Crimson Shroud Review

Crimson Shroud is one of the games that released in Japan as part of Guild01, a compilation of 3 3DS games (along with Aero Porter and Liberation Maiden.) The Guild01 titles are games that are bringing together incredibly talented people from all areas and backgrounds, and Crimson Shroud is no exception. Yasumi Matsuno is the designer, and he states that this game is best enjoyed sitting relaxed, as if enjoying a short story. Joining him are Joseph Reeder, Alexander Smith (FFXII, Vagrant Story, Tactics Ogre PSP), Hitoshi Sakimoto(FFXII, Ogre Battle, Tactics Ogre, Valkyria Chronicles) and Hideo Minaba(FFT, FFXII, Lost Odyssey.)
I was really happy to see Crimson Shroud recently localised on the 3DS eShop in America and Europe. For me, it released at the right time with near perfect timing. I had my last exam of the semester on the 17th of December and this game came out on the 13th-a couple days I had to wait-but I'd filled my mind with optical facts and tables for my last exam, so it wasn't a bad wait. But more than that, I've been in the mood to play some of those Fighting Fantasy "choose your own adventure" books and something short, sharp and well written. Crimson Shroud ticks all the boxes for me. Allow me to explain just why it does so.

Crimson Shroud is a turn based RPG that at first glance might look quite simple and luck based. The 'quirk' of the game could be described as the dice rolls which decide a lot of the outcomes in the battles and encounters. The game strives to emulate tabletop RPGs by bringing the dice rolls that are engrained in many RPGs to the surface and physically making the player roll the dice for many 'checks' that might normally be done in certain Dungeons and Dragons rulesets. Some examples of these dice rolls are trying to sneak unnoticed past enemy groups. If you roll a certain amount, you will successfully avoid encounter. In battle, you might have to roll to determine whether or not you can inflict a status effect or 'debuff' on an enemy. The battles are surprisingly well balanced affairs where it will never be more than 3 enemies against your group of 3. No encounters with 9 Black Dragons to be seen here. There is a good amount of depth to the combat, with different stat boosts, buffs and debuffs you can apply. Sometimes they will be absolutely necessary, as the enemies do hit hard and shouldn't be underestimated. There is no leveling up per se, the only way you get stronger is through equipment. The game brings to mind fairly linear RPGs aimed at mobiles such as Infinity Blade (debateable whether or not it is an RPG) where you have the odd choice to take one of two paths. There is a lot of backtracking and aimlessly trying to trigger events as you walk around the dungeon, which can get aggravating, especially a certain part early on in the game where you have to get a certain item that only one enemy will drop (and its pretty rare.)

Graphically the game has its faults. It can look jaggy in quite a lot of scenes, and the interface which shows the HP and MP of each unit clutters the screen, drawing lines from each unit to their respective bars. Add to this the 3D elements, which further confuse things, and you've got what can be a quite annoying look to the battles, in particular. However, I should say, the graphics aren't at all bad, and the style in which they are done is really nice, with some really well drawn characters. Its just a case of the screens being too small for what they wanted to fit on, and sometimes the screen won't show everything you need, or what you are looking for, you'll have to scroll over. The style of the game is modelled (pun intended =p) around the tabletop RPG and the miniatures that represent each character. As a result, the camera focuses on and pans over the static minis for each character. This serves an interesting purpose. With the abscence of obscene hand and facial gestures truncating the character's dialogues, you fill in the blanks with your mind, fleshing out characters in places, and forming ideas around them. All you will see is the occasional 'jiggle' of a character's base, as the player fiddles around. Its really quite cool.

The music is fairly grand in scale, with perhaps one or two themes that stand out as...just a little too unusual and experimental. Its a trend that I've noticed in a couple of games recently, FFXIII-2 being one example. For the most part, they are pretty atmospheric and serve to invoke the appropriate emotions. There was a fairly upbeat moment in Chapter 2 (?) where the characters were having a fairly amusing chat, and the song in the background was a little distracting... But there are some very interesting songs on there, reminiscent of some other games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Valkyria Chronicles (which makes sense given the staff involved.)

For such a short game, the creators (who you may know from some great RPGs such as Final Fantasy Tactics and Vagrant Story) have really infused a lot of depth into it, and each locale is described in prosaic language, really adding to what each aspect of this game strives to do-put the player into the game. You can really imagine these dank, echoing caves or the crumbled, sun bleached structures from lost civilisations. The characters benefit a lot from the odd musing from the main character, and the occasional back story flash back, but by the end of the game, there were a lot of aspects of the story and of each of the characters that confused me. I think the game could have used an extra 10 or 15 hours, and at times I was wanting more of it, its a really interesting world. Clocking in at 8-10 hours roughly, the game is a refreshing, unique RPG that is perfect for filling gaps in between epic 50+ hour games, or just if you're looking for something different. This one is definitely highly recommended from my end, a gamer who has only dabbled in the tabletop realm and appreciates well written worlds.

Gameplay: 7/10
Characters & Story: 8/10
Graphics: 7/10
Audio: 7/10

OVERALL: 7.5/10 
A solid early addition to the e-shop's RPG library, with some really interesting ideas.

Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love Review

OK, time for another review! This time it is on a Wii title that I was willing to pass on when I first heard about it, as it didn't exactly sound like my thing. The more I saw of it however, the more curious I became, and by the time it was announced for European audiences by publisher NIS America, I was curious enough to want to pick it up. I had read a few reviews and heard positive things about it, so what did my experience of this first of the series to be brought outside of Japan turn out to be?

Well, I was pleasantly surprised by this light hearted strategy rpg that is as full of anime cliches as it is cheese and mechs. For my first experience of the series, I was very satisfied and in future would definitely pick up other games in the series if they are ever readily available in English. Importing the titles for me isn't that appealing. Not because I am afraid I wouldn't like the games, its just down to the amount of dialogue and text that would be a bit of a barrier to enjoying the games. My Japanese is only the most basic understanding, so I would need to use a guide for understanding the stories. 

Before I start, I should note that this review is for the Wii version of the game, as we didn't get the PS2 version over here in Europe. I'll try and keep this review spoiler free as well.

Story and Characters

The story takes part in an alternate universe full of steampunk mechs and strangely advanced technology, this really got me interested in the game, but unfortunately wasn't utilised as well as it could have been, apart from the mechs and some other technology. More emphasis seems to fall on the characters and how they interact with each other. The story follows Shinjiro Taiga, an ensign that travels to 1920s New York to lead a fighting troupe disguised as a musical troupe to defeat an evil warlord and his subordinates from conquering America as its kingdom. Yeah, it sounds like something from Power Rangers or some ridiculous anime and at times it basically is. If you go into this expecting a deep, dark, serious story you will probably be dissapointed. Or at least, you won't get that, but hopefully you will enjoy it regardless. I had a lot of fun with it.

The characters are probably where the focus of the game lies. The amount of dialogue and character building throughout this relatively short (20 or 30 hrs) RPG is quite impressive. Shinjiro is at first not taken seriously by the rest of the squad. He came over to America in place of his father or uncle, who was some kind of legend in the military. So he has to prove himself worthy, and does so slowly throughout the game. Within the game, of the 8 chapters, there are 5 or 6 which are mainly devoted to telling backstory of one of the other girls in the squad as they either join the squad or have some problem that needs to be solved. Through these chapters, you learn more about the character's past and it uncovers a lot about them. 

Gemini Sunrise
A very cheerful cowgirl who tends to be a bit clumsy. Her master's last words bring her from Texas to New York with her horse, Larry(?!). She is very interested in Japanese culture and tends to daydream often.
Sagiitta Weinberg (Cheiron Archer in the English language version)
A strong-willed lawyer who practices out of Harlem. She is very intelligent and is recognized for her exceptional perseverance, toughness, independence and confidence. She serves as a sub-antagonist in Episode 2 as she works with Steam Frontier to demolish her hometown of Harlem. After facing her in a mock trial, Shinjiro helps remind her why she studied law in the first place and becomes closer with him.
Rikaritta Aries (Rosarita Aries in the English language version)
A Mexican markswoman and bounty hunter despite being only 11 years old. She is very energetic with an abundant appetite and obsession with food.
Diana Caprice
A local birdwatcher who is incredibly compassionate. She is a doctor in training who has initially given up all hope to live until Shinjiro comes and gives her the hope she needed to keep going, despite everything she's been through.
Subaru Kujo
Subaru's true gender and age are completely unknown, though the character tends to use pronouns such as "herself" when speaking in the third person. However, Subaru is definitely a noble from a Japanese family and excels at Noh and other traditional Japanese dances.

