"This is a good game, nothing more, nothing less!"

The latest squaresoft titles have changed our way of viewing RPGs, complicated stories and spectacular graphics have made many gamers expect having a FF8 whenever they purchase a RPG, and this is bad.

Atlus' Thusand Arms is everything that squaresoft RPG's are not... It has a simple story that's enjoyable and very easy to follow. It has lovely graphics and extremly simple gameplay. It's just the kind of game I wanted after those dark and complex RPGs. (Which I love). So, when thinking about buying this game, don't expect Xenogears.

The stoy puts you in the role of Meis Triumph, the last of a long line of spirit blacksmiths, who escapes his town after being invaded by the Dark Acolytes, now he is on a quest to defeat the bad guys; to do so, he must use the greatest tool that any spirit blacksmith posesses: DATING. There is a good reason for dating, and it fits the story well, so it doesn't sounds too far fetched.

The graphics are very good, but, let the buyer beware: characters are super deformed on the field and towns. Every town is 3D CG, but the characters are 2D hand drawn sprites, they look good, but not to everyone's taste. When you switch to the battle field there is a whole new stroy: you play anime style characters in 2D, with all spells and summons on 3D, spells are colorful and summons are very good, but definately no match for ff8 or even ff7.

The gameplay is a love-it or loath-it, I loved it but I'll be honest in my explanation: the battle system is a one on one fight where only the character that you place on the front can fight, the other two on the back can only heal or hinder the enemy with fire bottles or items. This is the only RPG where I have really used those slow and sleep spells. On this game you don't buy weapons for you characters, since you are a blacksmith you forge weapons for them, and each time you forge you add a different spell to the weapon, depending the girl you forge the weapon with and the intimacy level you have with her. (That's what you really date for).

The dates are FUN, and I found myself laughing at some of the questions many times, or answering the wrong thing just to see what they'll answer. Unfortunately, by the end of the game you probably will know all the questions and answers so dating loses it's touch and becomes a race to get the spell. you can ethir go out with the girls, give them a present or play a mini game, which you can find either lame or cute fun.

I read somewhere that this game has high loading times, this is absolutely not true! there's almost no loading time... where did he ever get that from?

Thousand arms is a game that doesn't take itself very seriously, the game is filled with jokes and funny bits everywhere, this game is not serious...not at all, it makes fun of all cliches in RPGs... (Hey! you can't invade my privacy, even if you are the main character in the game!...I always wanted to hear someone argue on the fact that you get on people's houses with no problems)... so you can finally play a RPG and not feel the dark mood everywhere, sadly, this seem to disencourage many gamers.

Overall I gave this game a 9, why? because it deserves it! I'm not judging whether I like the game or not, but the quality of the product, which is a very high one. This game is not for everybody, the fighting engine and endless cutesy feel may put many down, but if it is your cup of tea, it may provide a good gaming experience!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/13/00, Updated 01/13/00