Fantasy Friday-Radiata Stories

[Originally written in June 2008]

Hey, welcome to Fantasy Friday, I’m your host Zack Fair, and today we’re looking at yet another overlooked gem of an RPG, Radiata Stories. Developed by Tri-Ace, the people behind Star Ocean, this game is very interesting to say the least. A good RPG that many should have played for it’s off the wall humor, mostly lighthearted story, and tried and true gameplay. Now onto the review.  

Plot Summary: You are Jack Russel (terrier haha it’s so funny, cause I’ve NEVER heard it before X_x) a boy who aspires to be a Radiata Knight and follow in the footsteps of his Father, the strongest knight to ever live. You try out for the Knights but end up getting your butt kicked by some blond chick with an axe. Turns out she’s been training to be a knight since she could walk. You still get in though on account of your Dad being a badass. Both Jack and the girl, whom you now know is called Ridley, get put under Ganz, a bumbling goodhearted knight and leader of The Rose Cochon Brgade. To not spoil the game I’ll simply say an accident occurs on a mission for your brigade and both Jack and Ganz get kicked out of the Knights. Jack ends up joining a town guild called Theater Vancoor, Ganz however is not so fortunate, and somehow ends up in the thieves guild. Through a series of events you eventually reach the main point of the game, a war between the fairy creatures (elves, orcs, goblins and the like) and humans. A major point in the game is Jack’s (your) decision on whether to fight with the Humans or Non-humans. I personally always chose the non-humans because I’m a little too noble. In the end you are ultimately forced to fight for both sides against the final boss, after all genocide is kinda inappropriate for a teen game….right?  

Graphics: 8/10 Nothing too fantastic here, but they fit the fun and quirky theme of the game. This is an RPG that doesn’t take itself the least bit seriously, so it’s a fun playthrough for just about anybody. The backgrounds are nicely shaded and though some area transitions are a little too abrupt, they never grow stale. The character animations are very well done, easily conveying the appropriate emotions for often humorous results. What I was most impressed with was the armor/clothes for the main character. Every time you got a new set they would completely change and practically breath new life into the character. The detailing on said suits is also impressive…though this is the least you can expect when you can’t customize any of your party members equipment.  

Sound: 9/10 Radiata Stories has a fun little soundtrack that fits the light mood of the game very well. The music fits wherever it’s played, and never really gets old. Another nice little treat is that in nearly every cutscene there is some well done voice acting to relieve you of the monotony of the dreaded “tap and read”. SFX are very well placed, especially during character interaction. If you play it you’ll see what I mean.  

Gameplay: 8/10 Now this is where things get really interesting. This game had two main selling points or “hooks”. First, you can kick just about anything. I am dead serious. Furniture, walls, monsters, people, anything; you see it, you can kick it. Hell, you even kick the treasure chests open; it’s actually the only way to open them. There are of course consequences for your actions and if you kick somebody one too many times, they will fight you. This often leads to you accidentally challenging someone strong, thinking they were weak, and getting your ass handed to you. Second, you can recruit just about anybody to be in your party. Nearly everyone in this game has an agenda, personality, and backstory. Appeal to them and they’ll join your quest/quests and there are nearly two hundred people in this game available to join you. That’s crazy! The combat system is nothing new however. It’s not bad, but it’s like pizza. Most everybody likes pizza, but if you have too much, you’ll get bored of it. How it works is that you can level up on each type of weapon (one handed and two handed swords, spears and axes) and gain attacks for each one. You normally start off with only two or three of a weapon’s attacks like right and left slash, but you’ll eventually gain thrusts and jumping slashes and the like. When you have many attacks you can set them up into a combo via the start menu. Each weapon has a different CP or combo points value and can only hold so many attacks. There are no spells or MP in this game. They are instead replaced with volty points and volty blows and blasts. With each hit inflicted on an enemy Jack gains volty points. Ten points are needed for a volty blow, a strong often guard breaking hit, and one hundred for a volty blast, a limit break move that deals massive amounts of damage. Though your comrades during battle are completely automatic, right down to their equipment, you can eventually give orders to them to heal, attack, etc. etc. You can also have your party link up into formations with different special effects. In fact, you can even learn your party members’ special abilities through multiple linkings.  

Replay value: 7/10 Like most RPG’s it really depends on if you’re a collector or not. At the end of the game you can fight multiple extra bosses in the hardest dungeons not only for the challenge but for special weapons, armor, and items. Some of them even join your party on defeat. A few of these extra bosses are guest appearances from one of Tri-Ace’s other games, Valkyrie Profile. Lenneth Valkyrie herself can be fought and made to be a party member.  

