FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review

PlayStation 5

Freedom Wars Remastered is a game that will show you the real horror of the post-apocalyptic future.

Reviewed by Sabi on  Jan 10, 2025

FREEDOM WARS Remastered is an upgraded version of Dimps' 2014 action role-playing game for the PlayStation Vita. Set in a post-apocalyptic future in which humanity is imprisoned in underground city-states known as Panopticons, you will play as Sinners, who are ordered to combat giant adversaries known as Abductors in order to reduce their one million-year sentence.

Freedom Wars, developed by Dimps Corporation, is a Japanese video game developer known for its numerous contributions to popular franchises. The business created the Sonic Advance series for the Game Boy Advance, which was the first Sonic game on a Nintendo platform. It was a success, and direct sequels followed, as did additional collaboration work on Sonic games. The business worked on several Dragon Ball games, including the Dragon Ball Xenoverse series, which fans praised for its exciting gameplay and accurate adaptation of the anime.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

Dimps helped design Street Fighter IV, which revamped the franchise's graphics and mechanics and received critical acclaim. The Dragon Ball Xenoverse series has been especially popular, with Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2 selling over 6 million copies worldwide as of 2020. Following their work on Street Fighter IV, the game won numerous industry honors, including Best Fighting Game at the 2008 Spike Video Game Honors.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered is set in a dystopian future Earth in the year 102014, which has become practically uninhabitable owing to environmental collapse and constant fighting. Humanity has survived not just in massive, strongly defended underground city-states known as Panopticons but also as independent nations. These city-states have continually fought over the meager resources available, exacerbating the terrible situation.

In this universe, simply existing is a crime, and every organism has been labeled as a Sinner from birth. Every Sinner is originally sentenced to a million years in prison, which can be reduced by completing difficult assignments. Such missions frequently involve combating huge robotic opponents known as Abductors, rescuing civilians from abduction, and recovering critical supplies. The Panopticons tightly monitor their inhabitants, and freedom is little more than a pipe dream.

The protagonist is a customizable figure who awakens with amnesia and quickly discovers his dreadful circumstances. Early in the game, Harry meets Beatrice Anastasi, a mysterious woman who has one of the keys to unlocking the plot. Stratos, originating from the technologically advanced city-state in the sky, conducts violent raids on Earth's Panopticons, stealing whatever resources are available.

He discovers horrifying facts about the society that has ruled over humanity while fighting for his life under the strict control of his Panopticon. His responsibilities put him in conflict not just with certain outside enemies but also with a system that upholds incarceration and inequity.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

The game addresses various philosophical topics, including freedom, loyalty, and the cost of challenging an unjust system. Things worsen as other city-states lay siege to the protagonist's Panopticon, shocking him with the realization that he, too, is a sinner. He is forced to choose between being committed to the Panopticon, breaking away, and developing love with Beatrice.

All of this is combined with adrenaline-pumping action, as the enormous Abductors frequently cause clashes in the assignments entrusted to the protagonist, complete with added symbolism of an oppressive society. Freedom Wars' social criticism is one of the most remarkable aspects of the story. Together with reducing one's sentence, the menacing Panopticon watchdogs thus serve as symbols for the grave contemporary problems of resource scarcity, authoritarianism, and overpopulation.

Slowly but surely, the quest for independence and identity returns turns into a compelling story that resonates deeply with the user. That is kept in the remastered edition, while the plot has been updated to provide a significantly stronger experience thanks to sharper visuals and more dialogue options that deepen character development for greater emotional weight in pivotal moments.

Finally, FREEDOM WARS Remastered is a thought-provoking expose of how the human soul may rise from the depths of awful oppression to freedom rather than a hastily handled action game. With his purpose quickly becoming entangled with Beatrice's mysterious past, the protagonist finds himself in the midst of an all-consuming conflict between the Panopticons and the Stratos, making for a challenging and engrossing journey.

Quick action, strategy, and cooperative gameplay are all dynamically and intriguingly combined in the game FREEDOM WARS Remastered. The foundation of the game is mission-based warfare, where you face massive robotic monsters known as Abductors; these towering devices are designed to suck up civilians, and most of the gameplay focuses on rescuing these prisoners while fending off hostile troops.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

One may say that all kinds of weapons are available for use in battle, ranging from long-range weapons to close-range weapons like swords and spears. Targeting specific Abductors' locations may offer one an advantage in fighting or limiting some of the enemy's powers; therefore, battles must be planned with skill and strategy.

Thorn, another unique game concept, is a grappling device that increases fighting and traversal adaptability. The Thorn will also let you grasp onto foes, allowing them to paralyze or even pull down the Abductors, creating an opportunity for their squad to assault the weak points. It also improves mobility, allowing you to climb large structures and navigate the battlefield quickly.

In addition, depending on the kind the player chooses, Thorn performs support tasks, including building barriers, healing teammates, and even providing team mobility. This type of adaptable tool adds a layer of strategy to quick action, requiring you to decide how to apply these skills in various contexts.

The goals in this game range from rescuing victims from enemy clutches to defeating wave after wave of enemy factions from neighboring Panopticons. Another major feature is resource collection, in which you must scavenge for rare materials that can be utilized to construct and upgrade various weapons, gears, and equipment. Thanks to new gameplay elements, these missions are far leaner, faster-paced, and easier to accomplish in this revised version.

