Customer Reviews

Odin Sphere

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I've been an avid gamer since the Atari 2600 days. One thing I've noticed over those 2 and a half decades of console gaming is that almost always the best games for all of the systems come out at the end of the systems' life cycle. Look at the games the SNES had in its last year of life. Chrono Trigger anyone? And other games like Donkey Kong Country were displaying graphics that seemed inpossible for the SNES. I also remember playing a Batman game on the NES (forget the title)that came out as the NES was dying, it too had graphics that seemed impossible for the NES. One big reason this is is that by the time a system is about to be taken off the market, developers have had a lot of time to get to know the system's hardware and know all the ins and outs when developing games for it. Games have gotten more involved as years have passed, especially RPG's, so now the games that come out at the end of the newer system's life not only have the best graphics seen yet on the system, the developes have also had years to flesh out the story, combat and item systems. You'll understand this when you play the awesome Odin Sphere.

At its core, the game is an action/adventure RPG. You wander through areas going left to right and attack enemies in real time. It's a bit like the first Valkyrie Profile that came out for the PS1, but way more fine tuned. When enemies are defeated, they release spirits called Phozons that you can magically absorb into your weapon making it more powerful. All areas are set up in "Stages". When you get tot he end of a stage, Odin will drop a treasure chest from the heavens you can open to collect rewards. The cool thing here is, the faster you complete a stage, the better items the treasure chest will have. Also, the less damage you take within that stage will also grant you better items.

Speaking of items, you can get them in a variety of ways. There are vendors scattered throughout castles and battlefields, and you can also grow them. You find seeds all over the place, as well as sheep seeds and more. What you do is plant the seeds near some enemies, and defeat the enemies. Instead of absorbing into your weapong, the phozons will absorb into the seeds making a plant grow that will have various items hanging off of them depending on what seed you planted. It's a very unique concept. You can also cook in the game, and there's a fairly easy alchemy system you can use.

The story is all about Norse mythology, and the graphics that are hand painted reflect that. You have the option to play the game with English voiceovers or in the original Japanese with English subtitles. I selected the English option, and the voice acting is actually pretty good.

If you're a fan of RPG's at all, especially if you're looking for something that's different from anything else out there right now, Odin Sphere should be a game you should pick up as soon as you can. The game seems very involved, and it is, but the game also lets you select from three different difficulty levels at any time.

For some reason, Atlus' Odin Sphere had some hype surrounding it as it makes it's way to the states on the good 'ol PS2, and it's surprisingly good too. Taking place in a children's storybook, Odin Sphere is basically a beat 'em up disguised as a beautiful looking RPG-ish game. And when I say beautiful, I mean beautiful. For a late in life PS2 game, Odin Sphere looks great. The graphics, animation, and colors are vibrant and detailed despite some glitches and stiffness, but the game also suffers from some slowdown when there is a lot of on-screen action. Not to mention that there are some annoyingly frequent load times as well. That's all pretty much it for the flaws of Odin Sphere, but the good really does outweigh the bad thanks to the game's long quest and engaging story above all else, while the game also features some great voice acting, music and sound effects, and an item system that adds a bit of depth to the gameplay. All in all, Odin Sphere really doesn't offer anything you haven't seen before, but the game is a surprisingly good and worthwhile pickup for those who aren't ready to let their PS2's ride off into the sunset just yet.

Lately, I've been really disappointed with the PS2's RPG offerings. Final Fantasy XII was the logical evolution of the graphics over gameplay mentality, a game that basically played itself. Valkyrie Profile 2 had some neat ideas but completely dropped the ball with its unbalanced difficulty and messy battle system. Almost six months after the console has become obsolete along comes Odin Sphere, the RPG swan song I've been waiting for.

The story of Odin Sphere tells the tale of a war between the Odin and his Aesir against the Vanir, the fairy people, to control a device known as the cauldron. It follows the journey of five different characters over the course of roughly the same time period as the events that herald the end of the world come to pass. Their paths all converge at the end when they take part in one last, futile battle against the beasts of the apocalypse. Even if the individual stories of the characters do lean a bit towards the melodramatic, they are excellent, interesting, and develop the characters well. All five stories fit together nicely like pieces of a puzzle.

