Ogre Battle 64

"A hefty, supreme package!"

Introduction -
The Ogre Battle Saga has always been one of my favorite series of all time. I strongly recommend that you drop by your local video game store and at least rent Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen for the Super Nintendo and Tactics Ogre for the Playstation. All three of these titles obviously correlate with one another, and the story is nicely done I must admit. One more thing, did you know that, as of this submission, that Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Calibur is the second largest game (in data terms) for the Nintendo 64? Make a mental note in your head that this game is long, just the way I like any Strategy-RPG to be.

Story -
I must stress that the story line for this installment in the series is simply amazing. The conflict begins as Magnus Gallant, formally one of the many nobles in the city of Latium, decides to join the Southern Division Army of the continent Palatinus because of family issues. His father, Ankiseth Gallant, is branded a murderer while protecting the gentle child of the later Prince Yumil. While patrolling the frontiers of Alba Castle, a revolt occurs, headed by the Zenobians from a previous Ogre Battle game. The revolt becomes uncontrollable, and I will stop there. The story is well planned out. Characters from the other Ogre Battle games, such as Destin the Valiant and Deneb the beautiful witch, have returned. New conflicts involving the evil continent of Lodis arrive. The Caliginous Order and the Eastern Orthodox Church are just some of the many additions to this game. While picky fans will think that the plot could had been better, I say it's even better than the other Ogre Battles.
Story - 9.5

Graphics -
Lush backgrounds and spells make this game appear pleasing to the eye. Everything from the most simple spell such as Lightning to the most complex including combination spells such as Clay Assault and Plasma Storm. For a cartridge, the developers did an awesome job in making the backgrounds and the attacks. Unlike the previous Ogre Battles, the backgrounds actually present very much movement. The character development could have been slightly improved, but they still blend in with the beautiful environments of Zengitenia. The detail of the weapons aren't as pretty either. Then again, the good elements precede the bad ones.
Graphics - 8.5

Music/Sound -
I personally like music in games like these. It has a sort of heroic theme combined with a medieval theme. Typical RPG style music basically. The tracks in Ogre Battle 64 are wonderful. I downloaded some of them off of Napster! How peculiar, eh? The sounds aren't as fascinating, mainly because some of the music is so entertaining that even paying attention to the sound effects is a minimum. It's sort of like playing a Game Boy game without the sound. Oh well...you know?
Music/Sound - 9.0

Gameplay -
This is the main reason that I purchased this heavy cartridge. After playing Final Fantasy Tactics, I was hoping for this game to have similar components. Well, Tactics Ogre did, so why not this one? The battle system was actually something that I hated at first, but then realize why the programmers made it the way they did. You put five characters in little units. When an enemy unit encounters you, it's battle time. However, where are the choices? All you can do is just watch them duke it out. Then I saw some of the options that are available. Let's see, Attack Leader, Attack Strongest, Attack Weakest, and Random. Well, can I just put it in manual mode? Apparently not. After being disappointed and playing it anyway, I finally learned why they made it like this. You will do nearly infinite battles from the first time you dispatch all the way to the final boss. I don't know about you, but I would much rather watch the fencing and magic rather than having to actually fence and cast spells. It's similar to real life, you get tired of battles after a certain amount of time, right? I realized the true meaning of the game, it was to make an army! Create your own army! So what if it may be a little on the easy side in terms of difficulty? There are tons, again, tons of job classes and other things to receive by the end of the game. It was so much fun assembling my own death army. Thus, I became addicted.
Gameplay - 10

Replay Value -
After finishing about five games, I asked myself, ''Is there more to this?'' The answer was, yes. I continued my desperate search for a better reason to continue playing this wonderful game. Then it happened. When I picked up my strategy guide for this game and took a peek, I realized that I had missed so many secrets and extra characters to obtain. Immediately, I restarted the game and finally, after three months of playing almost everyday, I put the game in the dust pile. This game will keep you very busy.
Replay Value - 10

Rent or Buy? -
I would definitely purchase it. Renting it would be a waste of time because you would not be able to complete all of it in a small amount of time. Thus, buying this game would obviously be a smart choice. The game, as of this submission, should be found pretty cheap in stores now. I would not be surprised if this game is in the bargain bin section or on sale for a very low price. Do not hesitate, buy it!

Quick Review -
Story - 9.5
Graphics - 8.5
Music/Sound - 9.0
Gameplay - 10
Replay Value - 10
Total (Not an average) - 9.0

Bottom Line -
Situation: You are a Strategy-RPG fan and/or like games like Final Fantasy Tactics. Solution: Get it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 10/29/00, Updated 06/03/01