showing 9 games
| name | publisher(developer) | year arrow_downward | description | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Fantasy X | Square;SCE Europe (Square) | 2001 | Final Fantasy X finally enters a fully polygonic world. Follow the main character Tidus from a gripping blitzball tourney into a new primitive world where he must fight to survive. A stunning level of real-time detail appears in each area, including huge water-filled areas that make up a large part of the environment. An exciting combat system is turn-based, thus allowing you the time to plot your actions without the need to worry about a constant barrage of enemy attacks. You're also able to swap party members in and out of combat during battles, and doing so is a free action. Lush visual elements enhance gameplay in this phenomenal action game.*** [100]*** [12]*** [30]***Japanese version [32]***European version [32]***US version [32]***Japanese version [32]***A very well-made Final Fantasy game that got on the 'Greatest Hits' PS2 list. It's cool leveling-up system is very nice. I would reccomend this to anyone. [Groovy_Duck]***A well-made RPG with great music and visuals. The story is decent and the characters are likeable. The battle system is a little unbalanced I think. Once you get Quick Attack and a half-decent weapon, you can mess up the enemies pretty easily. Overall, a great RPG. [cjlee001] | labelimagesubject |
| Ico | Sony Computer Entertainment (Team Ico;Japan Studio) | 2001 | Ico incorporates elements from puzzle, adventure, strategy, fighting, and role-playing-game genres. It's the tale of a courageous young boy on a heroic journey through an unknown castle to save a princess and discover his own mysterious fate. Faced with numerous puzzles, ranging from simple mazes to complex brainteasers, Ico invites gamers into a deep, mysterious story line with beautiful, dreamlike graphics. As the story goes, a boy is born once every generation with horns. Thought to be the minion of an evil spirit, the innocent Ico was captured at age 12 by the village's leaders and brought to a deserted castle to be sacrificed for the good of the community. After the villagers bury him alive in a castle tomb and leave him for dead, he is able to break free of his confines. He then learns of a beautiful young princess who is likewise held captive. From there he embarks on a challenging course through the castle ruins to save her.***[b]missing images:[/b] title, combat, something more interesting for main image***Ico is the story of a young boy who - born with an abnormality which makes him grow horns - is destined to die, to ward off the 'evil eye' that his horns represent. Any misfortune that befalls his village is attributed to Ico, and when the boy turns 12, the villagers decide the time has come to erase his existence before more calamities befall them. Ico is taken away to a secluded cliff-side on which lies a dank, dark and disturbing ancient fortress. Those that place Ico here intend to leave him to starve or freeze to death within these ruinous walls - only then will his curse be lifted from their village. The fortress is uninhabited, they believe, and if any life should exist there, it will be in the form of malign spirits who will surely scare the boy to death if the cold and hunger don't get to him first. But Ico is not alone. In his feverish, dreamy state, the vision of a ghostly female appears before Ico. And when he breaks free from his tomb, Ico learns that this was no dream or trick of the mind - the girl is flesh and blood, and is hanging above him like a delicate, celestial caged bird. As much as Ico needs her help, he soon realises this mysterious girl needs his help, too. So begins a journey in which you, playing as Ico, support Yorda as you look for an escape route. For Yorda, this means freedom from an evil mother who intends to keep her imprisoned in the fortress forever more. For both of you, this means sealing the ultimate pact of friendship - without each other's help, Yorda is doomed to be shackled down by shadowy spirits that lurk in the darkness and you are destined to fulfil your tragic fate. But together, you can overcome evil. Where Yorda is weak, you can be strong. When you don't know where to look, Yorda can point to the light. With each other's encouragement, you can both wake up from your nightmares. [Sony]***Was made into a novel called [i]ICO: Castle of Mist[/i] ([i]ICO -霧の城-[/i] or [i]ICO -Kiri no Shiro-[/i]) in 2004 by Miyuki Miyabe (ISBN 4-06-212441-6).***1998 Development started for PSX 1999 Switched to PS2***NA 2001-08-24 JP 2001-12-06 JP 2004-08-05 (budget re-release) EU 2002-03-20 EU 2006-02-17 (re-release) Asia 2002-01-13 South Korea 2002-02-22 China 2004-01-?? | labelimagesubject |
