Vixen 357 (XSX) Review

Vixen 357, a Japan-exclusive Mega Drive game, has been officially translated and digitally re-released on modern platforms thanks to the continued preservation efforts of Ratalaika Games. While this tactical strategy title shows its age compared to more modern releases, it remains interesting as a quasi-precursor to the Front Mission series.

Since Vixen 357 originally released during an era when paper instruction manuals were essential, newcomers to the genre will likely have a difficult time understanding its mechanics. There is no tutorial of any kind, and the opening stages only add to the confusion, as players can control just a handful of units on battlefields packed with dozens of combatants. At times, the game practically plays itself, resulting in a passive experience, especially during the opening hours. Thankfully, the right-trigger fast-forward function comes in handy, drastically reducing enemy turn times and serving as a welcome quality-of-life feature.

Speaking of automation, the stages themselves are quite large. Reaching the enemy often requires three to five turns before entering attack range. This slow pace makes many battles feel like a slog, although that design choice was far more acceptable in the early 1990s.

Vixen 357 is something of a conundrum because it is both approachable and horribly imbalanced. Instead of spending hours navigating menus, optimizing equipment loadouts, and managing complex class systems, the game throws players directly into the action. While characters can swap mechs, referred to here as “vectors,” there are few statistics to manage and little micromanagement involved. Simply move forward, select one of your available attacks, and fire away at the many enemies populating each map.

Unfortunately, the straightforward mechanics clash with mission design that frequently feels unfair. The third stage, for example, pits your three units against an army of roughly twenty enemies while asking you to defend a base and eliminate every opposing force. Compounding the issue, most enemies require multiple attacks to defeat. Success often feels dependent on perfect play and a healthy dose of luck rather than strategy alone. Thankfully, Ratalaika has included several cheat options, most notably invincibility. Without it, I’m honestly not convinced many players will see the game through to completion.

The later stages only magnify these frustrations. Certain bosses create protective barriers that absorb multiple hits before allowing any meaningful damage to get through. On several occasions, I completely exhausted my ammunition and had to retreat to my ship to resupply. Fortunately, the invincibility cheat ensured that ship was still standing. Facing overwhelming enemy forces with a small squad of underpowered units quickly becomes exhausting, especially when battles drag on for extended periods while enemy health bars slowly chip away.

The soundtrack does little to alleviate the problem. In fact, it is often grating. Then again, perhaps the music itself is not entirely to blame. After listening to the same tracks throughout these lengthy, drawn-out encounters, even a decent soundtrack might begin to wear thin.

To the game’s credit, the newly translated script is well-written, and the story is packed with drama, betrayal, and wartime tension. Unfortunately, like the battles themselves, the dialogue often takes longer than necessary to process because of the typewriter-style text presentation. The lack of an option to instantly display entire text boxes makes conversations feel slower than they need to be.

By today’s standards, Vixen 357 is undeniably rough around the edges, though it was likely received more favorably upon its original release. Even so, strategy enthusiasts with an interest in gaming history may find value here, especially with the invincibility cheat enabled. Experiencing an officially translated and largely forgotten tactical RPG from this era is a novelty in itself.

More importantly, releases like this highlight the importance of preservation. If not for the efforts of Ratalaika, Shinyuden, and Masaya, I likely never would have known this game existed, let alone had the opportunity to play it. They deserve recognition for reviving long-dormant properties, translating them for new audiences, and making them available on modern platforms at affordable prices.

More of this, please and thank you.

By: Zachary Gasiorowski, Editor in Chief myGamer.com

X/Twitter: @ZackGaz

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