There are a few supporting characters in Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love include Ratchet Altair, a former captain of the European Star Division and captain of New York's Fighting Troupe until Shinjiro replaces her, she becomes the vice-commander soon after; Michael Sunnyside, the commander of the Star Division; Cherry Cocker (Plum Spaniel in the Japanese version) and Anri Yoshino of the Rainbow Division, who help the Star Division in battles; Yuichi Kayama of the Moon Division, who owns a Romando shop; and Xingzhi Wong (Gyouchi Oh in the Japanese language version), who is the designer of the STARs and owns a Chinese restaurant. Unfortunately, many of these supporting characters aren't developed as much as they could have been I felt. Yuichi, for example, remains way too mysterious. 

You might be able to tell from these characters that the game has an intensely Japanese feel to it, and you would be correct on that. Despite being set in America, the Japanese culture seems to be deeply ingrained in the game. I found that strange at times but appreciated it as we don't get many games like this. The characters are very strong and over the top and really make this game succeed in my opinion.

Gameplay

In Sakura Wars: So Long My Love, the gameplay is split into two sections-Adventure Mode and Battle Mode. Adventure mode is where you will spend time with the other characters, talk with them and look for various things around the city, all the while building your friendships and relationships with the other members of the New York Combat Revue's Star Division, who, as it turns out, are all girls who you can eventually go out with. Yeah, it definitely feels like a harem anime at times. There is quite a bit of variation in Adventure mode. You will usually have some kind of goal or deadline, before which you should try and accomplish or find something. Outside of that, you will usually have a lot of leeway; you can do things as you see fit. You will have to make a lot of choices, and these come in the forms of multiple choice responses to questions or conversations. Sakura Wars uses the "LIPS" system, seen in many of the other games in the series. There are four types of the LIPS system, these consist of Normal LIPS, which is displayed when the player must make a decision in a certain time period. If you run out of time, you will get a hidden response(usually not a good one); Analog LIPS, which the player can raise the action gauge up or down depending on the situation ie. to shout if you raise the gauge, or speak quietly if you decrease the gauge; Double LIPS, which gives the player a longer amount of time to make important decisions; and Stick LIPS, where the player can manipulate the Analog Sticks to follow commands on screen and raise gauges depending on the situation. As you go through the game, your relationships between Shinji and the other characters grow for better or worse depending on the choices you take, and this is how your characters become stronger in battle. If you are getting on well with a certain character, they will get boosts to their stats in battle; do more damage, take less damage and so on. For me, that was quite an interesting idea in a strategy rpg-there is no grinding to keep up, instead it ties the Adventure mode and the Battle mode together really well. It also puts some degree of challenge into the game. If you screw up a lot of the questions, and this is fairly easy to do in some chapters, where it seems like you are supposed to fall out of favour with the character the chapter focuses on, then you will find it hard to keep that character alive in battle. One thing that frustrated me a lot was that when the character falls in battle, they dislike you even more. I could rage on the stupidness of that...sure I am in control of their actions, but it was their fault they didn't like me to begin with, so they hate me even more when they get themselves killed in battle? @#"%! off! Anway, it didn't really get to the stage that the characters hated me, there are always plenty of options to get them back on your good side. And I can see that they were trying to make the game a bit more tricky.

Battle mode is where you and your team pilot their mechs in a strategy RPG battle system. There is no grid, but similar to say Valkyria Chronicles, when you select a unit, they will have a limit to how many actions they can perform in that turn. There are quite a few options you can choose from: normal attacks, joint attacks, unique supermoves for each character, healing, defending and perhaps some others that I can't remember. There are overall mission strategems that Shinjiro can select on his turn. These skew your characters in one of three directions in terms of stats. You can also transform into the mobile forms of your mechs for aerial battles in certain battles. Sometimes this is used for moving between areas of the battlefield and at other times you need to fight battles in these forms. This adds a whole new layer of depth to the battles and I appreciated this function. I mean, transforming mechs! How can that not make a game better?! =D 

The game is relatively easy once you get used to it. I actually died on the first battle, but after that I got used to it and didn't have many problems until one or two battles right at the end that I had to retry a few times. 

Graphics

Graphically, this game isn't the best titles I've seen on the Wii, far from it. The only times that this really bugged me at all was during the battles, when it doesn't look particularly good in places. I mean, the graphics don't look terrible but they aren't exactly very standout either. They are kinda basic polygonal mechs with not the most detail in their designs, but hey, I wasn't that bothered about them. The graphics, while not the best, didn't particularly detract from my experience of the game. Some of the attacks in battle are nice and flashy, which is good. The character portraits are fairly well done for the most part. 

It does have some gorgeous anime cutscenes, there are a fair few more than a lot of other RPGs out there which only usually have one or two. Still, I would have liked more of these cutscenes.

Audio

The soundtrack to this game fits well with what you would imagine 1920s New York to sound like, and is fairly consistent all the way throughout. Perhaps there are not quite enough tracks, but I thought some of the tracks felt a bit overused. I was starting to get sick of the same songs after a while, even though the game isn't particularly long. Little things like that can begin to grate on my nerves subconsciously for me, at least.

The songs in there are fairly upbeat and catchy, with others that are a bit more serious during certain scenes. Kohei Tanaka's work on this game fits pretty well.

Overall: 8/10

This is a fun, light hearted game that is probably best enjoyed if you are a fan of anime, strategy rpgs, mechs and perhaps dating sims or visual novels. Its a bit of a mix of all of those things and the result is very Japanese and very enjoyable. It may seem on the short side at 20 or so hours, but there is a lot of replayability in there if you want to try and get all the endings. I think there is one for each of the main girls in the story. I'd recommend this Wii title, I liked what I saw of it. 

I'd give it a 8/10. The only reason I'd drop 2 marks would be for perhaps the shortcomings in the story and some of the areas feeling a little bland and lacking depth, ie. some battles.

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies Review

I thought I'd try get back into reviewing games as I've not done any since I was involved in my Final Fantasy marathon, of sorts. I'm always looking to improve on my review writing though, I tend to go on about things a bit uneccessarily, in terms of length. Plus the rating system is something I've always struggled with. Currently, I'm using a rating out of 10 points (10=top), with individual ratings for certain categories ie. Graphics, Gameplay and a few others, you'll see which ones over the course of this review. (If you read it)

So, first a little about my experience of the series and some background. I'm a fan of the Dragon Quest series, I have been for a few years since I initially played Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 (one of the spin off titles) many years ago. I actually picked up a copy of the first Dragon Warrior Monsters when one of my good friends randomly sent it out to me in along with a lot of other stuff, but thats another story. I've played DQIV and V on the DS (the recent remakes) and really enjoyed them. I'm definitely looking forward to picking up the last of those 3 games when it is released eventually. Dragon Quest VI will be remade for the DS at some point soon, I'm hoping. I still need to get around to playing Dragon Quest VIII on the PS2, I've heard a lot of good things about it, plus based on what I've liked about the series, I might pick up some of the older games at some point if I can find them. So how does this one rank in terms of an entry point to the series? Well, in short, I think it is a fairly good entry point. Similar to Final Fantasy, there isn't any overarching story between the games, so  you don't have to worry about not having played I through VIII before this. Secondly, this one has many of the core aspects fans of the series enjoy, but mixes things up slightly as well, and has some features that will keep people interested, such as the job system, side quests etc. Lastly, this one is not a massively long game, and has a good difficulty balance-it isn't overly grindy or hard so newcomers will not necessarily be turned off. By no means do I believe I am an expert on the series, so hopefully that is clear and hopefully that viewpoint will resonate with some of you out there in reading this review-maybe some of you are in similar situations having played a few of the games and enjoyed them.

