Fans of the previous
Sword Art Online games will find it very easy to transition into
Sword Art Online: -Hollow Realization-. The (Square) button allows you to attack and pressing it repeatedly will unleash a combo that leads into a sword skill which does much more damage. You can also press the (Triangle) button to instantly activate a sword skill, which will increase the attack’s power, but also consumes quite a bit of your SP. The (X) button allows you to jump and the (Circle) button allows you to perform a parry. You can also dodge using the (R1) button combined with the Left Stick. The commands while you’re inside a city are similar, except you’ll only be using the Left Stick to move and the (X) button to jump. There isn’t anything to attack, but you can interact using the (Circle) button. You’ll get used to the controls in no time, so don’t fret over them.
No adventure would be complete without a main hub linking everything together, right? SAO: -Hollow Realization- has such a hub known as the Teleport Gate Plaza. There’s four areas that are linked together that players can explore and interact with the different townspeople roaming around. There’s plenty of shops where players can purchase gear or items and you can also accept quests from the different quest boards posted around town. When you’re ready to go out and explore, you can return to the main plaza and use the teleport gate. This will allow you access to the map and you can select a destination. Locations open up as you progress through the game, so don’t get sad seeing just a few on your map.
The most fun to be had lies in the great outdoors. Once you’re out the gate and at your destination, you’ll be able to explore the location to your heart’s content. One thing to keep note of in the field is your HUD. You’ll see your character’s HP, SP, and Experience bar at the bottom. Your partner’s bars will be displayed to the left. The mini-map in the top right corner will help you from getting too lost in the field and it’ll even light up treasure and enemies for you. On that note, you should keep in mind that there are several types of treasure chests that you’ll come across. Brown chests can only be opened once. Blue chests require you to kill a strong enemy nearby, but their contents respawn periodically, allowing you to come back and plunder them later. You may even get different types of items, like a super rare item!
Everyone knows it’s dangerous to go alone, and that’s why you take a reliable party with you. You probably guessed, but you’re able to take along party members whenever you go to explore an area. They’ll follow behind you and help you defeat enemies, which makes taking down stronger enemies significantly easier than if you tried to do it by yourself. You can recruit people from the town to tag along in your party, but you have to build affinity with them by talking to them before they'll join you. Once you’re out in the field, you can issue commands to your party by pressing the (L1) button. From here, you can assist your allies, order them to heal, target an enemy, or even just encourage them.
Field exploration is generally the same no matter where you go, but Sword Art Online: -Hollow Realization- features Event Fragments. While exploring, you may come across an area marked with a colored circle. If you enter it, you’ll trigger an Event Fragment which comes with its own set of objectives and these will change depending on the type of Event Fragment you come across. The best thing about Event Fragments is their episodic nature. Completing an Event Fragment will trigger the next part of that quest, You’ll be rewarded for each Event Fragment you complete and finishing a series may have you walking away with some pretty rare loot. The quests do get progressively harder as you advance through a chain, so you may want get stronger before attempting to complete certain chains.
