Summon Night: Swordcraft Story

"Big things come in small packages. Summon Night is proof of that."

After my long sabbatical of no GBA games finally ended after receiving a DS, I decided to start with an RPG as my first game for my new system. Viewing screen shots of Summon Night: Swordcraft Story made me long to play this title for the sheer reason that it looked like a Tales game. Looked, yes, but the game play is entirely different. However, this is in no way a bad thing. Despite it being insanely short, and having some very long dialogue sessions, Summon Night is a wonderful little game for any person craving an RPG for a portable.

Since I just mentioned that the game looked like a Tales game, I can start by talking about the graphics. For a GBA game, Summon Night has some of the best graphics I have seen. The character sprites are colorful, and they have emoticons to express their mood. Full sized portraits accompany the dialogue sequences and are drawn to show the characters' mood. In battle, you are treated to super-deformed but super cute sprites that look very similar to those found in games like Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Destiny. Monsters were drawn well, despite most of them looking like they wouldn't harm a fly. Weapons are cosmetic, in that they change in appearance with each one you equip. This game looks good in every way.

Too bad the game doesn't sound great in every way. I know that the GBA was never one for a great soundtrack, so I am probably preaching to the choir when I say the music can use some vast improvement. Don't get me wrong, for the battle tracks were done well, but all of the other tunes were over played and have that annoying GBA instrumentation. There is no voice acting in the game, though, so that's a good thing in my book.

Speaking of books, let's talk about the story. Yeah, that was probably the worst transition in review history but, hey, I tried. Anyways, you start off in Summon Night by choosing to play as Cleru or Pratty. Cleru, the male, is a bit more brash and out-going whereas Pratty is more practical and cheerful. No matter who you chose, your goal is the same: you must become the new Craftlord of Iron in the city of Wystern. A Craftlord is a master weapon smith and helps lead the city. To become this, your character must forge weapons from basic materials and use them in a tournament. The last person to win the finals in the tournament becomes the new Craftlord. It's a simple sounding story, and it is for the most part. Near the middle of your tournament, you start to learn a sinister plot being kept by some of the other Craftlords, the main one being the true reason why the tournament is being held.

No matter which character you chose, at the start of the game you get a Guardian Beast. There are four possibilities. These beasts help you forge your weapons and can support you in battle. So, there are two characters to chose from and four Guardian Beasts to try. As you can see, there is replay value. I won't even get into the night scenes and the plenty of speech options you have. The story unfolds the same way, however it's all of the little things you can do to make each experience unique. Too bad that the game is so short. Even after leveling and making tons of weapons, I clocked in only 15 hours on the game. Furthermore, during some of the story sequences, you often get bombarded with dialogue. It gets redundant pressing A so many times when you're not in battle.

Pressing the A button in battle does NOT get redundant, however. Even though the battles are random and happen frequently in certain areas, they are very fun. You can equip three weapons and switch them with the L button. The A button allows you to attack, and depending on which weapon you have equipped (sword, drill, knuckle, spear and ax) you can do various attacks with them. Your weapons have a green meter that is below your red HP meter. When that meter runs out, your weapon breaks. Don't worry though, it never happened to me. The green meter goes back to full after the battle ends, AND you have three weapons at all times. No worries, alright? Anyways, the R button changes your options for the B button. It's default setting is defend. By hitting R you can move the cursor to a spell or item that your Guardian Beast uses. Then pressing B will allow you to have your GB carry out the desired action. While you are often facing off against multiple enemies, this is one of the easier RPGs out there. Since you can jump over enemies, dash back, and guard with ease, this game provides little challenge. Some of the bosses near the end are tough, and take up the whole screen, but overall this is an easier game.

Most of the fighting takes place in the labyrinth. This is where you go to train most of the time. While there are a few other dungeons in the game, this 100 floors of fun cavern will provide you with plenty of monsters and items. There are no side-dungeons, other than after you beat the game unlocking the last 50/100 floors.

If you are not fighting, chances are you are forging weapons. Weapon techniques are learned from your master. Sword techs are the only ones learned during the story, the rest are up to you to learn. You can only get one technique at a time, so only after you forge one weapon are you able to get a new technique. Weapon forging requires elements, which come from materials you obtain in dungeons. The elements are wind, water, electricity, and fire. Each weapon requires a certain amount of each element. Some weapons require a lot of one element and are granted that elemental attribute. Other weapons require what is called Mystic Ore, which can only be obtained from certain enemies. There are hundreds of weapons to create, just another factor that adds to the replay value of the game. Like other RPGs, there are shops and plenty of people to converse with. Some of them will teach you new techniques if you help them out. Needless to say, there is always something to do in this game.

Yes, the game only lasts a short while. However, with so many paths to take, it all adds up to a solid RPG title. Some may only wish to play it once, but those people will likely miss out on a few techniques and secrets. I recommend this game to any RPG player. It has it's faults, but I am thoroughly impressed that this is a GBA game. If you want an RPG that is full of options, but still easy to manage, Summon Night: Swordcraft Story is the game to get. Go buy it, and start your forging while the iron is hot!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/08/06