Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity

"A decent SRPG for beginners"

Stella Dues is yet another SRPG brought over to the States by Atlus. Is it as good as their other fairings or just another crappy title to find its way to our shore? Read on!

Stella Dues is the kind of game that lists nothing about the plot on the back of the box. This should have been a sign. Our hero is out killing souls so he can use Alchemy to save the world. A girl convinces him the world needs the souls and that there is another way to save the planet. So they set out on a quest full of religious intrigue. Sadly the characters are fairly paper thin and the plot never advances much. The biggest problem is that every twist is shown as the plot advances so there are no surprises. This also has the worst ending I've seen in a long while.

Graphic wise Stella isn't too shabby. It uses 3d models instead of the usual 2D fair we've been seeing in these titles. It also sues some cell shading for some stuff and while it distracts from everything it isn't too bad until you see the anime cut scenes which look scary...

Sound wise I wasn't overly impressed. Voice acting is the basic kind. Not great and not horrible but it gets the job done. Music was utterly forgettable. Actually, I just beat the game and don't remember any of the music. Sound effects are basic all around and lacking in many areas (all weapons sound the same, even the wands).

The control in the game is simple. Most things are menu based so many that's why. I had no problems with the control at all.

If you've played any of the SRPG's that Atlus has brought over on the PS2 then you'll know how this plays. A SRPG is a type of game that requires you to think about how you're going to go about defeating the enemies or accomplishing a goal of the stage. The game is broken into 50 odd stages. They will contain 1 of 3 types of objectives. Kill everything, kill X person, protect x person. This might be why I got bored with the game right away, there is no variety.

Now, you can only place so many of your own characters on a board. You do this at the start and make sure you set them because I once forgot early on and couldn't bring anyone into the fight. Silly feature but oh well, got to plan ahead I guess.

Now, each character has AP. This allows them to perform actions. Moving uses up a lot and if you don't have to move you can usually attack up to three times in row. See, that's why it's called a strategy game. Besides that you can perform team combos so sometimes it's better to horde the AP.

As usual you gain levels and while you can buy new weapons, there is no town to visit. From a menu on the map you can visit a shop and do a few other little things. The game is very linear in nature and requires zero exploration and has no random fights. If you need to level then use the catacombs thing. That's about the entire replay you'll get out of this game because it's the only thing this game offers besides the main plot line.

Would I recommend Stella Dues? Actually I might. It was an easy title and wasn't as complicated as Disgaea with its game play mechanics so Stella Dues is a nice game to ease someone into the genre. Sadly, it's a weak entry in the genre as well so fans may want to pass on this on and play something better.

Story - 5/10
Graphics - 6/10
Sound - 4/10
Control - 9/10
Game Play - 6/10
Replay Value - 1/10

Final Score - 5/10

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/07