Dragon Warrior VII Review

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(More customer reviews)Dragon Warrior VII recalls the glory days of RPG gaming, when developers were not reliant on flashy graphics and FMV, but rather a good story, whimsical dialogue, and a deep and engaging plot.
In the era of 3-D texture mapped graphics running at 60 frames per second, Dragon Warrior is indeed a gem to behold. The graphics are terrible but charming, the sound is purely 16- bit but very sumptuous, and the vast world will help you kill off literally hundreds of hours of your life.
The only low point with the game other than the obvious is the somewhat linear nature of the game towards the beginning to the middle section of the plot.
Dragon Warrior VII may not be able to compete with the likes of Final Fantasy X, but for those who love RPGs, Dragon Warrior has the hours and ultimately the heart to keep you glued to your television screen.

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Product Description:
You plan to become a humble fisherman of peaceful Estard Island, the only land in a world of ocean. But when you discover the artifacts from an ancient land, you tear the fabric of time and unveil the world that once was. Transported to past lands, you must solve their mysteries and break the spell of annihilation. Prepare for your destiny!

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Brave Fencer Musashi Review

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(More customer reviews)This game was SOOO much fun!I don't know why it never became more popular!It's one of my favorites.
A game very much like Zelda, Musashi is a young boy who is summoned to another land to save thekidnapped princess.To do so, he must find parts of the legendary swordLumina and break the spells cast over the five scrolls. Thus, Musashiembarks on a long journey.He strolls around town, shops at the localstores, climbs the nearby mountain, and, of course, has to defeat numerousmeanies.
Besides the obvious role-playing/puzzle solving fun, there isplenty of battle to be done with the enemies, which becomes very excitingwhen you can actually absorb the powers of just about any creature in thegame.There are also lots of little fun perks along the way, such as yourdance contest with one the head of the Leader's Force (how else wouldMusashi fight a girl?)
I would highly recommend this game to anyone whois interested in role-playing/platform combination games, especcially ifyou are a Zelda or Final Fantasy fan.This game is exciting,unpredictable, funny, and it will keep you up all night!

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Product Description:
Brave Fencer Musashi - Playstation: For 1 player.

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Xenogears Review

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(More customer reviews)Xenogears is definitely one of the top RPG's made by Square.This game is filled with interesting characters, awesome battles and beautiful anime cutscenes.The soundtrack is one of my favorites as well.The game reallyshines when it comes to story-telling and fans of great science fictionstories will love it.However, the story is very complex and can get veryconfusing.Playing this game twice through may be necessary to understandit, but that wasn't a problem for me, I loved it just as much the secondtime through!The game's soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard,unfortunately the game doesn't do the soundtrack justice.You may feelthat you're hearing the same song over and over again.The only downsidesof this game are the Gear battles and the dubbing of the anime scenes.TheGear battles are very cool, but they are used too heavily in the last 2/3of the game.It would have been nice to fight as the characters moreoften.The dubbing of the cutscenes is pretty off, but not enough to ruinthem.Overall, this is a great RPG for gamers who like very deep andthough-provoking sci-fi/fantasy stories.Potential players must enjoyreading game text because there is PLENTY of it in Xenogears, especially onDisc 2.The amount of difficulty is very high, FF7 is a cakewalk comparedto Xenogears.I found myself barely surviving boss battles near the end ofthe game.I "died" at least 10 times while playing Xenogears,that's more deaths than all my other RPG experiences combined and I haveplayed many RPG's.This is an excellent RPG for any gamer, but RPGfirst-timers may be a bit overwhelmed.This is the kind of game that showspeople that video games are not just for kids, because this one certainlyis not.A good age range for this game would be anyone over 16 mostly dueto the complexity of the storyline.Of course, there are younger gamerswho can handle Xenogears, but this game is more adult-friendly than othersin the genre.The game contains very few curse words and a small amount ofsexual innuendo, but nothing really bad.Xenogears is a must-buy for allRPG fans, young and old, especially.If you don't already own this game,pick it up right away!

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Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria Review

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(More customer reviews)My experience with developer tri-ace's games dates back to the original Playstation era with Star Ocean:The 2nd Story. Like most gamers on this side of the world, this was probably the one of the first tri-ace titles that had and created enough of a buzz to form a niche of fans. The other game, which is credited with a simular yet even bigger buzz, was the original Valkyrie Profile.

Unfortunately, the yield from the initial pressing run of that game was so low (so tri-ace wouldn't lose to much if the game didn't sell or catch on) by the time I had heard the hype surrounding VP and wanted to give the game a try it was much too late... copies of the game were selling at astronomical prices on e-bay much like how sealed copies of Final Fantasy VII are selling now. Because of this I was ecstatic when a sequel - which in this case is actually a prequel - was announced so I could finally experience what I had missed out on the first time in one form or another. Granted, VP2 is not a complete carbon copy of the original, but the majority of the gameplay elements cross the game/generation gap, so in essence this game should probably give you an idea of what the original itself was like.

So, would I say that I was blown away or impressed by what I missed out with missing the original VP? Not really.

To start with, the game is simply beautiful. There are some dazzling effects, from leaves and grass waving in the breeze to various types of weather pounding some of the locals. This is what one should expect from a last generation PS2 title. Sure, every once in a while the battle camera might clip some polygons so it looks like your characters are standing on air, but that is so minor it doesn't matter. The only gripe I have is I wish the characters weapons changed depending on what they currently have equipped. However, since the character designs are so dependant on the default look of the weaponry, the above simply wouldn't work very well.

