Enchanted Arms

Had Enchanted Arms been on the PlayStation 2, it would have doubtlessly faded into obscurity, buried beneath the wealth of Japanese RPGs that grace the system. As a 360 title it takes advantage of being on a brand that is almost devoid of Japanese RPGs.

Hopefully this will change; Mistwalker is already supporting the platform with titles like Blue Dragon. However, Enchanted Arms is almost upon us. Thus it has the advantage of being the first true Japanese RPG on the 360 and has a legion of hungry fans of the genre waiting to eat it up.

The story seems to be the cliché -rise-to-your-destiny-to-overthrow-the-evil-that-has- returned-after-years-of-peace narrative that graces most Japanese RPGs. The story is generally the major reason to play a Japanese RPG, and it is upsetting to see that rushing to the market has doomed Enchanted Arms to a single disc.

The game is only able to offer an hour of Hi-Def cutscenes – which is even worse for SDTV owners who gain no benefit – and its interactions usually involve two animated busts talking to each other against a darkened, solid background. Even some of the shops merely consist of a pre-rendered background and a portrait. It’s rather cheeky to suggest that “everything about this game screams next-gen”.

So the graphics are lacking and rushed, the presentation is poor, and the story is nothing special; that’s not to suggest that there isn’t anything special about Enchanted Arms; the gameplay seems to be a tasty offering. And after all, it certainly makes a change to have an RPG that requires more than simply pressing ‘X’ to progress the story.

The most salient feature of Enchanted Arms is the way it one-ups Suikoden’s attempt to provide a lengthy character roster. Enchanted Arms offers around 500 selectable characters, although keep in mind you won’t be able to play all 500 at once. The 360 is powerful, but not that powerful. Additionally, the core battle system seems to be based around collectable card games, so the element of strategy is woven deep into the game.

Characters only have certain skills, and it is up to the player to define how the characters will develop and grow – think of it like an expansion to FFX’s sphere grid. How well you will do in battle is determined by how you raise your characters. Players will also order the attack order themselves, rather than having to wait it out patiently for a character’s next turn.

Players will also be expected to capture a range of creatures that they can use in battle: a seemingly standard affair for this type of approach. A hybrid between Lost Kingdoms and Pokémon: the 50 hours of gameplay could be seemingly extended by the inevitable achievement to collect all the monsters. Gotta catch ‘em all!

While the presentation of Enchanted Arms isn’t all that it could be, it’s great to see that the first Japanese RPG for the 360 offers some gameplay to really get excited about. And the idea is to play video games rather than watch them. Ubisoft’s Enchanted Arms is due out super soon, so keep checking NZGamer for a full review.