Kenneth Richardson
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DualShockers Latest Reviews
With a cool cast of characters, a suspenseful story, a huge and beautiful world, unique exploration, addictive combat a and main scenario dozens of hours long, Exist Archive has quite a lot to offer the action RPG fan. You can and will spend many fun hour playing this. Despite the issues it's worth the price of admission, particularly for its fast combat, a wonderfully pleasant contrast to the waves of purely turn-based JRPGs we constantly see.
Thanks to a dynamic and challenging play experience, there are plenty of reasons to get back up after you meet your untimely end in Shiren the Wanderer. Fans of this genre know exactly what they’re getting into and fans of RPGs in general may find the formula fresh, fast, easy to pick up and exciting to play. The lack of online support may render the co-op useless for many, but even without it the game’s rather enjoyable.
The artwork is simply stunning, so fans of Japanese animation or games in general have something to come for. Unless you’re a hardcore genre fan, it may also go far enough to scratch your rail shooter itch. If then you’re also allured by the story and getting to intimately know all of the main cast members, then I think you’ll love this game. Again, it’s packed to the brim with Japanese fan service which I myself generally love. In a sequel though, maybe it can add some interesting gameplay to supplement that.
Even so, Atelier Sophie gets right the same things as many of its predecessors. It’s a charming, relaxing adventure with a new cast, strategic depth of combat, lovely visuals and a uniquely bright setting and atmosphere. It does almost nothing new, but it doesn’t have to because the fans don’t want it to. If you’ve played any of the recent series entries, you already know if you want this. If you’re a series fan, you probably already have it.
Ultimately, as with Vanillaware’s other titles, Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is a high quality product. It’s quite clear that a tremendous amount of care and consideration went into virtually every component of the game. From the gorgeous visuals and expressive music, to the diverse character affairs and deep combat, to the mountain of game-play systems, content, replay value and sprawling, fully realized game world, this game is brimming with beauty, nuance and detail. It’s an excellent gaming experience, and a must for fans of Japanese RPGs and/or action games: or fans of mesmerizing artwork.