Customer Reviews

Orphen

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

Although the graphics are good, and I was impressed with the Anime style of the FMV scenes, the game could have been much better. Not a classic RPG game, the battle sequences are not the traditional turn based style attacks you might expect. During group battles, you can't even control the other characters in your party, and items can't be used in battle either, so you can't heal during a rough fight. There aren't any shops to upgrade armor, in fact there is no armor at all. No shops to spend any gold, and although you discover new spells after a boss fight, you never advance in level. Another thing that is dissapointing, is that there is no discovery aspect in the game. There are no secret, hidden goodies to find: everything you find is in a clearly visible treasure chest. On the eye candy scale, the game gets 5 stars for it's graphics. But true RPG fans will find the game something to do until Dark Cloud is released, or something to rent on a rainy weekend. Not a must have game for the PS2.

This really isn't all that bad a game. Sure, it's nothing like most console RPG's--it seems that most complaints have been that it's not just like Final Fantasy, Chrono Cross, or anything else Square has made or been copied. As someone else said, it's more like playing a Zelda game or a Castlevania game, where you are doing as much platforming as fighting. Admittedly, a lot of the items seem pretty useless and it can be annoying to watch the same long cutscene fifty times until you manage to beat the boss--something that can be avoided by making a change to your setup and which resets the battle.

Like most dubs, there is of course something lacking. The cutscenes can look pretty ugly, but that can be made up for in part by the good anime cutscenes. The battle system could have used a little more interactivity to it, but it is not the huge problem that other reviewers have made it out to be.

The game's major problem is that it is too linear and short in terms of actual gameplay. If I remember correctly, I managed to beat the game in about 15 hours. I've just started to replay it after not touching it for nearly six months. If you don't have a problem with linear games then this won't be a problem for you. Be warned that there are no side quests, no mini games, and while things like the diary entries and enemy list make for an interesting extra, you can survive without them.

One more thing now that the anime is out. All you people that hated the characters in this game try watching the anime--just make sure you're watching the subtitled version. The characters for the game are just about right based on the anime--Cleao (Cleo) is somewhat annoying and bossy, Majic (Magus) is not bad with magic but looks up to Orphen, Orphen is dead on, and Dortin and Volcan are pretty close as well.

Give it a shot. If I hadn't played this game I would have never tried Zelda or Castlevania.

a good game but not a great game. activision's Orpen: Scion of Sorcery is probably the best rpg out there for the PS2 so far. Great graphics and a great story line makes this the rpg choice for the PS2. the only thing that makes this game not a great game is that the battle system is not quite of a rpg type. the game feels and plays almost like zelda. this game is recommended to all PS2 owners who loves rpg but if action/rpg is not ur type then dont even think about buying this game. the best thing about this game is that it has anime in it(yes i said anime). so if u like anime and a good game then go out and buy this game right now. trust me u wont be dissapointed.

And those 15 seconds was the beautiful PS2 startup screen. Within the first 10 minutes I was in probably the worst battle engine I've ever scene. The reason I bought this game cause it was anime and the first thing you see when you start is an anime sequence, but that was about the only thing that made me happy. I didn't even bother to save the game on to my memory card. Maybe I'll pull this game out on one of those long and i do mean LONG rainy nites where I have already beatin all other games at my disposal and have nothing better to do.

I rented this game recently to decide if I want to purchase this title. I'm a die-hard RPG gamer, and enjoy all forms of RPG. As has been mentioned, you can not stop the extended cinematics (it seems like there's one for every single room). The most annoying aspect of the game, in my opinion, is the banter between characters. It's a voice over game, which is usually pretty cool. But this one in particular is nothing but people yelling at each other in the most snide way possible. After a few minutes, I felt so on edge and upset that I was tempted to just turn it off right then. But I figured, hey, maybe it'll get better. It never does. Don't bother.

. . . If it weren't already a MOVIE for PS2. . .

