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Utilitarian is perhaps the best way to sum up Operation Abyss: New Tokyo Legacy. Although it has all of the roleplaying game basics down to a tee, it does very little else to inspire. This no frills, no nonsense approach will still attract a crowd of genre die-hards, but for the more casual gamer, Operation Abyss is a hard sell and tough game to invest oneself in.

Throughout the game, players will command a team of six operatives known as the Xth Squad. All in their teens (as anime/manga convention demands) they have been tasked with wiping out a hidden threat known only as Variants. Leading up to the events of New Tokyo Legacy, this inescapable evil force has swept the world and now threatens to destroy your home city.

As Xth Squad you will travel to various urban locales, investigating Variant related crimes while also plummeting into a hostile zone known as the Labyrinth. It's here that players will spend most of their time, exploring dungeons and tackling incoming waves of Variants while filling the criteria for various missions.

The mark of a truly great roleplaying game isn't usually its story or characters, however. No, it comes down to innovative design, especially where combat is concerned. With the JRPG genre teeming with so many entries, the ones that truly stand above the rest are those able to cleverly tweak the tried and tested turn-based system.

Operation Abyss goes for the safer option though, presenting players with the same first person view and 2D graphics used in games like Etrian Odyssey and Dragon Quest. It's as basic as it sounds on paper with nothing in the way of unique or ingenious features. Players simply issue orders to attack, guard or use abilities as they cycle their wave through groups of enemies. It's serviceable, but never reaches for anything more than the genre's minimum requirements.

Sadly, gameplay outside of combat is equally as flavourless. When not talking to NPCs or pouring over a laborious number of menus, players will find themselves roaming dungeons as they look for their next objective. It wouldn't be so bad if each of these dungeons weren't so featureless, but while the tile-set will vary from dungeon to dungeon, the only sort of props or aesthetic features you will ever run into are walls and doors. It's unforgivably lazy.

1. Nails the basics.
2. Unique sci-fi story.

1. Dull combat.
2. Boring dungeons.
3. Weak lead characters.

With new and original ideas in very short supply, it's hard to recommend Operation Abyss to anyone who doesn't usually invest in offbeat Japanese roleplaying games. Yes, it may have all the essentials, but this is far from being a tour de force, feeling more like a flashy RPG Maker project than an actual published title.