Combat is Valkyrie's claim to fame, much like it is in other tri-ace games like Star Ocean. This is a good thing, considering the amount of time you'll spend in battle mode leveling up the game's massive number of characters (of which only a handful are actually involved in the story, the others just seem to be there). At a quick glance, the battle system seems to be a button mashers dream, but like a good 3D fighting series (Soul Caliber or Tekken) those who know what their doing will always get further or have less difficulty as things can be difficult enough. Other combat related issues also sprout up: reviving an ally requires you to be near the ally's body and status effects are so not your friend - especially when the whole party is inflicted at once (especially with poison) *shutter* .

As fun as combat is, there are quite a few hitches to be aware of, such as wasting AP on a dash and getting nowhere because your party is caught on the edge of "something" in the environment or when party members become separated for the same reason, limiting your attack options until you take the time and go back and get them. This becomes especially aggravating when you're trying to finish battles as quickly and efficiently as possible to receive experience and crystal bonuses. The change from a 2D fighting environment in VP to a 3D one in VP2 works, but the above issues make you yearn for 2D battles of the original which would probably be devoid of these problems.

The game's skill system is another area that initially seems interesting and clever but quickly becomes quite cumbersome. You'll form rune words with your equipment and accessories to unlock new "potential" skills. Note the word "potential" in the previous sentence. Unlocking a new skill doesn't grant the character the skill automatically - only though battle can the skill be used and permanently learned. At first glance this is a good thing since it prevents abuse (think FFIX skill system here), but the player then quickly finds out it "may" (well, usually) take a long to learn said skill. Instead of being awarded a set amount of points towards your skills after an enemy defeat like in most normal RPGs, a percentage earned towards potential skills based on the average level of your current party and that of the enemy(s). Because of this you'll constantly be seeking out stronger and stronger enemies and you'll hardly ever find an "undeniable great place" to level up. You'll also be contending with the never ending equipping and unequipping of equipment while doing this and often means your party is usually far from wearing the strongest available equipment at all times - something that is usually a given in most RPGs.

Traversing dungeons is probably the most noteworthy aspect of VP2 after the battle system. The first few are a complete cakewalk and teach you the ropes, the later ones can really test you sanity and your brainpower. Correct sealstone usage and photon know-how go a long way towards completely clearing them of all their contents. Kudos to tri-ace for the awesome auto map feature - features like this need to become an industry/genre standard!

In the sound department, Motoi Sakuraba makes a rather subdued yet solid entrance, seeming to ditch his rather unique yet unorthodox style of composing. It's not until much later until you hear a piece and you know "yeah, that's Sakuraba, no doubt". The voice-overs are good, but at the same time just a few tiers above decent.

Valkyrie Profile 2 also falls victim to problems that are prevalent in other tri-ace games. Some moments of unbalanced gameplay creep up on the player as the difficulty goes up a few notches without much warning. The story is once again slow to start (is this even a surprise anymore with tri-ace games?), and some of the story twists you can see coming a mile away (the one revelation at the end of Chapter 3 was so freaking obvious!).

All this said is Valkyrie Profile 2 worth playing if you've never experienced VP? Yes. However, now having experienced it, I honestly think I could have had waited for a price drop instead of buying it on day it came out. Despite this, I still look forward to playing the re-release of the original on the PSP.

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Product Description:
Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria tells the story of another valkyrie sister that takes place hundreds of years before Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. In this latest installment of the legendary RPG series, divine insurrection besieges the heavens. Invoking his power as king of the gods, Odin hastily reincarnates the spirit of rebel valkyrie Silmeria into Alicia, Princess of Dipan. However, unbeknownst to Odin, the spirit of the battle maiden awakens within Alicia, still seeking vengeance. Believing his daughter to be possessed, King Barbarossa of Dipan declares Alicia dead and exiles her to a faraway castle. Odin learns of Silmeria's awakening and dispatches the imperious Hrist Valkyrie to summon her spirit to Valhalla. Alicia runs in fear -- and Silmeria in defiance -- as they embark on a journey where nothing is what it seems and all hide behind a mask.

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Front Mission 3 Review

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(More customer reviews)This game is awesome. It takes place in the not so distant future, where battle mechs called wanzers dominate the battle field. You are Kazuki Takemura(but you can change your name)and you work for a wanzermaking/testing company. You become trapped in a world wide conspiracy andyou must get to the bottom of it by fighting tons of battles in your andyour allies wanzers. The combat system is turn based and your wanzers canlearn battle skills such as tackle,zoom, or stun punch. Move your mech,choose your attack, and then sit back and watch the battle cinematics.Wonderful graphics and gameplay. A must have for gamers who love battlemechs, turn based games, or any type of gamer. Squaresoft did a lovely jobwith this game.

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Dragon Warrior Monsters Review

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(More customer reviews)This game was, in everyway the most greatest kind of RPG on Gameboy Color!If you're a Pokemon fan then you might disagree. But this game takes you in the game and lets you solve all kinds of problems.The sounds of thegame are really pretty interesting and the masters and bosses areincredible.This game will keep you satified for a long, long time!Thefact of raising monsters and breeding them and combining them intodifferent monsters justed makes you stuck to the game!This is pokemonwith more drama and action!You buy items and join with allies to form ateam of unbeatable creatures, cute and strong!There are a lot of cute andcuddly monsters and powerful monsters.This game is an interllectualchallenge and is very indept.You will have a great experience with thiswonderful game and the climax of the game is always happening!Choosinganimals and training and trading has never been this interesting!What areyou waiting for?Buy it already!

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Product Description:
Before the wild success of Pokémon, there was a little-known pocket creaturegame for the Nintendo that received considerably less fanfare and much critical acclaim. DragonWarrior: Monsters is an updated version of the innovative 1989 game Dragon Warrior. As withPokémon, you must find and capture creatures, and you can trade them with yourfriends.
While 151 pocket monsters wander through the various Pokémon games, DragonWarrior: Monsters features over 200 monsters to collect in this single title. When you have capturedthem, you can breed and train your monsters to develop special skills. With the optional game link cable,you can battle or breed with other monsters captured by a friend.

