The gameplay of the RPG genre is, at its core, built on two primary aspects: character customisation and playing the character one has created to the best of their ability. Cladun X3 has taken that first aspect to heart and crafted an experience where the player is free to customise nearly everything, not just character builds. Weapon looks, character models, and even the music that plays while exploring the dungeon have quite in-depth design systems. The result is a game where the player can sit for hours, if not days, crafting their own unique RPG experience. Cubed3 puts on their best min-maxer mindset and delves into the nefarious dungeons of Cladun X3.
Many RPG fans are deeply in love with tinkering in menus for hours, sitting and optimising their characters to be the best they can be – perhaps even more often than actually playing the game. One just needs to visit the forum for any RPG game out there and see how much time some people spend on theory crafting and character building to find proof of this. Few RPGs truly let the player customise their characters as much as they would ideally desire, though, due to boring limitations such as “game balancing”. However, Cladun X3 has taken off all the brakes and gone all out to allow players as much freedom as plausibly possible while still having a “system” to play with in the first place.
It is not the first nor last game to focus heavily on character customisation, but what truly makes Cladun X3 unique in this department is how it comes with several in tools to not just customise character stats and gameplay functions, but also the look of the characters, gear, and even the music that will play in the dungeon.
These systems are mostly quite complicated. The music editor, to take the most obvious example, resembles a pure and simplistic IDE more than anything one would find in an actual video game. This tool enables players to compose, test, and ultimately implement their musical creations. For people with programming experience, this will not be a problem at all, especially since the programming language is clearly explained and, at its core, is very simple.
There are very few commands, all of which are represented by a single symbol. However, it will take quite a while for someone with zero programming experience or music theory knowledge to get the hang of it. This might sound like poor design compared to something like Mario Paint, which allows the player to simply place notes and the music will play automatically. However, to achieve everything the music editor sets out to do, this kind of system is quite necessary.
For those who read this part and nod in approval of the game design, welcome home! Cladun X3 is a true RPG that doesn’t compromise the experience for power users, which is quite a rare sight in the modern gaming age. It is easy to get flashbacks to the early 2000s, when many games dared to include some very complicated features that weren’t exactly designed to be fully utilised by 90% of the player base.
What really makes Cladun X3 stand out, though, is that while it is like home for the most hardcore system crunchers, it isn’t unapproachable by the common user. The game is at its best when it introduces the Power Circle system, which is its most complex and gameplay-focused character customisation feature. While introducing the system, Cladun X3 makes it clear that it is not a required system to beat the game. However, to truly master it, it will be necessary. If the player just wants to “beat the game”, all they need to tinker around with a little bit is the vastly simpler equipment system.
This is where the genius design of Cladun X3 truly shines. It is a game that gives the player complete freedom in how they not only build their character, but also how they play the game. While a lot of the power can be put in the Power Circle system thanks to titles, which are special traits that can be applied to gear and give more mana to power up the magic circle, it is by no means required. There are many powerful titles that completely ignore the mana system and it is possible to make very strong builds not relying on them at all. Actually, for a less experienced player, this might be ideal, as the Power Circle system comes with a significant risk to balance out its power.
This risk is that the Power Circle system is built around having other sub-characters give the main character abilities by channeling mana to them, much like batteries. The subs also take damage for their dom…erm, main character, which might sound like an advantage, but if the subs go down, so do the buffs their mana provides. Some of the strongest mana-hungry Power Circles have quite cruel debuffs like that; if one character goes down, all of them go down. This can leave the player without nearly any defensive or offensive capabilities due to a minor error if they choose to put too many of their resources into the mana circles.
For experienced and skilled players, this risk is always worth taking. However, for those less experienced, it might be best to start with simpler Power Circles and not worry too much about the system, especially if they are not overly interested in extracting every ounce of power from it.
This is not the only aspect of the gameplay that leaves the player’s experience largely up to their own choice. For a game that is first and foremost a mystery dungeon-style game, there are a lot of different ways to approach it. The rangeons and mapgeons are two very different systems that will appeal to different crowds. Not to be too detailed, mapgeons are maps that have different set rules that can be cleared, while rangeons are 100-floor dungeons that are, by their nature, very different. Does one want to delve into a more randomised dungeon that they most certainly will not beat for the first 100 hours of playtime, or feel like delving into a dungeon that can reasonably be beaten and feel like they get something from it?
There are also a lot of push-your-luck elements in both the rangeon and mapgeons. As progress is made, the level of the enemies increases over time; however, some floors feature exit portals that let the player leave the dungeon. If a player dies, they lose all loot and half of the gold and experience points they have earned. This means that you are free to play at any difficulty you desire, as long as you are willing to accept the risks that come with it.
While reviewing this game, dungeons that were level 50+ were being explored at around level 20, and really pushed the limits. The party survived to tell the story, acquiring loot that carried them deep into the main story and a sense of gamer pride. These sorts of moments are rare to have in a game while still keeping it accessible, but Cladun X3 succeeds with flying colours.
The main story is, in contrast, remarkably simple with one-floor dungeons; however, they do come with optional challenges that can tickle the fancy of aspiring speedrunners. As a reward, the player is given fame for getting good times, which can be used to unlock some significant bonuses, such as an extra shop. It doesn’t hurt that the game also allows players to min-max their characters specifically to live out their speedrunning dreams, lowering those times beyond previously unimaginable barriers. For those who don’t want to participate in these speedrunning challenges, fame can be bought for gold at a very high rate to get the unlocks hidden behind the system.
It is, once again, remarkable how Cladun X3 manages to be an RPG that appeals to hardcore gamers of various types while still not leaving anyone behind. In terms of letting the player decide their own experience, it is among the best in class. The gameplay cycle also does not become as repetitive as one might worry about in a game of this genre. This is thanks to all of the random systems that can make the player either high roll and get to delve really deep into a dungeon, or get a cruel low roll and be forced to leave early. The fact that it is possible to shift between progressing the main story, exploring deep random dungeons, or even speedrunning makes it so that once one activity starts to feel boring, there are others available to explore, providing a rich and varied gameplay experience.
Cladun X3 is the game that basically becomes whatever the player wants it to be. Do they want to customise everything to fit their every aesthetic desire? Yep, the option is there. Do they want a hardcore experience? Yup, that exists! Do they just want a casual game to play to cool down with? Yeah, Cladun X3 can be that too! It is rare to see a game that is such a wonderful Swiss Army knife of different experiences. Fans of the genre should absolutely take a look at this game!