Gameplay

Ok, starting with the gameplay. This is one area in which the games are very similar it seems. The fans love the games because of the traditional feel to them-from what I've heard they haven't deviated much from the original games in terms of the battle system, lengthy dialogue explaining things, menus and many other things. So its clear that you have to be ok with the relatively (some might say) archaic gameplay mechanics in order to enjoy these games. Personally, I am fine with this. I don't want to over-generalise, but many jrpgs and some western rpgs still reuse a lot of the unique features that were seen years ago in the genre. Anyway, I am going off on a tangent. 

So where to start? The battle system perhaps. The battle system in this is pretty standard stuff. It has the same commands as some of the other games in the series; you can set up tactics and lineup in the middle of battles (but it isn't that important, I didn't use those once the whole game.) You have standard attacks, spells, abilities, as well as Coup de Grace attacks (basically limit break type attacks depending on the vocation your character has.) So there is quite a lot of depth to the battle system, mainly coming from the different attacks and abilities each enemy has, and the ones your party has access to. It is quite a traditional turn based battle system, basically the same as IV and V although they do make this one look a lot better. The enemies move and the backgrounds are fairly nice but nothing groundbreaking. I do like that when you've selected your moves, the characters and enemies move around the battlefield in order to launch their attacks. It reminded me of FFXIII. Its kind of unneccessary but makes it more interesting to look at. One thing that was absent from this game was the monster recruiting seen in other games in the series. It added a lot in my opinion and would have liked it if this one had that feature. Although there is plenty more to make up for the lack of that. 

There is a lot of optional content to partake in. There are 184 sidequests, including the ones that have to be unlocked via wi-fi. These range from simple fetch quests, item quests and alchemy quests to very challenging combat related accomplishments which might unlock one of the 12(?) vocations and quests involving grottoes, which are pretty challenging postgame dungeons. I'll mention quickly that there is a lot to do after the main story. You'll definitely get your money's worth with this game. Other than the quests, there is the Wardrobe and Item List, the Alchemy list (I can't spell it off the top of my head) and Accolades, which are essentially titles given when you reach certain milestones ie. 1000 battles or progress in your main character's skill tree. Some might not really be that bothered about the accolades, but I think they could be fun to get, and definitely add to the list of things to do, at least for some people.

Traditional stuff: Saving in churches, still there of course, although the quicksave is there and is a welcome addition for a portable game. I used it a few times when I had to get off the bus or whatever. You still need to go to a churce to find out how much exp you need to level up, but there is a spell to make up for that. Thats a minor addition, but it does show that they were trying to move away from some of the pointlessly annoying mechanics. Which brings me to the next point, there are no random encounters in this game, instead, you've got monsters appearing on the world map or dungeon you are in, similar to a lot of games now ie. Tales of Symphonia. If you touch the enemies, you then get drawn into one of the turn based battles. This might have annoyed purists and it can be annoying when you are trying to farm certain enemies such as Metal Slimes, but it does help in places for example when you have to backtrack or run a large distance across the map. Personally, I'd probably rather have the random battles, but its not to say I don't like this system. I enjoyed this as a slight departure from the standard of the series.

I've been going on about the gameplay for about 3 years now, so I'll quickly run over the last few things. There is a strong multiplayer aspect to this game, you can do co-op multiplayer via a local network ie. you need to be in ds-ds close range. But what happens is your friends replace any of your 3 'NPC' characters, well NPC isnt right..I mean they replace any of the characters in your party who are not your main character. I think they get boosted experience while doing this, so that is something I haven't tried but could be fun. You can also do multiplayer things with Treasure Maps and other stuff. In some ways, the game seems intended for this multiplayer, which of course would have had a better chance of taking off in Japan with the serie's success there. Perhaps the game would have benefited from wi-fi multiplayer available from the start, and the Japanese release. So does the game feel weaker as a result of this multiplayer aspect? I don't think so. It doesn't feel essential, but it feels like it could be very seamless and easy to set up. I'd have to experience it to say more though.

Gameplay: 9/10

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Story and Characters

The story in Dragon Quest IX started out full of promise for me. The story starts out in the Observatory, a stronghold in the sky inhabited by the Celestrians, a winged guardian angel race essentially. Your character (which you can customise in a fairly deep creator) basically has to protect and help out the mortals in the realm of the Protectorate below, in order to gather crystallised Benevolessence (yeah, some stupid names in this game.)  The story takes a bit of a twist and you are forced to gather up Fyggs. This takes the form of mini stories involving different towns, and usually a dungeon and boss to solve a major plot quest. I felt this stop start story telling went on a bit too long, you have to gather up 7 Fyggs from what I remember, and meanwhile the main story is essentially put on hold. It leaves a lot of things to the end, in which it picks up a bit, but I was still feeling a bit confused when I first learned of the character who was to be the end boss. The story could have been handled better, but I did enjoy it when it worked. The characters in this game are another area in which the game could have been a lot stronger. The main character and the Celestrians are fairly interesting, we see them at the start and through various points in the story, but perhaps not enough is shown of Apus Major and the other ones. I would have liked more cutscenes interspersed throughout the game, especially during the Fygg collecting bit of the story. Stella, the fairy that joins you throughout your quest is actually quite funny and a good addition. My main gripe about the characters is that the 3 other party members do not talk or have any personality. This is due to the fact that they easily swap out in the event of co-op multiplayer. They are also randomly generated using the character creator. Although you can make your own if you are not happy, you could end up with some bizarre looking silent party members. To be honest, I didn't mind the fact that they didn't have any dialogue. A lot of RPGs are similar in that respect, plus I like the fact that you have a lot of customisation options, in terms of appearance and vocation for your party.

Story and Characters: 7/10

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Graphics

For a DS game, Dragon Quest IX actually looks pretty good. While its obviously not up to the level of Dragon Quest VIII, a PS2 game, textures and colours look pretty good. It seems it is in the same direction as VIII, a semi-cel shaded look for this one. They had the same developers on board for this one and it does show. Things are outlined in black and look quite bold and vibrant. There is a lot of detail put into the important characters and the polygonal stuff never looks too rough or pixelated (not obtrusively so, at least.) 

The graphics in battle look really good compared to the remakes of IV and V. Everything is smooth: the enemies and your character's models are very well done, and move around the battlefield without any technical issues. The font and numbers in battle, for displaying damage etc are clear, easy to read and link in with the sound effects very well. 

The monsters, many of which are staples of the series are well animated and well rendered, especially in the overworld and dungeons. As for cutscenes, they look very nice in this game, with a sketchy, watered down colour look to them. They look good in my opinion and don't seem to tax the DS hardware that much. Take a look at this video and see what I mean. Of course, a bit is lost in quality in the transition to youtube, but you'll at least understand what I mean by the style.

So, it has a nice graphical style throughout, the only real flaw I can note is that there is slowdown in places on the overworld and towns. This only seems to happen occasionally when you have a full party of 4 and there is a lot going on in the area. Its isn't crippling, just a very minor slowdown of things. It might annoy some people, but it is on the verge of unnoticeable. Very good looking game in terms of a DS title. You can tell it was developed with the DS in mind.

Graphics: 8.5/10

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Audio

I was speaking about the combo system in battle earlier. Think of it as a Zelda: Wind Waker style combo system linked with the sound effects. If your characters hit an enemy in close succession, you will get a boost in damage, 1.2x and so on, indicated by a sound effect. This was a nice addition and the sound here is integrated very well. 

Overall, the audio quality is good for a DS game, but many of the actual tracks weren't that memorable. They do fit in with the tone of a lot of the scenes though. I feel they won't be given much credit, as they don't jump out and scream in your face, if you know what I mean. Instead, they are well orchestrated pieces of music by the series composer Koichi Sugiyama. The tone of the story in many places is actually quite dark and sad and some of these pieces fit quite well with the melancholy mood. Some songs are nice and light though as well, like the Tavern song. The battle theme is fairly average, but it works. Its the "I Won't Lose" video below. 

