"Better than the typical japanese RPG"

I am not a big fan of Japanese style console RPGs but I mildly enjoyed this one. Many people who really like the Phantasy Star series tend to give this game a rough time. That is unfortunate since this game really isnt all that bad. In fact, in some ways, I tend to prefer this title to others in the PS series.

The Bad-

Gameplay:
The battle system in this game is similar to other japanese RPGs. As such, its very dumbed down. By this, I allude to the lack of real positional tactics. Still, it is not as hackneyed as what you might come to expect from the Final Fantasy series and the player is given some very basic tactical options at least with regards to firing mode and special attacks.

Like most japanese RPGs, the character creation and advancement system only give you template characters (you cannot in anyway really choose how to develop your character) that advance the same way regardless. The different characters are differentiated primarily by how they contribute to combat and things such as speech skills/etc that one may come to love from a few better done PC RPGs are not prevalent here.

Graphics:
The game is old and so the graphics are old. Even if judged by genesis standards, other titles, like PS IV, had better graphics. Still, the graphics are serviceable.

The Good-

The Gimmick:
This game had one really cool gimmick. You get to certain points in the story where your protagonist can choose a spouse. This leads to multiple branching storylines and varying end sequences. This does two things. First, it makes the game HIGHLY replayable - something you dont typically get in a console RPG. Second, it makes the play through more enjoyable to know that some of your choices meant something. Most console RPGs tend to feel almost like adventure titles (especially newer ones) because of their lack of player reactivity but this one actually addresses that.

The Story:
Many japanese console RPGs tend to become too bogged down in very poor storytelling. Characters do absurd things and are put in over dramatic situations. This is not so with PS3. This game feels more grounded. It is still too anime-like in story to be particularly good but it manages to avoid the kind of dialog and situations that can make it particularly bad. I once played a title called Xenogears, for example, and the story there was ridiculous. People always did extreme things and every main character had some dep dark secret and so on. Luckily, this game avoids stuff like that.

Overall-
Not an amazing RPG but certainly better than most console RPG titles I have played. It isnt bogged down by boring minigames, hindered by terrible storytelling or over dependent on graphics and sex appeal.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/02, Updated 08/07/04