Enchanted Arms is surprisingly not alone on the JRPG market either, as Phantasy Star Universe is releasing on next-gen hardware as well. There’s an obvious fascination with the JRPG here in the states, and it’s one area where Sony always had a huge leg up. Well the tides are changing, and Enchanted Arms is first out on the sea. Will Enchanted Arms encounter rough waters near the Western front, or is it smooth sailing in this land of hot dogs and crazed RPG fanatics? Let’s take a look-see…
In typical JRPG fashion, Enchanted Arms features a turn-based combat system that is sure to delight the traditionalists. The field in Enchanted Arms’s case is a gird that has been divided into enemy and ally sides; picture a chess board for those that aren’t familiar with the JRPG style. Your goal is to take your turn in attacking the enemy, hopefully wiping them out so that objects can be acquired and upgrade points can be earned. Upgrades come in the form of the ubiquitous HP for leveling up, the ever-popular SP for growth and experience, and the lesser known TB or tablet monetary system. The core RPG element of winning to level up and become powerful is in place, so do your best on the field and in the grid if you want your character to be a bad-ass Enchanter.
The field is filled with valuable information about the impending battle, your character, and what attacks are available at the given time. H.U.D.’s quickly show the attributes of characters or attacks (attacking with opposites attributes does greater damage – just remember: Earth and Wind, but without the Fire), hit and experience point totals, and separate combo and special move gauges that must be filled before the huge HP-wrecking moves are administered.
Once the cursor is moved to highlight a fighter, battle commands can now be administered, such as the usage of items, a particular skill, or an EX attack. Skills are broken down into close (fists and hand weapons) and ranged (fire, ice, etc.) attacks, support (poisons, etc.), and healing. Some of these have attributes, but others are generic, which means they are effective in nearly any situation. Attacks are displayed with the amount of power that they can emit (HP damage) and the amount of EP needed to perform the selected move.
In between the turn-based battle sequences, tucked behind the storytelling cutscenes, is an adventure filled with tons of NPC’s, a sprawling, futuristic city to explore, and side-quests out the yin-yang. The main story and missions, however, are based on this notion of magic or “enchanting” saving the human race from total destruction. The Golem War nearly wrecked the universe awhile back, as corrupt “Enchanters” led the way for creatures having a conscious; enough so to fight back against the human magicians.
The concern of these Devil Golums was enough that Enchanters had their own universities dedicated to eradicating them from the planet. Lead character Atsuma is an attendee of the prestigious Enchant U, but seems to have ADD most of the time. The professors always let him slide though, as he possesses a great power. Atsuma is like a Golum sponge; absorbing the powers of his enemies directly into his arm.
Atsuma’s great skill proves to be a powerful advantage in combat, but you’ll still have the opportunity to attack with three other party members in Enchanted Arms. There are over 70 different unlockable characters that can accompany Atsuma, so don’t think you’ll be stuck with the University flunkies for this arduous journey.
First of all, if you’re not a fan of the turn-based combat system (a la Phantom Dust or similar), then you’ll have a hard time handling Enchanted Arms. But if waiting patiently while your opponent blasts you to bits is encoded into your DNA, then I bet you’ll have a lot of fun with Enchanted Arms. The battles not only look good, but are jam-packed with gads of different attacks brewed up by enchanted alchemy. I really don’t see any RTS or JRPG nut faulting the combat system in place.
A game featuring turn-based combat and nothing else would be, well, Yu Gi Oh, so what comprises the rest of Enchanted Arms? A whole lot of walkin’ around a whole lot of places that aren’t that interesting. The worst part is that you’ll have to revisit many of these rather uninteresting spots a lot during your journeys. You’ll also have to talk to a lot of people that provide somewhat droll conversation, but it does figure into the overall story, making it more interesting than the tedious footwork.
The good news about the boring walking is that you have to do so much of it because Enchanted Arms is LONG. If you do it all, you’ll probably be well into the forty hour range, and maybe even longer.
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