Audio: 7/10

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So overall, I do recommend this game-I had a lot of fun with it and I intend to go back and do more of the postgame optional stuff at some point. The game isn't perfect, but I think its nearly right up there amongst my favourite DS games, despite its few flaws. So if you are one of the people who haven't picked this up and are interested in it, go out and get it. I hope you'll enjoy it. If you weren't interested in this to begin with and managed to read all the way to here, well, thank you! =D I hope I've sold you on this game, which as with all Dragon Quest games, has a lot of charm. There is something about them that always draws me in. This is a solid title, and comes recommended.

Overall: 8/10

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Information on the game:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_quest_ix

http://dragonquest.nintendo.com/

http://www.nintendo.co.uk/NOE/en_GB/games/nds/dragon_quest_ix_sentinels_of_the_starry_skies_17296.html

Upcoming Review Schedule.

Woot! I'm writing some reviews again! I must have too much time on my hands. They are kinda like ninjas on this site, seldom seen...and..they have throwing stars..(gimme a break, I had to make that awesome pic relevant XD) I don't know if you guys care about reviews much, hopefully you do. Feel free to leave me feedback though, as I'm always happy to take criticism on board if it can help me improve in the future, and review writing is something I quite enjoy (if I can find the time to do a good job on them.)

Anyway, these are planned-expect them in the next few weeks, probably in this order:

Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DS) ~ Wed 25th August

Sakura Wars: So Long My Love (Wii) ~ Wed/Thurs 1st or 2nd September

Demon's Souls (PS3) ~ ???

Ys Seven (PSP) ~ possibly, when I finish it. I am aiming to finish the game this week.

If by some miracle I get through them, I might do some more, I'm sure there are games I finished and had wanted to review but never got around to it. I can't exactly remember what ones though..

RPG heavy...thats all I play apparantely XD

Final Fantasy VI Advance Review.

Ok, I thought I'd review Final Fantasy VI Advance (GBA) since I was quite impressed after recently playing through it as part of my Final Fantasy Challenge. Anyway, on with the review.

[Some minor spoilers ahead]

Gameplay

The gameplay is quite solid. The game utilises the same ATB battle system as many of the other Final Fantasy games. There aren't that many refinements or quirks that set it out as being that different, however it still is good. Instead of basic summons/eidolons like in FFIII and IV, you have Espers (which there are a lot of), one of which can be equipped to each character at a time. They can be summoned once per battle for decent support, healing or offensive attacks, and after the battle is over, you get exp and magic AP, which goes towards the magic you learn from that equipped esper. So you can learn magic and get permanent stat boosts from each level as a result of the espers. I really liked the esper system in this game, and it was what I spent most time grinding on to improve my characters. Perhaps it makes the game slightly easy however, as even my weaker characters(which had much lower stats than my main guys and slightly lower levels) could still do really decent damage against the end game enemies and bosses with overpowered spells like Ultima.

There is quite a bit to do in terms of extra stuff, like finding Blue Magic (Lore in this game), Dances, Blitzes, and other special attacks characters can learn. Fairly solid, but not hugely original gameplay here. Still, I can't really put my finger on any faults. From what I can tell, this FFVI Advance is the definitive version, as it adds a couple more summons, an optional dungeon, as well as improving the translation. Sadly, that means no Fenix down in this one. =p

Gameplay - 8/10

***

Story and Characters

These are probably the two aspects of FFVI Advance that impressed me most (although I really enjoyed the music as well.) From the start, the story involves Terra and some Imperial soldiers marching across a plain to the town of Narshe. They are heading there to find a frozen esper. The Espers have quite an important part in the story and the schemes of the Emperor and Kefka. As the game goes on, Terra finds it strange that she has no memories. She comes into contact with Locke and he introduces her to the Returners, a group of militants opposing the 'evil empire.' From there she decides to join them and the story goes on from there. There is a lot of dialogue,  which is very well written and it keeps the story strong throughout. I really like the style of the writing as well. Here's the opening passage.

"The ancient War of the Magi... When its flames at last receded, only
the charred husk of a world remained. Even the power of magic was
lost... In the thousand years that followed, iron, gunpowder, and steam
engines took the place of magic and life slowly returned to the barren
land. Yet there now stands one who would reawaken the magic of ages
past and use its dreaded power as a means by which to conquer all the
world. Could anyone truly be foolish enough to repeat that mistake?"

The characters have quite a bit of backstory and depth to them, there are quite a few characters I like. From the depth that comes from Terra's past with the empire(involving brainwashing and their exploitation of her), to the relation between Sabin and Edgar and the throne of Figaro, there are a lot more characters, most of which are quite well developed (perhaps with the exception of Umaro and Gogo). There are 14 playable characters in total, I thought this was slightly too many. I mean, I know choice is a good thing, but at the end of the game, you need to take 3 seperate teams of up to 4 into Kefka's Tower. So this means you more or less need to grind out a lot of spells, abilities and levels onto characters you might not necessarily like. 

Still, the story and characters were two aspects of the game I really liked. One thing I like about the game is the settting, its different from some of the other Final Fantasy games in that it is set in a steampunk world in which magic and the espers are important. We are told about the War of the Magi in the past, which wreaked havoc on the world and now steam power is prevalent, with machines all across the world. Gestahl and Kefka are seeking to find a way to infuse magical energy into their machines of war. From there, Terra becomes an important part of the story, as do the Espers.

Story and Characters - 9/10

***

Graphics

I haven't played either the SNES or PS1 version of the game, so can't really compare them at all. Anyway, I would always treat a GBA game as a GBA game, not as a remade SNES game when it comes to reviewing. So, for the FFVI Advance remake, they touched up the graphics, making them work on the GBA. The 2D sprites in battle look really good, especially when you cast support effects like Vanish, Haste, Protect, Shell etc on them. I was amazed fighting the end boss, the sprites are really gorgeously drawn. In combination with the music, you feel like you are fighting a deity. 

The only times the graphics felt bad to me were the cutscenes when the airship flies through caves, across the world, or when you are on chocobos. The capabilities of the GBA in those cutscenes feel quite inadequate at those points. At times, you can't really tell what is going on. Still, thats only a handful of times throughout the game, otherwise, the graphics are pretty good.

Graphics - 7/10

***

Audio

As far as the sound quality on here is, its a GBA game so some of the compression to fit everything on the cart means the quality is affected compared to say, the PS1 version. Still, apart from the Opera scene when the voices seemed a bit funny, it didn't really ever bother me.

The tracks on this game are pretty damn good. It has a lot of good songs-I'd say it has a better soundtrack than VIII and probably IX, just as a comparison to the other FF games I've played recently. 

Terra's Theme,  Dancing Mad (which is AMAZING during the final battle) and Darkness and Starlight (the opera theme) are some of the ones that stick out in my mind as being really good. As far as I can remember, the music fits all the locations in the game quite well, really adding to the feel of the game.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_of_Final_Fantasy_VI

Here is the amazingly intricate and dramatic Dancing Mad (in two parts due to it's length)

Audio - 8/10

***

Overall, its a pretty damn good game. Sure its not the most original story, or gameplay system, but there are few flaws in this game, and everything adds together really nicely. Definitely give it a try if you haven't. I'd say it goes straight in to my top 3 favourites of the Final Fantasy series.

Overall - 8/10

Final Fantasy VIII Review.

Thought I'd do this before I forget the stuff that I was going to say in this review. [I have memory like a sieve.]

So, on with the review! Final Fantasy VIII was released back in 1999 on the Playstation, and was ported to the PC the year after. I haven't played the PC version, even though I cough*downloaded it so this review is for the Playstation version. Oh, it also has been put up on the PSN this year, to join a couple of Square's other PS1 RPGs. 

[This will possibly contain some spoilers.]

Gameplay

This is the main area which puts people off this game. It has got a LOT of criticism from people over the years, usually the tedious draw system and unusual junction system is what puts most people off. After FFVII, I think they wanted to try something slightly different than the Materia system, and this is quite a bit different, but with some slight similarities. 

