VGRC

“The Valkyrie do not fear death.”

For those who know me, you know that I am tired of the same 'ol, same 'ol in RPGs. So, imagine my excitement when I get a game that feels fresh and new in the tired genre... a game by the name of “Odin Sphere,” which shatters all the norms you'd expect to see in your average action-RPG. Fusing beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds and sprites with elements from classic side-scrolling beat 'em up and RPG games together into one package, Odin Sphere will stun and amaze you.

Odin Sphere takes place in Erion, a magical world where a handful of lands are in conflict with each other. The game and its story are presented through 5 “books,” with each book focusing on a different character. Together, these 5 stories come together to show one big story and how the 5 characters are linked together. If any of you have seen the movie Magnolia, it's sort of like that, only you progress through one character's story at a time, rather than constantly jumping between the 5. The story itself is compelling and rarely feels cliched, and you will be eager to move from book to book until you are done.

Upon starting the game, the first thing you will notice is the graphical style of the game. Odin Sphere forgoes fancy 3D worlds and polygons in favor of tried-and-true 2D side-scrolling environments and sprites. However, it isn't what you'd expect from your typical side-scroller, with all the sprites and levels being beautifully drawn out. It really is amazing, and looks nothing like any other game I've played.

Continuing with presentation, the game is an aural beauty as much as it is a visual one. The voice acting is nothing short of excellent, even if the script feels a bit weak at places. The music ranges from good to excellent; some of the background music feels like your “standard RPG music,” but other pieces are quite simply amazing and do a great job to convey the “magical storybook theme” the game has surrounding itself.

The bulk of the game is presented through cutscenes and battle levels, all of which use the same 2D presentation, which keeps the game from feeling disjointed. These levels are circular – running left or right will cause you to eventually wind up in the same place you were before, so there's no point where you feel you're being blocked by boundaries. Each level has some sort of objective, which is to either defeat all the enemies within the level, a miniboss, or a final boss. These levels are connected to each other through various exit points, forming a “web” of these levels, with a couple non-battle levels containing item shops tossed in for good measure. Upon completing a level, the exits in the level open up and you can move on. Not all of these levels are required to play through; if you take the right paths through the web, you can make it to the final boss while being able to skip a few levels, though you also miss out on extra items and much needed experience.

The gameplay itself is a hybrid between a beat 'em up and action-RPG. Basic combat is a homage to classic games like Double Dragon, where you're able to perform a small handful of basic attacks against the hordes of enemies you'll have to face. However, each enemy you fell releases Phozons into the air, which can be absorbed by your weapon to build up your "Psypher gauge," which when full lets you unleash Phozon-powered attacks and abilities. These include sending a tornado out to wreak havoc on whatever stands in your way or heal yourself, among others. On top of that, there is a power gauge that decreases while you're attacking or blocking, and will automatically replenish itself while you aren't. If you let the gauge hit empty, you'll be temporarily stunned and unable to move, leaving yourself vulnerable to enemy attacks. So, don't think you can just keep mashing the buttons, as you'll have to temporarily retreat to let your power gauge refill.

The “catch” of the gameplay, however, are those Phozons I mentioned. You don't level up as you normally do in most other RPGs: Rather, your weapon can be leveled up to become more powerful, or you can level up for increased HP. If you use your weapon to absorb the Phozons released into the air, they'll not only fill the gauge I mentioned above, but add EXP to your weapon.

Leveling yourself up, on the other hand, ties into the simple but huge inventory system. Your character will level up by eating health-restoring food, which also contains EXP for your character. While you can buy food from vendors, the most common way you'll be eating is growing your own food with seeds you'll get as you beat each level. These seeds will blossom into food-bearing plants, but only if they absorb Phozons for themselves... and thus comes the “catch:” Are you going to give the Phozons to your weapon, or use them for plants to gain EXP for yourself? To add onto that, there is also an alchemy system that allows you to fuse items together to create new potions and what-not, but only if you've acquired the recipe for that specific potion (similar to the Grathmelding system in Ar tonelico, only not nearly as complex). To make sure you continually manage your inventory, you can only hold a certain amount of items. And though you can raise your storage capacity later on by buying new backpacks, the whole inventory management system is crafted so you have to keep everything organized and not hoard a ton of items. Too many seeds? Plant them at the beginning of your next battle, let them absorb the Phozons you release and reap your harvest afterwards. There certainly isn't a shortage of items, as when you beat a level a chest will appear filled with various items, money and other goodies. If you defeat your enemies fast enough, you may find yourself rewarded with smaller chests they'll drop.

I only have two complaints with Odin Sphere, and sadly they are far from negligible. While I love the fast-paced combat, it feels way too simplistic. After awhile you really begin to notice that there are not a whole lot of moves to attack with, and if it wasn't for the power meter, Odin Sphere would easily just deteriorate into a mindless button masher. Having different characters with slightly different repertoires does its job of breaking up the monotony when it sets in, but it would've been nice to see a wider variety of attacks and combos for each character.

My other complaint is a bit more severe, and borders on breaking the game: crippling slowdown and framerate stuttering. Remember in the old Genesis Sonic games, where the game would slow down if you got hit and lost a ton of rings? Well, if enough enemies congregate on the screen or the action gets too intense, you'll experience that same slowdown. Most of the time it occurs, it is very brief and doesn't really get in the way of the game. However, there are a handful of times that really slow down the entire game so bad that all you can do is fight in slo-mo.... including a boss battle. I don't want to spoil too much about the plot, but one particular boss spawns flying dead fish that would quickly clutter up the screen and bring the game to a crawl, and the only way to really get past it is to get up close and continually lay on the boss with combo attacks in slow motion while downing recovery potions. Like I said, it doesn't break the game, but it really detracts from the game's otherwise stellar presentation.

At the end of the day, Odin Sphere is nothing short of a great game. While it has its flaws, they are immediately made up for by the game's presentation and unique gameplay. It will draw you in with its beautiful graphics and storybook presentation, but the engrossing story, multiple main characters and beat 'em up/action-RPG hybrid gameplay will keep you around until the end.