Its story alone is enough to cover quite a few worts that gameplay has as far as I'm concerned. For one thing, Odin Sphere is a throw-back to older games in difficulty as well as its visual design. Odin Sphere is a 2D side-strolling action game primarily with RPG elements thrown in. Watching it is like a seeing a gorgeous painting come to life. It is almost mind-blowingly difficult at times. At first, the difficulty level almost had me hating this game. Odin Sphere has a terrible learning curve that has to be overcome to find the gameing goodness within. For one thing, the player must learn that mindlessly attacking will get you killed quickly. Secondly, you must learn that given the limited space in your inventory, items are meant to be used, not stockpiled. Dropped items are plentiful so you can easily find or make another one. Thirdly, the character must use the food cultivation system to gain levels and healing items. The food you grow at first doesn't heal you up very much and you are open to enemy attack should you need to consume it in the heat of battle which makes it nearly useless. A bit later on you'll gain a healing potion alchemy mix which you can synthesize at any time and at last the game becomes bearable. Also I don't think it helps that the starting character, Gwendolyn, tends to get stuck in long combo animations that leave her open to attack. I found it to be a ton of fun after I learned the ropes because, rather than being a mindless hack and slash you can just plow through, Odin Sphere requires some smart thinking and quick reflexes. I also don't think that it helps Odin Sphere's case at the beginning that the first character's story arc takes place the latest in the time line and feels like it has large gaps in it, which are actually covered in other characters' scenarios.

In the end, Odin Sphere is a wonderful game, but its only going to appeal to a select audience. If you love RPGs and hard action games, your ship has come in because this blends the best of both into one package. If not, its probably only going to make you frustrated.

When I first saw advertisements for this game, I went over to my local GameStop and immediately pre-ordered it. Fellow gamers waited with bated breath for it to come out, magazines like Play and GamePro were practically crapping themselves with anticipation, constantly running articles about how beautiful the graphics are, etc.

You know what? Now that I've actually played the game, I don't really see what all the fuss is about. Now before you all come after me with your torches and pitchforks, let me first state that it isn't bad, and in fact has many good points. The graphics, for one. The visuals are absolutely stunning. The music was also phenomenal. It was very beautiful and fit the game perfectly. The voice acting was great, and could probably be the best I've ever encountered in a game. I know all you super nerdy otaku out there will probably lynch me for this, but I really enjoyed the English voiceacting, and thought it fit the game better than the Japanese voices. I also thought the story was pretty interesting. A tad cliched perhaps, but I liked how each of the characters was affected by the events in their own way, and how they all fit in together. I thought it was cool how it was told out of chronological order as well, and you had to finish each character's story to get the full picture (kinda like Pulp Fiction.) All-in-all, Odinsphere is a feast for the senses.

Now on to the bad parts. *puts on riot gear*

The gameplay can get pretty repetitive after a while. All the characters go to the same places, fight the same enemies and bosses, etc. It got pretty tiresome after awhile. Also, the game is pretty hard. Sure, there's a difficulty setting, but I'm pretty sure it's for decorative purposes only. I'm telling you, never have I wanted to hurl my controller through the t.v. screen more than while playing this game. Money is hard to come by, health items are hard to come by...oh, since we are on the topic of health items, let me voice some concern about those godforsaken seeds you are constanly getting. See, alot of the time you have to actually grow your own health items. You plant a seed, and these sparkly orbs called phozons that are released when you defeat an enemy go into the seed and make it grow. When the seed grows to fruition, you have a nice, sparkly health item. But not only do these items restore hp, they also give you exp. The problem is, you also need those phozons yourself to perform powerful magical attacks. I found myself having to choose between magic and hp/exp. VERY irksome. Also annoying was the lag. When battling against a large group or just one particularly huge boss, the entire game slows to a crawl. It's like fighting while completely mired in molasses.

So to summarize my long, rambling tirade, Odinsphere is a very beautiful game, but is severely lacking in the gameplay department. If you really want to play it, I strongly suggest you rent it first.

I did not know what to think of Odin Sphere. There were some good reviews and some bad reviews. Regardless if you think this is just a hack n slash disguised as an rpg you are both very right but also very wrong. I think what endeared me to the game was having the little girl pick up her black cat Socrates while plopping down in the chair with him. In a strange twist Odin Sphere starts you out as a child with a story book. All the heroes of the game are actually the characters she is reading about. See it as a similar situation as being Bastion with the never-ending story.