If you haven't played it this is what it is like briefly. Each character has no set class or job, so in the same way as VII, you can shape the stats and abilities as you wish. The main way in which you can influence your character's stats is the junction system. You can equip or junction GFs(summons) to your characters, which lets you junction magic to that character, based on the abilities that Guardian Force knows. It is the magic that boosts your stats, which is one thing that can be annoying (if your character doesn't have much magic available.) I don't really see why they abbreviated so many of the abilities so strangely. Maybe they had to fit them into the menu screens(which there are a lot of, some of which are quite badly organised.) The abilities, I remember a lot of people didn't understand a lot of the GF's abilities when they played it. Mag+20% raises a character's Magic stat by 20%, but then you have stuff like GFHP+20% and SumMag+10%, which raise that GF's stats, HP and Magic respectively. I dont see why they couldn't use GF or Sum for both, woulda made sense, or just lose the whole abbreviation thing. I am getting into minor annoyances I know... Some other ridiculous named abilities: Expendx2-1 and GFAbl Med-RF. Its not only the names that are odd...some of the Command Abilities like Devour, Darkside etc really aren't explained well. Its kinda hard to tell what some of them do, sure I can look on a guide, but I'd rather be able to tell from within the actual game. I don't think I equipped any of them very often. Anyway, I think that is all the negative stuff I got to say about the Junction system, there are some interesting positive points to it as well. Late on when you get a lot of decent magic you can really boost your stats really effectively. Magics like Quake are pretty good to put junctioned to attack, to do anywhere near decent damage physically. You really need to boost your attack or magic stats if you dont want to rely on spamming GFs every turn against every enemy(which I did for most of the game until I got decent magic) Then you have status magic, like Blind, Berserk etc, these can be junctioned up to St-Def (status defense) or St-Atk, which either give you some resistance from that ailment or a chance of inflicting that status with each physical attack, and the percentages are based on the amount of the magic junctioned, and also the spell equipped. Similarly, you can also put elemental spells to elem-atk and elem-defense to get either resistance from elemental attacks like Firaga, Blizzaga or Thundara or a resistance to the element equipped.

So there are a LOT of customisation options, but I kind of felt that the clunkiness and awkwardness of the junction system was the main flaw in this game, as any time I was struggling with the game, it was usually down to problems stemming from the Junctions; either I didn't have the right spells to junction up to help me, didn't have the right setup, and tweaking it led to me getting past the bit that was giving me problems or the GFs I had equipped didn't give my character the ability I needed. ie. imagine I was going up against enemies that inflict a lot of status ailments, like the Marlboros (which are apparantely one of the strongest enemies in the game.) You would need a couple St.def slots available on each of your characters to protect against Bad Breath, which inflicts all statuses. Now, not all the GFs learn the abilities that give you multiple slots. I can't quite remember if there are items to teach your GFs St.defx3 or the other ones, but this really adds to the challenge, the fact that you might not be able to junction multiple spells to defense. You can equip weapons, but no accessories or armour to help at all, that was one thing I think it coulda used, this game. 

The draw system is one thing that really frustrated me in this game. Its not like the other Final Fantasy games where you either learn the spells and have unlimited supplies, based on MP or some such. Each character in FFVIII has their own stock of finite magic, which can be drawn from enemies and Draw Points in the world, or refined from items/cards(which I'll come to later). This actual drawing is done through battle mainly. Each turn your characters can choose to draw a spell from an enemy, and they receieve somewhere between 1 and 11 each time, based on their Mag stats. So to get 100 of each spell on each character, it can be very tedious. You can usually incapacitate the enemies and just keep drawing over and over to max out that spell, perhaps Haste'ing your guys to help out, but I still lost interest after a while, and could have put more time into drawing spells early on. It would have probably helped. Anyway, this is what usually annoys people about this game. 

Still, it isn't the only way to get magic in the game, and it perhaps isnt the most efficient either. You can learn some quite helpful abilities from the GFs, in the form of the RF abilities, which refine either items, medicine or spells from items or cards from the Triple Triad minigame. Some of the Rarer cards refine into some really awesome products, like one of the brothers cards, which refines into 100 Dino Bones. Do that and you are pretty much set for 100 Quakes on all your characters if you refine the Dino Bones into magic. Refine cards like Laguna and you get even better results. You can get some really good spells in the game, like Auras and Heros, which is one of those ways of doing the end boss that a lot of people see as 'cheap.' I dunno, its in the game, so you might as well use it if you got it. Meltdown is pretty damn awesome as well. Anyway, I'm basically saying that there are a lot of ways of doing things in this game, a lot of things to exploit or just to make your characters strong. Which is definitely a strength of the gameplay in FFVIII.

So I would say there is a lot to do in terms of customisation and lots of interesting gameplay elements, but I feel that some of them are a bit 'hit or miss', maybe flawed in some aspects.

Gameplay ~ 7/10

***

Story and Characters

The story follows the characters Squall Leonhart, Zell Dincht, Quistis Trepe and Selphie Tilmitt initially, who are part of Balamb Garden, an institute for SeeDs. From what I can tell, they are essentially mercenaries...but early on, I really didn't like that the SeeDs weren't explained too well. Even by the end, I think they aren't really fleshed out very much. More back story and explanation would have been good there. An example, the SeeDs were formed initially to deal with the sorceresses, thats about as much as you get there. And Ultimecia's motives are never really explained much, even at the end she only has a few nonsensical lines. 

But anyway now, the story.

Squall and the others get roped into a few missions near the start, like clearing up problems in the Dollet area. Gradually, more and more responsibility is heaped upon Squall and the others, and they head off to Timber, to help out with a resistance faction, where the party meets Rinoa Heartilly, who will become a central character before long. 

The story starts off quite slowly, and really doesn't pick up speed till the later discs I think. One thing that kind of frustrated me initially (but I can see why they did it now that I've beaten the game) was the way they really didn't give an awful lot away at first. There is a lot of mystery, and things to do with the plot are left largely unexplained until later. For example, when you get on the train to Timber (I think), Squall's party fall asleep or unconscious and control is shifted to another group, Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. The strange thing is, Squall and the others are aware of their actions, and refer to it initially as the dream world. The connection between the two worlds, times, Ellone and the sorceresses is fully explained as you reach the later discs. The mystery really keeps you interested, I found, even though it was quite slow moving. 

I like the way that Squall was done. At first, he is your typical brooding, quiet teenager, he sits in his room at Balamb and thinks, but he slowly opens up later on, with the help of Rinoa and the others.

By the end of it, I was quite interested to see what would happen. It starts to get quite confusing with all the talk of time magic, but the story really grew on me right up till the end, by which time I was quite impressed with it. Lots of emotion really pulled the game through, because some of the characters are quite bland and I think could have been better developed.

Story & Characters ~ 7/10

***

Graphics

I remember playing this game back nearer the time it came out and being really impressed with it. Especially the summons and cutscenes. Man. The cutscenes in this game are really done well for the most part. Playing it now, it looks a bit dated in places, like the character polygons (or whatever they are...I just wanted to use that word =p) but I still think the graphics hold up today, which is very good considering its more than 10 years old, more than that, I think the graphics are actually better than the next game in the series, Final Fantasy IX (released in 2000.)

Graphics ~ 8/10

***

Audio

The music for me in this game was good, but didn't really seem to have as many really memorable tracks as some of the other games, like Terra's Theme and Darkness and Starlight(the opera theme) from Final Fantasy VI and One Winged Angel from Final Fantasy VII. Thats not to say there aren't any good tracks in the FFVIII soundtrack. The Extreme, which plays at the final stages of the game, is amazing. It kept me on edge throughout. 

I really liked the music that played when you were doing the sorceress stages in the game as well, like Fithos Lusec Wecos Vinosec which plays when you are going to assassinate Sorceress Edea in Deling City, one of the quite dramatic bits of the game. That disc ended quite nicely I thought. Very atmospheric and intense music there.

What else noticeable? I quite liked the strange music you got when you were in control of Laguna et al in the dream world and Lunatic Pandora. It gives it this unusual otherworldly feel I thought. The latter song while not exactly amazing, gave it atmosphere and kind of fit. I think they tried a lot different in this Final Fantasy, some of it worked and some didn't exactly work so much.

These videos are two of my favourite tracks from FFVIII. There are plenty of atmospheric songs in the game.

