Post by Bytor on Jul 14, 2009 12:11:40 GMT -5
-Visuals- 6/10
OK, I understand this game was released in 1990...what? It wasn't? It was released in 2001? OK...nevermind, it is that bad. The backgrounds are simply not very good. The characters not much better. Considering what some PS2 games look like even for the time this one is out dated, and not, as in some games, on purpose. It almost appears as if Sacnouth/Aruze simply said...ok, we have a story, we have the mechanics, and hire the guys who designed Castlevania for the Super Nintendo to do the graphics, which would have been fine in it's day but certainly sub par now.
-Sound- 6/10
For the most part the sound track is pretty good. At the best of times it created a very nice ambiance for the game swelling and receding in volume and setting a nice tone. The voice acting however ruins it. It ranges from bad to worse and actually might have been more fun with only read lines.
-Gameplay- 8/10
This was the beginning of the Judgment Ring and I liked it although I like the refinements put into the next installment better, here it could be a tad too challenging, and bad on the fingers after a long gaming session. Now, here's where some might disagree with my score. The game is at it base a turn based RPG, but there is a twist in the fighting system. It uses what is called a Judgment Ring, in a nutshell each of your allies has a ring with set attack areas and other areas which if hit will make the attack cease. So, when you are ready to attack you will press X, then you must time when you press X again based on the amount of attack margins you have on your ring, which are customizable. Each attack is preformed in the same away, regardless of the type of attack, whether it be a defensive spell, a healing spell or a magic/physical attack.
-Story- 8.8/10
You play as Yuri in a story which begins in Manchuria in 1913. You wake to hear a voice telling you to save Alice who is wanted by various people for their own diabolical reasons. You will travel throughout Japan and Europe on your quest to figure out exactly what is going on
-Overall- 7/10
A great story and innovative gameplay cannot save these graphics, if, and this is a big if, you can possibly get into the story you will probably finish it simply for pride, but honestly, it's simply an average game at best, unless you are bored simply play Shadow Hearts: Covenant, it's so much better in so many ways