What makes this so cool, you ask? Let me give you an explanation in different categories ...
Story
I'm not so clear on the whole storyline here, since it's all told in Japanese kanji, but my guess is that it takes place during some made-up events after Ragnarok back in ancient Norse mythological times. That's all I know.
EDIT: According to Game Spy's article, the story goes like this ...
" ... this RPG concerns a world torn apart by the strife of gods and demons -- a Second Advent is upon this time, and the warriors Ecthel and Ledah come together in a quest to determine the fate of the paradise land, Riviera."
Here's more from National Console Support, Inc.
"In Ragnarok, gods and demons fought and tore the world apart. As a slow recovery from the destruction begins, heroes Ecthel and Ledah venture off in an adventure to prevent the possible destruction of Riviera, aka the Paradise Land."
So, apparently, I was right on the nose about Ragnarok, but I only hit the left nostril. This is actually during the event of Ragnarok, in which the demons, angelic beings, and the spirits of the dead fight a bloody and massive war. Ecthel and Ledah are the two main characters that you see in the beginning of the game. The male character with the metal grey hair and the yellow sword is Ecthel (or, in English, he's referred to as Excel), and the other male with blonde hair, pale skin, wings, and the red zanbatou--a dagger at the end of a long wooden stick--is Ledah (I haven't found his English name yet).
Excel wields the mighty "Excellion"; the ultimate sword (ironic, eh?). It is not yet determined what Ledah's zanbatou's name is. Both characters are angels sent down to the land below during the middle of Ragnarok (which is pretty risky I might say) to save Riviera, the so-called "Promised Land", from going into turmoil and waste from the war.
Further investigation will be held at a later time.
Character Design
The characters are very well portrayed here, although the sprites kind of shy away from what the artwork shows how they really look like. For example, I thought that there was a human with hedgehog features, but when I saw their artwork in the mugshot, it was a guy wearing a purple hermit crab shell. Talk about wardrobe malfunction ...
Graphics
A friend coined the art style and sprites as Boktai-esque. Although, I've only seen very vague tidbits of Boktai (or my memory's crap), I kind of agree with him there. Although, the artwork is very clean and has, what I like to call, a "blinds shading" effect to it. Also, they keep the look and feel of an anime into the battles with different yet unique animations, as well as the special effects like the blurring of a sword when slashed at an enemy, or the summoning a spell.
Sound
The music in this game is very unforgettable if not catchy and addictive. It's just the same thing like the occasional orchestral music you find in Fire Emblem or Golden Sun, but in its own unique way. The sound is very crisp and refreshing, and there are not very many mistakes, if not any mistakes at all. The boss battle themes are very intriguing, as well, which makes me impatient to hear the final boss theme.
Gameplay
There is so much to explain about the gameplay, it's hard to keep it all down in a short and sweet summary. Basically, as far as I'm concerned, this isn't your typical RPG. Why? Instead of all the roaming around town, holding down the button that makes you run faster in a traditional RPG, you explore towns like you would on a turned-based strategy game (without the turn-based part). When exploring, you can go into two modes; Move--which speaks for itself--and Quest. In Quest mode, you can interact with suspicious objects, areas, and even people. This counteracts with just walking up to someone and pressing the A Button to talk or examine something, like you do in other RPGs. In this, it's very complex to maneuver (maybe even less if it were in English, which is the point of the poll).
The dungeons are the same for exploration, but only a little different. You have some semi-linear choices to make, between both Move and Quest modes. Sometimes you can open differents paths in Quest mode that you can go through in Move mode. Also, you can open chests in Quest mode--if there is one in the particular area of the dungeon that you're exploring--but most chests contain a simple but reflex-requiring mini game, in which you'll have to hit a corresponding pattern of buttons without any mistakes. Mess-up, and you lose 5% of your HP, and some other surprises, which can be frustrating to have in battles. And, of course, it wouldn't be a dungeon without some big-arse boss waiting for you at the end.
Moving along to the battle engine, it's a not-so complex system, but it may remind you of Fire Emblem's weapons system. Your party members can use any weapon or item in the arsenal that you're supposed to set up before the battle, which can be formed from choice weapons/items in your inventory. Note that, near the beginning of the game, you can only have up to four weapons/items in your arsenal, but as you progress, the number of weapons/items allowed in your arsenal will steadily increase. Also, you can use magic and support items in battles, but support items (like bread or healing verbs) are in limited quantities; this is why I referred to Fire Emblem.
Finally, within almost every exact event--between battles and interacting with people, objects, or peculiar spots--you can be awarded points, which adds to your score. Now, although this sounds very old school, there can be good things to come if you've gotten a high score for completing a dungeon. You might trigger special events which nabs you a very special item or weapon, and among other things. Also, it depends on how much points you earned that give you high grades in battle (you know the drill; grade F through S). Although that doesn't accomplish much, you'll feel like you've done something extraordinary out of everything else.
EDIT: I've got some info that might help my explanation for the Move and Quest modes. This is from National Console Support, Inc.
"The game is broken up into simple movement, quest, and attack phases. Choose to move by pressing the "B" button and the heroes will automatically move as if the page were being flipped. Arrows delineate where the heroes may move and generally only one path is available per screen. If a treasure chest is encountered in an new area that the heroes have walked into, the Quest mode can be triggered by pressing "A" which allows one of the heroes to open up to chest and plunder its contents."
Update - More on the battle engine ...
There are two meters within the battle scenario. The Overdrive meter is one of them, which can be filled when you give damage to an enemy or recieve it. The meter has three levels, and when it is competely filled to lv. 3, and if one of your party members has enough EXP with their weapon, they can perform an Over Skill, which is the best offensive maneuver in the game. But, if they have enough EXP with a different weapon than what they were originally assigned to, they can perform seperate levels of an Over Skill called a "Break Out". Break Out has three levels of power--prior to the Overdrive meter--and depending on what level the Break Out is, a section of the Overdrive meter will be depleted (e.g. a lv. 1 Break Out will take away one section of the meter). Though, if the character accomplishes a lv. 3 Break Out, it is moreover considered an actual Over Skill, since it drains the Overdrive meter completely.
Also, unlike any other RPG, the Overdrive meter can be broken, in the sense. So far, only the two main characters' Over Skills can break it, but there may be others.
The other meter is your party's Rage meter. This can be effected in a number of ways, but, there isn't any current knowledge of what it can do. One theory is that, the more the meter is filled, the higher the damage an attack will cause, but there will be a more unlikely chance of success.
Overall
Don't really take it from me. I did find this very enjoyable, and I posted this topic in order for you to cast your vote and see if you want this game to be translated or not. And I'm hoping--if this gets translated--that the American version doesn't really rip it apart like some other classic RPGs that have been around. But in any case, this game is unique in its own breath, and it takes you a short while to get used to the complex mechanics. If you want, go download the emulated version (if you can find it).
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And that's my review. I've prepared some eye candy in the form of screenshots so you don't have to go download it impatiently and see if it really is "remarkable".
EDIT: I added more screenshots.
Update - More screens for the female roles.
Posted 11 September 2005 - 06:13 PM
