Posted by Caldi-Chan on Apr 26th, 2007
Meet Jack Russell, a young man on the verge of becoming a Knight of Radiata, like his father before him. Or he would, if a young woman named Ridley Silverlake hadn’t handed his ass to him in the first round of the qualifying tournament.
However, there’s no need to worry; it seems that if you’re the son of a famed Knight in Radiata Castle, you’re going to get accepted anyway. Oh and here’s the kicker, your Captain is the son of your father’s best friend. Good times are sure to be had. Right?
WRONG.
No sooner do you get halfway done in your second mission, what is known as a Blood Orc shows up and you have to fight this obviously plot point Boss. The end results aren’t the best. In fact, it gets you and your Captain fired. So while you randomly look for things to do inside the castle, Ridley Silverlake’s father arranges to have you and your Captain disbanded. Sad news indeed.
But fear not, you can go apply at a guildnamed “Theater Vancoor” that hires out men and women to do “jobs,†and when you don’t anything that is a priority job you can make friends, and kick assorted things to find hidden objects by pressing the X button. However you may want to be careful who you kick. You’ll end up in a fight. Not only can you take your friends with you on jobs you yourself choose to do on your own. -By the way, this is how you make your funds. You get hired for jobs, and if you are successful you’ll get payment at the guild.- You as Jack, can explore the regions surrounding Radiata, and the town itself.
Now keep in mind this game runs on an active time based clock, meaning it’s set up like real time. So cut scenes will start at certain times, and if you just want to move the story and plot along you can sleep at your bed and save point. Be sure to make friends however, because these friends offer an assorted skill base you can use at your own disposal. Such as heal allies, because you are in fact the team leader.
However as the story progresses you will be faced with a question. The answer will in fact shape the future of the world in this game, and things begin to have the dark feel, of impending doom. Ridley, as it turns out, is in fact a key plot point to the game, and you as Jack will have to decide to side with the Fairy folk, or the Humans as an impending war of the races breaks loose. Depending on your choice, you will stay at Ridley’s side and help her , or be fighting as a re-hired Knight of Radiata, and be an expert Dragon Killer.
Overall the game is fun, and has a cute cel style of animation. The controls for the game are easy and quick to master. The attack button is Circle, and the X button is a block and dodge button. The Square button is a powerful attack called a Volty. The Square, utilized with X, is for a much stronger attack; you learn with each and every weapon you use, so don’t go selling your used weapons. Keep the ones you mastered around for various attacks, as they will prove to be an asset.
It’s an enjoyable game, and have found myself revisiting it, and still giggle over the conversations Jack has with various characters. He’s your basic country bumpkin that has the potential to be a great warrior based on his never-ending well of courage. He may be naïve, but he’s no chicken and will see the jobs through.
It’s a fun game to play, if a bit tedious with having to find friends to actually recruit, when you’ll lose half of them depending on what side you take. However, each side shows you a different point of view. The end cut scenes is slightly altered based on your choice, but the boss fight still remains the same save for who you have with you.
And as a treat, if you let the game sit on the New Game / Continue screen long enough you can see an anime style of the characters. It’s a real fun treat for any anime fan.
That’s my review, and this is Caldi-Chan signing out.
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Devin de Gruyl
April 29, 2007 at 9:44 pm
One little note that I found amusing: Each of the 177 (!) characters it’s possible for Jack to recruit into his party has additional background data that appears on his or her page in Jack’s Friends Book, to which new entries are added as you play. On Ridley’s page in the Friends Book, the name of her late mother is given as “Sigourney.”
First time I learned this, I almost fell out of my chair laughing. Obviously, somebody at tri-Ace was a big Alien fan… ^^;