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Secret of Mana Review

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(More customer reviews)This game is one of the best ever, on any platform, from NES all the way to PS2, surpassed only by Chrono Trigger.Unfortunately, the sequels to this game absolutely butchered it, removing all the features that made it great.However, despite what happened to future versions, gamers can still enjoy the original and best.
The graphics of this game are good, looking very colorful, stylized, and very rich, as if they were drawn and painted by hand, and your adventures take place in a wide, diverse range of environments, from caves to deserts to lush green wilderness and waterfalls.The music is wonderful, always inspiring and fitting the mood, from the eerie and strange song of Thanatos' castle, to the slow, wintry theme of the Ice Palace, to the heroic theme of the battle with the Mana Beast.The story is great with all of its plot twists, and it manages to be linear and coherent without dragging you along by the nose.The three characters are very likeable, especially that quirky little Sprite.
But, the gameplay!Despite all else, this is where the game really excels.Secret of Mana has been compared to Zelda because of its real-time battle system, but I believe it surpasses Zelda in all sorts of ways.Instead of one character, you now have three, and they can fight extremely well because of a wonderful feature known as the Action Grid.This allowed you to set all actions of a character, including whether they should fight aggressively, stand back and defend themselves, or use hit-and-run tactics (this works EXTREMELY well--watch your allies step in, whack the enemy, then deftly back-flip out of range before he can counterattack), and you can even set whether they will use their stronger special moves and what level of special move they should charge up to.This is the best idea for computer AI that I've ever seen in an RPG, and it was absolutely STUPID of Squaresoft to remove it from the later games.In Seiken Densetsu 3 (Secret of Mana 2, Japan only), your allies all mindlessly rush in and attack, even if the enemy is much stronger than they are, resulting in healers and mages in your party getting creamed in battles.In Legend of Mana, your allies are absolutely brainless, simply staggering around the battlefield like drunkards, only bothering to fight if the enemy happens cross paths with them.Another example of Squaresoft throwing away what was perfectly good in an attempt to be "new" and "original."The saying, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it," comes to mind when I think of Squaresoft's latest games.
You have 8 different weapons to choose from, so there is a weapon for everyone's taste.Weapons are upgraded, and as they are upgraded, new special attacks can be learned.For your allies, their mana powers can also be made more powerful by use.
Some complain about the time delay between attacks, having to wait for the meter to recharge, but I think this is a good feature.It adds some strategy to the game and maintains its status as an RPG and not a beat-'em-up.You can also use your quick, weak attacks to simply distract an enemy while your allies hit them with mana power.
And, by far, one of the best features of this game is the multiplayer aspect.Three players can get together and control the three characters, and the fun never ends.
Simply put, among action or adventure RPGs, this is the best, no contest.Among RPGs as a whole, this is second only to Chrono Trigger.

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Product Description:
There is one force in the universe that keeps good and evil in perfect balance. It is called the tree of Mana. But a magic sword has tricked a young warrior into upsetting the balance, spreading evil throughout the land. Thus, the warrior must undertake a dangerous journey to find the seeds of the Mara tree which have been hidden for centuries. Only then can perfect harmony be restored. In this incredible adventure, things are not as they seem. Magic swords release evil as well as fight it. Treasure chests hold booby traps. Monsters are friends and friends are enemies. Dragons fly, weapons change. It's a world turned upside down that you must help the warrior make right. And the only way to succeed is to solve the Secret of Mana

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Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Review

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(More customer reviews)I was never too fond of RPG's when I was younger, no matter how much I loved video games.Final Fantasy VII changed that, along with how I looked at the genre, as I, like many others, became addicted to the game's emotional storyline and well-rounded characters.Since then, we have seen a number of tie-ins, spin-offs, and even feature films based on the Final Fantasy VII universe, and now, Crisis Core has finally arrived.Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a prequel to the game, where you play as Cloud's old friend and partner Zack, and uncover secrets and revelations that are full of surprises, and lead up to the events of Final Fantasy VII.First off, the game is is simply gorgeous to look at.Not just the cut-scenes, which themselves are beautiful and stunning, but even the in-game graphics look great, making this undoubtedly the best looking RPG to hit the PSP, and the game's voice acting is even better.The game's combat system is also worth mentioning because it isn't quite turn based, and isn't quite real time.Instead, it is a fast moving system that is quite fun in itself, even if it may come off as a bit too easy for some.Leveling up and performing Limit Breaks is now determined by the slot machine-esque DMW system, which is a fun little twist as well.There are familiar characters abound as well: Cloud, Aerith, Tifa, and of course, Sephiroth.The game's story wonderfully weaves into FFVII mythology, and offers some new perspectives on Zack and Sephiroth, and those respects alone, Crisis Core is worth picking up.All in all, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII is a stunning achievement that is an absolute essential addition to your PSP library, and needless to say, if you love everything Final Fantasy VII and you own a PSP, you have to pick up Crisis Core.

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Product Description:
Seven years prior to the events of FINAL FANTASY VII - The Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world. SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group - those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class - are respected and idolized by the citizenry. Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER members, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai-and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and the 1st Class hero who is known the world over as Sephiroth... What truths lie behind Genesis's disappearance? What secrets bind the three SOLDIER 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits...

