Once upon a time, in a land called Odin Sphere

By Erin Chupeco, hackenslash Contributor
INQUIRER.net

THERE are very few 2D rendered games in the market today that would even dare to compete with the more aesthetically pleasing 3Ds and FMVs trends that most current games have adopted. Fortunately, Odin Sphere for the PlayStation 2 is one of them. Combining beautifully hand-painted artworks and compelling gameplay with well-thought out plot twists and lovable characters, Odin Sphere is a traditional masterpiece, and one of the last few games for the PS2 worth waiting for.

Save the Forest Witch, save the world

Odin Sphere is a story of five people, all destined to play a part in changing the world and stopping the coming Armageddon — or furthering its progress. Odin Sphere is also a fairy tale — tales of love and triumphs set in the midst of war. The game starts when a young girl named Alice wanders into her grandfather’s attic. Selecting a book prompts the player to read (as Alice), and play through the lives of the character featured. Completing a book unlocks more books, and therefore unlocks more characters to play through — five in all. Once finished, a special book involving all characters is then made available for play.

The talking frog should have been playable. Seriously

Gwendolyn is a young Valkyrie who had just recently lost an older sister, and fights under her father, King Odin’s, banner — not to win the war, but to win his love. Cornelius is a young prince of Titania, who wakes up one day to find that he has been transformed into a Pooka — an anthropomorphic rabbit. Taking up the sword of a fallen ancestor, he must now fight to break the curse. Mercedes, a fairy princess who lost her mother during the Fairies’ war against Odin, must now assume the mantle of queen, aided by a frog who is more than what it appears to be. Oswald is a human knight fighting for the fairies — but when a betrayal leaves him with no master to serve, he decides to pursue the interests of his heart instead. Velvet, royal survivor of the destroyed nation of Valentine, must piece together the meaning of a prophecy handed down by her mother, to halt the Armageddon — and to defy her destiny, which predicts her own doom…

Characters don’t always fight on the same side

Playing as Gwendolyn, for example, the player may be forced to fight Mercedes as a boss; while playing Mercedes will pit the player against Oswald. Best of all, some enemies you’ll have to fight aren’t always the bad guys — just misunderstood. Sometimes, you’ll even find yourself questioning the motives of the character you yourself play.

The Aenir and the Faeries are at war — each side battling to control the Cauldron, where powerful weapons called Psyphers can be forged. Powerful wizards called the Three Wise Men plot behind the scenes, seeking to bring about the prophesied Armageddon, where they shall rule in its aftermath. Each character’s stories are told from their own perspectives — viewing these stories in their entirety can be accessed by picking up Alice’s cat instead of selecting a book. Attentions to detail is what makes the game one of the best in its genre — some lingering questions players may have while playing Gwendolyn, for example, are answered upon playing Oswald — and transition from one tale to the next is smooth and easily understood despite the changing views.

Different weapons for every gamers’ preference

Each character comes with different skills, and plays differently. Gwendolyn flies, but must land to use her spear. Oswald’s skill turns him into a powerful shadow, and Velvet can swing from chains to avoid enemies. Mercedes, by far the most unique character, can fly without limits and shoot from her crossbow at a distance. Cornelius can perform sword spin attacks — that, and you play him as a talking rabbit. Each area route is shaped like a sphere and are linear — players must clear enemies from one sphere before proceeding to the next, leading to the stage’s boss. Extra bonuses are given for areas cleared with little or no damage taken, or completed within a timeframe.

Enemies become phozons (balls of energy) when they die, and the characters are equipped with Psyphers — weapons that can absorb phozons and increase their Psypher levels, increasing attack strength. Characters do not get experience by defeating enemies. Instead, seeds are planted; eating the fruit from these seeds increases your HP total. Eating at Pooka cafes speeds up the process — you only need to bring along the ingredients needed, and one of the five different coins used in Erion as payment. Alchemy also comes into play; combining different potions and items can produce different power-ups and healing aids.

Where 2D art pwns 3D

While Odin Sphere is a 2D game, it does not take away the beautiful watercolor effect it evokes. Backgrounds are painted in lush, vibrant colors, and while fighting many of the bosses (which include flying dragons, an underworld queen with shocking endowments, giants, and three-headed creatures that fill up the screen), you can’t help but stop and admire them in-battle. The character art is breathtaking, though sometimes impractical. (As pretty as Velvet looks, she could not have spent her life living in the swamps clad in nothing but lingerie.)

Odin Sphere is also one of the few games where most of the English voices were pleasing to hear, though paraphrasing could have been better in some parts instead of opting for the literal English translations, to keep the dialogue fluid. The Japanese voice cast on the other hand, composed of many A-list voice actors in Japan’s seiyuu industry, is near flawless.

No one said averting world’s end was going to be easy

Don’t let the pretty art deceive you — Odin Sphere is fairly difficult to play. It takes some trial and error to find a pattern in a boss’ routine to beat it, and players will need to level up on their own (and eat a lot of Pooka delicacies) to beat the game.

Perhaps one of the main contentions of Odin Sphere is its loading time. Hordes of enemies coming at you all at once tend to bog down the screen. The amount of items characters can carry is also severely restricted compared to the items you can get per sphere, even at the maximum. Finally, the land of Erion is composed of only six to seven main areas; this means that by the time you get to play Velvet, you’d have run through the forest swamp area five times playing as the other characters, albeit with different enemy difficulties.

That said, however; the story sequences, amazing art, and persuasive storytelling are worth what few vexations Odin Sphere has. In fact, the (good) ending is more than worth all the effort. Gamers with a love for good stories and well-developed characters will be enchanted by this modern fairtytale, and fans who like their games challenging won’t be disappointed. Odin Sphere is a one-of-a-kind game destined to be a classic many years from now in the same class as Ico or Shadow of the Colossus.

Odin Sphere
Genre: Action RPG
Developers: Atlus, Vanillaware
Publisher: Atlus
ESRB Rating: T

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