Audio ~ 7/10

***

Overall, I enjoyed the game and quite like some aspects of it, like the relationship that forms between Squall and Rinoa and the way the characters grow (if only a little) throughout. The story, by the end of the game, and assuming you understand what is going on, is really quite epic. I love the idea of time compression, and moving through time and space to face Ultimecia at the grand finale, its a brilliant notion.

Overall ~ 7/10

Shadow of the Colossus Review

Ok, I thought I'd review this since it really impressed me recently. I eventually beat it after taking quite a while to play it (a couple months of on and off play) even though it is a relatively short game. It is quite a unique game and I've been thinking it could be a challenge to review in the same categories as I normally use. Anyway...

Shadow of the Colossus (PS2)

This game was released not very long ago-Feb 2006 in PAL regions and a couple months earlier elsewhere. it was one of the later PS2 games to be released and I think many people missed out on it and it really deserves some more attention. It is quite an amazing game, with a few minor flaws.

Gameplay

The game plays like an action/adventure with a fair shake of adventuring(?) and platforming thrown in. Think Zelda crossed with Assassin's Creed perhaps. It is quite an unusual game in that the only enemies you fight are 16 colossi, which are essentially epic big boss battles where they are actually the stage you fight on for the most part. So for one thing, this makes the game relatively short. I finished the game in 12 and a half hours or so, but I don't think that counts the times I got killed and had to retry. Anyway, in my opinion the game time isn't really a negative point in that the game is very entertaining. Short, but sweet. There are some absolutely amazing fights in this game. 

Some of the issues I have with the game are the controls and the camera. At times the controls are unresponsive, for example-I was trying to switch to my bow at one point to take advantage of a weakness I had triggered in one of the colossi, pushing right or left on the PS2's D-pad to change weapons. I pushed the button at least 4 or 5 times and it still wouldn't change, or if it did, it skipped past the bow to the sword again. Frustrating as hell because it meant I had to do that bit over again. This wasn't the only time I had problems with the buttons, many times the main character would lose his grip even though I was holding on and had grip left in my meter. Now I'm not exactly sure, this could be mainly down to my unofficial [Patrick from Spongebob] PS2 controller being on it's last legs, but I'm sure at times it wasn't the hardware's fault. So I'll not take this into account too much. There are lots of options for remapping controls and camera as well, which is a good thing.

More than that though, the camera. I found this extremely annoying at times. The camera constantly tries to rotate back around to the default position. There were times that I would be running around the area and trying to manually move the camera so I could see not only where the colossus was, but what options I had in terms of the environment I was fighting it in. There is a button to automatically lock on to the colossus, and this definitely helps, but when you are trying not to die or fall off a ledge and simultaneously rotate the camera to see what options you have and it is moving itself back around, apparantely trying to kill you...it gets frustrating. One of the few flaws in the game, however not everyone notices it as much from what I've heard.

There are some amazing battles which double up as puzzles, because some of them are quite hard to find out how to beat. If you like well designed, screen filling bosses, then this will not dissapoint you.

There is a fair bit in terms of replayability as well, on beating the game for the first time you get access to Time Attack Mode and Hard Mode, and there are a few unlockables on your 2nd playthrough I think. Also first time round (and in any of the playthroughs) you can find secrets that will give you increased health and stamina gauges(like Zelda.) Apparantely there are fruit trees and lizards hidden around the world, I found one or two, but didnt realise their purpose till near the end, so just left them all for another game.

For such a simple game, you only have 2 weapons the whole game and only a couple of maneuvers at your disposal(rolls, jumps, gripping and shimmying) the things they have done with the simple palette of gameplay options is quite intriguing. Less is more-I think that effectively describes the succinctness of the game in many aspects.

Gameplay ~ 9/10

Story

The story is very 'read between the lines' and there has been much speculation and theorizing about the story, characters and ending on the internet. There is not a lot of dialogue, as you play the main character Wander, his only companion for the game being his horse Agro. The only dialogue present is really the clues coming after you beat each colossus, telling you of your next fight, and a bit at the end in a couple cutscenes. I mean, it is a very minimalistic, thin story, but I still find it very well done and effective. 

Essentially the story is that Wander, the protagonist has come to this land to try and save his lover (most likely, but it is not ever 100% said for sure how she relates to him) who is ill or dead (I'm not entirely sure.) The legends say that even the dead can be brought back if all the colossus of this land are slain-they can grant a wish. So with this legendary sword and bow in hand, he rides out with Mono on his horse, and comes across a massive, beautiful temple, which he leaves Mono in and this serves as the 'base' for the game. There are no towns or other NPCs in the game, I should add. So there is an immense feeling of loneliness throughout. Its really an amazing tale of how far one would go for their loved one, it can be very moving. So even though there is hardly any dialogue or story laid down explicitly for you, the implied story is quite amazing. Its very subtle and quite unique. I am only really marking it down since I think it would have benefited from more a bit more text, perhaps in the form of cutscenes, flashbacks or narration. Actually...that would probably weaken it. I like it as the minimalist piece of storytelling that it is. 

Story ~ 8/10

Characters

There is really not a lot to the characters, at times even their names do not seem important, it is all about the motives behind the actions of the main character, what lengths he would go to for Mono. This is made very clear and I think that is the only thing that we really need to know about the characters. Other than Wander, Mono and Agro, towards the end of the game we see a few other characters, and I'll not spoil anything for you, but very simple but strong characters in the game. Not an awful lot of growth, but still, I can't really fault the game too much. It is very different this game and I think all of the parts came together really strongly in the game. It is a work of art at times.

Characters ~ 7/10

Graphics

For a PS2 title, the game has very nice graphics, there are only a few times where some jaggy bits, bad textures etc. At times, I was really impressed with some of the lighting, as you ride into one of the valleys, the sun is streaming towards you over the landscape and it looks like you are riding across a heavenly plain.

The graphics are really well done, they have created this amazing game world which is on a huge scale for a game where you only fight 16 enemies. I mean, you could explore the world just to look at some of the areas-they really are nice. I found myself saying "wow" in my head a lot over the course of the game, it is such a nicely drawn game. My clumsy writing style doesn't do it justice, you should really play the game or have a look at some videos to get a better idea of just how nice looking it is.

Graphics ~ 9/10

Audio

Again, the game really tries to add to the starkness and bleakness of the world with the audio, and does so very well. As you wander the land, there is actually no music, this might sound strange but it is quite interesting. You are listening to the sound of your character, the horse, the wind whistling past and it adds a lot of atmosphere-it makes it feel even more lonely in a way.

When the music does kick in, it is mainly in the colossus battles, wherein stirring battle music plays, adding to the excitement and immersion (I like that word, don't know if its correctly used there though.)

By doing things in an experimental, different way, the developers have succeeded in adding to the game's most important facet, the atmosphere, with the audio, by making it as minimalist as possible. Here's a playlist link with the soundtrack on youtube: link

Audio ~ 10/10

A PS2 gem with only a few minor flaws and imperfections. A must play.

Overall ~ 9/10

Final Fantasy V Advance Review

I mentioned a few times that I would be playing (and attempting to beat) the Final Fantasy games that I haven't finished before Final Fantasy XIII comes out in March 2010. This Final Fantasy Challenge has kind of inspired me to get back into the habit of writing reviews for some of the games I finish. So I think I am going to write some reviews for the Final Fantasy games. 

I recently finished Final Fantasy V Advance and this is what I will be reviewing first. (I might write a few more on FFVI and VIII onwards, but they might not happen for a while, since I must beat them first.)

 

Final Fantasy V Advance (GBA)

This is not the original form of the game, this remake was released in Japan in 2006. The original version was released on the Super Famicom in 1992, then the PS1 in 1998-2002. I haven't played the original versions, but from what I hear, there are only minor differences. I had a look back at some of the older reviews on the blog and they seem to have way too many unnecessary categories, so I will be condensing this one a fair bit, into the following areas: Gameplay, Story, Characters, Graphics and Audio.

