I have such fond memories of the Nintendo GameCube, which I always fall back into when I start waxing nostalgic. The GameCube was the console I owned in my early teens, when I really started reading the Official Nintendo Magazine, learning when games were releasing, and saving my pocket money to buy them on day one. I specifically remember seeing loads of adverts for Paper Mario: The Thousand Year door, with even cardboard models of the characters included as free gifts. I was so excited for this Mario RPG, and was absolutely right to be. It’s easily one of the best Mario games I can think of, and frankly one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played full stop. Since then Nintendo have never quite captured that lightning in a bottle again, and with each new entry in the series I’m left somewhat wanting. Escape from Ever After is more than a little inspired by this all time classic, and I’m a bit in love with it.
Our story in Escape from Ever After begins with Flynt, the dashing hero of a fairytale heading off to slay the dragon. When he arrives at the castle though it’s not what he was expecting. Instead of a dragon to slay it’s some sort of corporate headquarters, that of Ever After Incorporated. This company is making fables and bedtime stories big business, by traveling across worlds and building in fantasy kingdoms. When you try to stop them you’re thrown in the dungeon with your dragon nemesis Tinder, and form an unlikely alliance to take down the corporation. Only by joining them and rising up the ranks will you bring down the bosses, so it’s time to grab a cubicle and get to work. It’s a charming framing for a light-hearted RPG, with funny moments strewn throughout the adventure.
To prove your worth to Ever After, you’ll travel across all sorts of fairytale worlds and complete missions for your blue moon manager. Whichever themed land you find yourself exploring, you’ll have to fight plenty of battles, which feature that delightful timing based combat that Paper Mario popularised. Each attack your team unleashes involves different timing: Flynt’s shield throw can be caught by pressing A, and if you manage this you’ll throw it a second time. Tinder uses her fire breath to take down foes, which you’ll need to charge by holding A, and release when a meter fills for maximum flaming. You can block attacks from enemies with a timely button press too, which will drastically reduce or negate damage entirely.
Each party member you recruit has different skills to use in battle, and the more impressive of these, which cost synergy points to unleash, are especially fun to use. Tinder’s fiery tornado is powered up by a flame catching minigame, whereas a later mage character brews potions that increase in power if you select ingredients faster. Mastering all these abilities is an absolute blast, and is pretty necessary when taking on tough bosses.
The array of abilities you use in Escape from Ever After is impressive, and you’ll need to use them all to deal with the sheer variety of enemies. Some foes hold shields you’ll need to burn to remove, others hold out pointy spears that you’ll need to disarm with a perfect shield throw. As you progress, more and more enemies requiring different strategies appear, and figuring out the optimal way to take them down is a delightful combat puzzle.
Like any good RPG, you’ll also level up by defeating enough enemies. You level up as a party as opposed to individually, and get to choose from gaining HP, MP or trinket points. I focused mainly on TP as they allow you to equip various trinkets that grant new attacks, passive effects and stat buffs. Yes these are just badges from Paper Mario, and they’re just as fun to tinker around with here.
The combat of Escape from Ever After is the star of the show, but you’ll also spend plenty of time exploring the flat fantasy world. Each new party member you recruit has skills you can use in the world to solve puzzles, open up new areas, and find hidden collectibles. Whether you’re using Tinder’s fire to light torches, playing music to grow plants, or transforming cats into springs, utilising your out-of-battle skills to investigate storybook worlds is always a joy.
You’re more than welcome to make your way through Escape from Ever After focusing on the story, but there’s a ton of optional content to indulge in too. Side quests back in the office are plentiful, from quizzes to fetch quests. You can also decorate your office with various plants and seating options, which is pointless but I still loved doing it. There’s even a hundred floor tower to climb for the ultimate combat challenge, which those with far more dedication than me can attempt to scale in one massive session with no healing allowed.
It’s hard for me to really think of many issues that Escape from Ever After has, because I just adored playing it. Some attacks don’t feel intuitive to block, and make certain enemies a bit of a pain to fight. Not everyone will appreciate quite how many systems are entirely lifted from classic Paper Mario games either, but since that specific style of RPG has been absent for so long I was happy to play a similar game to one of the all time greats.
Escape from Ever After is a pure explosion of RPG joy, that filled my heart with its Paper Mario inspired combat. The variety of timing based moves you can use against fairytale foes is fantastic, the amount of side content is vast, and the hostile corporate framing makes for an entertaining change of pace. If you’ve been longing to go back to those Nintendo 64 and GameCube days then Escape from Ever After is the game for you, and even if not you’ll likely find this exceptional RPG seriously enjoyable.