Radiata Stories

THE BAD:
-It's very difficult making friends with all 177 characters. some harder than others.

SUMMARY:
When I picked up Radiata Stories, I wasn't expecting much out of an RPG from square-enix. But I was wrong, dead wrong. Radiata Stories, in my opinion, puts XBOX's Fable to shame.

The game does start a bit slow as you learn about the kingdom of Radiata and some brief history of the main character Jack Russell and his rival (later turned friend) Ridley Silverlake. Of course you have to sit through the typical tutorial, which surprisingly doesn't last very long, but is easy to learn and get the hang of. The combat system is very similar to a "hack n' slash" approach, but also effective. Developers introduced a "link system" which allows all members of your party to fight together effectively. Also the "Command" system in implemented. If your character doesn't want to participate, there are numerous commands which your character can learn to command the battle from the back, and letting your friends do all the work.

Weapons and Armor are an aspect to be admired in Radiata Stories. Four different types of weapons can be wielded during battle (light & heavy swords, axes & spears) which can all be changed before, after and even during battle to match the characteristics of the enemy your battling. Armor is not only visible during battle but also when your walking around between battles. Something that has been lacking from previous square-enix games.

Characters of Radiata are entertaining to say the least. From dwarfs to elves, from goblins to orcs and even dragons. And that's just the non-humans. Humans are separated into different guilds. There are the Bandit guild, the Warrior guild, the magic guild and the priest guild. These guilds are of course all below the prestigious Radiata Knights, which is the organization Jack and Ridley and become members of. Making friends can be easy at times, but some characters are harder to make friends with. There are told to be 177 characters you can become friends with. Some characters have problems that you must help them with in order to achieve their support, others you must beat in battle, there are even a couple that you have to pay for their help.

The story thrives on the continuous struggle between the humans and the non-humans. A conflict that both Jack and Ridley get caught up in. Eventually you'll have to choose sides, humans or non-humans. Each side has different stories to tell that is pertinent towards the main conflict, as well as interaction with different characters and environments. You'll have to play through the game several times to hear the whole story and experience the land of Radiata and beyond.

This is a game that players will talk about as being a landmark for its time and system, and will set the standards towards new RPG games. As I said at the beginning, this puts the XBOX's prestigious Fable to shame. If you love role playing games that you won't be able to put down for months on end, Radiata Stories will capture you completely.

THE BAD:
Its a tad hard, but I didnt really find anything I really disliked about this game.

SUMMARY:
Radiata Stories, is about two people, Jack Rusell and Ridley Silverlake(You cant tell by the name but Ridley is a girl, and cute one at that.) Jack strives to become a great knight like is father was and so enters a tournament so he can......but you automatically lose in the first round........too a chick.(I told this game was funny). But since your the son of a great knight they take pity on you and say that you have the potetial to become a great warrior and so they let you become one anyways, but I mean come on, its a game, ya gotta be a great hero in the end! Anyways I wont spoil anymore about the story(seriously the story is awesome you will want to see what happens on your own), now the battle system, in the game you get to use swords, two handed swords, spears, etc. While using this certain type of weapon you can learn diffrent techniques speciafaccly for that weapon type of weapon. In other word if you lear cross slash with a one handed sword you can use it for every one handed sword you find. Personally I think this is awesome, it give you time to get aquainted qith all the weapon and to see which kinds you do and dont like. Also the weapons all have a certain amount of CP(I forget what the C stands for) which is it lets you input those techniques for the weapon, like you got 4 cp, well you can use two attacks that have 2cp. ITs alot easier than it sounds truat me. Anywyas now its the battles, the battles are flat out fun and preety orginal(well from all the games Ive played at least I havent seen anything like it)You press O to use those techniques I was talking about before and X is to block(you can tap it twice for a hop backwards), and the square button is for volty attacks(at one point square and X together can do a super volty attack) Volty use up the volty gauge, the volty gauge is at the top of the screen right below your hp(hp is obviously your health points, if you didnt know that I would be worried about you.....), your volty gauge builds up as you hit enemies, it can go up to 100 and max out. Now when it maxes out you can do a super volty attack but thats later in the game. In the meantime you can use regular volty attacks(the attacks varry depending opn what weapon your using) These volty attacks use up 10 volty points, all volty attacks preety much own! I mean if your using a two anded sword you can use the aura of your sword and release on your enemy for major damage. Now for link attacks, later on in the game youl learn to use link attacks, these attack let you have your 3 other friends who are fighting with you do a certain formation, for example the box formation, youl all run to four places like a box, and in between the floor will be highlighted like a, well.....box. Anywyas what this does ij now you can conetrate onm one enemy and rain bloody hell on him. As you olay youl find alot more link formation. This game has one fun battle system, and intriguing story(the love/hate relationship between Jack and Ridley is hilarious) and the game will have your sides hurting from laughter. This is Zero and X and Iam saying Rasiata stories is worth your money, go but it now if you love rpg's.