Gameplay

This is where the game shines in my opinion, FFV has an extensive job system, with a total of 26 jobs to choose from in the FFV Advance version. If you liked FFIII's or Tactics' system, this is very similar, with each character able to choose 1 job and gain points towards mastering the job. Abilities are gained as progress is made, and can be put in a 2nd slot, so customisable characters are very easy to make. For example, you could have a Black Mage with a White Mage ability in the 2nd skill slot, meaning they could cast Black Magic and whatever level of White Magic they had got to as a White Mage. This was one aspect of the game that definitely kept me interested, there is definitely a lot of scope here for people to replay the game, or just put a lot of time into the game before they beat it. 

The battle system is the ATB-type Turn based battles that are in quite a few other Final Fantasy games(IV, VII etc.) It is fairly good, but a few of the minor flaws in the game became apparent to me fairly quickly. In battle, you can only see your current HP as a number, you can't see your maximum HP for each character, or the MP your characters are on unless you go into the spellcasting menus, then you can see the more detailed stats you might want. This is only really an annoyance, as you eventually get used to the game and you are able to judge the flow of things if you pay attention. So I mean, aesthetically, I would have preferred these things to be present, but this is only a minor flaw really. Otherwise, pretty solid gameplay overall. If you like Job systems, you have to play this, as it is surely one of the stronger job based rpgs, particularly FF games.

Gameplay ~ 9/10

Story

The story is kind of cliched and thin at times, with the whole idea of the crystals at it's center. I don't want to say too much in the way of spoilers, but your party begins by searching for the crystals to protect them from being destroyed as this leads to the world seeing some negative effects, like the winds dying down etc. You are searching for Exdeath, who for the most part of the game seems to not have much motive for being evil, but later on at least some reasons become apparent. The game as a whole has quite an unusual style, which I guess could be a good thing, or a bad thing depending on your opinion. It is quite light hearted at times and funny at times, but what I liked about it was that it had an underlying dark tone, which became important towards the end. I guess the humourous bits are hit or miss, but I did like some of the quotes, definitely. I would say it makes it stand  out from the other Final Fantasy games.

"Galuf: That lobster just got served!
Bartz: With cheese biscuits and mashed potatoes!"

"Gilgamesh: Enough expository banter. It's time we fight like men. And ladies. And ladies who dress like men. For Gilgamesh...IT IS MORPHING TIME!"

Story ~ 7/10

Characters

For the most part, there isn't a lot of character development in this game and some more back story and history for the characters would be better. There is some in the form of flashbacks etc, but the game would have benefited from further development I think. At times the characters are quite thinly developed and bland, for example Exdeath, who seems to be a cliched, stereotypical villian with no motive. He even has that ridiculous 'bad guy laugh' "mwhahahaha" ... By the end though, I did become a bit attached to them, the playable characters are likeable due to their quirkyness.

Characters ~ 6/10

Graphics

I usually find it hard to judge the graphics in older games as I sometimes forget a lot of the games I played for that console and therefore find it harder to get a good idea of what to compare the game to. (If that makes any sense) Anyway, the graphics in this are fairly good, the battles are in the same vein as Final Fantasy I, II, III and IV (at least the original versions of each), where most stuff in battle is viewed in a side-on 2D view. The battle animations and spell effects are pretty good, with some nice spell and summon effects. Nice sprites as in other oldschool(ish) RPGs, which is one thing I always loved about them.

Graphics ~ 8/10

Audio

There are some awesome songs in this game, from the famous Battle on the Big Bridge song played during one of the many battles with Gilgamesh right through to the final battle. Overall I liked the soundtrack, it gives the game some atmosphere, the sound effects aren't too shabby either, for a Game Boy Advance game, they seem good. Its not the best soundtrack I've ever heard, but then again I can't really fault it much either.

Audio ~ 7/10

Other than that, there seemed to be a few glitches(which strangely enough were only on my SP and DS phat) and annoyances, but overall, its quite a fun game with a lighthearted storyline and engaging job system.

Overall ~ 7/10

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS)

I thought I'd do a blog style review of Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen for the DS, just to give people an idea of what the game is like, what other games its like, whether you might like it or not, what I like and don't like about it and basically just stuff about the game as I progress through it. 

So I'll start with some info about the game and other DQ games.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS) is a remake of the 1990 Famicom title Dragon Warrior IV, which was later remade for the Playstation in 2001.

The Famicom version of the game, known as Dragon Warrior IV. I love the old school visuals, must try it sometime if I can.

And the PS version of the game, which I dont think ever made it to the NTSC or PAL regions, it was just Japan only for this iteration I think. DQ is a much bigger thing in Japan, they are crazy for the games over there, and get some awesome merchandise. Anyway, this screen looks more like the recent DS remake of the game.

Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen (DS)

Developer: Arte Piazza

Publisher: Square Enix

The game was released last year and is part of Square Enix's remaking of the Zenithian trilogy of DQ games, namely Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, Dragon Quest V: Hand of the Heavenly Bride and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie. So far DQIV and V have been released worldwide on the DS and we are waiting for VI, which doesn't have a release date set yet. VI hasn't been seen outside of Japan yet, so it will be interesting for Western audiences to see what its like. But I'm getting sidetracked...

I'm still playing through DQIV, only got around to playing it recently, and its actually the first of the main Dragon Quest games that I've played aside from little bits of VIII on the PS2. So far, from what I've seen, I really like it. I'm a big fan of old school games and rpgs, and the Dragon Quest series as a whole is really traditional. They don't like to change too much about the games in the series from game to game, so there are lots of shared aspects between games from what I can tell. Firstly, this one is turn based similar to a lot of the Final Fantasy games. Most of the DQ games are turn based, I dont know if there are any action rpgs, but I doubt it in this series. For me personally, I prefer turn based rpgs, or what some people call traditional role playing games. I like to be able to think things through and plan what I am going to do and although I can deal with some fast paced action rpgs I definitely prefer the slower style rpgs, and DQ games are very slow paced compared to other games. There is so much more text in battles than say, early Final Fantasy games or Breath of Fire games and actions are described in a kind of long-winded fashion, but not overly so, or so that it is a negative thing in my opinion, however this kind of gameplay is one thing critics of the series have against the DQ series. 

For those unfamiliar with the games, DQIV is set out is very much like a lot of the other Dragon Warrior games, battle screens are views of the enemy sprites, which used to be static, but now have some frames of movements and are actually seen to attack. I really like this aspect of the game, and always wished the Pokemon games had utilised this simple but effective way of doing things. It just makes you feel more like you are actually in a battle, as opposed to just encountering static 2D sprites, well to an extent. On the other screen are the stats of your party members, as well as nicely drawn and designed portraits of each of your party members. Akira Toriyama, the genius behind Dragonball, Dragonball Z etc designed the characters and monsters in the Dragon Quest games, and his skill really shines through in these. If you like his style, you'll no doubt like the characters he has done for these games even though a lot of the characters look familiar, but thats just his style of drawing, which is awesome by the way. I like the use of the two screens in battles. The DS's screens are pretty small and games that only use one of the screens just really don't feel like they are making the best use of the DS's functions. I mean, there are 2 screens, why not use them? The game uses them even better in dungeons and towns, with the view split over the screens, and the trigger buttons, which allow you to rotate the camera in towns and some dungeons. I only found out about this late on, and it really helped me to find doors or gaps in walls that were obscured previously.

When I talked about the use of the DS's functions previously, that brings me to the touch screen controls, or lack thereof. This would have to be one flaw with the game. For me, I prefer using the buttons to control games on the DS unless stylus and touch screen control is done really well, like in The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass. That game had touch screen and stylus control down to an art. I'd definitely recommend it, I think its one of the best DS games.

DQIV DS doesn't use the touch screens at all, which just feels kind of lazy. All DS games in my opinion should at least have the option for this. Final Fantasy III DS didn't always use both screens, but at least had touch screen control options there for those who like em. When I'm grinding though and going through tonnes of battles I just like to have decent button based controls-those are needed and DQIV is good in that respect, the multitude of menus are easy to negotiate and get whatever info you need and message speed can be turned up really fast, which is always good. If they'd included some form of touch screen stuff in here, this game would have benefited from that, I'm sure.

