Enchanted Arms initial thoughts

[Gabriel]

As a fan of anime and japanese RPGs, I was interested in Enchanted Arms. But, since XBox 360 games are a good $20 more than current generation games, I was a bit leery. I needed some more information about the game. Sadly, no one online is talking about this one, so I was forced to look to the video game review sites for information. Ultimately, the pictures on these sites could only tell me so much, so I was forced to read the reviews for context.

 

Reading between the lines, I could tell that all the authors of the reviews I read had a strong distaste for the genre. Beyond that, it was difficult to tell. These reviewers really keyed on what they called "horrible voice acting" and "wordy, pointless dialogue." Since I haven't historically liked many RPG dubs, and I'm rather fond of ignoring dialogue in other games which have large swaths of useless fluff (Tactical RPGs are notorious for it), I decided that Enchanted Arms probably wasn't for me.

 

But, sometimes the strangest things are what make people change their minds, and that's what happened to me. Despite having tons of RPGs I haven't been able to play yet, I wanted something new and shiny. And what convinced me was a video of Enchanted Arms in the battle mode where a pink haired anime maid was shooting at an opponent with a minigun.

 

This was obviously the game for me. To hell with my budget. That's what plastic was invented for.

 

So, I bought it and started playing it. So far it's just what the doctor ordered, and I'm left wondering what the reviewers were smoking.

 

First, I'll hit upon the voice acting. It's really no worse than you'll find in most anime. Personally, I found the voice acting in the last couple of Final Fantasy games to be WAY more grating and strained than what's in Enchanted Arms. It isn't great acting, but you at least get fun banter on a regular basis.

 

Next, is the complaint about the wordyness. When the reviewers stated this problem, I immediately envisioned the long and ultra boring text sequences in the original Final Fantasy Tactics. I foresaw long and dull history lessons about the world and pointless political debate. And, while there are certainly history lessons to be had, they've been very bearable up to the point I'm at. No, what the reviewers seem to have been complaining about is what other people would consider character defining dialogue. The reviewers are complaining that the characters get hungry, talk about wanting to have fun, and argue with each other. Far from finding myself hating these scenes, they're greatly enhancing my enjoyment of the game.

 

Another big complaint reviewers had about the game is the inclusion of a character described as a "blatantly negative homosexual stereotype." I think it's also VERY telling the reviewers mentioning this character just call him "the gay one" and don't mention his name. His name is Makoto, and far from being a detriment to the game, he is an extremely enjoyable element. Makoto may be flamingly gay, but he's damn proud of it and clearly comfortable and confident in who he is. Not only that, but he's a valuable character with clearly honorable motivations. He's gone from my party and I already miss him. Incidentally, the voice actor was obviously having a great deal of fun with Makoto and takes the opportunity to chew the scenery as much as possible.

 

Probably the most telling thing about the reviews was the fact they claimed the combat system was just another boring turn based system that offerred nothing new to the genre. The truth is quite the opposite. The combat system is a damn brilliant fusion of the classic traditional menu based Fight/Fight/Defend/Cast methods, and the more involved tactical RPG method invented years ago in Ultima III. The problem with full tactical combat in RPGs is that every fight becomes a major event. A standard combat can take a good hour to go through the motions of. The problem with the old menu driven systems is that combats can easily become boring events where you tap the button mindlessly 4 times each turn. But Enchanted Arms combines the strategy and thought of tactical RPG unit placement with the simplicity and speed of a menu driven system. This way, fights are involving enough to keep your attention, yet simple and quick enough that you don't have to commit a large chunk of time just because you ran into a random monster. I'm finding it extremely satisfying, and probably the most original thing I've seen in a RPG combat system since Magna Carta. The real complaint I surmise that these reviewers had was that the combat was not action oriented.

 

Another common complaint I came across was how visually uninspiring combat was. That lie was dashed against the rocks of reality almost immediately. The game has your characters performing SFX normally reserved for Final Fantasy endgames by about a mere hour in.

 

One review complained about the absence of terrain on the combat field. He does have a slight point. The combat field could have stood a few perks like terrain. I believe the designers knew they were doing something different and erred on the side of simplicity. Oddly, while the reviewer wanted more complications on the battlefield, he called the combat system "overly complex and unintelligible." So, it's very difficult to take his complaint at face value. If it's too complicated, why make it moreso?

 

The bad news is that there is quite a bit of hand holding. On one side, that's good for newbies to the genre. On the other side, old hands like me get a bit cranky after being told for the 4th or 5th time how to use the 'A' button to interact with an object.

 

That's about all so far. I was completely absorbed while I played last night. It had that quality of making me want to see what happened next. And the combat engine (the game itself) is something I'm really getting into. I also have a sneaking suspicion that I'm already further into the game than most reviewers bothered to play.

[msaeger]

Thanks for the review. The ones I read complained that this game was a typical Japanese RPG which is fine with me. When it's just another first person shooter they are ok with it.

 

I just got a 360 and will probably get this eventually but I want to get done with Viva and Kameo first.

[jesusc]

I have the game.

It stays very true to the JRPG mold.

IF you want innovation look elsewhere.

I like the game.

that is all.

[Scumdogg]

Ahh, finally a review i can understand. I've been eyeballing this game on the shelves since it came out, and i'm not even sure what's been drawing me to it. All i know is that i've been looking around for a good excuse to buy it. Thanks.

[moycon]

Just finished the game today (Yeah I know, better late than never)

 

Odd game, the voice acting was Ok but often just didn't fit the characters or was so over dramatic was just kinda goofy. Plus the mood swings these characters would have, jeeze, I wouldn't hang out with any of em. The fact that one of the characters was gay was news when this game came out, but to be honest, I thought all the dudes looked and talked gay....and one (Makoto) looked gay and talked REALLY gay. I guess he was the gay one, but like I said it's hard to tell. I think even Raigar was probably bi. The women in the game kinda looked like guys...but that was cool because the guys kinda looked like girls so it all evened out.

 

All and all, I enjoyed playing through this.

I'm a sucker for turn based RPGs and this one was bizzare enough and challenging enough to hold a persons interest.

Plus there's the whole "Gotta catch them all vibe going on with the Golems, altho honestly, I really didn't use them that much.

Edited January 14, 2007 by moycon

[MetalSlime23]

 

Another big complaint reviewers had about the game is the inclusion of a character described as a "blatantly negative homosexual stereotype." I think it's also VERY telling the reviewers mentioning this character just call him "the gay one" and don't mention his name. His name is Makoto, and far from being a detriment to the game, he is an extremely enjoyable element. Makoto may be flamingly gay, but he's damn proud of it and clearly comfortable and confident in who he is. Not only that, but he's a valuable character with clearly honorable motivations. He's gone from my party and I already miss him. Incidentally, the voice actor was obviously having a great deal of fun with Makoto and takes the opportunity to chew the scenery as much as possible.

 

 

LMAO. If we only look at RPGs, we can safely assume that all Japanese men in their 20-3-30-s are flaming homosexuals.

 

Seriously though, this just goes to show that the reviewers are idiots. In Japanese media, anime, video games, etc. The men are made to look feminine on purpose. It's kind of like how we portray that men with big muscles and such to be attractive in the states. Also, I've heard that the audio in this game can be switched to Japanese. I intend to do this as it is a Japanese game.

 

I'm actually going to get this game today, so hopefully I will enjoy it as much as you did Gabriel, considering that I am a huge RPG fan too.