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Front Mission 4 Review

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(More customer reviews)As a major fan of Front Mission 3 for the PlayStation I was excited upon hearing the news that Square-Enix was making a sequel to my favorite single-player tactical-strategy game.The only thing missing from Front Mission 3's excellence was great graphics.With the arrival of Front Mission 4 on the PlayStation2 I thought the rough-graphics problem would be solved and I'd have the perfect game.
Unfortunately life has a way of playing dirty tricks.Oh sure, the graphics are much improved over FM3 with greater detail and far smoother animation.But the colors are downright bland!Also, many areas in the game appear overly dark, making it a challenge to view the screen easily unless the lights are off.I suspect the developers were going for realism here.
The length of the game disappointed me as well.For the amount of time spent working on your characters' skills and statistics the number of actual plot-developing missions is minuscule.There are only 29 stages in all!By comparison, FM3 contained a staggering 128 stages played out through two scenarios!Admittedly, FM4's stages are bigger and take longer to complete, and there are simulator battles to play.But FM3 had simulator battles, too!
Now that the bad is out of the way let me let you what was good about FM4:
Graphics - already touched on this.MUCH better than FM3 except for the colors & lack of lighting.
Sound - the most refined part of FM4.Heavy, realistic, perfect.Great use of bass!
Music - very appropriate for the events onscreen.High quality.
Speech - the main characters now speak in select cut scenes and the voice-overs are extremely well done.The accents and voice tones are very accurate to their respective nationalities.No bad acting here!
Battle System - more involved than in the last game.The Link system adds a fun new level of strategy to the gameplay.New specialized backpacks increase combat options.
Customization - a slight increase in variety of weapons and parts.Better colorization options but the blandness + darkness at times makes it almost moot.
Control - takes some getting used to, but adequate.In a tactical, non-twitch game like this it's not a detriment.
Battle Maps - daytime shifting and weather effects add new depth to missions.Battlefields are significantly larger than in FM3.
Character Skills - no more randomness in acquiring new battle skills to help towards victory!Instead characters buy skills they want as they become available!The challenge is getting the funds needed to afford them.
And finally, FM4's greatest improvement over FM3...the chaotic E-mail/virtual net system is gone!
I'd have to say FM4 doesn't match the gaming experience FM3 gave.Don't get me wrong...it's a fantastic game for as long as it lasts.The plot is solid.Just don't expect as huge a jump in quality as I did or you'll be disappointed.

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Product Description:
Front Mission 4 offers the spectacular visuals and advanced tactical warfare you crave. It's 2096, and two young soldiers will decide the future of the world. Fight for the future in gigantic walking tanks!

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Einhander Review

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(More customer reviews)There's a reason why this game is held in such high regard among true blue shooter fans.Einhander has the trappings of a legendary game within its genre.Dazzling graphics, tight control, outstanding music and sounds, and a strong variety of weapons.They're all here, but that's not where the fun stops.There's also an art gallery that grows as the quality of your performance increases and an intriguing story, much different from the usual "an evil alien empire wants to destroy humanity, let's send one fighter pilot to stop all 500,000,000 of them" fare.In Einhander, you're on a suicide mission and you're painfully aware of it.Beautiful!
Einhander's visuals are beyond reproach.The backgrounds are vibrant and detailed without being garish or distracting, especially stage five.Ship designs are cool all around, and every enemy, from the mightiest boss to the lowliest peon, goes out in a blaze of glory when you destroy it, instead of merely blinking out of existence or disappearing in a bland red puff.
On the audio front, the sound effects are excellent.Launching rockets, shattering neon signs, and, of course, explosions.All well done.The intentionally emotionless female voice that addresses you after each stage is very credible, and the German commands you hear during boss encounters lend a terrific sense of atmosphere to the game.Moody and catchy techno tunes provide the musical backdrop and, for the most part, complement the corresponding areas perfectly.The operatic female vocals at the beginning of stage one clash very effectively with the destruction that ensues and let you know your ears are in for a treat from the start.And, the music for the sixth stage end boss (after the rocket with the time limit) is so rousing, you won't even care when he kills you 20 times in a row.
Eight special weapons are readily available and there's something for every taste, from the heat-seeking Wasp ("You can run, but you can't hide!") to the lightsaber-like Blade ("I don't need no Force to kick your sorry butt!") to the no-nonsense, wallop-packing Cannon ("JUST DIE!!!!").Plus, there are four others (each a sort of variation on one of the ubiquitous eight) hidden throughout the game.
Einhander's developers hit the nail squarely on the head (pun absolutely intended) where the challenge level is concerned.The game can get pretty rough, but it's the GOOD kind of rough.No shields or defensive power-ups are available (one of the game's very few flaws) so one hit will kill you, but it has to be solid, direct impact.Enemy bullets that travel at 2 MPH and just barely graze the little ball on the top of your radio antenna don't count.The last two bosses are tough to beat, and some of the earlier ones aren't exactly a cake walk either, but the only one that I think crosses the line between "challenging" and "frustrating" is the robotic ape mid-way through stage five.Oh, how I despise that banana-chewing abomination!
You get three lives per credit and nine continues for a total of 30 lives, though you'll earn an extra life or two along the way when you attain a certain score.However, there is one point in the game...the rocket you approach from behind...where, if you fail to defeat it within the given time limit, it's GAME OVER no matter how many lives or continues you have left!So, unless you want to see the "bad" (or should I say "worse"?) ending, I'd advise you to get yourself killed if it looks like you're not gonna get the job done in time.Then, you'll get another shot at it.
If proof was ever needed that 2-D games can still be plenty of fun, Einhander is that proof.I revel in the fact that it outshines many more modernized games on all fronts despite the old-fashioned 2-D gameplay.The only exception is the Wasp missile being able to seek and destroy on-screen enemies that have yet to align with your ship (and certain objects in the background, too...that's a hint).Some might complain about the lack of a two-player mode, but in my opinion the gloomy suicide mission aspect of the game would be jeopardized if it weren't played solo.With three ships to select from and no shortage of secrets (including two additional ships), the replay value is strong, but even if that weren't the case, you'd want to play it again and again anyway, because it's crafted with such tender, loving care and, on many levels, it's flawless.I have no qualms about calling Einhander one of the all-time great games for the PlayStation.Square would be well advised to re-release it (along with Final Fantasy Tactics and Xenogears).Don't hesitate to grab a copy if you come across one, as I for one am NOT selling mine!