In a realm of fairy tales the God Odin has declared war on the fairy kingdom. He wants a cauldron to make powerful weapons but if he succeeds the world will end. Ironically enough you start out not as the hero against Odin but as Gwendolyn, one of his Valkyrie daughters who is a hapless pawn.

Actually there are 5 characters in all. There is Gwendolyn's half sister who is a red hooded witch, the dark knight Oswald that can become a shadow beast, a noble prince who has been turned into a rabbit-thing, and a cute fairy archer. All of them have their own motives as well as varied ways of attacking.

As you jump, glide, and attack you can absorb "phozons". These fuel your magic and power up the damage of your weapons for each character. While you cannot hold many items you can be clever in the way you use them. Plants for example normally require phozons to grow and you can actually bury a seed right before battle so any creatures you slay mature the plant with their dispersed life energy thus making it grow life nourishing berries. My favorite weed was one that dropped living sheep that you could bop to turn into lamb chops!

"Alchemy" is another important skill. By mixing potions you can create healing beverages or even warm elixirs that keep your core temperature up in cold environments.

Odin Sphere's story is very intricate and you get to walk in the shoes of characters that are on every side of the conflict. Each time you complete a hero's scenario another book appears for the little girl to read. Each person has a whole tome dedicated to them alone. By that point it is your choice who you want to play as.

Even if a huge boss is too hard fret not. You can always return to your base with all the experience and items you have earned and simply do the level over again. Eventually you will be strong enough to deal with a pesky dragon or traitorous general on your own terms!

Increasing stats is pretty easy. For example just by eating a lot it raises your overall health and absorbing enough phozons will make your weapon stronger.

The character sprites and graphics have a lot of personality and detail. Remember how crono trigger and secret of mana looked on the SNES at the zenith of its' perfection? Well multiply that glory by 2 and you get the picture.

The music and voice acting also deserve praise and set the mood perfectly for each emotional scenario.

Your found maps are easy to read so going from one place to another without getting lost is easy.

The only bone to pick with Odin sphere is when there are many enemies on screen at once it lags to a crawl. In the end however that is not enough to bring it down at all.

In the end you would be hard pressed not to find something to like about Odin Sphere unless you detest all things cute and anime. It has that nostalgic spark found only in the fairy tales of our youth and there is enough item farming mini games and monster bashing to keep rpg lovers and action lovers equally happy!

Pros

+Gorgeous 2D graphics

+ Glorious hack n slash action

+ Addictive game play

+Great music and voice acting

+Well told story from the perspective of 5 unique characters


Cons

-Lags when too much is going on at once.

- In trying to please both Rpg fans and action fans it may fall short in both aspects thus failing to make either group entirely happy.

Odin Sphere is simply a great game. This side-scrolling, hack and slash, RPG, is one of the best games for the PS2, if you like that sorta thing. The 2D graphics will take you back to the good ol' Sega Genesis days, and thats not a bad thing!

Its strengths are its gameplay (if you like side-scrolling hack & slash/Action RPGs), the music & sound in the game is very good. Odin Sphere is very original in many aspects and a very odd game, which is a good thing, its different and I like that. (example: During, after or before a battle you can plant seeds so they can grow into trees so then they can produce fruit for you to eat, which gains experience...) The boss battles are simply awesome, most of the bosses take up nearly the whole screen and are difficult to beat. As the story progresses, you'll eventually end up using 5 different characters, which have different skills and weapons. You can even make potions in the game, which will help you in battle.

I have only a few dislikes with Odin Sphere, which prevents it from being 5 out of 5 stars. At times it can almost be too difficult, and has no difficulty option. I consider myself pretty good at games, in general, and there has been times in this game where I would die nearly 6-7 times in the same stage, having to restart the stage each time. It can be frustrating to lose in a stage where there is a ton of monsters, because you'll have to restart the stage when you die, which means having to battle the same monsters all over again. My only other complaints are that I wish the stages were longer, that there were more stages/areas/levels, and more boss battles.

All in all this game gets 4 stars overall from me. I hope to see a sequel to this game.

Odin Sphere is a fantastic game.

The gameplay is fast and exciting, and the storylines are epic.

