Two strangers with seemingly separate paths are drawn to the mysterious village of Doolin where things are not what they seem. While one is looking to solve a murder, and the other is trying to find her past, both will be caught up together in the Netherworld where they hope to get the answers they seek.
I have a hard time calling Folklore a straight RPG as it has so many action/adventure characteristics that it has to be considered somewhere in between the two genres. There is experience and leveling but there is also a distinct amount of movement and tactical attacking that nicely balance each other out. In addition, the fights contain puzzle solving themes that take it beyond random button-mashing madness.
The game is played in two worlds; the real world, where you collect information and side objectives to further the story and the Netherworld, where you must fight your way past the Folk inhabitants. You must use the powers of captured Ids (spirits) to combat these enemies to gain more powerful Ids to fight with. Some Folk are like mini-puzzles as you attempt to find their weakness and exploit it to gain their powers. Others just take brutal beatings and still require a tug-of-war to release their spirits. Regardless, this mechanic is a valuable and rewarding aspect of the game.
I can’t emphasize enough how fun these battles became; testing different captured Ids against enemies, finding weakness and literally pulling the spirits out of them with an upward A