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Product Description:
There's no denying that the space shooter isn't what it used to be. The once-thriving genre, championed by such classics as Gradius and Raiden, has boiled down to more of a nostalgic pastime. People just aren't as jazzed about blowing away hordes of alien space ships and racking up billions of points like before. While the occasional shooter still shows up every now and then, it seems like it'd take a miracle for a company to produce one that would rejuvenate the genre and renew public interest. Leave it to Squaresoft to accept the challenge. And while the fruit of its efforts may not be the miracle this genre needs for a complete revival, it's just about as good as shooters get. Einhander isn't particularly long, but shooters almost never are. The half dozen or so stages are seamlessly interconnected and demand just over an hour to plow through in total. Each stage - in fact, each part of each stage - grows progressively more difficult, such that you'll constantly face new challenges in the form of smarter, meaner enemies and more of them. Likewise, the mid and end-level bosses will constantly keep you guessing, as they tend to be both unpredictable and versatile in their attack styles. Even shooter veterans will have their hands full with Einhander, though multiple difficulty settings make the game accessible and enjoyable even for those whose hand-eye coordination isn't what it used to be.

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Chrono Trigger Review

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(More customer reviews)Chrono Trigger remains the greatest console RPG ever made. The version on this new CD compilation is identical in play to the original, but includes several animated cutscenes (done by Bird Studios, producers of Dragonball/DBZ and owned/operated by Akira Toriyama, who did the character designs for Chrono Trigger as well) which are themselves worth the price. (In point of fact, the price itself is interesting; the compilation of Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy 4 costs less than either of them did separately when first released.)
Chrono Trigger centers around the adventures of Crono (yes, that's the correct spelling), a young man whose only apparent unusual feature is skill with a sword; otherwise, he lives a rather ordinary life, getting his allowance from his mom, taking care of his pet cat, and, as the story begins, looking forward to the Millennial Fair. At the Fair, he meets with a pretty blonde girl, Marle, who wears an interesting pendant, and who as a stranger to his town asks him if he'd be nice enough to show her around a bit.
Things get strange when they visit the exhibit area of one of Crono's friends, Lucca, who's an eccentric inventor. Her invention mysteriously reacts to the presence of Marle's pendant, and Marle vanishes, leaving the glowing pendant behind. When Crono decides to follow her wherever she's gone and bring her back, he's catapulted into a time-spanning adventure which will take him from the present to 65 million years in the past, and thousands of years in the future, and eventually to confront a world-destroying monster which may, at the same time, have been responsible for the creation of Crono's own civilization. Along the way he will learn secrets of his world's history, gain new powers, and gather allies, ranging from the super-strong cavegirl Ayla to the technologically advanced machine-man Robo.
Chrono Trigger's greatest claim to fame was, and is, that it boasts many possible endings, all quite different, based on what decisions you make during the game. They're not all easily predictable, either, and at least one or two are rather creepy. It's also interesting in that, after a certain point, you no longer have to keep Crono in your party (most games have a set viewpoint character that you have to keep around). It's quite possible to finish the game with *ANY* combination of available characters.
Gameplay is, in my opinion, superior to that of any of the Final Fantasy games. For one thing, it avoids the "eternally wandering monster" phenomenon which makes overland travel in the FF series so damnably frustrating, while still allowing you to wander freely across the land and visit places, looking for clues, new things to buy, and new friends and allies. For another, the combat sequences are much more active than those of other RPGs of its same era, and include special techniques -- both for individuals AND ones combining the techniques of two or three characters at once. Once you beat the game, you have the option of using "new game+", which allows you to start with the same power, and most of the items, that you'd gained along the way the first time. This is useful for those trying to play through again, since it allows you to zip through combats which, the first time, took many minutes to complete. (it does, however, introduce a bit of cognitive dissonance, especially in the early parts of the game: "How the heck are they throwing ME in jail?! I have enough power to level this entire CASTLE by myself!")
The soundtrack of Chrono Trigger is unbelieveably good. Somehow, through the miracle of MIDI, the original game had 3 full CDs worth of music crammed on it, and the skill with which the MIDI was composed and produced made it sound, at the time, very nearly orchestral. Even today the sound isn't bad, and the re-done, fully orchestral version is amazing. Each major character has its own theme, and they're all excellent. Chrono Trigger's soundtrack still rates as one of my absolute favorites.
If you like console RPGs at all, this is one that you absolutely MUST buy, and keep enshrined somewhere. Now available as part of "Final Fantasy Chronicles", there's even more reason to own it, since it's cheaper now than it was when first released!

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Box for the very popular and semi-rare Chrono Trigger for the SNES!

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Musashi Samurai Legend Review

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(More customer reviews)This is definately a hack and slash game, meaning you have numerous enemies that you rapidly mash the button to defeat. Not that much strategy in the actual battle, although Musashi's duplication techinique may require some strategic timing, and can prove to be a bit frustrating at times.
The story is that a young man named Musashi from Earth's Japan, who will grow to be Miyamoto Musashi, is summoned to another world by Princess Mycella to aid in the battle against Gandrake Interprises. He's taken in by Master Mew and is trained in swordsmanship and battle. When Princess Mycella is kidnapped for Gandrake's own purposes, it's up to Musashi to rescue her and bring down the evil corporation so that he can return to his own world.
I personally adored this game because of the graphics and gameplay. The gameplay is similar to Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel's gameplay, and that's probably because both were Square Enix games. A lot of the square button mashing, and not so much of the "Slash, defend, slash, defend, backflip over the weapon, and a slash to finish it" stuff. The graphics are cel shading, which I find to be pretty darned cool when Musashi's doing his slashing thing.
Overall this really is a game worth getting because of the storyline, the characters, the gameplay, and the graphics. I must also say that the music done by "The Surf Coasters" was very cool, making it worth also gettting the soundtrack. Of course... the guidebook is also always a help in getting all the items and saving everyone also.

