Odin Sphere

"More than just a quaint fairy-tale"

Presentation & Cast

Borrowing from mythology and classic literature, Odin Sphere re-works age old concepts to craft a fairy-tale for the modern age. That is, in essence, what this story is, and its presentation reflects this. The plot is revealed through a series of five story books, each focusing on the quest of a different central character. While any one book could be a stand-alone story, in truth, the narratives are highly inter-related. Characters of one book often make appearances in another individual's story, allowing the player to see them in a different context. As such, this results in a very non-linear method of story telling whereby the player must piece together events in the various characters' lives to bring the overarching plot into focus. While this may lead to some confusion on one's first playthrough, thankfully all scenes can be viewed at one's leisure. To better aide the player, the developers even outlined in which order events happen chronologically so the player can view the clips sequentially, essentially being able to watch the story as a movie. It should be noted that cutscenes, while prevalent, are not long and can always be skipped.

All that being said, the story is quite superb. One is reminded of Shakespearean theatre as characters are seen giving soliloquies, struggling with themselves over moral dilemmas, or trying to come to terms with a tragic loss. Emotions are particularly expressive in this game, making it easy for one to empathize with the cast. The troupe is reminiscent of archetypes found in classic children's stories: the prince who is cursed by a magical spell, the fairy princess, and among others, a girl whose appearance is strikingly similar to Red Riding Hood. While this may lead one to believe these characters to be generic, they are in fact each imbued with a strong personality, and the interactions between them are quite engaging. The story is far from whimsical, as it deals with grave circumstances, but is not without its lighthearted moments. Odin Sphere's tale is likely to appeal to everyone on some level, as it calls to mind stories told to us as children and invites us to re-live our more carefree days.

Voice Acting

Though not an aspect of gaming I typically comment on, I felt this warranted special attention. In Odin Sphere we are given the option between listening to the Japanese or English voice cast. The latter is absolutely outstanding, and may even be justified in being called the best vocals I have heard in a game. Voices by and large fit the character to which they are assigned and lines are delivered professionally and with sentiment. Such work further substantiates the theatrical aspect of this game and goes a long way in drawing in the player.

Battle Mechanics

Each of the five playable characters is given his or her own unique weapon, ranging from the classic sword, to a rarely seen whip-like chain. As such, each individual handles differently in battle and is given his or her own set of exclusive moves. For instance, Cornelius is able to perform a spinning jump attack using his sword, while Gwendolyn can glide and charge at enemies from the air. Outside of these personalized skills, all characters can execute a 4-chain combo, either while grounded or aerial, and it is more often than not that this will be the preferred method for dispatching foes. The downfall of this is that there is no system by which a character can add new moves to his repertoire. As weapon level increases one will gain neither longer nor different combos. Characters will, however, learn new “Psypher Skills” (this game's equivalent to magic) as they rise in level, but for the most part these abilities are common to all the characters.

Essentially, the character will not develop as a fighter throughout the course of the story. The player is given few options in how to mold his characters aside from deciding which accessory they will equip, of which there are few to begin with and only one may be used at a time. Although the game may bill itself as an action RPG, it, for all intents and purposes, it is a 2D side-scrolling fighter. That said, a greater variety of moves would have been appreciated.

Difficulty

Three modes of play are available from the start, with a fourth difficulty setting being made available as an unlockable late in the game. One can freely switch between settings at any time, so if for instance a boss is too demanding on Normal mode, the player can switch to Easy for his next attempt. Make no mistake: the easiest setting can still be quite challenging at times. I found this was not solely because enemies can hit hard, but more so due to the poor resistance characters have to status effects. A common nuisance is “Dizzy”, in which your character will be reeling from an impact and will be unable to move. During this time he can be repeatedly pounded by his adversaries without mercy. A similar condition to this is “Freeze”, where the character will be encased in a block of ice. Other effects, like poison, are common, and without an antidote the affliction can take several minutes to wear off, all the while draining one's health at a steady pace. Though the latter two can be prevented or cured, neither can be said of Dizzy. While these status effects do add to the challenge, they are more of a tremendous annoyance and may be viewed by some as “cheap tricks”, especially when a character is affected by several of them simultaneously. Lastly, although this is not a status effect per se, when a character attacks too many times consecutively his or her Power Bar will be depleted. When this happens the individual will in essence become paralyzed, as if hit with Dizzy, until his power recovers. This danger is more apparent in some characters than in others, but nevertheless can be an aggravation. Some may say that this drawback lends an air of strategy to the game in that one must properly budget and time attacks appropriately; others may see it as a severe limitation.

Perhaps the larger frustration is the ease by which enemies ignore attacks. It seems to be a frequent occurrence that, while in the midst of my character's combo, the enemy he is striking will shrug off the attack and proceed to knock him backward, often off his feet, where is vulnerable to further abuse. A key reason for this may be because once the buttons are pressed to execute the 4-chain combo the character is dedicated to see it through to its completion. This often leaves him open to attack because if the need arises for him to leap away he cannot. Opponents can take advantage of this and either counterattack or strike from behind. As a result, a requisite strategy is to attack opponents using light attacks so as to not become committed to the combo, then attempt to flee before they can return the volley. To pull this technique off correctly encompasses a lengthy learning curve, during which your character can be expected to take heavy abuse. It may be different were there any way to increase your characters' defenses, but this game offers none. One's only recourse is to raise HP so enemies' attacks strike for a smaller percentage of total health.

Length

One might expect to dedicate upwards of 30 hours toward Odin Sphere. Each of the five story books took me an average of five hours, cutscenes included. After a book's completion the player can either proceed to the next character's book or replay the book he just finished. The latter option functions as a New Game+ in that all items and statistics are retained but the player begins the book from the first chapter. This can be seen as either a positive or a negative. Should one just wish to level up or pick up a missed item from halfway through the story, he will have to play through old territory until arriving at the desired location. An option to select which chapter one wants to replay would have been a more advantageous, and time saving, feature.

Summary

While overall a very good game, I would be hard-pressed to classify this as an RPG. There is very little customization to be had: characters cannot acquire new weapons, armor, or attacks, and battles are very action oriented with little reliance on menus. As stated previously, this game seems more apt to fit into the side-scroller/fighting genre, although to declare it as such would lead to some degree of disappointment. The melee action, while enjoyable, could have had so much more depth if new attacks could be learned or commands executed in ways other than simply hitting the square button. Taken as a whole, the game is adequate as either an RPG or beat ‘em up, but lacks the complexity more specialized games of either genre possess. However, the beautiful presentation in both the story and atmosphere help to alleviate this concern, making the game a pleasure to experience at least once.

Scores:
08..........Story / Presentation
10..........Characters
10..........Voice Acting
06..........Gameplay
08..........Difficulty
08..........Length / Replay Value

07..........Total

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/07