So far, I've liked what I've seen of the inventory management and item equip screens. Each party member (with the exception of some of the NPC dudes who join) has their own inventory so they can have their own apparel and medicine. Its a nice feature which a lot of other rpg franchises don't bother with. When you look in shops for say armour or weapons, you get indicators as to who can equip each item and how it compares to what they've got equipped. Pretty standard and effective stuff. I like the auto-equip option in there when you buy gear or transfer it from the bag or from party member to party member-it makes things easier. The use of two screens keeps it from ever getting cluttered even though there are lots of menus and status screens throughout the game.

The graphics look nice, definitely in battle as I've said before but also in the field. Nice and colourful, I really like the way you can see when its daytime, when the sun is going down, late at night and even sunrise momentarily when everything on the world map gets a little brighter. Pretty cool attention to detail there. The character sprites look decent enough, as do the many enemies you'll encounter. I'm 19 hours and 20 mins into the game so far and although there are a few palette swaps and reused enemy sprites, they are mostly really cool. One thing I love about the Dragon Quest games has to be the monsters. They have this charm, right down to the names of them, Wiggly, for example just looks like a standard earthworm. I don't know why thats so awesome but it is. I came across a few dinosaur type-looking things called Woolungasaurus when I was travelling about the overworld after getting the boat in Chapter 5. I couldn't figure out why they'd called it that, but I like it for sure lol. The enemies and games themselves have this kind of undeniable eccentric charm throughout. You'll  probably either love it or hate it. 

I forgot to mention one other thing about Dragon Quest IV that I like. The way the game is set out is in chapters. In these different chapters, you play as different main characters through chapters 1 to 5, in which you get to play as the protagonist for who you chose the name and gender at the start. Chapter 1 for example, sees you dealing with the story of a knight(with pink armour for some reason) called Ragnar McRyan and chapters 2-4 see you playing with different characters who are each developed through the dialogue and quests they have to do. In chapter 5 you play as this "chosen one" and travel across the world meeting up with the other characters from earlier in the game. I liked the way each region in the game world is seperated by little things like the dialogue. People in different towns will talk in different accents, for example in chapter 1, most of the towns you will visit people will speak in what is supposed to be scottish, in chapter 2, you follow the story of Princess Alena and everyone talks in this at times hard to understand Russian accent. Little things like this make the game world more effective and memorable for me, even if it seems like they have just got out a thesaurus and tried to find alternate words for things and jumbled the order of words just to make it more like broken english. It definitely sounds like that in the "russian" and "french" speaking places. 

So far I've played about 19 hours and 20 minutes of the game, and I'm in Chapter 5 with just one more of the characters to find (Ragnar from Chapter 1). I've apparantely fought in 660 battles, defeated 1626 monsters, gained 36769 G (the currency) from battle, had 644 victories, been wiped out 7 times, fled from battle 8 times and still to find 127 monsters. This gives me a title of King of Cool. Dunno how they arrive at that, but I like that stats page heheh.

So from what it seems and what I've heard, I'll probably get another 10 or 20 hours play out of the game-there are some sidequests but not too many. I'll update here with some more about the game as I play through. Some spoilers ahead, read on if ya want.

15:05, Fri 24th April

I played some more of DQIV last night before I went to sleep and today to wake up properly lol. I just got this Magic Key from the dungeon hidden under the cave near Aubout du monde or whatever its called. The dungeons in this game so far have been really short and simple. I mean, I'm not necessarily saying every dungeon should be insanely complicated and long like the optional dungeon in Lost Odyssey, the Temple of Enlightenment. That place was pretty brutal, I gave up and used Gamefaqs for that shit. 

So far in DQIV, most of the dungeons take like 5 or 10 minutes, with the most complicated that I've seen being the one where you have to get the herb or root thing to cure Kiryl (I think.) It still isn't long, but it had one of those arrow direction conveyor belt so I wandered around there for a while, so it had a bit more to it. I kinda failed at describing that...its basically like a simpler Team Rocket HQ from Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow. Despite the short dungeons I'm still liking the game. I had something else to say, but I forgot..

22:45, Fri, 24th April

Played a bit more of this on the bus and when I got back to the house after I went to my friend's for some Halo 3. I've just really been grinding up my levels getting my team members to similar levels and to the stage where they don't get pwned by the enemies in that dungeon with the switch hidden in a chest. They are quite tough but I think I'm getting strong enough to not have problems on them now. My team is Hero lv17, Meena lv18, Maya lv19 and Kiryl lv15. I'm using them because 3 of em can use healing spells, Kiryl can use buff magic, Maya can use offensive magic and they are all quite good in combat too, well Maya maybe not so much, but I like her spell Bang, that is pretty good. I think Borya could have good spells if I get his levels up enough, seems a pretty good spellcaster. I'm liking this game more and more, I cant put it down!

02:04, Sat, 25th April

A few things about this game that just occurred to me. Firstly, what is the point in the wagon? It allows you to cross the desert somehow and I'm guessing has the party members you aren't using in it. The fact that you have to save at churches only, and can only resurrect fallen characters at churches. It hasn't really been a problem at all, but it slightly bugs me when there isn't one near the dungeon I am grinding in, or wherever I am meant to be going. 

Also, the quicksave function is kind of broken. It doesn't delete itself after you load it so if the dungeon you are in allows you to use it (not all do) then you can just save before a boss battle and keep reloading it. Early on, this unusual quicksave function led to some problems for me. When I picked up the game and could'nt remember where I left of, I loaded the quicksave (it doesn't tell you your progress before you choose to load it or not), continued on with the game and eventually saved the game at a church, not knowing that I had loaded an older quicksave, so I lost a bit of progress and a level or two. So to avoid that happening, I try to keep clear of the quicksave in this game. Could be useful though. Its always a good thing to have on a portable rpg. I just find myself closing the ds over whenever I need to get off the bus or whatever.

16:28, Sun, 26th April

Play time on DQIV: 23:38

Yesterday I grinded some more on the train and then easily beat Marquis de Leon and got Ragnar in my party. At first I thought that they werent going to tell me where to go, but I went back in to the Castle thing and asked the NPCs in there, one of whom told me where to go next. Balzack or whatever his name is would be my next target. 

Made my way over there and I was keeping up with him in battle for a while, but the fact he could attack twice was really hurting me, and one of his moves was hitting me for about 40ish on all my characters, so he eventually beat me. 

Loaded it up today and started grinding on an island north of where he is. Got my guys to Lv20-22 now, not sure if that will be enough. Just about to go face him again and find out.

Jesus...I went in the castle which is now inhabited by monsters and the boss I was going for, and these Hoodoo Gooroos kept casting whack on me...essentially the Death spell of this game...it seemed to work every time on me, but never when I do it. So I nearly got wiped out there again. Gotta grind some more I think.

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheComputerIsACheatingBastard

00:25, Mon, 27th April

I think at this stage in the game, when you are looking for the Zenithian gear, the game seems to attempt to drag itself out a bit, telling me to go to areas I've been to and to other far away places and find stuff with little what could be considered a flowing story. Seems a bit tacked on, but I am still liking it. So the story doesn't seem to flow too well, but the dialogue still seems good to me. When I went to the town of Femiscyra, which was apparantely isolated by the eruption of a volcano which blocked off the route to the town, the people in town sounded like they actually had been in a town which had been in a town blocked off from the world from a while, based on the stuff they say, well its good for an 18 year old game, although its not amazing, it works. Some bits of the game do feel dated.

Anyways, I played some more of the game today, got quite a bit further now I have half of the Zenithian gear I have to collect for some reason that wasnt explained too well. If I ascend to Zenithia, the God of Dragons will help me in my quest to stop Psaro. Maybe...

15:00, Wed, 29th April

I finally beat the game yesterday, got through the final dungeon and the 4 minibosses you have to beat first. The final dungeon wasnt that long, but the hard thing was being a high enough level and having enough MP on my team to take on the endboss (who has 7 forms...) The first few times I tried, I got pretty close(to the 2nd last or last form), but died in the end, so I went back and grinded out some more levels to around lv36-38, healed, put the Goddess Ring on my guys one by one to get their MP back, quicksaved just before and fought him. It was still a close battle, his last form is pretty nasty but I managed it in the end. I think there is some sort of post game content, but I'll leave that for now.

Wanted a fresh game to play so started Digital Devil Saga on the PS2 now.