Koudelka

"A Dark adventure with a few major flaws"

Koudelka is a Playstation game that most people have probably never heard of. I do admit, it is probably a love it or hate it game, but it has a lot of high points as well as low points. oddly enough, I am one of those people who love the love it or hate it type of games. It is a Strategy-Horror-RPG which is reminiscent of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy Tactics (with a touch of Grandia). And that is said in the best way possible. I must say, some of the movies made me think Parasite Eve, as well.

The story of Koudelka is about a young woman, Koudelka, who has spiritual powers. She can speak to spirits, and is a medium for them to come into our world. The time frame is the late 1800's, somewhere in Wales. Koudelka has been summoned (because of her powers) to a large monastery near the ocean. this place is rumored to have many mysterious happenings and she is supposed to unravel them and solve the mystery. Well, when she arrives...well, as you can guess, it isn't pretty. Some sort of...monsters...have attacked and now she is stuck in this haunted house.

For a survival horror game the story in Koudelka is great. Obviously, it is an RPG as well, but this puts most (90%) of Survival horror stories to shame. And for any normal RPG fan, the story will be a refreshing change from the many cliche's in the genre. Its dark, creepy, and reminds me of Parasite Eve.

The characters are great. One complaint I usually have about games is the lack of character development. Well, in this game each character (even the minor characters) has quite a bit of personality and is developed well. My favorite character has to be James. He constantly spouts things about God, his power, and how your other party members are Pagans and Blasphemer's. I have to say, he is one of the few characters who said things like this in which was extremely realistic. Obviously, he and the main character dont like each other much...Well I wont get too far into it. The characters, without a doubt, are one of the very best parts of Koudelka. Each has a deep background and a reason for what he or she did, why they act like they do, or is in the situation they are in today. There is even quite a bit of comedy in the dark story. The comedy still holds the dark tone of the game, but its genuinely funny.

This game definitely earns its Mature rating. There is a LOT of blood. I wont spoil anything, but there is more violence in this game then two Resident Evil's combined.. The blood does have a reason though. Wow...violence that actually fits in with the story! I'm shocked. There is also a bit of cussing, though its nothing too severe. The cussing also fits time time frame. there's no modern words here, which gives a somewhat eerie effect.

The atmosphere in this game screams Silent Hill. It is dark, creepy, and at times, extremely violent. Sadly, it is almost too dark. At times it is hard to see your character, and you miss a lot of the backgrounds or important items which may help you progress with the story. This is one of the main flaws in the game.

Now for the Graphics. The graphics are, obviously, Playstation 1 quality. They are good, for the time frame though. The monsters are hideous (worse then Parasite Eve, which surprises me) almost to the point where some of them sicken you. Unfortunately, they reused a lot of the monsters. They had some great ideas for them, even though they reused them. The CG's on another note, are absolutely stunning. Some of the best the Playstation has to offer. Especially the backgrounds and the enemies that they show in the movies. Sometimes the voices don't fully fit with the lips, but it is a lot better then games like Xenogears where they didn't even try to fit them with the lips.

The single most impressive part about this game is the sound. Not only the music, but the voices. Everything is extremely well done. The voices sound like real people, and show emotion in the right ways. I would say the voice acting in this game is better then Metal Gear Solid. Yes, it is that good. The music is gorgeous, but it leads to my main complain about the game. The sheer lack of music. There is almost never music in the field, only sound effects. The only music there is in battles, and a few select scenes, as well as the opening and ending themes. As beautiful as the music is, I can only wish there was more. the game seems somewhat dull without it.

The battle system is a simplistic Final Fantasy Tactics. Basically you have a set move range, and you have to move around the squares to get at the enemies, who also have the move range. Spells and attacks have different levels of strength, which only rise if you use the weapon or magic type. Higher level spells can hit multiple enemies (or allies...) if they are standing together. There is a time frame it takes to cast spells, as well. That is not nearly as large as Final Fantasy Tactics', luckily. This takes away a bit of the strategy from the game, but it still is quite fun. This is a game for the people who wanted to like Final Fantasy Tactics, but couldn't get into it fully because it was too complex.

And now we come upon the second best part. Party development. It reminds me a LOT of Grandia. If you haven't played Grandia, let me explain. Say, you have a sword equipped, and you attack with it. If the attack hits, you will get EXP for that weapon style. If you constantly build only with swords, none of your other weapon classes will improve, so you have to change weapons ever so often. Magic works like this also. As your weapon level increases, you get more attacks...but ONLY with that weapon. So if you have a level 2 Mace skill, you have a chance of attacking twice (obviously, doing double damage) instead of at level 1, only attacking once. Magic is much the same, except that the MP cost doubles, the attack gets stronger, and the range rises. So in other words: the more you use it, the better! Luckily, you can only max out at three attacks, stopping your party from becoming overpowered.

The leveling system is great, as well. Your stats do not rise when you level up. Instead, your party is given 'AP' to use on certain stats after battle. Say, you can have a magic user have his (or her) magic stat rise, though he wont hit as often with the magical attacks. Nor will his MP be as high, meaning you wont be able to cast as many spells. You have to balance each stat (in this situation, it would be MP, hit and the INT stat). Of course, weapons, Armor, and accessories up certain stats. Armor usually ups VIT, which is physical defense, and HP. The system they have set up is simple, yet amazingly complex.

Of course, now for the worst parts. Inventory space. Especially early in the game inventory space is horrid. While it usually doesn't effect you until disk 2, it can be a pain. You are forced to keep certain items in your inventory (there are no storage boxes) and eventually these items will run you out of house and home. The controls. Oh man...in the field screen, the controls can be nasty. They are normal RPG controls, except in a type of game with fixed camera angles. This can lead to a lot of accidentally going back to the previous screen, or running into a wall accidentally. That, paired with the dark graphics can make the field screen quite an annoying place.

Koudelka is, all in all, a great game with its fair share of flaws. if you want to play a game for its complexity, atmosphere, and some gruesome attributes, then this is the game for you. Even people who are not fans of Survival horror can enjoy this game, even if they may find it dark.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/01/04