| Breath of Fire: Dragon Quarter | Capcom;CE Europe (Capcom) | 2002 | The story and location (the world) are unrelated to earlier BoF games, gameplay also was revised almost completely. Besides using some very recognizable parts of the series (Ryu, Nina, transformation into a "dragon", etc.), the reason for labeling this game under BoF is a marketing mystery. If they had bothered to completely cut ties with BoF, the experimental nature of the game would've likely been received much better instead of being targeted by BoF fans with scorn. The greatest flaw of the game to me is the complete lack of voice overs which is somewhat unusual for games this "new".***[b]difficulty-single[/b] - despite this, every time your whole party dies the game gets easier as current party XP and gained skills are transferred back to the point when you made the save. This can be omitted, though. [b]midas' touch[/b] - Ryu's dash and D-dive abilities. [b]bioroids[/b] - the genics. [b]pigmen[/b] - duke genics [b]minotaurs[/b] - deathcow genics [b]blobs[/b] - the various goo creatures [b]insectoids[/b] - there's a variety, though most commonly you see the ant-like midget humanoids who work in the fairy colony. [b]minigames[/b] - the fairy colony management. It's much more useful and time consuming than it might sound based on it being a minigame. [b]performance issues[/b] - with 3+ enemies and placing one or more magical wards (especially electrical) the camera movement and movement circle appearance becomes stuttery. --- notes for future gar genics (garsniper, garpike) have the head of a seahorse***They live in another time, another place. A labyrinth-like world devoid of all light; where civilization has been forced to live underground for generations. Man has no recollection of how life once was. Yet a Ranger named Ryu is determined to discover the world above and begins an adventure to make his way to the surface. Can he lead his people back to freedom? * For the first time on PlayStation 2 comes a brand new Breath of Fire instalment. * Visually stunning cel-shaded subterranean world settings. * Revolutionary new battle system that allows players to set up traps and decoys before going into battle. * 3-D underground worlds evolve based on your playing style for a different gameplay experience each time. * Encounter countless challenges, battles and adventures in this action-packed RPG adventure. [Box blurb]***EAN-13: [code]5055060921005[/code] Product ID: [code]SLES-51496[/code]***Reach for the Sky It's an epic quest of magical proportions. You live in another time, another place, devoid of all light sources. You are now part of the underground world. Foil your menacing enemies to reach your ultimate mission. Only you can discover the way out of the labyrinth-like dungeon that envelops you and your friends. Escape your underground captors and you'll reach the world of the living. Breath of Fire V is the first of the series to appear on the PS2, and offers visually stunning cel-shaded subterranean worldsettings and an entirely new real-time/ turn-based battle system. Breath of Fire V will keep you impressed for a long, long time!***I've heard almost nothing but bad things about this game, probably because it's quite different from its predecessors, but I quite liked it. The most notable change from previous Breath of Fire titles it the new battle system, which plays more like a strategy RPG similar to Arc the Lad. Also, Dragon Quarter is more like a giant dungeon crawler instead of a traditional Japanese RPG with an overworld to explore. This game is a lot more challenging than its predecessors and if you're upto the challenge, I think you'd find the game quite entertaining (and you can pick it up for dirt cheap online!). [cjlee001] | labelimagesubject |
