Odin sphere - 2D RPG for the PS2

[Aërendyll]

When reading a magazine on anime and manga I came across this action-RPG... It made me think a bit about Aquaria, but it's definitely not the same.

Odin Sphere is an RPG which is played like old fighter games: you control one character which has to fight itsself through various areas. You can take control over 5 characters and follow their individual stories. The game focusses on strategy when it comes to battles.

One of the reasons why I have ordered this game (it still hasn't arrived, it takes 3-4 working days to deliver) is because of the stunnig 2D visuals and the things I've heard about it.  I'm very eager to find out whether the game is good or not. Another big plus is the option to choose between English and Japanese voices, since I'm not that fond of English Dubs (ask my Soul Calibur Games, the voice option is ALWAYS set to japanese).

Official Site (American)
Official Site (Europe, far more beautiful than the American one)
English Trailer
Japanese trailer

Has anyone played and/or bought this game? If so, what do you think about it?

[Patch]

When reading a magazine on anime and manga I came across this action-RPG... It made me think a bit about Aquaria, but it's definitely not the same.

It's similar to Aquaria in that it uses modern technology to make a pretty, high resolution 2d game, rather than messing about with that 3d nonsense, which makes me happy :-)

Both games are also pretty challenging.  And both feature a crafting system that resolves around food. 

The two games are also quite different, of course.  Aquaria at its core is about the kick you get as you slowly unlock a mental map of the game world.  Odin Sphere is about the kick you get when you use your mad skillz to beat up on a monster. 

Has anyone played and/or bought this game? If so, what do you think about it?

I've played Odin Sphere almost to the end of the first character's quest, where my skillz ... well, they have not been mad enough to carry me further just yet (the frelling game is _hard_).  I've heard that the game gets repetitive, since the additional characters trek through the same levels as the first playable character.  The first quest is long enough to be a game unto itself, however, with a nice diversity of areas to play through, so I'm not sure if I'll have the same gripe when/if I get further along in the game. 

Peace Out,

~ Patch

[Glamador]

Odin Sphere is VERY hard.  MUCH harder than Aquaria that's for sure.  More akin to Eternal Daughter in many ways.  I got it when it was first released and beat it soundly around a week and a half later.  It's quite lengthy, but it artificially lengthens itself using repetition of levels and bosses SEVERAL times.  The game has a very good story filled with many twists.  Let's go more in depth with that:

Story and Perspectives:  You experience the game first from the perspective of a single character Gwendolen, younger of two daughters of the Demon King Odin.  Once you complete her quest you live the events of a second character which I will not spoil.  There are 5 characters in all.  As the plot continues from each character's perspective the individual stories start to intertwine and form a coherant overreaching plot.  It's the games high point I say.

Graphics:  The game is in done in HIGHLY stylized 2D art.  The backgrounds are all beautiful as are the character sprites.  Not much else to say really.

Gameplay:  As stated above it is VERY HARD, even on normal difficulty (there are 2 higher, one must be unlocked).  Your character progresses through 6 major areas each consisting of several smaller sections.  Each section is a circular area which the character traverses by going left or right eventually overlapping itself.  The small sections are connected by lines and some areas are only accessable from certain others.  Each map contains 2 shops, 2 mini-bosses, and a boss.  Each smaller section is rated from 1 to 5 stars indicating difficulty (usually meaning more enemies or enemies with more health than usual).

That pretty much sums it up.  It's a very good game but it is NOT for everyone.  I personally HATED playing it.  But I enjoyed the art and story so much I struggled through it for that sake.

[Aërendyll]

Actually I think hard difficulty is not a letdown (you can enjoy the game longer), but the lag I heard about doesn't really appeal to me. But I love the art, music and what I've heard about the story so much that I'm willing to go through it.

Ah, 3 more days if I'm not mistaken... And then it'll arrive at my place!

[Glamador]

Who said hard was a letdown?  There is SOME slowdown, but only during one boss in the particular is it noticable...and she can be deftly beaten with some strategy, even with the slowdown.

As for hard lengthening the game...well that's just plain not true.  Odin Sphere's idea of difficulty is not to give enemies more health...just make them faster and you die quicker.  Hard mode takes exactly as long as normal but I  guarentee it is more frustrating.  Another difference between normal and hard is that you level up far slower.

[Aërendyll]

I think 'Hard' is another way of saying 'level-grinding' in this case, no?

Anyhow, I'm still looking forward to it. I've listened to the soundtrack for a bit and I must say it's not dissappointing at all. Watched game reviews and stuff too, I guess I'm just too impatient. Maybe, if the game's really good, I'll play it twice. One time with the Japanese voices and one time with the English voices. Just for fun. Japanese is my preference, though.

If only I could make quality 2D games like this one and Aquaria...

[Glamador]

I would suggest you not even bother with the english voices.  As a native english speaker, I can say with complete confidence that the english voices suck.

As for hard = level-grinding, well it's not quite that way either.  Let's just say, in order to kill with the same efficiency as a lower difficulty, you require more grinding yes.  But before you DO the grinding, hard means you die faster, kill slower, and are forced to survive with few magic abilities (yes you get those, and they are all KINDS of important).  If you're so impatient why didn't you just go to the store and pick up a copy?  I'm sure there are some copies at my local gamestop.

[Aërendyll]

I haven't seen encountered it yet in my local shops. See, I live in a backwater area of The Netherlands. And thus my chances of getting good games are rare. I did have the luck to get Magical Starsign, but that was the last copy left.

EDIT: I've bought the game on the internet and I'm really into it. Not as addicted as I was with other games, but that's because my mother won't let me.

I'm playing with Japanese dialogue and subtitles only, the text balloons where irritating because I had to follow the subtitles too. I'm in 'The Pooka Prince' (second book) now. The whole thing is really intriguing. I thought I wouldn't get surprised any more after the 'Valkyrie' book, but I was wrong.

[Glamador]

Just so you know...The 2nd character is the most kickass.  It's all downhill from there.  The 3rd character is VERY different, but also VERY powerful if you use him/her correctly.

[Aërendyll]

Yeah, I've read about the third character's special movement in the manual. I'm not sure whether I'll dislike the other three characters, but I sure hope they are as interesting as the first two.