"Old style RPG action on your humble Dreamcast"

It’s rather surprising to find this sort of game on the Dreamcast. Record of Lodoss War looks out of place when compared to great games such as Shenmue 2 and Skies of Arcadia. The visuals suggest it would look fine on the Playstation and you see the whole of this game’s world in an isometric view. You will take on the roll of an ancient warrior as he is resurrected to fight the growing evil in the world. The game combines elements of RPG style levelling up and statistics and the real time battling of other third person fighting games.

Graphics: 5/10
The camera usually floats away from your character, but wherever the camera is it does not hide the fact that these graphics are simple and plain. Horrid bright colours are used on the enemies, which clash with the darker backgrounds of the outside areas. All the scenery is low quality and like I said earlier could easily work on the less powerful consoles. There is a lot of gameplay crammed onto the disc, that was probably one of the reasons the visuals are not up to par with what the Dreamcast can really do.

Sound: 7/10
There are plenty of effects but the quality of them is poor and tinny when listened to. There is background music but you would hardly call it a song, more of a repeated sample that is played over as you go through the different areas. The characters don’t talk either apart from the odd word, the rest of the dialogue is placed in the standard grey box with white lettering. Overall the sound suits the graphics, which are below average, you just don’t notice it as much.

Gameplay: 9/10
Is the savoir of ROLW, if it wasn’t for the fun to be had playing we might be doing something else with our time. The main character is easy to control, fighting is simple and it’s just compelling to explore every square metre of the virtual world, opening chests for armour upgrades or going to the blacksmith for new weapons. Just like in Final Fantasy the items you equip affect your stats. You can also carry potions which you refill at certain points, usually near a save point. Fighting your way though numerous enemies is simple thanks to the easy to master controls. All in all you can look past the bad visuals when you enjoy playing the main game.

Overall: 7/10
ROLW is a mixed game, some areas are great, others poor in comparison. If you like to spend time to really get into a game and raise you characters stats with practice then this is the game you should own. It will take ages to complete so has lots of replay ability and offers excellent value for money.

Rent or Buy?
If you are into the fantasy adventure genre then this is one of the best games, otherwise if you have a short attention span or get frustrated then steer clear and get a shooter such as Quake 3 Arena.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/04/02, Updated 12/04/02