Enchanted Arms

"I beat, and then reviewed this. Not vice versa!"

Enchanted Arms. Some underdog RPG I saw an ad for in a magazine, then a trailer at Gamestop on the TV. I bought a 360 shortly before it's release date.

I picked it up on release day, ran home, stuck it in the 360.....UbiSoft produced it. My first impressions at this point were "Hmmm the latest Might and Magics were good from them, but then again Lunar Legend was a failure....this is going to be hit/miss!"

....its a hit, let me tell you.

My first impressions of the game from the title cutscene were full of oooo's and ahhhh's.....I clocked 45 hours on this game in a span of 5 days. ..it's that good.

and now...the real review!

Graphics: 10/10..
I do not own an HD TV. I am lucky enough to have Component input however, so I do get more than a mediocre signal with my 360...and these graphics are amazing. I hear people thinking that the visuals are bland, and I wonder what game they're staring at.... the city scapes and landscapes are amazing. If you get a high vantage point and scan a city, the detail, and design is just awesome.

The theme of the graphics is very unique as well. It is a very elaborate, and very imaginative. It's got that perfect mix of sci-fi, and fantasy elements that make the city and character designs great.

During battle, the spell and battle effects are slick, and very detailed. There was no clipping that I saw, and no slow down, even when there was alot happening at once. Great stuff.

Music: 9/10
There is ONE song that annoyed me. Too repetitive. Other than that, the music is very fitting. Each song fits the theme of the region very well, and its all pretty catchy....even the annoying one was catchy, and fit the area it was played in. Iwata village was my favorite song. Very eerie.

The Sound effects and voice overs are fitting, and well done....but, as usual, the voice overs are sometimes annoying....Everyone always has that one character voice that just urks them....for me it was Yuki. You can pick Japanese or English voice overs...either way they fit the mood presented......even though I can't understand Japanese! (The tone of voice, and expression fit the subtitled text I was reading)

Story: 10/10

The story revolves around Atsuma, Toya, and Makoto....students at an academy in Yokohama city. They learn of enchantments, an ancient golem war, and Atsuma's arm, which negates enchantments....so people are naturally afraid of him and think hes an outcast....

This in turn begins the story of the game...which involves Atsuma learning more about his arm, and coming to terms with his life....I will not say much more, otherwise it would spoil things, but know that the story is great, and plays out well. Plot twists o'plenty. Something you don't get very often.

All of the characters are great. Even the supporting role ones (The ascetic monk is my favorite). Each character has a distinct personality....proof of the great character development, is that me and my friend have been cracking jokes about Raigar, one of the playable characters in the game. You can't do that unless he has a distinct personality!

Gameplay: 9/10

The grid battle system is great! It adds a nice depth to the battles, and it involves *gasp* thought, and strategy...unheard of?!?! You have 4 characters in your party at any given time, and this is always composed of Atsuma, and any combination of human and golem type allies. Each person has different types of attacks with different ranges and areas of effect. The result is a fun strategic game, with each battle! There are even combo attacks that can be done which result in increased damage........and EX attacks, which are essentially the same as Limit Breaks in FFVII...y'know, fill up a meter, execute ultra attack that has a sweet animation, and does a ton of damage! :) Fun stuff.

Golems are unlocked via the shops, the casino, or by finding, challenging, and pummeling them in the field. You then take the core you receive, and synthesize it into a full fledged golem, ready to do you bidding!

Characters level up via EXP, and SP (Skill Points). The EXP affects level and statistics, where as the skill points are used to purchase skills, or to increase parameters (HP, and combat stats). Golems level up in the same exact way, except that they never learn any new skills for the duration of the game...all of their SP is used to up their stats further.

I love the golems. There are over 100 to obtain, each completely unique. The designs range from silly, to completely amazing. You will get strange creatures, demonic looking warriors, undead minions, robots...you name it, it's probably a golem!

There are plenty of sidequests and minigames (an entire casino!), and optional dungeons to boot. Very nice.

Go buy the game. It's a very engaging role playing game, and the first of what I hope to be many great JRPGs for the 360.

I'll probably play through the game a few more times to be completely honest.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 09/06/06