And unfortunatley, that's almost what ORPHEN becomes; a movie. With little actual gameplay and loads of Anime-esque pre-rendered videos, ORPHEN really doesn't give you much to do. Sure, there's running around with bizarre camera angles looking into these little treasure chests that seem to be absolutely flippin' everywhere, and then there's always the "Stop the movie whilst we fight a monster without any explaination!" that seems to happen just often enough to keep you from losing your mind from boredom. . .

On the up side, the animations are great and the characters (though eerily "Harry Potter"esque) are interesting enough that you might not mind if this were a real movie that you just paid ... for instead of a video game that won't let you do anything. . .

The colors are vivid and the camera work (at times) is almost award winning. I said almost. To be honest with you, I'd probably have given this game an additional star if, after saving and dying, you could skip all the superfluous movie bits and get back to actually playing the ever lovin' GAME!!

Borrow a copy from a friend then decide if you have the time to spend on it once you pony up the cash for your own. . . I've been a little dissapointed with what I've seen for the PS2 so far. ...I want more than just slightly revved up PS1 games. Don't get me wrong, I've really liked several of the games that I've played, but they're just not up to the hype yet. . .

This was my first PS2 game...I bought it two weeks before I even got my PS2. I remember looking at the super hi-res graphics in the pics (it both looked more impressive than it was, and I never played a Dreamcast by this point), and practically dreaming about it. While my every hope and dream wasn't met with the revolutionary game I was expecting, this game was a nice unique adventure that I still occasionally play today.

This game was IMO easily better than Evergrace, Eternal Ring, and even Summoner, the other three launch PS2 games, and I liked it more than some that have come out since. The game isn't stupid like many people say; it was just shrouded in a large number of bad decisions for the overall production. The graphics were nice, the battle system inventive, the plot decent, and the voice acting good.

The game's story involves a time-lapse in which Orphen is shot into a time and particular story, and when it's over, he is shot back to the begining, only to play through another. While remembering that something is odd between times he goes back and starts over, his memory of those he met, the places he's been, or the searching for the artifact called the Crystal Egg (which can control time), soon no longer exist, and similar plot twists occur in the three scenarios.

While not as linear as Final Fantasy X, it's also nowhere near as epic, nor does it make as much sense. Really the plot, while with some nice original moments, really seems like an excuse to have a game starring the decently famous character: the Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. The ending is pretty weak, despite the gorgeous music during the big end-credit sequence (there are two kinds of end credit sequences), and the writting of some scenes is simply terrible. Not to mention, there are just too many parts where something just happens to go wrong or right, and as such, things happen the way they do...which is sometimes the way they just happened, only now again, but ever so slightly different. However, due to the game's shortness (about 12 hours altogether), if you can tolerate a chunk of cheezy lines and repeditive or silly sequences, this game isn't much to bear.

The voice work during the cutscenes is great, however. Sure, they're all very, very annoying, but it's because the original writers only partially understood the true character of the Orphen anime saga. The voices are full of life, energy, emotion, and Quinton Flynn being chosen to play Orphen's role was one of the most brilliant moments of game-voice casting, ever! The character movement during the game isn't anywhere as nice...the big thing about it is that when a character is knocked over, the common thing for them to do isn't to stand back up, but to reverse-fall. Moments of almost unbearable tackiness start to clutter up any feelings of reality the game offers.

The game is, apart from the now outdated graphics and terrible movement, a rather believable and entertaining fantasy epic. This mostly comes because the ways the graphics are handled. The polygon counts in almost every other launch title was higher than in this, but the colors are vibrant, saturated and glowing, as well as the lighting very true-to-life, and the art direction rather decent. The monster battles are very cinematic in feel as unless hit by an attack, no enemy or ally HP display is projected onto the screen, while the camera follows the action very flashily, full of rapid camera-cuts, fast motion, and tons of flying effects. And, my favorite graphical touch by far: the sun, when looked upon, shines that great line of light that just barely misses hitting your eye perpendictularly, like in the movies...a great zenith, nice color temperature, and nice shadow work too.