One of FREEDOM WARS Remastered's strongest points is personalization. It gives gamers a lot of freedom to build the avatar that best suits them. From appearance to voice and battle style, the personalization choices allow each player to create a character that feels unique. This includes the player's robotic companion, the Accessory, which can be tailored to certain combat or support duties. Accessories play an important role in missions because they provide backup during combat and aid in resource gathering or rescue.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

These have been refined in the remastered edition, which also features improved graphics with high-quality textures, 4K resolution, and 60fps on compatible platforms. Improvements to gameplay, such as auto-save capabilities and better tutorials, make the game significantly more accessible to new users while preserving much of the challenge and depth that fans of the original enjoyed. The addition of all previously released downloadable content increases variety by offering new weaponry, quests, and opportunities for personalization.

The combination of cooperative strategy, high-stakes combat, and a great deal of customization that made FREEDOM WARS Remastered unique is still present, but it has been refined for contemporary platforms so that both new and returning players can immerse themselves in the game's captivating world and visceral gameplay. Fast-paced fighting and strategic depth combined with a compelling plot make for some really memorable action JRPG games.

Combat in FREEDOM WARS Remastered is quick and strategic, allowing players to eliminate opposing forces from nearby Panopticons and massive robotic enemies known as the Abductors. Every battle encounter is designed to test a player's ability, cooperation, and flexibility. You must use both melee and distance strikes in the more real-time fighting system.

The weaponry ranges from massive artillery and rifles for long-distance fighting to powerful swords and spears for hand-to-hand combat. This game adds strategy to the intensity of the battle by requiring players to choose their method based on the enemy's size, abilities, and weak points.

With its many uses, the Thorn is an intriguing weapon in battle. The Thorn's mission is to grapple opponents, knock them off their feet, or otherwise move them into a more advantageous position so the other members of the team can exploit their weaknesses.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

Mobility, such as swiftly climbing structures and dodging enemy strikes, might potentially use a similar strategy. Its multipurpose versatility makes it essential to both offense and defense, as the same skills include healing and shield deployment features to assist friends.

These will almost always mix battle with puzzle aspects, especially since those really tall Abductors have a variety of components to target and destroy, such as armored plates and weaponized limbs. With these parts destroyed, a weakened opponent makes it easier to rescue captured people, which is the primary goal of many missions.

Team engagements require you to collaborate—either through AI or multiplayer—to assault weak points while maintaining effective resource management, such as health and ammo. The fighting system's complexity of strategy keeps players on their toes throughout the intense battle, making the high-octane action in FREEDOM WARS Remastered an exciting and fulfilling experience.

In FREEDOM WARS Remastered, the prison term is reduced rather than points—basically, experience points gained from each task completed in the game. This results in a special mechanism that is inextricably linked to the game's plot and environment. You begin with a sentence of one million years in prison, which represents the harsh society of the dystopian future. Completing missions, saving civilians, and engaging in combat with adversaries would be the best ways to shorten such a lengthy sentence.

Some years are lowered for each completed activity, creating a sense of accomplishment and progress. While the sentence reduction mechanism functions similarly to XP in traditional JRPGs, it concentrates on progress and success rather than leveling up; as the player obtains more rights and freedoms within the Panopticon, he is free to explore further.

These rights grant access to newer equipment, mission types, and customization, increasing gaming depth and replay value. When the sentence is reduced, many of the limits, such as those on movement or speech, that were present at the start are lifted, and actual sensations of progress are attained.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

It's a completely different system that immerses you in the universe and substitutes considerably more narrative-driven features for standard XP. Although progression is quite unusual, it appears to be significant and deeply entwined with the game's plot and overall experience, and it is somehow connected to the principles of the Freedom Wars.

In terms of graphics, FREEDOM WARS Remastered outperforms the original version by more effectively utilizing the power of contemporary hardware to raise the bar. High-resolution graphics, fluid animation, and incredibly realistic character models make this remaster much more immersing in the Freedom Wars world.

Environments are clearer, with deeper colors and atmospheric effects that heighten the mood of the scene. The large robotic opponents, the Abductors, are more detailed, making combat more visually appealing. Overall, the restored graphics improve and smooth out the appearance of the game.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered sounds as good as it looks. The action is accompanied by a strong soundtrack, which gives quieter periods a sense of mood and gives battle situations more impact. The sound effects enhance the setting's liveliness and reactivity, from the ambient noises to the mechanical whirs of the Abductors. Important plot points have a stronger emotional impact when voice acting is used. The audio quality has been greatly enhanced in the updated edition, making the entire soundscape more sophisticated and engaging than it was in the original.

FREEDOM WARS Remastered Review, Screenshot, NoobFeed

Overall, FREEDOM WARS Remastered offers a fantastic blend of strategic combat and thoughtful progression from single-player to cooperative play. This upgraded edition simply improves on the original's overall experience: enhanced graphics, gameplay, and audio combine to create a game that is incredibly engaging and well-made for both novice players and seasoned gamers.

Wasbir Sadat

Editor, NoobFeed

Verdict

Everything that made the original fantastic is enhanced in FREEDOM WARS Remastered. Its strategic combat and unique progression create a captivating and immersive experience with depth and thrill. It's a must-play for action JRPG enthusiasts.

85

Related News

No Data.