Celebrating & Lamenting "13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim"

Content originally posted to Instagram in two parts on November 24, 2020. Above art taken from Gallery Nucleus's virtual gallery for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

I remember being intrigued by the Japanese ads and promo for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, a mix of adventure + real-time strategy game, a year ago. Giant robots fighting alien monsters…in a time travel story spanning decades? Robot battles playing out…on a screen that looked like some kind of aerospace radar? Thirteen main characters tying it all together?? It actually left me frustrated (in a good way); I wanted to know what the entire game was like, but I couldn’t 😣 all I could do was wait to see how it would unfold in my own hands, and all I expected was to be engaged by the final product.

And so, after finishing 13 Sentinels a few weeks ago, I can say without a doubt that it lived up to what I expected 🙏🏼 the animation and artwork that defines the “adventure parts” were incredible to take in, and the strategy gameplay hooked me to the point that I legitimately grit my teeth at times. As for the story? I’m not an expert on the science-fiction genre…but as a fan of it, I truly believe that 13 Sentinels’s story can stand toe-to-toe with some of the most iconic and greatest sci-fi out there. Though it borrows and pays homage to a lot of older concepts, I feel like the game presents them in a way that feels fresh and new enough. Plus, I can’t count the number of moments where the game threw me for a loop and I went “AAAAAH” or “!?!?!?” — that alone made the story enjoyable for me! Shoutout to the actors and everyone behind the game’s sound design who expertly did their jobs to make those moments happen (I played w/the English dub).

It truly is an experience of its own, a sentiment that most people who have played it can attest to. 13 Sentinels even manages to be a bit profound on what it has to say about life, depending on how you see its story and characters. I’m also personally happy that the studio which produced 13 Sentinels, Vanillaware, took a risk on a new type of game that’s quite different from their signature side-scrolling action and fantasy fare. I think that risk paid off, but the game still fights an uphill battle in terms of awareness.

Because as much as I love 13 Sentinels, the game's a bit abstract to explain. What was shown in the West to market it seemed to alienate or befuddle potential buyers and fans of the game’s developer Vanillaware. How could it not? The “combat gameplay” is inspired by Starcraft (and much lesser-known titles like Gunparade March and Fantavision), but many were disappointed by how it lacked the visual aesthetic that's usually prominent in Vanillaware's games. And the story, a major part of the game? With there being so many twists and turns, how can you get people more interested without giving anything key away?…

I think the advertisers tried their best to market the game in the West, but it seems like showing people “Japanese high schoolers in giant robots”, high scores from reputable publications, AND preview footage from a game isn’t enough these days. & to be fair, 13 Sentinels had a hard time taking off in Japan as well. Even more was done to advertise the game there, only for sales to end up low when it debuted. But thanks to word-of-mouth and high praise from big-name video game directors (like Smash Bros.’s Masahiro Sakurai and Nier’s Yoko Taro), it eventually gained prominence.

13 Sentinels was always destined to be a niche game worldwide, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve more love in the West. Who knows if an altered marketing approach could’ve stirred up more intrigue, like officially name-dropping Sakurai and Yoko Taro, making ads with more striking imagery pulled from key story moments (while still not providing any context), or just playing up how CRAZY the game can get? We can only look to the future now and see what lays in store for it. With the PS5 out now, it could be a great opportunity for Sony to promote the game further as an “exclusively-Sony experience” to play on both PS4 and PS5. An enhanced PS5 port with extra features might benefit the game too. For now though…fight on 13 Sentinels ✊🤖