Truthfully, while I love this game, I do not recommend it to anyone except the most patient of gamers. However, since it has so many of my memories in it, and it's well acted out and well colored (and that I'm trying to write an Orphen movie, inspired to be a sequel to the series), I know I'm going to be playing this game for years to come...despite that I know it's just me. I REALLY wish that they would either remake this title, or create another Orphen game (sequel, or side-story), since this game had shining potential, and nice imagination. If only the testers were able to mouth opinions as well as say simply: "yup, when I hit the square, I jump."

Orphen is by far one of the worst... no, it is THE worst game that I have EVER played, or any of my friends have played, or anyone that I KNOW PERSONALLY have EVER played. Yeah, I know anime, I draw anime, and I KNOW there are bad dubs as WELL as GOOD dubs out in the world of anime, and that ain't EVEN WHOLLY why this game sucks! But dude, I like to think I know how to make a good game... or at least RECOGNIZE a good game when I see one! C'mon folks... When I go into a game store, to prove to one odd friend that never heard of this game (lucky fools...), that it really IS bad, I ask the clerk how great he thought the game was. First, the clerk always seems to choke, then looks at me wide eyed, stutters some polite response, until I say "Sucks, don't it?" At which point, they look both relieved and sympathetic, AND I have no doubt that they'd be very embarressed if they had a brand new copy of it for sale on their shelves.

I couldn't even SELL mine to EB, the mall, or ANYONE for less than $1, at which point I just gave it to the kid down the street for his B-day, and HE HATES me for it! People... GO WATCH THE ANIME IF YOU LIKE ANIME. Otherwise, PLEASE get SOME FF game to REMIND yourself that we have not yet fallen THAT far to call "Orphen" a GREAT GAME.

Dudes... I'm not joking, this is NOT the game you want to buy, and all you poor souls that fell into the same trap I did (saw the half nifty anime cover at a flea market for $10) DO WHAT I DID AND GET RID OF IT AS FAST AS YOU CAN BEFORE YOUR FRIENDS FIND OUT ABOUT IT!

And to those who DID like it, take my earlier advice and FOR GODS SAKE buy an FF game or SOMETHING. Get this crud off your hands man... not to be rude, but it's just INSULTING to call this game "one of the greats" when it SOOOOOO aint!

the attemt to make the game exciting by putting a lot of stupid puzzles makes this game a not very fun game at all. the battle system is alright and i like the anime sequences that take place. its rather annoying when you get trhough little puzzles, maze like areas that take you ages to figure out. Im used to the experience points and equiping weapons you bought or forged, since its in most other RPGs that ive played. also the fact that you cant skip movies makes it annoying when you die after watching a long movie because you have to watch it again.

I love role playing games, and the Playstation 2 graphics were incredible on some of the other games we've played. When I popped Orphen into the CD player, I was really expecting something spectacular. Unfortunately, the game didn't quite live up to the promise.


You play a male, Orphen, in his late teens, who is a loner with an attitude. He has a brother-sister pair with him, Cleo and Magnus, who spend the entire time sniping at each other and at him. "Shut up," he snarls at them. "Well, duh!" the girl cries out in response to something else. When water breaks in, her panic cry was not of the danger they were in, but "My favorite clothes!!"

Their two 'bodyguards' aren't much better - with their bickering, I actually cheered when a monster crab grabbed one and threw him into the water. I kept hoping that one would grab the annoying siblings as well, and get rid of them. Come to think of it, even the main character needed a good swat in the head.

The magic Orphen uses is intriguing. His weapons have names like "Bite of Lightning," "Sword of the Fallen Devil," and "Hand of Pyro." You don't have to remember their names - he cries them out quite often enough. That's when you're lucky enough to be in combat ... a lot of the time the game simply freezes when you're moving, going into a pre-set series of actions that mostly involve the main characters yelling at or picking on each other.

If you could only skip through them, it might be playable. But you can't.

The graphics are reasonably good, the monsters you meet are interesting, but there isn't anything to move you along through the game, except for the desperate hope that SOMETHING will come along and knock some sense into the characters. Unfortunately for everyone involved, this never happens.

If you're looking for a great RPG, I'd wholeheartedly recommend Final Fantasy IX over this game. If you already have FFIX, then you might rent this one to understand just how good the FFIX team really is.