Knights of the Round
Next-gen 2D is here, it just happens to be that Odin Sphere landed on the PS2.
Published: June 11, 2007
But just as I was ready to declare Odin Sphere the crowning achievement at pushing 2D artwork beyond the confines of previous examples of the medium thanks to newer technology, an old nemesis reared its ugly head: slowdown. It's not prevalent, and like good shooters, there are actually times when it helps, but there's no denying that there were times when the game was clearly biting off more than the PS2's little processors could chew. During one boss fight, the game regularly slows to an absolute slideshow. Granted, it helps you appreciate the artwork and animation that much more, but the see-sawing framerate also kills the rhythm of the fight.
Despite this, I couldn't help but be smitten by how amazing it all was, and each new area of the world seemed to get more impressive from the last, culminating in one of the coolest depictions of the underworld and its denizens I've ever seen. I just happened to see it a whole lot by the end of the game.
I also heard a whole lot. The game's score was done by Hitoshi Sakamoto, who has helped with some of Square and Enix's bigger franchises, including Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy Tactics and Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter, and his particular style shines through here perfectly. Most of the game has an almost somber, melancholy feel to it, but the main battle themes echo with the same kind of rhythmic, almost skipping drive. Though it's done with synthesized instruments, it actually helps fit with the art style, and is undoubtedly one of the main reasons for the game's charm.
The sound effects, aren't half bad either, though they're relegated for the most part to some squeaks here and there, and a lot of grunts, growls and slashes during combat. Atlus, not surprisingly, did a fantastic job with localization and the voice cast was directed fairly well across the board, but of course if you want to ignore all of that and just listen to the original Japanese voices, you can toggle it as you wish.
Odin Sphere does so many things right that it's hard to imagine someone not liking it. What at first seems like a slightly twitchy, vapid action game with RPG elements gives way to something with an impressive amount of depth in nearly every area, from combat to character growth to inventory management. The more you play, the more the game heaps on new and varied things, and by the time you've experience the whole story, though you'll know the mechanics inside and out, they never feel old or tired.
Ignoring the beauty for a second, the core game here is an action RPG at its finest. The storyline is great, the game is weighted nicely for both the hardcore and newcomers (you can even slide up and down the difficulty at any time of you so choose), and the characters are interesting enough -- not to mention the pacing for them handled with enough care to keep you wanting to see the next one -- that though there can sometimes be times where the game can feel overly familiar and the PS2 hardware can't seem to quite keep up with what's being thrown onto the screen, it's almost impossible to resist playing more.
I can't say this enough: Odin Sphere is not only the finest example of 2D art in a game I've ever seen, but it's also a wonderful combination of old-school gameplay with more modern additions. It really is the complete package, and I can't recommend the game enough.