Closing Thoughts: This game was a whole lot of fun and good for a laugh or two. I recommend it to anybody, especially to those who have not yet played an RPG as it’s a nice, easy way to get into RPGs. Mainly because the story is funny and light, not heavy and deep like some more famous franchises. I can definitely see it as a classic of tomorrow. It’s real cheap, so I say if you see a copy lying around, pick it up! Even if it’s just to tide you over till the next Final Fantasy, I promise you won’t regret it. Thanks for reading. I’m Zack Fair, and this was Fantasy Friday, see ya next week.

Well, for anyone who stumbles across this blog, it is a blog dedicated to overlooked, under appreciated and forgotten gems of RPGs (Role Playing Games). It hasn't truly started on the weekly schedule yet, I'm just moving it from its original home on screwattack.com. If you enjoy RPGs, check it out, and anticipate new blogs, cause they're comin' real soon. 

Fantasy Friday: The World Ends with You

[Originally written in June of 2008]

Okay, I missed Friday by a "little", so sue me...wait please don't I probably can't afford it.

Moving right along,

Some of you may never have heard of this game, which is a real shame, it's creative story, funny dialogue and interesting though sometimes challenging gameplay should get more recognition. I personally believe it to be the best DS game so far, and hope for a sequel of some kind.
I'm surprised how little I hear of it as it was made by the same development team that worked on Kingdom Hearts, a very successful little series of games, with more on the way. (More on that a few fridays from now.) For those of you who didn't enjoy KH, than don't let it stop you as though the main character has his fair share of emo, the story makes up for it well. It was originally called It's a Wonderful World, but for obvious copyright reasons they had to change that. Now onto the review.

Plot summary: The World Ends with You tells the story of Neku Sakuraba, a more than a little emo 15-year-old boy who unexpectedly wakes up in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, Japan who never is without his all too necessary headphones so he can drown out other people. While trying to piece together his rude awakening, he receives a strange text message warning him that he will cease to exist unless he accomplishes a certain mission. Although he barely has time to grasp what is happening to him, he commences his assigned task in the mysterious streets of Shibuya.

Graphics:10/10
This game s simply beautiful. It really is the current pinnacle of 2D graphics on the DS. Just take a look at some screens and you'll know what I mean. The drawings are very well detailed, without any overzealous zippers, and the backgrounds hold the same. Character expressions are also done very well, easily expressing the character without being too "Japany". Battle graphics are also fairly good though the sprites sometimes get sketchy, but it's the DS, if you want super graphics go buy a PSP. Overall, extremely well done, Square.

Sound:7/10
This is a little more opinion based, whereas the SFX are all well and good. fitting properly with the game, the soundtrack is another story. You'll either love or hate it as it is comprised mostly of J-pop, J-rock and even J-rap, though most are in english, just japanese styled. If you hate J stuff, than mute it, cause it'll loop and grind into your ears. Though if you really think about it the music is appropriate as this game is set in Japan and makes several japanese pop culture references. The music is practically a reflection of what Neku is listening to.

Gameplay:8/10
Hoo boy, this ones a doozey. It takes a lot of getting used to as you practically have to split your mind in two. In every RPG there are a set of monsters you mus fight correct? Well they're called noise here and they exist in both screens. On the top screen you control your partner by pushing left or right and following a combo map to either a symbol or number depending on your partner. If you pick the right combo ending you earn a star. Later in the game you can unleash powerful combo attacks by collecting these stars. On the bottom is neku, and you use the stylus to move and activate his pins, which act like weapons and spells. Unfortunately for beginners, both characters are fighting at the same time, and must be controlled one right after the other rapid fire. However, you can set your partner to automatic which eases the pain in the beginning. However once you get the hang of it the battles become extremely fun and you'll want to drop the AI as its stupid as all hell. Another aspect of the gameplay is the clothes you can wear. Not only do they act as armor like in most RPG's, giving you stat boosts and the like, but they also have brands. Depending on where you are in Shibuya, the trends change and your clothes can either make you weaker or stronger depending on their brand. You can always check the areas trends by opening your cell phone menu. While some found this feature annoying, I thought it was an interesting way to keep you flexible with your armor and pins.

Replay value:8/10
This mostly depends on how hardcore a gamer you are. At the end they give you a ton of stuff to collect, and not just the most powerful weapons and gear either but actual plot relevant things. I found this to be nice, especially if you didn't want the game to end just quite yet. They even give you an extra little branch off "level" which is very fun and hilarious. However if collecting and plot pieces aren't your thing, than prepare for one playthrough, though great it will be.

End thoughts:10/10
Well this game is graphically stunning and, in my eyes, a fresh new look at what an RPG and RPG battle system can be. Though clumsy at times, this game is truly a fantastic addition to Sqaure's line-up. I'm Zack, and this was Fantasy Friday, see you next week.