| Star Ocean: Till the End of Time | Enix (tri-Ace) | 2003 | Only released in Japan, the North American and European releases are based on the [game=#156414]Director's Cut[/game].***Enjoy Square Enix's new gem and live the ultimate sci-fi epic odyssey overflowing with adventure, exploration and frenetic battles. Planet Hyda IV, year 772 of the S.D. Calendar. For four hundred peaceful years, humans and aliens have co-existed. The influence of the Pangalactic Federation, which rules the planet, has continued to grow. But this peaceful planet has suddenly come under attack from an unknown space superpower. Play as Fayt Leingod and his friend Sophia Esteed, who are brutally separated from Fayt's parents and forced to flee from the planet. Begin an emotional odyssey into the unknown to find their loved ones. | labelimageminimize |
| Star Ocean: Till the End of Time Director's Cut | Square Enix;Ubisoft (tri-Ace) | 2004 | [spoiler=Code in hideout;Hide]256[/spoiler] [spoiler=Saving Farleen and Tylene;Hide]Kirsla, south-east exit[/spoiler] [spoiler=Cuprite key;Hide]Bottom floor, north-east corner[/spoiler] [spoiler=Mosel dunes;Hide]Exit is found in north-east; look for discreet ruins near an oasis cut by stones, near a rock "wall".[/spoiler] [spoiler=Urssa/Marquis;Hide]Found in Mountains of Barr, north-west part of the same region you enter the copper mine.[/spoiler] [spoiler=Dragon reliefs;Hide]These require dragon windpipe flute, obtained from much farther into the mountains from a graveyard. You can play about four tunes with the flute depending on the length of time the key is pressed (and supposedly hardness), match the tune with the description of the relief. The other tunes are needed later Happy / yellow - short, chipper tune; short, light tap Playful / green - mellow/sad tune; long, light tap Sad / blue - mellow tune; short, hard tap Angry / red - long-ish, fast paced tune; long, hard tap You can practice the presses away from the reliefs to avoid the spawning of the dragons when you get the tune wrong. IMO the playful and sad tunes are the wrong way around. Doors with changing relief needs all tunes played on matching emotion relief. They need to be played in order starting from the one after blank. Failure seems to reset the sequence.[/spoiler] Aqueduct entrance is at the south-west corner of Airyglyph. In case you've forgotten.***[b]healing/energy stations[/b] - blue symbols on the ground which are free, and inns which cost little to use. [b]grinding[/b] - although you can avoid most battles in the open, you'll have serious issues later on. Such as 24-25 level character being unable to defeat the sub-boss on the way to Marquis. Regular enemies on Barr mountains being too tough at similar level, level 30 being insufficient for the first regular enemies on the second disc (they're effectively harder than the Marquis boss battle you recently beat). -- creatures seen only briefly (not worh tagging) skeletons, giant chameleon-like creatures, giant porcupines, giant spiders, bats, some dog-like creatures, flying giant fish, giant horned tortoises, witches, treants, lone fairy, plant-like tentacle creatures, frog-like humanoids, lizardmen, mycoids, caninoids, inorganics (rock/soil and crystalline), and some others. generally speaking, it's a mishmash of seemingly random "monsters" working together against you.***[b]REACH FOR THE STARS[/b] [b]Fayt Leingod's[/b] idyllic family holiday is brutally cut short when a mysterious military force attacks planet [b]Hyda IV[/b]. Separated from his loved ones, Fayt sets out on an emotional quest to be reunited with them. [b]A sci-fi universe[/b] Stunning graphics and cut-scenes [b]10 playable characters[/b] Upgrade system and customizable weapons [b]Real-time dynamic battle system[/b] Challenging mix of action, tactics and breathtaking spells [b]An open-ended plot with multiple endings[/b] Many side-quests and a gripping storyline Director's cut additional features: * New characters, enemies, areas and much more * Exclusive 2 player versus fighting mode [Box blurb]***EAN-13: [code]3307210171146[/code] (PAL; Director's Cut only mentioned in the back cover; SLES-82028; 2 DVDs) | labelimagesubject |