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Product Description:
Musashi: Samurai Legend helps the legend live on, as you experience Musashi's latest journey! Called across space & time, Musashi mus save Princess Mycella and the Mystics to return home. But he's not alone -- with help from an eccentric but brilliant martial arts master, Musashi will become the greatest samurai ever known. With an entire world to save, he has his work cut out for him!

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Magna Carta 2 Review

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(More customer reviews)Extra points if you know what the title is quoted from, but anyway...

This game is simple.So I'm going to give you a simple review.This is a JRPG in the finest sense.If you've played most if not all of the RPGs on the 360, you've played this game before.It borrows VERY heavily from almost every single original (meaning, non-sequel) one, and I'm going to focus on that, but first a little back story.Your character is Juto, a young man who has washed up on an island with amnesia (Infinite Undiscovery anyone?).Melissa finds him, and takes him in as family, showing him the basics of combat and survival during the ongoing war that is taking place (Blue Dragon anyone?).

The battle engine uses a controlled action engine, identical to the one found in Infinite Undiscovery.If you didn't like that battle engine, you won't like this one, period.The graphics are strikingly similar to Infinite Undiscovery as well, also making use of the Unreal Engine.The war backstory feels like a toned down version of The Last Remnant, not quite as large scale.And, as in Infinite Undiscovery, you'll encounter a runaway princess accompanied by her guardian.(Trust me, I'm not done yet...)

There also happens to be "Kan", which is a form of energy that gives humans extraordinary powers.This is not unlike the energy in Infinite Undiscovery that gave people powers of the moon, since the hero, Strauss, also comes from another planet.But what really made me giggle is the presence of "Doomseeds" in the game...some sort of light shower which seem to be related to Kan in some way and affect Kan users negatively when exposed to it.(Infinite Undiscovery players, does any of this sound familiar?)

Basically...this game really does rip off a lot from Infinite Undiscovery.That's not a bad thing, but if you couldn't stand that game, PLEASE skip this.=-= What Magna Carta 2 Does RIGHT =-=

- Graphics are quite beautiful.
- Lots of cutscenes, some manually controlled, some static with text, others fully CGI.
- Battle engine is easy to get into (see WRONG below though...)
- 100% camera control in multiple directions, including up and down.
- If you install to the hard drive the load times are almost nonexistent.
- Fairly deep story.It's easy to see that story is what drives this game, along with graphics.
- Music is light, not overpowering, just enough to get you into the environment.=-= What Magna Carta 2 Does WRONG =-=

- Inefficient use of button commands.I mean, if I need to switch skills, why do I have to press RT, then Dpad, Then RT, then X?Why can't I just have RT cycle through the options and then X when I'm done?That's just one example; don't even get me started on the Drive Chain.

- Drive and Chain and all of the variations are absolutely mind numbingly confusing.It's not explained well in the first place, and given the button inefficiency I mentioned above...

- Quest explanations are stupid.One quest asks you to basically use Fire Tap (Crocell's Special) to generate Fire Kan.Never is it explained exactly how to trigger his Fire Tap, unless I missed it somewhere.

- Forced requirement to go back and "check in" with requesters.I understand this is real and all, but the problem is that the game is structured such that if you proceed a certain length, you will get to a point where you cannot return, thus if there is a quest that exists at the very end of one of these parts, there's usually a single event (which you can't back out of) that is your point of no return.Since you didn't know in advance, even if you did the quest correctly, you can't go back to check in and thus you lose those Experience points.

- A LOT of backtracking due to the aforementioned "check in" requirement.The land is huge, so this gets annoying.

- I find the voice acting to be subpar.Maybe it's just me.So...do I recommend it?If you liked Infinite Undiscovery, yes.If you never played that game, you might want to play that first to see if you like that direction.It's scary how identical it really is to that game.You might consider renting Magna Carta 2 if you really feel like taking a plunge.I will say though for the record, for everyone who is reading.THIS IS A JRPG.THIS IS NOT OBLIVION, IT's NOT FALLOUT 3.Please don't come in here blasting it for "sticking to the old formula".Yes, it does.And there's nothing wrong with that, for people who enjoy that formula.It's not going to change the face of RPG gaming.Doubtful it'll end up on PS3.But it's a solid addition to the RPG library for 360 and well worth at least a playthrough, as long as you can accept it for being the very basic of RPG.

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Product Description:
Magnacarta 2 introduces an original new storyline driven by intense themes of love, hate, politics, betrayal and the ultimate question of choosing one's own fate. Players are immersed in the world of the Lanzheim Continent, a conflict-ridden land deeply divided by a fierce civil war. Powered by the Unreal Engine3 and featuring character designs by famed Korean artist Hyung-Tae Kim, the game bears a striking visual style unlike any other RPG through its blend of photo-realism and Japanese manga influences. The deeply emotional story is driven by beautifully rendered CGI cut-scenes featuring fully voiced dialogue to draw players into the immersive experience.Delivering more than 40 hours of gameplay, Magnacarta 2 features a unique battle system which combines strategic turn-based battles and real-time gameplay, creating a fresh twist on the traditional RPG formula. The game seamlessly blends world navigation and battles as everything happens in the same environment with no load screens or abrupt changes in the action when a fight begins or ends. Players can utilize objects found in the environment to their advantage and likewise, creatures and field objects dynamically react to the player's actions. A free roaming camera further adds to the unrestricted interaction with the world. Players are also given flexible control over their party with the ability to pre-assign attributes for each AI character and freedom to easily switch control between all the characters at any time.

