Games You Don't Play #3: Odin Sphere PS2

Hay guys, here I am again to shove my video game opinions down your throat! I've got a lot to talk about so I hope you've got the time.

This review is going to cover a more recent game release titled Odin Sphere for the
Playstation 2. I went through a lot of traveling just to get this game on release day and was even late for work because of it, only to find that I could walk into any Best Buy and pick it up. But, nonetheless, I have it and finally got around to playing it once I finished up some old business I had with another game (Mister Mosquito).
This title is a very visually stunning side-scrolling action RPG title that was amazingly picked up by the ever so wonderful Atlus company from VanillaWare. It does have a predecessor, Princess Crown for the Sega Saturn (JP Only) which was recently ported to the PSP. (JP Only as well, HELLO ATLUS LICENSE THIS!!!) It takes place in some sort of war-torn fairy world filled with sorcery, dragons and furries. I know what you're thinking... "Why the hell are YOU playing it then?" Well, it's a damn good game. That's why.
So let me enlighten you:

Graphics: Definitely not lacking here. Absolutely beautiful. It's very anime-inspired, yet it has it's own style. All of the environments are too good to be true, all of them having their own small details that catch your eye every so often, from butterflies in the background to shooting stars. All of the character design is fantastic. Each character is attractive in their own way (Except for Cornelius.. He's the ugliest bunny rabbit I think I've ever seen!) and I feel like I'd like to have all of their outfits. There are not many other games out there that have such well designed characters and backgrounds, especially in the 2D side-scrolling genre.

Controls: Everything seems almost flawless here. Not much I would change except for the lagging when battling the biggest bosses. Only lags at the most crucial points of the battle which can make things difficult, but somehow brings back some nostalgia from the SNES-era. Battling is very simple and straight forward yet takes some tactical planning as most RPG's do. At first I thought this might be your typical hack-and-slash your way through side-scroller but it's really not. Every enemy you fight (especially bosses) have their own things to avoid and sometimes you run out of food or healing tonic.

Story: Actually, it's quite engrossing. I didn't think it would be, but it is. Somehow, this game has me sucked in. It's really well written once you give it a chance. The story builds slow and doesn't give much back story in the beginning but if you stick with it, makes up for it later on. There is some great character development here and many intertwining relationships that somehow resemble a fairy-tale/soap opera hybrid. There are lots of dramatic twists and turns and plenty of surprises to be found. The give a great nod to a novel series, and the story plays out that way. Every cut scene is awesome, as some cut scenes in RPGs can get a little over the top or pointless, in this game, they are short but sweet and totally necessary to story development.

Music: Well, not much to say here. You're typical RPG music, for the most part. It's pretty, but not moving. Not annoying, but it does get repetitive at times. Just the same 30-second track looping over and over until you make it to the next scene.

Side Quests: Well, not really much here either. I could say that Alchemy and recipes are side-quests of some sort but not really. It is a cool mechanic in the game though!

Voice Acting: At first, it seemed a bit boring, but became very interesting later on. The voice actors are great in both Japanese and English, which is rare, as I find most voice actors in games to be pretty horrendous and bottom of the barrel actors in the first place. Also, the speech bubbles, while not absolutely necessary, are a great little add-on. I like them.

So, overall, this game is pretty good. I'm sucked in at the moment, as I played it from 8pm-4am last night. I really just can't get off it. I could honestly stare at the game for hours and not get bored. I wouldn't say it's the best game ever, nor the game of the year, but as stated in EGM, definitely the game of the month. Nothing quite like this has been released state-side so it's nice to see something original get released.

I give the game a 3 1/2 out of 5.

Recommended for: Hardcore RPG fans, quirky gamers, collectors, side-scrolling fans.

Sure to be a guaranteed rare game in years to come. Pick this one up while you can, because 5 years from now it won't be easy to find.