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Videos | Title | Views | Length | Date Added | | 31 | 1:41 | 9/18/2008 | | 41 | 1:39 | 9/18/2008 | | 36 | 2:40 | 9/18/2008 |
| 38 | 1:50 | 9/18/2008 | | 38 | 1:53 | 9/18/2008 |
Reviews Become a space pirate in this excellent RPG, February 13, 2007 Rating: 8.2/10 By zeroinitiate Rogue Galaxy is a futuristic action RPG that features both conventional and obscure gameplay mechanics that are bound to reel you in and leave you wanting more. While it does have its rough spots, the overall presentation is still top notch, making this title very easy to recommend for both casual and hardcore RPG fans.
The game's central character is Jaster Rogue, a teenager who grew up in the desert planet of Rosa. Acting true to his age, Jaster longs for better things and dreams of going up to space one day. Without divulging the plot further, he eventually does so and begins an adventure of proportions he never would've imagined.
Similar to console RPG traditions, the two major points of gameplay are divided between exploration and combat. The exploration part works like a 3D platformer. You have a third-person point of view of Jaster as you run around town. Again, conventions apply here. You can run, open doors and chests and talk to the people you meet. You can also jump and swim, which aren't much, but they break the monotony of running a little bit. There are also a few scattered puzzle elements but the solutions are obvious so they shouldn't be a problem.
What's notable about exploration is subtle, depending on your experience with console RPGs: there are very few load times. When you enter a room or structure or another part of town, you simply undergo a seamless transition from one area to another. The game will display the name of the area that you're in to keep you informed but other than that, you won't get a loading sequence. It's an impressive technical feat that helps to keep you focused in the game.
In line with that thought, combat is similarly as involving because fighting is done manually. Each character has a primary and a secondary weapon (in Jaster's case, that's a sword and a gun). Pressing the sword attack button repeatedly causes Jaster to swing his sword in a multi-hit combo. He can shoot a limited number of shots from his gun, which will recharge automatically once it's empty. Aside from these standard attacks, there's also his Revelation Flow to consider, which is a list of passive (permanent bonuses like additional hit points) and active abilities (spells, enchantments, area-effect attacks, etc.) that aid him in combat. These can be unlocked by gathering certain items and then mapping them out on his Revelation chart. He can only do a certain number of actions per turn and once that's drained, he'll have to wait a while before his action gauge recharges.
There is no transition between exploration and combat other than a possible camera angle shift, so expect enemies to fight you where they find you. Combat is very fast-paced and most of the time your foes will outnumber you and your party. Since battles occur in real-time, keeping track of what's happening can be difficult. You only control one party member at a time while the other two act on their own. They will often call your attention and give suggestions like using an item or ability when the situation calls for it. A tap of the shoulder button executes the suggestion or you can ignore it altogether. Monitoring their health is tricky because it requires you to look at their health bars, effectively removing your focus from the ongoing fighting. Fortunately, it's easy enough to pause the game, open the menu and use a healing item. Item effects are instantaneous, which is good because there are no healing spells, so in terms of health and status recovery, you and your party are totally dependent on items. Your party members are usually able to take care of themselves, but there will be times when everything will go wrong and you'll be faced with two unconscious party members and a drained action gauge so keep an eye on your hit points.
There are a number of minigames that you can participate in, such as collecting insectrons and fusing weapons together. They're not required to finish the game but they're useful distractions that yield rewarding results. Since Jaster is a bounty hunter, you have the option of pitting him against his fellow bounty hunters by killing certain monsters in the game and accumulating points to climb up the ranks. You're also given a summary every time you load a saved game, so you won't get lost even if you didn't play for a while. The US release of Rogue Galaxy has an additional planet compared to the original Japanese release, so that's even more value right there.
The game's graphics are among the best you'll see in the Playstation 2. The cel-shaded look of the characters and monsters move and animate smoothly along the 3D backgrounds. Although the levels appear differently, the overall feel remains the same, so whether you're in a prison or a jungle, the layout and structure of the different areas will seem familiar. The game's music generally fits right and the voice acting is pretty good. As you travel your characters will utter repeating lines about what you're supposed to be doing or what they think about the current situation. It initially adds some life but it gets boring quickly.
Overall, Rogue Galaxy is an excellent RPG. Its action-packed yet deep and involving combat system makes it unique even though it can be quite a challenge at times. The generally likeable cast, superb graphics and different gameplay mechanics will keep you playing for hours. This RPG is one of the reasons why you shouldn't count the PS2 out yet.
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