darthdevidem01

User Score
7.9

Presentation - 7.0
Gameplay - 7.0
Value - 8.0

I went into this game expecting I'll be disappointed. The games launch in Japan back in 2008 resulted in harsh reviews from critics & users alike. Fast forward to 2010, you see a similar reaction with critics, harsh reviews accross the board. But this time users have spoken....the game is actually pretty damn good!

Before we blast off I'd like to say that I'm going to be very vague on the story part to avoid spoilers & I'm also gonna be vague on the gameplay part as this isn't a FAQ or a guide.

Story:

Lets start off with what I think is the most important aspect of an RPG, the story. The game has a very average and basic story & you will find just about every JRPG cliche here. However as I have been starved off JRPG's on the PS3, cliche is what I needed. This "cliche" in fact made the game evoke nostalgic memories and made me like it even more.

The story is basically about Leonard & his gang trying to save the princess of balandor (their homeland). As you play the game more characters will join your party, such as kara & ceaser. Theree are also plot twists every so often, some of them are surprising while others are downright predictable.

The characters are quite boring except for ceaser who is a star, he lights up the screen everytime he is there & his jokes are great to hear, the rest of the cast is your typical JRPG fare. Goody goody 2 shoes main here, short haired high pitched voice girl, mysterious girl with dark clothes, mysterious bearded old man. Ofcourse there is a character called avatar (or whatever you name him/her), this is the character that you can create yourself.

The voice acting is sub par and the characters lips are never in sync, this is because the characters lips speak the japanese words, but we hear the english VA's.

The games ending is very well done and sets the game up for a sequel, it is clear that Level-5 are going for "big things" in the sequel from the way the game ends.

Gameplay:

Now this is a perfect case of "its all there but never comes together". On paper the gameplay idea's look great. YOu have a line that forms a circle, every time the line completes a 360 degree turn & forms a circle you get to carry out an action from the tabs below that you can customize. You have basic attacks & magic that you use. Then you have advanced attacks that require Action Chips. You get Action Chips by attacking enemies.

You need 6 action chips to summon the white knight, trust me you need him in the boss fights & whenever you fight giants! (unless you are okay with spending tens of minutes trying to beat giants, the white knight lets you kill them faster).

The combo system is great, you can form your own combo's by joining any attacks you have, as you advance levels you can make longer combo's that need more Action Chips to work. Herein lies the problem with the combo system. It costs too many action chips, especially the powerful combo's. As a player you will want to conserve action chips to be able to summon the white knight, using a combo can sometime result in most of your action chips being used, which means you loose the ability to summon the white knight. Its really fun to use combo's but I never used them as I needed the white knight!

You go up levels in the game, but there is a growth system where you can spend points you get from levelling up. You get 4 points every time you level up. You can spend these points to learn new attacks/magic in your weapon type (there are a few weapon types you can chose from) or improve skills such as strength.

Presentation:

The game has good graphics. Don't going in expecting Uncharted 2 or FFXIII quality graphics because you won't get them, but that was never Level-5's aim in the first place. Towns look very nice and the CGI cut scenes are very well done. There are some awful textures in game, but overall the game is pleasing to the eye!

The music in the game is very forgettable, apart from the theme tune (that was the theme song in the japanese version). The battle music gets very annoying towards the end. The final boss theme is wonderful though!

Value:

The game signs in this aspect due to the fun online mode. It is really fun to be able to play online with friends. The georama feature allows you to build your own town, this can be quite addicting. You will definetely be able to pour hours into this games online!

Conclusion:

Pro's:

- Great gameplay

- Robust online

- Evokes nostalgic memories

- Wonderful explorable towns & cities

Con's:

- The story is average

- Voice acting isn't up to the mark

- Some gameplay elements haven't been implemented properly

- Some textures in the game are awful

- Forgettable Music

Overall I came out shocked & disappointed. Shocked at the fact that I enjoyed the game so much, disappointed because critics absolutely failed to judge this game properly.

There is something called "fun", that was given to me during this game, from recent reviews it seems critics may have forgotten "fun" is important (look at Just Dance & New Super Mario Bros Wii review). This game will give you hours of fun and a great story.

Yes the game is cliched, but if your a PS3 JRPG fan who has been starved for JRPG, maybe cliche is what you need to quench your thirst.

I await White Knight Chronicles 2 with great anticipation!

7.9 = Very Good!

NOTE:

- The final score isn't an average of the other scores!

- Excuse spelling mistakes as your all very nice people :)