| Ōkami | Capcom (Clover Studio) | 2006 | [b]retelling[/b] — Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, Susanoo slaying Orochi, and likely others. There's also plenty of elements borrowed from other classic tales without explicitly retelling them, such as Issun-bōshi.***[spoiler=Show vague hints;Hide]Get to Agata forest - use Bloom on all the dark wrinkled trees with ribbons in the starting village and talk to Mr. Orange, you'll get Lily Pad brush power. (more tips to follow; simpler tips omitted) Black cherry trees : Bloom power Green/white beam of light : dig Pile of leaves : Galestorm power Ice : Inferno power Huge flags : Galestorm power Guardian Statues : vases made by the woodcutter in Shinshu Cat statues : Catwalk power[/spoiler] Note: the game effectively pauses when drawing, and the only limit you have then is how large your ink pot (magic pool) is. Ink is restored quite fast when not drawing, so there's very little reason to upgrade it (unless some later puzzles require more). Of course, being brush heavy in the fighting will make you want to upgrade it. This is also works great for defending yourself when you otherwise feel like you can't (grow trees between the attackers and you, slash at the enemies or the stuff they throw at you, etc.) Feeding animals gives 1-5 points of praise/adoration (xp) per animal, though single feeding affects the whole herd, flock, or whatever.***Other languages are only present on the game box and manual (in-game voices/text still in English), at least in European releases. The Japanese title 大神 actually reads "great deity" rather than "wolf", but the pronunciation (and transliteration) is the same as with 狼 which stands for "wolf". So, in effect, it's a pun for "great wolf deity".***In Okami, the player takes the role of the mythical sun goddess Amaterasu, in the form of a wolf. Her task is to restore color (or 'life') to the world by destroying the monsters who have stolen it. Since Amaterasu is a deity, there are naturally people who worship her and people who don't. The more people who worship her (as a result of her restoring color and doing other good deeds for them), the more powerful she becomes.***In Ōkami, the legendary monster Orochi has come back to life and turned the world into a wasteland. To restore the earth's natural order and beauty, players assume the role of wolf-embodied sun god Amaterasu and participate in numerous action packed battles against the ominous beings they encounter. However, conquering these impending enemies is no small feat. Amaterasu will travel through different regions of the world to regain her 'Celestial Brush' powers, all the while revitalizing everything in her path. Using an innovative control scheme, gamers can slash away at enemies, use various brush strokes to solve puzzles, create pathways, chop down trees or turn night into day. The real-time fighting system not only involves assorted brush techniques, but also myriad of specials attacks typically not associated with the physical prowess of a normal wolf. Featuring a visually stunning art style, Ōkami comes alive through beautiful scenic 3D levels that have the appearance and texture of paper scrolls brushed with watercolor-like calligraphy art. Throughout the vibrant and distinctive surroundings, players must also interact with a dynamic cast of characters, building their faith to uncover clues and hints. The blend of stylized graphics and unique gameplay will result in a rich and dynamic experience never seen before.***great art style [gimura] | labelimagesubject |
| The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning | Vivendi Universal Games (Krome Studios) | 2006 | [b]Unleash the true dragon within you![/b] When Spyro, a young dragon, leaves his home in search of the truth about his past, he finds a shocking discovery - the fate of the world rests on his wings. In a race against time, Spyro must realize his destiny and unlocks the explosive powers that lie within if he is to put an end to the mysterious black dragon, Cynder! Join Spyro on this epic quest of intense action, featuring voice talents of Elijah Wood, David Spade and Gary Oldman. [image captions] * Devastating Fury Attacks * Air and Ground Melee Combat * Powerful Upgradeable Breaths [Box blurb] | labelimagesubject |
| The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night | Sierra Entertainment (Krome Studios) | 2007 | [b]ai cheat[/b] - makes using the lock-on and dodge functionality pointless as the mobs insta turn with your dodge and their attack along with them (or at least the Executioner does so). [b]sequence-turret[/b] - no turret is controlled, but spyro's controls are locked in a manner that's near identical to turret missions in other games.***Product code: [code]SLES-54815[/code] | labelimageminimize |
| The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon | Vivendi Games;Activision (Étranges Libellules) | 2008 | For 1-2 players simultaneously. Second player can take control of the remaining dragon at any time and leave it under CPU control at any time. | labelimageminimize |