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Final Fantasy XI Online: Wings of the Goddess Expansion Pack Review

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(More customer reviews)This expansion pack adds the ability to go into the past and fight the Great War. It also added two new classes, the dancer and the scholar. All and all, if you play FF XI, you need this expansion pack.

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Product Description:
Experience the next chapter in the immersive and ever expanding world of Vana'diel in Final Fantasy XI:Wings of the Goddess, a content-rich expansion pack that brings exciting new features to Final Fantasy XI.Delve into new quests, meet new players, view new sights and experience the fourth chapter in this award-winning MMORPG that has a community of more than 500,000 active subscribers and more than 1.7 million characters from around the world.

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Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime Review

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(More customer reviews)Those slimes from the Dragon Quest series get themselves a game, but unlike usual entries in the franchise, it's not a RPG. Instead, Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime plays like a cross between Zelda and Advanced Wars, especially with its puzzle-heavy over-world exploration, and epic tank battles. It's easy to dismiss this as a kid's game due to its cartoony presentations, but upon contact, you'll find Rocket Slime a surprisingly deep adventure that will require at least 30 hours of your time to engage - that is, if you intend to fully explore all the secrets and side missions beyond the main storyline.

Rocket Slime is set in the kingdom of Slimenia (geddit?), where the hosts of slimy characters reside. The once peaceful land was soon invaded by a group of monsters known as the Plobs, and its inhabitants were "slime-napped" from the city of Boingburg. Rocket, the son of a warrior in the kingdom, escaped the ordeal, and soon embarked on an adventure to rescue all the 100 captured slimes. The journey sees the little warrior exploring seven locations in Slimenia, each filled with a designated numbers of slimes to rescue. Some of these slimes are easy to get to, but many others will require Rocket to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, down bosses, and even engage in tank battles before they show themselves.

Tank battles are refreshing inclusions into an otherwise generic adventure game. While the "adventure" element of Rocket Slime is interesting enough (solving puzzles like unlocking doors and such), it's the tank battles that will keep you going on and on in Rocket's bid to rescue his family and friends. Each of the seven locations consists of a certain number of tank fights, and Rocket will have to use whatever ammunition at his disposal to reduce the HP of these opponent tanks to zero. That's not the end to a fight though, because reducing a tank to zero HP only serves to open up its engine room, where the "heart" of the tank rests. Rocket will then have to infiltrate the tank, break whatever last line of defence it has, before landing a final blow at its "heart" to finish the fight.

I mentioned earlier that these tank battles remind me of Advanced Wars, but of course, the affairs in Rocket Slime happen very much faster due to their real-time nature. Some time into the game, Rocket can add members to his tank crew. This is where the strategy part of these battles comes in. Rocket can choose from a total of 32 members, but for each battle, he can only use three of them. Some of these members will offer their help upon being rescued, but others will take more convincing (meaning side quests, duh!). Rocket can also add monsters to his helpers list, but he has to collect enough numbers of these enemies before they're willing to help. Each of these members has unique abilities. Some are experts in loading cannons. Some are good at keeping enemies out of Rocket's premises. Some can even infiltrate enemy tanks, sabotage their engine, steal their ammos, and even take out their commander. Depending on the situation, Rocket may have to switch between crew members to fully exploit enemies' weaknesses.

Beyond the rescue of the 100 slimes, Rocket will encounter several side quests. They are optional, and don't impact the flow of the story. However, some of these missions do reward the slime with some powerful ammunition, which will definitely come in useful in a tank battle. The Tank Masters Tournament, for example, pits Rocket and his crew against 13 powerful tank opponents in four different categories. Winning this tournament will unlock the Hero Sword, which is one of the most powerful ammos in the game. The game also has a handful of collection-based side quests, which will take up a large amount of time (often more than playing through the main quest once) to complete. One of these includes collecting all gold trophies of all enemies, which requires you to send 100 each of the game's 20 monsters back to the museum at Boingburg. Another is the collection of all 40 of the game's Alchemy Recipes, which allow Rocket to fully master the trick of combining items to make new ones. All these quests add much value to the game as the player will inadvertently find many things to do after fulfilling the mandatory rescue of 100 slimes. It's easy to enjoy doing them too, because the game's quirky presentations blend in perfectly with its quirky nature - kiddish but surprisingly detailed graphics, catchy and lively music, and dialogue that continuously offers puns so bad that they're actually funny simply speak volumes of the game's production values.

So, here we've it, a kids' game that actually rocks. The marriage between adventure and war game elements make Rocket Slime more than just a run of the mill money-milker bearing the Dragon Quest label. Action-adventure lovers will find this an endearing title that will keep them glued to their DS screens for weeks to come.

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Product Description:
The peaceful land of Slimenia has been suddenly invaded by a mysterious cartel called "the Plob" who then proceed to kidnap all the slimes in the capital city of Boingburg. Our protagonist Rocket is the only slime left behind and must embark on a journey throughout Slimenia to save his friends and uncover the Plob's nefarious plot!Part of a series of Slime Mori Mori games in Japan Dragon Quest Heroes is full of adventure stages that take advantage of our hero's bouncing and stretching abilities as he works to solve the challenges of each area in the game and rescue his captured slime friends. Each adventure stage culminates in Rocket hopping aboard a colossal slime-shaped player-customizable war machines. Pit tanks against a friend's in exciting player-vs-player action using the Nintendo DS wireless multiplayer game feature!Format: NINTENDO DS Genre:NO GENRE Rating:RP UPC:662248906126 Manufacturer No:90612

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Final Fantasy XI Chains of Promathia Expansion Pack Review

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(More customer reviews)Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia is the first North America expansion pack for the popular Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) Final Fantasy XI. Like the main game, it is rated T (Teen: Blood, violence), but the content largely resolves around battles with cartoonish opponents, and will be appropriate for most children sophisticated enough to understand its basic controls.

