Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Main Site Facebook YouTube Twitter
You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, starting and replying in topics, voting in polls and more. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Join us, we have cookies!

If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Record of Agarest War
Topic Started: Jun 22 2011, 12:22 PM (934 Views)
Fate
Member Avatar
p r i n c e


Posted Image

Title: Record of Agarest War (NA) / Agarest: Generations of War (EU)
Developer(s): Idea Factory
Publisher(s): Compile Heart, Red Entertainment (JP); Ghostlight (EU); Aksys Games (NA)
Platforms: Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation Network

Mode(s): Single Player
Genre(s): Strategy Role-Playing Game

Release Dates:
Playstation 3
September 27, 2007 (JP)
October 30, 2009 (EU)

Xbox 360
November 27, 2008 (JP)
April 27, 2010 (NA)

PlayStation Network
April 27, 2010 (NA)


Developed by Idea Factory--the same developers that brought us Spectral Souls and later, Trinity Universe and Hyperdimension Neptunia--Record of Agarest War is perhaps one of the most innovative games in the realm of strategy role-playing games. It was first published only in Japan for the Playstation 3, then updated for the Xbox 360 and released again in Japan. Soon, it made its way to Europe for the Playstation 3 as Agarest: Generations of War, and then for the Xbox 360 in North America as Record of Agarest War. No Playstation 3 version has ever been published for North America, only as downloadable game off Playstation Network.

It should also be noted that only the Playstation Network version of the game possesses trophy support.

Story
 
It was the end of the age of gods... An age that ended when the door to oblivion was opened.

There were five continents in the world of Agarest, each one pierced by a great pillar that towered toward the sky.

These soaring monuments were the gods themselves.

The beginning of our story and the end of the age of myth find their start on the continent of Lucrellia when a young man named Leonhardt sacrifices everything, even his future and his children, to protect an elven girl. At death's door, he pledges himself to a contract...

...A contract to become the Spirit Vessel; to join with the pillar that supports the world, along with the maidens who carry the blood of the gods.

Death foretold... Destiny inherited...

This is the final tale of the gods; a story woven in souls across generations...


The synopsis is rather fancy and vague, yet it holds the key to an incredible story. Record of Agarest War is a very long game, branching to five different chapters. These chapters each contain an entire story that is a continuation of the previous chapter. Leonhardt, who was on the verge of death, gave his soul and his future to fulfill his destiny. That being said, what makes the story so overwhelmingly powerful is the fact that the five chapters of Record of Agarest War also depict five different generations. At a chapter's end, the main character--starting with Leonhardt--must choose a wife, and that wife gives birth to the main character of the next chapter--or rather, the next generation. That "new" main character must follow in his father's footsteps and fulfill the same destiny, accompanied by the same companions who supported his father before him.

Each generation consists of a group of female characters whom the main character will be able to marry. Depending on who ends up as the chosen wife, the son--the hero of the next generation--will take on a different look, have different stats, and be able to wield different weapons. Many options are given to the hero as the story progresses, which will increase one girl's love but decrease another girl's love. Ultimately, the higher the affection, the stronger the next generation's hero will be.

As with most strategy role-playing games, Record of Agarest War takes the battlefield on a map with tiles. Up to six characters can be dispatched for battle, all of which are immediately called out upon the battle's start. There are two phases in battle: move phase and action phase. They are exactly as their names imply. Everything in combat requires AP in order to be used. Moving one tile deducts one AP, for example. Unlike most games of the same genre, each character is not limited to attacking only once; they can attack for as long as sufficient AP still remains.

What is even more creative is the fact that each character possesses what is called an extended area. These are special tiles that branch from the character which, when another unit is placed upon, will link the two together. While linked, a targeted enemy can be attacked by any person in the link, even if the difference in area is half a map away. Linking also gives way to a variety of different attacks, as different attacks can be used together to create a brand new attack.

As far as exploring goes, the game takes place on a world map with different nodes, each a different location. A location must be cleared for the next to be accessed. Turns are also calculated. A turn passes when a node is accessed (unless it is a town). Turns are significant in that there are certain events which will only appear depending on whether enough turns have passed; these are events that can affect the girls' affection rate. Towns are unlike standard role-playing games. There is no walking around, only a set of options to buy and sell, among other things (including alchemy and monster trading and combining). Yes, you are able to capture monsters to fight with you.

Moving on with the general ratings.

Story: It is an absolutely wonderful story. To see something so innovative is surprising and delightful at the same time. There is not one main character but five, each being the son of the previous hero. Record of Agarest War contains what is one of the greatest stories I have seen in any role-playing games, not just strategy role-playing games. "Phenomenal" is the only word that comes to mind that is sufficient.

Rating: 10/10

Gameplay: The gameplay is very refreshing for a strategy-role playing game. It isn't the standard "attack once per character and it's over." You can chain attacks, link characters, and perform combo attacks. There are hundreds of different combinations, so it will be fun discovering which one to use and when. It's very interesting, for sure.

Rating: 10/10

Graphics: As far as graphics go, the game is pretty two-dimensional, as most strategy role-playing games are. There is some detail on the map, but for the most part, it's a sprited version of the character. If you know Disgaea, this is very similar, but the quality is not as good. As the story progresses, there are also short anime cutscenes. Those are very beautiful. Character art is also lovely. But other than that, the graphics are not incredible, as this was a somewhat early game for the new consoles.

Rating: 7/10

Music and Soundtrack: As with a lot of Japanese role-playing games, there are theme songs sung in Japanese, but also very, very nice music to accompany the story and battle. I absolutely love the background music. Everything is fresh and clear and vibrant.

Rating: 8/10

Replay Value: This is where the game falters a bit. The game itself is very long. Each generation will take hours and hours. There are also three modes: Easy, Normal, and Hard, as well as a New Game+. It should be noted that all content can only be unlocked while playing on Hard mode, so unless you are an experienced player, chances are you will not start off with Hard. That being said, once the game is completed, it is kind of repetitive to play through all of it again, but there is some credibility to having extra content only on Hard mode for casual players. I, for one, went ahead and started it in Hard mode.

Rating: 6/10

Overall Rating: 8.2/10

This review is based on my personal opinion for the game. Feel free to comment on the review or the game.

Thank you for reading, guys!
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous)
« Previous Topic · Video Game Reviews · Next Topic »
Add Reply