden away in Divine Dynamo Flamefrit that, unfortunately, goes unrealized. Still, what we do get is fairly good: a silly, knowing storyline; flashy, crunchy action; and rock-solid boss battles.

A pretty easygoing mix of classic isometric action-adventure fun, combat, and mech-based boss fights

Divine Dynamo Flamefrit is a very brief experience, but one that’s quite enjoyable while it lasts. Its brevity might actually be its biggest weakness: I legit wanted more from this Zelda-lite adventure, with decent PS1-ish visuals, actually competent voice acting, straightforward controls and surprising sense of humor. I would have been able to live without the unnecessary first-person Megazord boss battles, though.