by Ashley Shankle

Created on: January 27, 2009   Last Updated: October 21, 2010

Soul Nomad & the World Eaters is yet another strategy RPG developed and released by Nippon Ichi Software. Nippon Ichi's games have gained a reputation and popularity among the hardcore RPG crowd for having entertaining storylines, immersive battle systems where there is almost always the ability to hit level 9999, and sticking to 2D pixel sprites as opposed to 3D models.

Story-wise. Soul Nomad takes a slight departure from its Nippon Ichi-born brethren. The player (either a girl or boy) and their childhood friend Danette are thrown into an adventure to save the world from the World Eaters, giant seemingly-indestructible behemoths that have been dormant for quite some time. The main character is given a special blade, and residing inside is Gig, a bodiless demi-god with power even more destructive than his sharp tongue and bad attitude. Gig is the key to destroying the World Eaters, and he is yours to control, sort of - the more of his power you use, the more control he has over your body.

The story is one big anime-style cliche, but Gig's wit and the fast progression manages to keep interest. The characters are almost all colorful and interesting as well, but Gig's ability to call them from anywhere even when they are separated from the party cheapens the story a little bit.

Instead of controlling individual units in battle, you are in control of squads, contained in rooms, that can contain up to nine units each. There are several types of rooms, each with their own abilities. Some rooms let the squad move as soon as they are summoned into battle, some boost stats depending on how far the squad has moved, and some give full-blown EXP bonuses. Summoning the room you want can be a chore. It's entirely random and it can take a lot of time to get the exact room you want You must lock rooms so they do not change, and in order for your rooms to lock, you must have enough locks to hold them. So if you have four rooms and three locks and have the ability to get another room, the room that is not locked will change, as well as you getting the next room. You have to scroll through an seemingly endless combination of rooms and spaces in them to get exactly what you want.

Each time you defeat a new type of unit in battle, you can summon them to your aid. There are several types of units, from spellcasters and warriors, to man-eating plants and arsonists. In each squad you can put any combination of units, but it's crucial to pay attention to their placement and their

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