The Nintendo 3DS is a system with a great many features packed into a relatively small space. From the obligatory 3D aspect of the games to the multiple cameras that can take 3D pictures, there has been at least one well-done usage for nearly every element of the system. However, despite those efforts, some features haven’t quite had their moment to shine. Developer n-Space has decided to try and address one of these instances with Heroes of Ruin, an action RPG specifically stated to be developed with 3DS connectivity between different players being the main focus. How well does the developer accomplish their intended goal and how good is the game on its own merits? Read on to find out.

The story of Heroes of Ruin is not a difficult thing to understand. The sphinx Ruinlord Ataraxis, one of a group of immensely powerful creatures responsible for ending a long and violent war, has been cursed and those in his city of Nexus are looking for those who may be able to help. You are a nameless hero who was drawn in by the requests and end up going through all sorts of goals to hopefully find both the person responsible and a cure to fix the issue.

Unfortunately, as the summary above would imply, the plot is cliché in almost every aspect and none of the characters are memorable beyond their obvious role, such as the kindly king or a traitorous advisor. To be completely honest, the only reason I really remember any name is by the nature of the game repeating some, such as Ataraxis, in nearly every one of the small cutscenes. The city itself doesn’t stand out either and it’s hard to really get the sense that Ataraxis being cursed is a humongous problem when the few present don’t say much beyond a simple remark about it. It’s really a shame, because the backstory ideas of the Ruinlords and the war they ended has some good potential behind it. If more effort had been put into the story, I could see myself being legitimately invested in the events that transpire. As it stands, that’s simply not the case.

Between a zombie thing and … another zombie thing.

As for the gameplay, upon first glance, I get the feeling most people have a similar reaction: “Who decided to put Diablo on a handheld?” After picking one out of four possible hero classes, gameplay generally consists of getting quests from townsfolk and exploring different dungeons while accomplishing goals, fighting off waves of enemies with various learned skills in different trees, and constantly finding loot every few seconds to either sell or equip to your character if the stat boosts are better than your current loadout. Honestly, even with my very limited playtime of Diablo, the likeness is very noticeable. However, that’s not to say the gameplay is bad.

Each of the different classes play rather separately from one another, such as the knight-like Vindicator focusing on close-combat and group healing abilities and the Gunslinger using far-range attacks and lucky-buffs to keep up a constant assault from afar. The three skill trees for each class and abilities attached to weapons and armor grant further opportunities for customization, all coming together to make each created character unique and give ample reason to play through the game again for a relatively new experience. The constant stream of loot found when exploring dungeons also leads to great satisfaction whenever a better piece of equipment is found, although I admit that could be the strong loot hound in me talking. Regardless, the gameplay is satisfying, simple to control, and pretty fun on the whole, although the game shines all the brighter when you have accompaniment.

As I said at the beginning of the review, Heroes of Ruin was designed with the 3DS online component in mind. That philosophy is clearly evident as I would be willing to say that the game has some of the smoothest online play on the 3DS, if not the most smooth. Other players can drop in or out of a game at any time from all over the world to join you in your dungeon delving. Even with some load times that can occasionally take a ridiculously long time depending on party size, the actual playing experience is smooth and I never had particularly harmful, or even noticeable, lag in an actual map, even with four separate players all pulling off intensive moves. The game is really at its best when you get a full complement together and utterly destroy enemies unfortunate enough to cross your path. It’s not a completely perfect system and there are some connection issues and rare glitches, but it is definitely a good step for online play on the 3DS.