Review: Odin Sphere (PlayStation 2)
Those that continue to state that 2D games are dead obviously don’t understand that great games don’t rely on super-realistic 3D graphics and white-knuckle non-stop online multiplayer action in order to be masterpieces. Case in point: Atlus’ amazing Action/RPG and potential Game of the Year contender, Odin Sphere. Die-hard Sega Saturn fans with an eye for imports (and a bit of expendable capital) will see that the game is a spiritual successor to 1997’s Princess Crown, the amazing side scrolling Japan-only release that was one of the best titles on the ill-fated (and unfairly criticized) console. George Kamitani and the fine folks at Vanillaware have once again crafted a gorgeous, highly playable and surprisingly deep game that outstrips many “next-gen” releases in terms of depth and replay value.
The game lets you play as five different characters in what amounts to the same story told from different viewpoints. Initially, you’ll start out as Gwendolyn, a daughter of the mighty King Odin as she sets out to avenge the death of her sister during a crucial battle. Although there are a few names borrowed from classic mythology, the game clearly mixes in other fantasy elements for a uniquely timeless look and feel. Once Gwen’s eight-hour adventure is up, you’ll unlock a new character, a prince turned into a rabbit like creature called a Pooka. Completing that set of missions unlocks another character and so on until you’ve seen everything the game world has to offer. While there are only a handful of locations, you’ll need to absolutely be prepared for anything, such as a new character’s storyline beginning with a tough boss battle or having to relearn combat using a rapid fire bow instead of a sword or lance.
Part of the unique visual style of the game are the circular stages where both story sequences and combat take place. Missions take place on maps of varying sizes with a couple of mid-boss and one big boss fight at the end. The tricky part about navigating through missions is until you find the stage map, you’re basically at the mercy of the enemies in a particular section and it’s entirely possible to run into a mid-boss before you’re ready. This isn’t a bad thing if you save often and in fact, some of these big guys can be defeated quickly if you act fast and don’t lose your cool. It might seem nuts for a game in this day and age to have a single attack button, but thankfully, Odin Sphere plays as great as it looks. You can chain combos, guard, jump attack, use magic spells and even fly or glide with certain characters. There’s a very deep, strategic feel to combat as you’re also able to use pop into your inventory to use or equip attack or defensive items, eat food to regain health or even mix assorted potions.
Actually, since it deliberately takes about ten or so seconds for enemies to appear onscreen, part of your battle plan will be to prepare potions and get in the proper position to deal with your foes. You’ll fight a selection of deadly armored knights, airborne winged fairy troops and a nice assortment of evil beasties all out to put you down for the count as quickly as possible. There are also a few mid-bosses that will give you a hard time, particularly if you’re slow at clearing the screen of other baddies first. With the exception of boss battles, you’re timed and rated according to how quickly you dispatch all the enemies that appear on screen. Killing off foes fast while sustaining as little or no damage will rate you higher than going toe to toe with a pack of charging troops, taking hits in the process. Some of the characters are better than others at short of long range attacks, but you need to find out quickly how to deal with some of the peskier enemies that try their best to pound you into pixel dust.
Like any RPG worth its salt, magic use is also key, and Odin Sphere has some great spells to discover. Dispatched foes leave behind glowing blue orbs called Phozons, which you absorb by pressing and holding down the R1 button. The more Phozons you absorb, the higher your Psypher level becomes, whereupon new skills become available. You can also plant seeds to release Phozons (or use a certain Psypher skill in an emergency), but you’ll need to be very careful when facing off against multiple enemies in the air or on the ground, fast bosses or any combination of the above. Running low on Phozons is definitely not a good idea when a screen-sized boss is bearing down on you with a few minions tagging along for the ride. The medical plan really blows in this neck of the woods, that’s for sure…
As mentioned above, if you do take a hit or three, you can use a potion or eat a number of different food items to restore your health. Food is hugely important in the game, as you’ll discover when you start finding recipes as item drops. Combining certain foods and items at one of two restaurants in a hidden Pooka village will boost your stats significantly as the game progresses. You’ll also be able to buy or find single use items or protective accessories that protect you from dying, allow you to pick up items automatically, or boost certain stats. Unlike most other RPGs, you can only equip one item at a time and even trickier, you only have a limited amount of inventory space. While you can purchase bags to carry more goods, you can only hold a set number of bags and if you happen to buy all smaller bags rather than saving up for the higher capacity larger ones, you’ll be lacking the space for many important goodies later on.
Skilled players will blaze through the game in about 35 - 40 hours, but it’s worth noting (and recommended) to level up the characters as much as possible by retrying stages. The game allows for saving after each stage, so you can go back and forth between map points to level grind to your heart’s content. More likely than not, you’ll be returning to stages just to ogle the stunning hand drawn artwork. Odin Sphere is possibly the most beautiful game on the PlayStation 2, mixing in highly stylized multi-jointed characters full of personality with rich color usage and brilliantly done backgrounds full of motion. Every bit of the game has something eye-popping and there are numerous little touches that will bring a smile to the face of anyone who appreciates the art style. From the way the little girl at the startup screen interacts with the cute black cat to the sideways glances you’ll get from characters as you’re running through levels, there’s personality galore to burn here.
Equally impressive, if not more so, is the sound production. All the voice actors are superb and the soundtrack is stirring and dynamic, fitting the action and more emotional story scenes more than perfectly. When you get the game and pop it into your PS2, just let it run for a few minutes until the attract mode kicks in, then sit back with some popcorn and try to eat it with your jaw on the floor. The game really looks like a remarkable fantasy storybook come to life. The one major flaw in the game, however, is the massive slowdown that occurs when too much is happening. In other words, BIG boss + lots of debris + huge explosion + swarming minions = count the frames for a few seconds. It doesn’t happen too often, but you’ll definitely notice it when it does. Other than that pesky issue, the game is flawless, comes highly recommended and is a total joy to experience.
Like most Atlus games, expect this one to be harder and harder to find as time goes on, but once you locate a copy, absolutely pick it up and enjoy it from beginning to end as it’s hard to say when we’ll see anything close to this quality for quite some time. Then again, I’m quite sure Vanillware has some interesting plans up their collective sleeves for 2D games in the near future. For the record, Princess Crown was re-released for the PSP in Japan a while back, so it would be absolutely the coolest thing if Atlus decided to bring that game out here…
Score: A
- Greg Wilcox
