Enchanted Arms

"Cliche, and lacking in replayability, but good while it lasts"

Introduction

Enchanted Arms (henceforth referred to as EA) is one of the few titles for Xbox 360 that gets the luxury of being called a role-playing game. Furthermore, one should note that this is a Japanese Role-Playing Game (or as fans of the genre call them, JRPGs), so there is much to be expected: incompetent characters, moody, somber characters, and many common elements that have now become cliche. EA delivers cliche upon cliche, but you will find yourself overlooking that as you play the game. EA is a bit of a gem for RPG fans, but others may simply notice that it is mediocre, at best, but still offers challenges and a story that will keep you occupied for up to 50 hours.

Story: 8

Warning, small spoilers. The story of EA begins rather simply, with a (yep, you guessed it) incompetent school student with spiked, unnaturally coloured hair. You begin in a class where you have your first battle experience - what is known as a Golem Battle, where you control creatures called Golems to fight for you. You learn that you are an Enchanter, and as such have these abilities. Golem Battles become a core aspect of the story when, after visiting a Festival where things begin to turn sour. Golems suddenly go out of control, attacking the people of Yokohoma City. In a vein attempt to do something about it, the main character, Atsuma, and his friends Toya (the know-it-all, smart, genuinely admired guy) and Makoto (a transvestite, woman trapped in a man's body), retreat back to the Academy to save whoever may be trapped there. They enter, only to find the place attacked, and Atsuma proceeds to chase his pet dog into an area of the Academy only known as the Sealed Ward, where the main plot truly begins. There are many plot twists, difficult battles, and new characters that appear throughout the story, eventually leading to an ultimate showdown where mostly everyone is involved. I won't go much further into it than that, suffice to say that the game leads you on a massive adventure that will consume at least 40 hours of your time.

Characters: 6

The characters in this game hardly seem original, let alone like the developers put in any effort to make them unique. Angsty teenage. Strong and silent type. Hyperactive, flat-chested girl with an annoyingly squeaky voice. The only exception to this would be Makoto - indeed, it is rare for a transvestite to appear in a video game, but the handling of this character redeems the characters just a teensy bit. As you play, you may find yourself wanting to know more about the characters, and fortunately there is development for you to admire. However, there's many mysteries that are just left open, and some that you can pull together yourself without it being directly stated. The characters, while cliche in their behaviour, do seem to have a unique backstory - no one is the same as another.

Graphics: 8

To put it simply, there was a whole lot of effort that was put into the environment and some of the attacks, as well as cutscenes, but the rest is lacking. Character models are bleak in combat as well as outside combat - whilst just running around, you cannot even see Atsuma's facial features. The conversation character models are much nicer, but have a tacky feel to them. The cutscenes and environments, however, are some of the most beautiful artwork ever to be seen in a video game. Disappointingly, many of the cutscenes are mere seconds in length, that leaves the feeling that so much more could've been done with them.

Also, it should be noted that many of the golems you encounter/use in this game will have a unique look, and the models themselves are nice to see. The designers obviously put a lot of thought into how each monster would appear, and whilst some may seem comical (Crazy Pizza, for example), there are others that just radiated awesomeness levels (Odin, Black Dragon, and Marlin Glave come to mind) far above that of the characters.

Sound: 5

In my opinion, the weakest point of EA is its sound. Firstly, and most importantly, the English voice acting is terrible! Fortunately, there is an option for you to switch the acting back to its original Japanese - I advise you do so, or you will be kicking yourself for it. I spent time with English voices, to the point where I couldn't stand it anymore. The Japanese voices fit so much nicer, and are much less harsh on the ears. And yes, there are subtitles for everything, so you need not worry about not being able to understand anything.

Secondly, the soundtrack is not one deserving of high-praise. The sounds are all repetitive and boring. Battle music just isn't noticed - you'll be too busy planning your moves. Not to mention the total lack of music when you are wandering around the wilderness, leaving the game feeling very empty - I get the feeling they were trying to create an atmosphere similar to Shadow of the Colossus, but due to the frequency of random battles, that lack becomes much more noticeable.

Thirdly, and finally, the sounds themselves are average. Footsteps sound like footsteps, for the most part. Menu operation gets frustration with a noise answering every move of the cursor you make. To be quite honest, it gets incredibly frustrating. At times, I found myself muting the television whilst battling just because of the noises.

Controls/Gameplay: 9

This is where the game truly shines. For the most part, the game is simple in controls. Press A to open this box. Press A to use this elevator. Press A to push the button. Press A to use this teleporter. Press A to talk to this person. However, the controls are not brilliant in some regards - for example, Y opens the menu, rather than START, which shows a map of the area you're in. In battle, almost everything can be done with the pressing of A and using the D-pad to navigate the battlefield/user interfaces.

Battle goes like this: you have a 4x3 grid in which your characters can move, and your opponent(s) has/have the same. You may move a limited amount of squares each turn, and then select the attack you wish to use. If your movement does not allow you to attack how you wanted, simply press B and you can re-move your character. Each "team" takes turns in moving and attacking. In essence, it comes down to strategy as how you face each battle, and as you go on you find yourself plotting ways to take down the entire team in the fastest time you can. With over 100 golems and 3 human characters to chose from, you can arrange your team to fit your playing style - one powerhouse being constantly healed, an all out direct attack, ranged fighting from the back of the grid - it works out to how you want to play it. This addictive battle system is what will draw you into EA, if anything else fails to do so.

Multiplayer: 0

Yes, the game says it is playable on Xbox Live. Indeed, it is. However, you will most likely find, as I did, that there is NO ONE to play on Xbox Live. The idea of Xbox Live is using a team of golems from your save file to fight another person's team of golems from their save file. From what I understand, MP featured a lot of users just using the most powerful golem in the game (Omega), thus people lost interest. Multiplayer for this game gets a 0 anyway, as it is damn impossible to find a game - player or ranked.

Replayability: 2

Apart from collecting the golems you missed out, there's nothing that will draw you back into EA once you're done. But, since there is over 100 of them to find, you may gain an extra 4 or 5 hours of game time.

Closing Notes/Rent or Buy

Enchanted Arms is by no means a horrible game, but it falls flat on its face when it comes to multiplayer and replayability - two of the biggest aspects that the Xbox 360 looks for. With one, comes another, and without a stable Multiplayer, there's not much this game has to offer you once you complete it. I bought it, and I wish I didn't. Even though it takes up to 50 hours to complete, it feels like a complete waste of money, since I have no desire to return to playing it. I strongly recommend that you rent it, if you're an RPG fan. Be wary that it may take you several renting periods to complete it, but at least you won't be dishing out the full price for a game that has nothing to offer you upon completion.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/07