Chris_Billings's Full Review: Rogue Galaxy (Japan Version) for PlayStation 2
It’s been a few years since I have had the time to sit down and play any Video Game. But this past Christmas I purchased a PlayStation 2 for my family along with a few games. Shortly after, I saw an in-store advertisement while visiting the mall. EBGames was having a promotion for pre-ordering Rogue Galaxy. Everyone who pre-ordered the game got a Demo Disk for the game. I decided to put my money down. I went home, and when I put on the Demo, I was immediately impressed by the game.
STORY
The story follows a 17 year old young man, by the name of Jaster Rogue, who dreams of someday leaving his home on the desert planet of Rosa. He is tired of living in the dusty town and looks to the stars, waiting for the day he decides to leave. Jaster was left on the doorstep of the town priest, Father Raul, when he was just a baby. And ever since he was a little boy, he has looked to the stars, curious of the universe around him. From as far back has he can remember, he’s wanted to have an adventure…
And his chance to experience adventure is about to begin…
One day while doing what he does everyday, strange creatures and monsters arrive in town. Which also brings a mysterious hooded figure, who happens to run into Jaster. The two pair up and go through the town taking “care” of the creatures. In the meantime, two other visitors land on the planet and make their way through the town. A tall skinny robot by the name of Steve (who reminds me of C-3PO from the Star Wars films) and a short, strange looking person by the name of Simon who keeps his head covered are in town looking for a legendary hunter named, “Desert Claw”.
While Jaster and this mysterious hooded figure are venturing their way through the town, the hooded figure spots Steve and Simon. He stops Jaster and tells him that he can no longer go with him. The mysterious figure gives him his sword, as well as some other items. He leaves Jaster to battle the giant creature ahead.
Jaster runs into Simon and Steve, who for some reason (you have to play the game to understand why), mistaken Jaster for the legendary “Desert Claw”. Well the three join each other for the mean time to battle the giant creature wreaking havoc on the town.
Well Simon and Steve help Jaster defeat the creature (the “Mark VIII Salamander” to be exact), and afterwards tell him that they are in the service of their captain, the Space Pirate Dorgengoa, who wants to hire Desert Claw to be a part of the crew. Jaster tries to tell them that he isn’t this “Desert Claw” that they speak of, but it’s no good. They recruit him and tell Jaster to meet them at the edge of the desert where their ship is “docked”.
And thus, the adventure begins…
VISUALS
The game visuals are stunning, and the best I have seen in a long time. While they are not “photo realistic”, the detail is wonderful. The game has a crisp, clean look to it. For example, all the buildings in the starting town are beautifully rendered, and the interior of the buildings are detailed down to the items on the tables, without being too cluttered looking. There are no jagged edges in the graphics, and the transitioning between the exterior and interior of buildings is very smooth.
One of my favorite areas of the game is the jungle planet, which features lush, green foliage and a river complete with waterfalls. The shading and lighting effects are very well done, and make you feel like you are really in a jungle or forest.
Character visuals are well done too. The graphics are an “anime” look and have a cartoon appearance, without being childish. The character designs are colorful, and the art work matches the personality of the different people you interact with. Steve is an example of this. He’s a gangly robot who speaks with a slight accent and is “peppy”. Think of C-3PO, but not cowardly. The graphics remind me of Skies of Arcadia for the Sega Dreamcast, but not as childish as I stated before.
Characters also cast realistic looking shadows; which is something I really look for in a game, when it gets down to critiquing the graphics. When you run through the dusty sand, a little bit of dust is kicked up. Or when you run through the water it splashes. Very nice touch!
The transition between gameplay, battles, and cut-scenes are so smooth you really don’t notice the changes. The in-game graphics match the detail of the cinemas, etc. All without load times (or much of a load time). The major cinematic scenes are a little better, but flow nicely with the rest of the games visuals.
AUDIO
Not only does the game shine in visuals appeal, it really shows as well in the audio elements of the game. The soundtrack is wonderful, and the games music fits the adventurous feel of the game. You really get into the game, and it’s hard to not feel like a pirate. The orchestrated score is wonderful. I also like the Jazzy music featured on the pirate ship,
The game also features voice-overs during the cut-scenes as well as key moments in the gameplay. Also, as you venture, your character also talks while walking around, etc. During battles they even talk, taunting opponents, asking for your help, etc.
The main character, Jaster Rogue, is voiced by Will Friedle. Who also has done voice work for other video games, such as Advent Rising, Kingdom Hearts II and the Disney Channel cartoon series, Kim Possible. Will does a great job, as well as all the other voice actors.
The audio sounds great running through my 5.1 Surround Sound system in the family room. It would have been better if the game was recorded in Dolby Pro Logic II ® for true surround sound, but the sound effects and music are split up nicely through all 5 speakers that you don’t even notice that it’s not true surround sound.
