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Thousand Arms - Review |
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By Mikel Tidwell, RPGamer Writer
Review Breakdown |
Battle System | 7.5 |
Gameplay | 6.0 |
Music | 9.5 |
Originality | 10.0 |
Plot | 8.5 |
Replay Value | 9.5 |
Sound | 9.0 |
Visuals | 8.0 |
Difficulty | Medium |
Time to Complete | 35-45 hours | |
Overall |
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Criteria
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Thousand Arms is the first of its kind to cross the ever wide
Pacific: a dating RPG. That's right, after so many similar RPGs have
been released in Japan, Atlus, famous for Ogre Battle and other great
titles, finally tests the audience of the U.S. From old-school RPGamers
to those just starting, the word has been to watch this one, and not from
a distance. Quiet compared to giants like Final Fantasy and Lunar,
Thousand Arms does not try to enter the market as the RPG of the year.
However, it has many merits that may earn it that title anyway.
Thousand Arms will not overwhelm you with graphics, or play the
game for you in movies. The draw to Thousand Arms is a realism of a
different nature. Anime characters and old style sprites with emoticons,
akin to Final Fantasy V, the interaction of the people, and especially the
other characters, is what makes Thousand Arms a true experience to play.
More than once you may find yourself blushing at the screen, or yelling as
your foe falls. The game can be very personal, espcially when you decide
it's time to date your female companions.
Being skeptical that the first dating RPG, I made the assumption
the female characters would be extra cautious, making sure not to be too
daring, or possibly even the complete lack of innuendo. On the contrary,
the game took me completely by surprise. What a serious shock to the system
to find Sodina asking more tough, personal questions on her first date with
Meis than most people would hear through months of a relationship. The
intimacy of some of the dates can leave your heart racing, or your face red.
Each date is unique, and each girl will react differently. If you try to
please them all, expect a serious challenge, as you will spend many hours
simply learning about each girl.
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Smart and beautiful
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Of course, dating isn't everything. To really win the girl over,
there are other things Meis must do to gain the support of his companions.
Through the adventure, you will gain items that can be given as presents.
Anything you find is almost a sure thing to please the girl. Depending on
the current intimacy level, the present may be a huge hit, or simply a
quiet acceptance. If that doesn't work, each girl also has a mini-game to
play. While some are simple repetition of patterns from memory, some are
much more familar, like Blackjack. Winning a game may gain more respect
from the girl than a perfect date, so try everything.
If you think you can simply go through the game without having to
answer to the girls, think again. The entire game is based on how well
they love Meis. Their intamcy level not only decides how much the certain
girl wants Meis, but also dictates what spells Meis can bind to each
character's weapon. The better the intamacy rating, the better the spell
generally is. While simply building up experience levels will get through
the rough spots, the spells are a big help, and the animation is pretty
good to boot.
The battles are very unique, as they are a one on one, with
support from the other characters and monsters on each side. While the
system is different, it's not really better or worse then the standard all
out party most RPGs use. The only problems are that it's not completely
believable, since monsters wouldn't normally follow such a structure, but
they do. The fact that the supporting cast may not cast spells on any one
except the two main characters, with a few exceptions. Items can affect
all members of a party, and money is plentiful, so stocking up for those
boss battles is a big bonus.
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Women waging war
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The world is very colorful, and very well designed. With the lack
of physical barriers around the world, the flow of the game is very open,
and you may take a few sidequests here and there simply by exploration.
In fact, sometimes it isn't perfectly clear what comes next, making the
player talk with town people to get a hint, and sometimes go out and
simply look around for what's next. While the story is linear, the feel
of it is not as structured as most RPGs now days.
With nothing but praise, why not a perfect score? Simple, the
controls are very lacking. There have been certain places that required
trying to talk to the character in town four or five times before the
perfect spot is reached, and the character responds. The lack of analog
control is another downside, but all these would be alright, if only the
camera angle would stay put, or manually controlled. Meis will walk down
a perfectly straight path, and the camera angle may change as much as 180
degress in the span of an area of a town. This makes holding upward start
taking you north to start, then east, then possibly even south within the
same section. On the overworld map, you have complete control of the
camera, and it should have been the same for inside as well.
The music for the game is simply fantastic. Unlike most games,
there is a variety of music for battles, as well as countless other very
memorable scores. Top that off with a great deal on the soundtrack, and
you have the perfect music combination. Red Company is famous in Japan,
and local import groups for their music, and Thousand Arms is no
exception.
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Meis needs serious guidance
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As we mention the music CD as one of Thousand Arms' extra goodies,
one must mention that Atlus has gone all out with the goods. First came
the 3'x2' poster with your pre-order from special outlets, and the demo
disc at the same time. Then, once Thousand Arms was released with memory
card stickers, a holographic card, a full color instruction book filled
with colorful art, and the game itself. Atlus also decided to make their
SoundTrack and MultiMedia CD availible for free, and a modest $2 shipping.
A huge deal for the same price as any other game on the market.
Thousand Arms enters the market quietly. No TV spots. No huge
advertising budget. Just the word of the people who have fallen in love
with it That's all it needs. The game speaks for itself. I invite
everyone to join Meis in trying to win the hearts all of girls he can
find, which is no easy task. When there is more than one on the screen at
once can be a real handful. Meet many alive characters with indepth
background, explore beautiful areas to inticing music, and battle many
different monsters with a wide arrange of attacks, and sometimes even a
hint of personaility. Oh, and don't forget to save the world.
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