Ikenfell

Ikenfell has interesting ideas in both its story and combat, but it stumbles in execution.

Ikenfell is a charming little turn-based tactical RPG that hooks you in quickly with a well-written story and strong cast of characters and keeps you locked in for its duration with a surprisingly complex combat system. There are accessibility options here to suit all levels of player, a good idea considering how tough some of the battles can be along the way, and, overall, this is a heart-warming and unique entry to its genre that comes highly recommended.

Ikenfell is a great game wrapped in a small package. Even with small pacing issues and a battle system that I often wanted to skip, I had a surprisingly good time with this game. Almost every aspect of it shines on its own and put together it’s a great retro-style RPG that takes the commonplace world of teenage magic and proves that it can be an inclusive space full of introspection and growth.

Ikenfell likely won't replace the Harry Potter series as a whole when it comes to providing a signature web of tales centered around a magic school, but it still provides one impressive journey on its own.

Ikenfell captures the charm of its muses and adds its own flavor to create something unique and rewarding. It’s a clear labor of love, and the result was well worth the effort.

Ikenfell is a difficult game to adjudicate on. In terms of its storytelling and visual presentation, it is an enriching experience that always had me eager to know what was going to happen next. From a gameplay standpoint, it’s a dull slog that just feels like it needed more of a punch and a lot less padding.

Happy Ray Games succeeded in what they were aiming for with Ikenfell, I just wish they aimed a bit higher. The story doesn't pick up for a long portion at the beginning of the game, and the battle system is interesting but nothing groundbreaking. There is still some enjoyment to be had with Ikenfell, but it feels like it's missing some magic.

So, while I didn't play Ikenfell when I was 12 because, ya know, it didn't exist in 2004, this game somehow manages to capture an unassuming sense of nostalgia that comforted me throughout the entirety of my playthrough. It brought me back to being that jerk of a preteen, wondering if my crush would message me if my AIM away status was the right set of Green Day lyrics, or if it would ever feel like I was wearing my Hollister shirt rather than it wearing me. But beyond these trivial issues that felt monumental at the time, it made me wish I'd have been gentler to that weird little girl, and told her it's okay to be selfish right now-but make the goddamn most of it and do it with ferocious sincerity.

There's a lot to love about Ikenfell: its characters, charming narrative, and polished strategic combat all come together to create something truly unique and magical. While it calls on themes from other pop culture titles, the story within is all its own. Slow at first, Ikenfell's true narrative starts to unravel as you meet new friends and unlock clues behind Maritte's sister's disappearance. For $19.99, Ikenfell is well worth the price if you're a fan of pixel games with an inclusive storyline and a beautiful soundtrack.

It’s not that Ikenfell is outrageously bad or anything—at least, not until the very end—but it suffers from being unnecessarily cumbersome and tedious, sporting a lack of subtlety that eventually comes across as preachy. More than anything, though, I struggle to forgive the fact that it isn’t a tactical RPG at all. Ikenfell is a standard jRPG with a positioning system that barely matters thanks to long-range attacks and enemies’ penchant for moving large distances and teleporting you around.