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Dynasty Warriors 2 (PS2)
by Siibillam-Law
The Dynasty Warriors franchise is a really popular series of games, featuring characters, clans and famous battles from Chinese history - or, to be more precise, the famous Romance of the Three Kingdoms, during the third century. The three feuding countries command armies of thousands, and you fight for land, bringing down enemy ... generals, fortresses and armies along the way.
In the game, you play as one of nine generals (three each side) and leaders as you lead your armies through several levels of hack-and-slash violence to victory. At its heart, Dynasty Warriors 2 (and the rest of the franchise) is, simply, a very fast-paced game where the whole point is to kill as many people as possible until you get a boss. Then you kill him, and move on to more armies.
Gameplay is pretty basic, but complicated enough for the game to not be repetitive. You get a simple amount of attacks, which can be combined any number of ways for different combo attacks, and you get what's known as "musou" mode, where you go berserk for a while, raising your strength and becoming immune to any attacks. You have one weapon at your disposal, but can also fire arrows. Most of the time though, in this nonstop game, I find it hard to concentrate enough to aim and fire the things properly, so I tend to ignore them. They're really annoying when you have to face an army of archers, who are all attacking you from a distance and all you have is a stupid spear to defend yourself with.
There are two different game modes - Musou Mode (which is campaign, and you pick a general and play all the battles he or she has participated in) and Free Mode, which as you guessed is when you play as anyone and pick your battle.
Historically, I don't know a great deal of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but from what I know at least the names and people and places are correct. It's incredibly unlikely that any of the characters carried giant rhino-shaped axes, but I couldn't tell you for certain.
While the series has evolved a great deal since then, and there are many other (very similar) Dynasty Warriors games out there, Dynasty Warriors 2 was one of the first ones, and it was a great deal of fun. Although there isn't much strategy involved (there is a bit, like the outcome of a battle could change depending on where you want to attack first), but it's not really supposed to be strategic as a game.
The graphics are pretty good, especially considering how early a game this is for the PS2, and the gameplay - as basic as it is - is really a great deal of fun. You'll be hooked on slaughtering in no time.
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MagnaCarta: Tears Of Blood (PS2)
by KK-Slither
Magna Carta
Magna Carta is a very underrated KRPG, yes I said KRPG because Magna Carta hails from South Korea a place us western gamers rarely get to sample games from.
Magna Carta is epic in scope but penned in the by console limitations. The story follows Calintz and his group of mercenaries who are working for ... the human alliance fighting a war against the
people/monsters known as the Yason. Very early on Calintz and his band of mercenaries are ordered to attack the Yason with a new and powerful weapon that will wipe them all out at once. Needless to say things don't go well and Calintz finds himself separated from his team mates in a dangerous area, but he's not alone. He soon finds Reith a young girl suffering from amnesia who he befriends and offers to escort back to safety. It's on the way that things get interesting, the story in Magna Carta has many clichés but it also has many original aspects rarely seen in the genre. A certain hint of the Final Fantasy series is also noticeable throughout the game (but that's no bad thing.)
Magna Carta's other noteworthy area is it's unique and original battle system. Upon attacking a monster, a set of three buttons will appear on the screen and rotate around a circle, You must then press the corresponding buttons at the right time for the attack to be successful. It sounds simple but when you add to it each character has his own unique fighting styles which are more of less effective against certain monsters and you'll quickly find the challenge ahead a steep one.
Magna Carta's main problems come in the form of it's sound and graphic departments. It's voice acting, which like many RPG's from the PS2 era feels and sounds like an after thought added only because other games in the genre have it. The music is better but forgettable, and this is a real shame because a game inspired by the Final Fantasy series should really have taken note of one of it's strongest areas. The graphics in Magna Carta are not the prettiest but they are done in a style which elevates them above your common JRPG thanks to their Korea origins.
All in all Magna Carta is a good buy (at the right price) for any dedicated RPG fan or anyone looking for a different type of RPG.
At A Glance.
Gameplay ~ 7/10
Story ~ 7/10
Graphics ~ 6/10
Sound ~ 5/10
Replay Value ~ 5/10
Final Score: 31/50
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Ephemeral Fantasia (PS2)
by KK-Slither
Ephemeral Fantasia
In 2001 Konami released a game called Ephemeral Fantasia, would it go on to make an impact within the RPG genre...no.
Ephemeral Fantasia has an interesting story, you play as Mouse, a travelling minstrel (his instrument of choice is a talking guitar named Pattimo) who has been invited to a ... paradise island by it's emperor Xelpherpolis to play at his wedding. Things take a turn for the worst early on though as Mouse discovers the whole island is stuck in a five day time loop and he is the only one who realises it. Ephemeral Fantasia's overall story is definitely the game's strongest point with some surprisingly good twists and fine a cast of supporting characters.
The general idea of the game is also a good one with you playing through the five days again and again (Majora's Mask style) gaining knowledge and items which will help free as many of the useful town folk as you can. Add to that a fun rhythm minigame (it's like a simpler version of Guitar Hero minus the overpriced accessory) and things are looking rosy.
The problems start about the second loop through when the random battle system starts to rear it's ugly head, the battle system is overtly chunky and the encounter rate massively high, add to that the even blockier PS1 style graphics in battle coupled with the bland battle plains and it all comes close to ruining this quirky little game.
The problems continue to mount with stiff controls, a forgettable soundtrack and crazy difficulty level (some have said it can't be finished without a walkthrough) But somehow through it all Ephemeral Fantasia retains a certain charm that many games of today and yesteryear lack. Is it enough to justify a purchase and a good twenty hours plus of your time? Yes if like niche JRPG's and are forgiving, no if your anyone else.
At A Glance.
Gameplay ~ 5/10
Story ~ 7/10
Graphics ~ 4/10
Sound ~ 6/10
Replay Value ~ 5/10
Final Score: 27/50
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