 Box Front
 Box Back
Member Rating
86.7%
(24 votes)
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Console:
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Microsoft Xbox 360
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Region: | |
Year:
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2008
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RFG ID #:
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U-115-S-02660-A
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Part #:
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DD9-00003
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UPC:
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082224521017
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Developer:
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Mistwalker
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Publisher:
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Microsoft
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Rating:
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| (ESRB): Language , Suggestive Themes , Use of Alcohol , Violence |
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Genre:
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RPG
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Sub-genre:
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Players:
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1
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Controller:
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Standard Controller
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Media Format:
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DVD x4
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Collection Stats:
- 353 of 7639 collectors (4.6%) have this game in their collection
- 8 of 7639 collectors (0.1%) have this game in their wishlist.
- 1 of 7639 collectors (0%) have this game for sale or trade.
Overview:
A man without a past fights for a world without a future.
From famed creator Hironobu Sakaguchi of Mistwalker comes a revolutionary RPG experience rich in depth, emotion, and cinematic gameplay. In an age that has harnessed the dark power of magic, you are the mysterious, immortal Kaim - on a quest to reclaim 1,000 years of lost memories. Surviving violent wars and encountering friends, lovers, and enemies, you will discover the true meaning of both sorrow and joy.
- Immerse yourself in an unparalleled storyline set in a massive world.
- Unique combat system with the use of the Aim Ring System, Skill Link, and more.
- Photorealistic visuals and cinematics intensify the tension and tempo to take you beyond traditional RPGs.
- Experience epic gameplay never before seen with hundreds of fields maps, monster characters, and much more.
(Overview from the game case)
Review:
Tan's review:
One hundred and four hours, twenty-eight minutes. That’s how long I played this game my first time through. I suppose it’s pointless to tell you I enjoyed it. Even if I was a glutton for punishment I doubt I’d have stubbornly held on for over 100 hours if I didn’t enjoy this game immensely!
Here’s the irony of this game as I see it: It’s closer to PS1 era Final Fantasy than Final Fantasy XII is. That’s a good thing however, as I believe FFXII was a dose of fresh air to an otherwise stale series and a game I really enjoyed for it’s innovations and new direction. Believe what you will, that’s just my opinion. It also meant that with a new studio, Hironobu Sakaguchi was able to take the best parts of Final Fantasy and add elements you wouldn’t normally see in that series at all. Without the pressure of millions of fans judging a game based on it’s predecessors, he had more freedom to experiment and try new things while keeping intact the core gameplay ideas and idiosyncrasies that built the reputation he now enjoys. As someone who is a part of that minority who preferred Final Fantasy VIII as opposed to VII, I’m pleased to tell you this game feels like a remake of VIII in many ways. There were times when I felt downright nostalgic although I had never played this game before. Now don’t take that the wrong way, I’m not saying it’s a clone, but more like a spiritual sequel. It may feel like FFVIII sometimes but it’s very much it’s own game and stands on it’s own merits.
The greatest aspect of this game is it’s variety. Yes it’s a JRPG with a turn-based battle system, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. First off, the battle system is complex. You have your traditional menus, different character classes and whatnot but you can also change equipment in the midst of battle, even what characters are fighting it. Actions are timed, some complex ones needing two rounds to execute while others queue ahead of everything else. Enemies also queue into this action list and the timing can work for or against you depending on what actions you choose and what characters you use. It adds a depth of strategy I don’t normally see outside of tactical/strategy RPGs in general. Your characters are customizable as far as skill sets and equipment. You can even build your own accessories using loot obtained from treasure, shop and enemy drop/stolen items. This just further increases the depth as the mathematics and statistics of offense and defense, melee and magic, offer a more tailored and micro-managed approach to your formations and battle tactics when you can equip skills and accessories based on your current needs or preferred style of combat.
When your not fighting, your exploring, navigating treacherous terrain, simple side quests, puzzle solving, competing in arena battles, playing music, timed item hunts, treasure hunting and even a bit of stealth in a section reminiscent of Metal Gear Solid. Even if you skimmed the surface of what this game offers you’ll still get a good 50-70 hours out of it easy.
Unfortunately the game isn’t without it’s problems. The framerate chugs at times before battle and if your not a patient person load times could be a bit draggy on the flow of things. Sometimes the camera was a nuisance as for the most part it’s in a fixed position. That’s about all I have to say for the bad side of things and those issues didn’t detract from my enjoyment of it at all. I’ve also heard there are glitches but I guess I was lucky because my 100+ hours was pretty much bug free.
I found the graphics and sound to be of good quality. The cutscenes which are placed with good effect at critical times, are reasonably well voiced and move the complex story along rather well. If you don’t care for the story, most of them can be skipped with the push of a button. The art style and character animations are smooth and vibrant and each boss, enemy and area of the map is unique to itself. That map I may add, is really large. Fortunately during the course of the story you acquire some transportation that expedites movement between the continents/islands/oceans.
While I tend to be a lot pickier about what JRPGs I play these days, if more were like this I’d be a happy man. I suppose one could argue that this game could have easily been made for the PS2 or PS3 but I would have bought it regardless of what system it was on. The only difference being I might not have tried for some of the more time consuming achievements the Xbox 360 offered and finished it in 80 hours or so.
To me this game is at the forefront of Xbox 360 RPGs and is one of the most rewarding games I’ve played since Mass Effect. It may not win any awards for pushing the system hardware or revolutionizing the genre, but for an RPG that is deep, mature and caters to the most dedicated and fanatical grinders/completionists, it doesn’t get much better than this!
9.0/10
Extra Media:
Disc 2 Game Scan Disc 3 Game Scan Disc 4 Game Scan
Variations:
Page Credits:
Michael Collins: |
Page Design, HTML Code
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Eddie Herrmann: |
Perl Script
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David Murnan: |
PHP Script
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s1lence (Ryan Thompson) : |
Title Addition, Disc Quantity
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Rajaat the Warbringer: |
Scans
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Keith Brown (Tan): |
Review
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Duke.Togo: |
Scans, Photos, UPC
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Scott Williams: |
Type of Release
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Graham Prothro: |
Graham Prothro
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kaysow: |
Overview
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Last Updated: 2024-01-05 05:52:25 |
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