Odin Sphere Review/Comparison

Woot, so I've finally pulled away long enough to write this! So here's hoping it get's read, haha.
If you've been checking out the blog for the past few months you've probably noticed I was very excited for this game to come out, and you've probably already read alot about this game. So instead of going over stuff I've already covered I'll just cover the thing's I've realized well playing the game. (But if you haven't already seen what I've posted about the game, check it out by clicking on the "Odin Sphere" Label located in the side bar.)

Odin Sphere was just released recently this year, in Japan it came out May 17th, and not long after it came out in North America on the 22nd of May. It's a "spiritual sequel" as they say, to Princess Crown. Both games being released by Atlus, and made by Vanillaware.

First for those interested in either game, be it you've played Odin Sphere and are thinking about picking up Princess Crown for PSP, or you've played Princess Crown and are thinking you might enjoy Odin Sphere, I'm going to go over the differences between the two games, cause there are quite a few.

- In Princess Crown maps were like a standard 2D platformer, flat and straight. Every town, and dungoen, were connected by little branching paths. To get around you'd either go to the left end of the map, or the right end, doing so would open up the on screen mini map, and depending on the unlocked paths /branches you'd get to choose which road to take. There would also be exit points in middle of maps too, like buildings, or just a path leading up. To enter those you'd just press up and you'd be on the left or right side of another map.

- In Odin Sphere things are alittle different, Maps in Odin Sphere are still 2D side scrolling, but instead of having ends with exits, the maps loop, like a cricle. Also instead of having a world with branching paths all connected to each other, Odin Sphere uses a World Map with points of destination to choose from, doing so you'll usually just end up in a dungeon. There are no "towns" so to speak like. There are certain points in the story were you may have to walk through a town or castle, and there will be characters to talk to and buy items from, but this is only when the story say's so and you cannot choose to enter a town or not. So in that sense, most of the game is "dungeon crawling". The Dungeons do however have branching paths, and the like, like in Princess Crown.

- Princess Crown only has a few battle crys, there is no other real voice acting in the game.

- Odin Sphere on the other hand, has Full Voice acting, in the North American release you can even choose between the original Japanese voice actors, or English voice actors. Also as a fun little treat(I guess to make up for the lack of Voice acting in Princess Crown) EVERY single character in this game is voiced. It's really awesome and adds alot to the story, at least if you're listening to the Japanese that is... I'm personally not a fan of the english voices, they really lack the emotion of their Japanese counter parts.

- In Princess Crown the Battle System was one on one random battles. You'd be walking along in a dungeon or path, and a monster(s) would attack you. You'd pull out your weapon and fight, you should do combos and different attacks depending on what buttons you press. For instance(the case being the same in both games) you could press down and O to do a downward thrust that would break an enemy's guard. Or you could press Up to jump, and swing your sword while in the air. Special moves could also be pulled off by doing certain D pad button presses and then O like you would in a fighter. Spells came in the form of scrolls which you could buy in stores, or gain from chests dropped by monsters or found in dungeons. The item system in both games are the same, you have your bags which hold certain amounts of items, you can buy new bags(up to 6 if I remember right) to hold more.

- Odin Sphere's Battle System on the other hand isn't quite random just that every map in a dungeon has enemies, which you fight all at once. Away is the one on one system of fighting found in Princess Crown. Killing enemies gains you these things called "Psypher", which are used to power your weapon, and to pull off Speacial Attacks. Special attacks are no longer done Fighter style, instead you choose from a list of special moves/spells to use, each move requires a certain amount of Psypher to use. Also instead of pressing Up to jump you press X. Jumping twice depending on the character will do certain things, for instead you can fly with Gwendolyn(which is really fun).

- Princess Crown's leveling system is the same of any typical RPG. You get experience points at the end of every battle, and getting enough grants you a level up, which raises your stats and such.

- The leveling system in Odin Sphere is quite different, and quite original if I do say so myself. You level your Attack by absourbing the Psypher from your fallen foes, each Psypher raising the attack experience by abit. HP is leveled by eatting food. Each food item of course having it's own EXP value, and HP healing value.

- Princess Crown had a cooking system where you'd get certain items, that could be taken to pubs to cook which you could then eat as healing items.

- And finally, In Odin Sphere the cooking system is alittle different. You can still cook dishes but it's alittle more advanced. Unlocking recipes and such in which you bring to the Pooka Village to cook(assuming you have the items, and money needed to cook said dishes). Also added to Odin Sphere is the Alchemy System. Once again you get recipes, and by combining certain numbered material with certain items you can make potions. Which range in effect from healing HP, to damaging enemies.

So that covers the comparison between Odin Sphere and Princess Crown. On to the ratings!

Graphics are turly a sight to be seen, beautiful hard drawn sprites fill the screen moving and breathing in wonderful animated style. I can only imagine the time it must have took, to create such work of art. The backgrounds are great to look at, with amazing scrolling, and depth. The game certainly has some of the best graphics I've ever had the privillage to see.

The Sound And Music Are prefect mood setters, like I meantioned the game has full voice acting, and an amazing Japanese cast. The Japanese voice acting is truly good shizzle. Though if you want, there is also a choice for English Voice acting.

Gameplay is the sex! None of the systems are gone unused. Unlike some games where theres a bunch of little systems, some of each get used and others not so much. This game you make use of everything the cooking the alchemy it's all so helpful and easy to do that you'll have to reason not to use them. Fighting is fun, though may be a challenge for some, even on easy mode. But nothing is impossible and when you do defeat a boss you really feel good. The story is great, twist and turns, drama, action, it's all good! The Characters are great, and seeing the story unfold through each character, and to see how it all connects is really cool.

That being said, I think this game is a must have for all RPG fans with PS2s. Don't miss out on this master piece!

I give it a 5, out of 5 stars.

Visit the Offical Site Here.

Buy the North American Verison Here.

Or Buy the Japanese Verison Here.