The expansion adds a dozen or more new areas, many new quests, and a major new mission arc, substantially extending the game plot. However, much or all of the new content is locked behind either relatively high level restrictions or challenging quests that cannot be completed without the assistance of a solid group of players. This is not an expansion that alters the experience a new player has with the game -- instead, it extends the life of the game for people who have already played it for months or years.

Much of the criticism leveled against the expansion is that it does little to add new features to the game, such as new races or jobs. Square-Enix, in designing the expansion, has definitely chosen to focus on adding more places to go and things to kill, rather than new toys for a starting character to play with.

This expansion is really only of interest to players who have already sunk 100+ hours into Final Fantasy XI; if this describes you, and you haven't already purchased the expansion, do so tonight. If you just want to try Final Fantasy XI out, you do not need this expansion to do so.

Pros:
* Nice new areas for higher-level characters.
* Level-capped areas let parties of disparate levels play together.
* New plot available for players who have finished the main game plot.
* Areas such as Promyvion and Bibiki Bay are visually gorgeous.

Cons:
* Most of the content is not accessible to lower-level players; some is out of reach of even higher-level casual players.
* This is NOT a standalone expansion; you must have purchased the original game to play it.

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Product Description:
Mysteries of Vana'diel are unraveled additionalsecrets will be discovered!Product Information[Requires Original Version of Final Fantasy XI to Play]Final Fantasy XI the award-winning online adventure RPG continues with this newexpansion pack. Join an ever growing population of adventurers from around theglobe on this epic cross-platform journey in Final Fantasy XI Online Chains ofPromathia. Discover the ancient legend of Promathia God of Twilight.Bound in chains he holds the key to the origins of Vana'diel. Product FeaturesExplore uncharted territories including the Tavnazian Archipelago thesubterranean city of Movalpolos the foreboding Atthwa Chasm and many more. Confront the Emptiness" an insidious phenomenon gnawing away at theland. Experience new events fight new battles and meet new characters who willhelp you along your journey.Windows RequirementsRequires Original Version of Final Fantasy XI to PlayWindows 98 98SE Me 2000 XPPentium III 800 MHz processor128 MB of RAMNVIDIA GeForce series graphic processing unit with 32 MB or ATI RADEON9000 series Graphics CardDirectX 8.1 compatible Sound Card2 GB Hard Disk space4X CD-ROM drive56 kbps modem or betterKeyboardMouse

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Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker Review

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(More customer reviews)Dragon Quest Monsters initially began as Enix's answer to Pokemon. However, since it's beginnings on the Gameboy, it has grown into so much more than just a Pokemon clone. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker has its own spin on the "gotta catch'em all" philosophy. First of all, rather than using "pokeballs", you must impress Monsters using your Scout abilities to get them to join you. The higher rank the monster is, the more powerful your team must be to impress it. Second, your team consists of 3 primary monsters and 3 backup monsters. During battle, you are allowed to have out 3 monsters, but you cannot switch to your backups during battle, making for some difficult fights. Monsters level up in the style of Dragon Quest 8, where you gain skill points in addition to stat boosts that you can allocate as you see fit to the monster's skills. Monsters can use spells and abilities just like in the regular Dragon Quest games. Third, rather than breeding monsters, monsters are synthesized to create new breeds of monsters.

The main difference between this game and the regular Dragon Quest series is that rather than have random monster encounters, you can actually see the monsters on the field. This is great because you don't have to go through the guesswork of having to encounter the monster you want as you do in Pokemon. You can just walk around until you see it, then run up to it! Personally I like being able to see the monsters before I fight them so I don't have to waste time looking for certain ones. Also, the monsters respawn at a fairly rapid rate, so you don't have to worry about running out of monsters to fight when leveling up. An interesting part of this is that as you explore, you may notice certain strange objects in the area. These are actually indicators of rare monsters that may show up in that area. For instance on an early level, you walk by a campfire and some giant stones that look like dumb-bells. If you come back, you might encounter a Gigantes in that area!

As if that were not enough, Dragon Quest Monsters Joker also has an online battle portion where you pit your team against other teams on a regional, national or global scale to find out who's the best. Unlike other games where your only reward is bragging rights, this game has in game rankings and you earn items and monsters for each victory!

Dragon Quest Monsters offers solid gameplay on par with the main Dragon Quest series. With over 200 monsters to choose from, excellent online play and a great storyline, this is one game that is not to be missed!

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Product Description:
Enter the world of Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker as the young hero locked in a prison by your own father the leader of a mysterious organization known as CELL. Released under orders to enter the Monster Scout Challenge you will embark on a journey starting with a single monster and a scout ring unaware of the dark and mysterious intentions that surround the competition.Joker is the first game in the series to have online play via Nintendo Wi-Fi. The battle system is similar to previous Dragon Quest Monsters games. The player has three monsters in a party which can be given direct orders or set to one of 4 AI settings. A player's main character does not directly participate in battles with the exception of using items when directed as such. The sole method of encountering enemies is to run into them on the overworld.Features:The "big three" comprised of creator Yuji Horii manga artist Akira Toriyama and composer Koichi Sugiyama team up to create this gaming experienceCreate new species as you synthesize customized monsters from a selection of more than 200 different creaturesChallenge your friends via local wireless play to see whose team is the strongestNintendo Wi-Fi Connection component allows players to upload and download monster team data for battle on their Nintendo DS systemsFormat: NINTENDO DS Genre:ACTION/ADVENTURE UPC:662248907123

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