The Longest 5 Minutes Review

NIS have never been one to shy away from publishing interesting twists on popular formulae. Famous for introducing the west to Disgaea, the company specialise in interesting Japanese RPG’s which often defy the tropes of the Genre.

Originally released in 2016, The Longest 5 Minutes is an interesting game that, like it’s forebears, takes classic JRPG tropes and mixes them up into a strange yet oddly satisfying experience. Now on Switch, can it succeed in a crowded gaming marketplace?

The central concept of The Longest 5 Minutes is that it begins at the start of the game’s final battle, against the Demon King. The key problem?; your player character, Flash, suddenly has amnesia and forgets everything from his adventure up to yet. Confused about his purpose and why he’s battling a demonic overlord, it’s up to his friends to help him figure out his special moves and regain his powers before he’s killed by the final boss.

This unique take on an RPG formula is split into two forms of gameplay. In the “present” you converse with your team-mates and the Demon King in an attempt to unlock more chunks of your memory, which must then be experienced first-hand. These sections are styled after visual novels, allowing you to make choices which affect this ongoing final battle; such as which ally leads the charge and who gets to charge their special ability. They act as a very effective framing device, elaborating on characters upping the stakes bit-by-bit. You can clearly see the relationships between the characters here, and I was drawn into learning about how they developed through these scenes.

When a new memory is unlocked, the game switches to a full JRPG style complete with turn-based combat and all the tropes you may expect, but in small chunks. Making up the vast majority of the game, these sections generally start and end at important moments in the team’s journey. You begin each section with set equipment and set abilities at a set level and are given certain objectives to complete. The sections play out like a traditional JRPG, with turn-based battles in which you can physically attack, cast magic, or use items. Each character has Health Points (HP) and Magic Points (MP), which go down or raise as you are attacked, use special abilities, or use items. These can either be played manually or you can use the auto-battle feature to resolve battles, but either way they are pretty easy to complete. Through battle your characters level up and earn gold which can be used to buy equipment and items, but unlike other similar games these improvements are temporary.

Each chapter is completely self-contained and starts at set points in the adventure, so grinding for money and EXP isn’t particularly needed. Instead of your levels carrying over, each objective you complete unlocks bonus re-experience, which contributes to your power throughout the rest of the game. The sections don’t necessarily occur chronologically; One moment you’re playing at level 18 and the next there’s a section at level 44; but narratively the level-hopping does make sense. It’s an interesting way to present the plot of an RPG and it has a unique charm, but unfortunately it does limit your investment in the individual sections. You never feel like you have real agency over the development of your characters or the choices they make in these sections; possibly due to the lack of player-led progression. You can jump back into memories to complete additional objectives, but aside from that they don’t have a huge amount of replayability.

Whilst the progression during these sections is a little unsatisfying, the world is full of character and interesting elements. One of my favourite aspects is the enemy design, which is incredibly reminiscent of Earthbound’s surreal creatures. I particularly enjoyed the winery section, which included a variety of boozy blighters to bash, and it’s this originality which makes The Longest 5 Minutes so interesting. There is a lot of traditional tropes and content to experience, but this is mixed with an equal amount of originality.

The graphic design is simple, in a style reminiscent of the earlier Pokémon games, but fitting for the genre. Whilst I would have liked to have seen more dynamic effects in the presentation of story moments, there is undeniably an element of nostalgia. The Music is also phenomenal, with many tracks that, in an earlier gaming age may have gone down as classic tunes.

One issue I do have with the game is the pricing, however. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve really enjoyed The Longest 5 Minutes, but I think the UK price point of £39.99 is ridiculous. At a guess, my playthrough took me around 12-13 hours at a leisurely pace, and whilst the narrative content is incredibly interesting I would feel very let down if I’d have paid that amount. Comparing the value for money it offers to other similarly prices games could leave a bitter taste in your mouth; and more so when you realise that it is priced at $39.99 in the US. This is essentially equivalent to £30 in the UK; a full quarter less than offered on the UK Eshop and a price I would be happy to pay. I simply do not understand why NIS America and Nintendo decided to set our price so much higher.

The Longest Five Minutes is an extremely interesting experience which mixes an engaging story with classic gameplay; even if it does lose a little player engagement due to this. The characters are deep and engaging, with rewarding relationships between them to be explored. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with it and have decided to score it accordingly, but I simply cannot recommend buying it from the UK Nintendo Eshop at this time due to the overpricing in comparison to other versions.

However, for JRPG-lovers who want to experience an interesting twist, when sale time comes around it’s a must-buy.