Those reviewers complaining about a lack of depth in gameplay (I believe someone likened the combat to "mash mash mash") may not have experienced everything this title has to offer. The actual sword-swingin' is a little weak, but that's because it's really only a tenth of the overall gameplay. Sure, in the lower levels, you can mash an attack button and do all right. As you move on, however, you find that this tactic will result in a loading screen.

As the difficulty advances, you'll find that you need to manage attack, defense, mobility, magic, seed growth, health, food recipes, leveling up, and potions - all in real time. To make matters more interesting, many of these mechanics contrast each other.

Do you eat the apple in your inventory, thereby gaining immediate health, or do you keep it and use it later on in a larger food recipe? Do you allow the enemy crystals to be absorbed into your planted seeds, thereby growing new food items, or do you absorb them immediately to power your magic?

Quite a far cry from the easy "mash mash mash" you may see on earlier levels.

The game displays innovation in every category. Other reviewers have covered the system information (planting seeds, eating to gain health and health XP, etc). I've never played any other game like this one, and found it amazingly fun.

Pros:
* Gameplay depth
* Fast-paced
* Crisp, beautiful graphics
* Innovative potion / health / recipe system
* Tradeoffs between magic and food require planning and strategy
* Ability to retry any individual map instantly, no loading
* Ability to restart any area with current XP and items (if the area is too hard)

Cons:
* Boss fights are extremely diffcult compared to basic storyline
* Managing potions, food, and recipes can be overwhelming

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the best 2-D side scroller since Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Talk about a welcome relief. When you get tired of all those first person shooters or huge combo-centeric 3-D adventures, this is the game for you.

Graphically, there hasn't been a better game on the PS2. I play this on my HDTV through my PS3 and it looks stunning. The gameplay is easy to learn, but surprisingly deep. It has those RPG elements to it, but the game doesn't get bogged down by these. All of this provides for some very smoothe gameplay.

Throughout the game, you play as five different characters whose stories are divided into five separate books. They do play in the same levels with many of the same bosses. This isn't such a bad thing as each character is fundamentally diffeent and this keeps the gameplay active.

I spent about 30 hours playing this game and found this to be time well spent. Playing this will evoke imagery and feelings of the games that were played in the NES era, but on a beautiful, sweeping scale.

This is an RPG. This is a side-scroll RPG.

Because it is an RPG, I have to be critical of its story. It has an amazing story with a (surprisingly) great English dub. All of the voice-actors really played the part of the characters (especially Odin). I'm glad that they included the original Japanese dub, but I only switched to it once, but I was so impressed by the English dub, I left option to be left in English.

Now, this story is also a side-scroll RPG (although, not quite the usual side-scroll RPG), which means, gameplay plays a significant role. There are 5 characters, each with their own weapons and their own way of fighting. Mercedes has a crossbow, Gwendolyn can glide, etc. This makes gameplay non-repetitive (although, hack-n-slash-ing kind of is).

Overall, this was a great game, and I am glad that I did not miss out on this one.

If you are a real video game fan, and not just the type who buys an XBOX so they can play "Madden", then you owe it to yourself to play this game. In the nearly seven years the ps2 has been on the market, there has never been a more sumptuous argument for the notion that there is plenty of gaming still left to be done in two dimensions. The aesthetic detail is absolutely mind blowing; the animation: exalted. Really, still images will do this game very little justice. You have to see it in motion to appreciate it, and even then, you will wonder how the hell they pulled it off. The game play is no less sublime, offering the kind of robustness,in terms of cause and effect, that is seldom seen outside of the Street Fighter series: When you hit something in this game, you feel like you connected and your avatar has weight, presence. The story line mixes elements of Norse Mythology with marionette style stage play to interweave five equally poignant tales, all to the backdrop of some of the finest gaming music you are likely to hear until the end of the "Next Generation." You will hear naysayers gripe about load times in this game, or slowdown; listen carefully: NEITHER IS NEARLY AS MUCH A HINDRANCE AS YOU MAY HAVE BEEN CONVINCED OF! The slowdown is infrequent, and the load times, though commonplace, are snappy. There is so much more to describe, but it's better you discover the intricacies of this title for yourself; if you love games, 2D, and anything old school with a touch of the new, your game has arrived.