GAMEPLAY
I totally love the gameplay. I don’t really know what I would change about it. The game is played in the 3rd Person, and you have the ability to rotate the camera in any angle you want. Gameplay is free roaming (you can even jump around allowing you to climb or reach new areas of the terrain), and features the usual Role Playing elements in the game. Every time you battle you gain EXP (Experience Points) that allow you to raise in level (which in turn allows you to raise your Stats such as HP and AP; Health & Ability Points)
The battle system features real time combat, similar to one of my favorite games Parasite Eve for the original PlayStation. When you get attacked by the enemy, words flash across the screen telling you WARNING ! or CHALLENGE !. You are then locked into a battle, but you have the ability to run around similar to the previous mentioned Parasite Eve or the latest installment in the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII. The battle sequences feature an Action Gauge for each of the characters in your party. You can only Attack or Use Items while your Action Gauge is full. Which makes it almost like a turn-based RPG, instead of an all out Action game. While you fight, if you have characters in your party, they give you tips sometimes, and they also ask you to do things. Like when a character needs to be automatically healed, a prompt comes up telling you to hit R1, R2, L1, or L2 and so on. Also, this is how you get your other party members to use their special Abilities (like Zegram’s Fire Sword attack, etc)
CHALLENGE ! encounters are different because there are some added stipulations to the battle. Most the times you have to defeat the enemy in a given amount of time (for example 30 seconds, etc). If you complete the task, you gain extra Points that allow you to further down the road gain extra items, or other “fun stuff”
After each encounter, you gain EXP Points which raise your level, Skill Points are also earned that allow your weapons to grow in strength (which you can then upgrade in the most unusual way…by feeding them to a Toad you find later in the game…), etc and you also gain Zehn (monetary unit in the game), and other Items. Speaking of Items…
The game also features a “Revelation” system. It is similar to the system used in Final Fantasy X, which allows you to place certain items in a flow chart-like system. When you place certain items in the empty “slots” you learn new abilities. When you complete a section, a new one opens up allowing you to gain even more abilities, and so on…
When you want to save the game, you have to look around for Transport Pads that allow you to do more than just save the game. When you stand on them, your whole party is healed. The Transport Pads also allow you to teleport to other Transport Pads you have visited in a particular area. You can even store items at these Transport Pads. Something I really like is the feature that allows you to turn in Hunter Points to move up in Rank. When you move up in Rank, you gain special items. There are so many different feats you have to accomplish to gain Points. You can view some of them in you Battle Recorder (an item that the mysterious hooded figure gave you at the beginning of the game), like defeating a boss, killing 20 giant bees, etc. You must complete all kinds of different feats. Too many to name…
A minor, but essential addition to the game is the ability to Pause the game at any time, even during Cinemas and key moments. You can even skip any scene you want. Not a smart idea to skip any scene, but at least you have that ability.
“IN A GALAXY FAR, FAR AWAY…”
The game has familiar elements from Star Wars. Can you find all of the similarities? Well let me help you find a few of them, and see for yourself…
ROGUE GALAXY = STAR WARS
Jaster Rogue = Luke Skywalker
Longardian Soldiers = Stormtroopers/Clone Troopers
Desert/Slave Planet Rosa = Desert/Slave Planet Tattooine
The planet Zerad = the planet Coruscant
Draxil Military = The Empire
There are so many more similarities to Star Wars, that if you can’t spot them you aren’t paying enough attention to the game…
OVERALL IMPRESSION
Overall I enjoy the game, and I can’t really find any faults in the game, other than the game will soon end. The game features an intriguing story, wonderful gameplay, great audio and visuals. This is one of the first games in a long time that I have not gotten tired of playing. I have to force myself to put the controls down when I get started. Maybe an Online Play function would have been a cool idea, but I don’t really care. I love this game.
Rogue Galaxy has sparked my interest in games again. For the last several years, like I mentioned before, I haven’t had time or the patience to sit and play any games. I’ve been too busy with work and my music that I haven’t had a lot of time for playing games with family and friends. I even deleted all my game reviews (close to 150) from Epinions, for what reason…I don’t know. But I guess you can call this my “official” announcement. Just as Van Halen is getting back together with David Lee Roth for a 2007 Summer Tour, I’m making my return to the Video Game section of Epinons.com
______________________________________________
[TITLE]:
Rogue Galaxy
[PLATFORM]:
Sony PlayStation 2
[DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER]:
Level 5/Sony Computer Entertainment
[YEAR of RELEASE]:
2007
[GENRE]:
Role Playing/Adventure/Action
[ESRB RATING]:
T for Teen
______________________________________________
[GAME TRIVIA]:
Will Friedle who provides the voice of the main character, Jaster Rogue, also plays the older brother on the 1990’s Television series Boy Meets World
Build your own special items and weapons Mini-games and subquests add to the adventure & further the challenge Collect over 120 Insectors -- players w...More at Amazon Marketplace
Build your own special items and weapons Mini-games and subquests add to the adventure & further the challenge Collect over 120 Insectors -- players w...More at Amazon
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