by Noah C

Created on: January 26, 2007   Last Updated: November 30, 2011

This game is produced by Ubisoft, one of the first real RPG's for XBOX360, a valiant attempt at capturing the fan base of previous PS2 RPG's such as Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy.

• Graphics

The graphics of this game, right from the intro movie are spectacular, the 3D graphical rendering is impeccable and the stereo sound is awesome. The cutscenes really take advantage of the graphics engine of the Xbox 360. The gameplay itself is also quite clean, with nice flame, lens flare and water effects.

• Gameplay

The gameplay is based on a fairly simple premise whereby the main character Atsuma is learning a form of magic to defend the city in which he lives. The story really warms up when he and his friends from school attend the spring festival and things go wrong as an earthquake and other mitigating factors including Atsuma himself free a Devil Golem who then reeks havoc on the town in which he lives. The gaming interface is clean, maps and doorways are clearly displayed, and objects which can be interacted with are well defined. The one downside of the game is the long times spent in the initial phase talking to your friends to fill out the story line so far. this constant talk phase and getting instructions for the simplest of things is somewhat frustrating. The battle system is initiated by random wandering, and is reminiscent of many other RPGs.

• Battle System

The battle system is well thought out, and players square off against their enemies on a grid system, divided in the middle. This allows for movement and dictates whether or not you can attack or be attacked by the enemy. I found this portion of the game somewhat frustrating, as moving characters to the front of the grid can cause them to block others from doing their attacks etc. The Auto option can shorten this, but I feel the grid system not only restricts the view, but also trivialises the battle. I feel they should have stuck with the more traditional battle system of FFX, etc. However as each player attacks can only reach a certain portion of the grid it does add some complexity to the battles which some may appreciate.

• Manual

The manual explains a little of the storyline, and details the different buttons functions, however it seems a little lite on with regard to advanced features of the game which are expained (sometimes at length) by your companions during the game

• Features

The great (and sometimes difficult to comprehend) part of this game is the advanced method of powering up. Skills must be learned before they can be equipped, Golems (Helpers for your Party) must be synthesized by collecting Materials and buying from the shops and Weapon upgrades must also be synthesized at a shop before being equipped. The traditional level up feature is included but I feel that the players' growth is somewhat stagnated by the constant need to interact with party functions to add weapons, etc.

Overall, this game was entertaining with a somewhat fresh storyline and great cutscenes, however I feel it fell down a bit with regard to player interaction and development. I hope they stick with it and create something better for us next time with outstanding graphics and a more free flowing gameplay!

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