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- Enchanted Arms... I played Enchanted Arms through <15% of the storyline at the time this review was written. Thus far I've been happy with every aspect but one and that is just a minor personal bias. There seems to be way to many "little-Japanese-girl-like" or cutsy "Pokemon-like" characters. For me that gives the game a "girly" feel that seems to be focused on Japanese school girl types, but that's just my take on it. The storyline has what I would call an even flow and is easy to follow. So far I've not encountered any storyline speedbumps, misdirections or "Help me I'm lost in the game and so frustrated that I quit, spots". For those of you seeking a cheat: The secret I've found to REALLY BIG $$$ early in the game is the casino. Trading chips for prizes and selling those prizes takes time but at $4050.00/transaction you'll have BIG $$$ in no time. You can even buy skill points which can seriously improve your stats very early on, if you're willing to put in the time. I'd give game play a 5/5 and the overall game a 4/5 with 20% taken away for the excessive cute factor. If you like strategy games, RPGs and the like, you'll likely enjoy this one. P.S. If you want to know what your support characters say following battle or at the time of death, you might want to brush up on your Japanese! Rating: - Won't SwallowFirst off, my apologies to this game's fans. Here, I'll start with the graphics. There are times when they look acceptable, and some of the dungeon designs are high-tech, which is awesome. The character models are not bad, but nothing remotely interesting to look at. Unfortunately most of the background you'll be looking at is uninspired and easily spotted as having been neglected. Boats in the distance look like gray polygons. What! This is PS3! Epic Fail! The sound...well, the battle music sounds tolerable for five minutes, but soon after that, coupled with the repetitive, bland voice-overs in battle will have you muting the speakers every time you're drawn into another painstaking, repetitive battle. The golems early on are not entertaining and embarrassing to fight with. Let's go to the story and dialogue. Right off the bat there is a flaming homosexual gripping at the arm of a shrewed intellectual who seems adored by all, even the lead character. Although the intellectual seems to respect the lead character regardless of his lack of knowledge and experience. Now if you think I'm trying to bash a homosexual character, you're DEAD WRONG. I'd have no problem with him if it weren't for the fact that he acts like a FIVE YEAR OLD and treats the lead character as a mere dung beetle. He's snobbish, insecure, and always seeking the attention and approval of the adored intellectual character. Okay, so I'm say, three hours into the game, fighting these repetitive battles with the repetitive music and repetitive voice overs in the first dungeon, when, to accumulate a certain power you have to DANCE. I'm not kidding, they make you DANCE BY SHAKING THE CONTROLLER. And you don't have to do this just once! It's a game-long interaction with horrid music and awful dance moves. It was at this point I decided to sell the game for a measly 6 bucks. Rating: - RPGI hesitated in purchasing this game because of the lukewarm reviews, but I loved it! Considering the lackluster (and that's being kind) choices the PS3 currently has in RPG's, I was desperate, but in my opinion, it paid off. I think the graphics are amazing. The plot is pretty good as well as the voice acting. I've seen an increasing trend in RPG releases for Xbox 360 and frankly, I'm upset at some developers like SE for Xbox 360 exclusives coming out. Anyway, I would recommend Enchanted Arms...you can't beat the price. I would also recommend the strategy guide. Rating: - Play this gameEnchanted Arms Aside from the thousands of handheld-style cutscenes this game is pretty entertaining. I recommend playing it with the Japanese voice overs though. The English ones are just awful. My friends and I enjoyed a good laugh at the English voices on this game. It's hard to decsribe this game to be honest. The fighting system is grid-style but without any kind of terrain. Also, there are probably too many random battles when they're available. Just play it. I had a great time with it as did the people that created it I'm sure. Rating: - Surprizingly great for the price.I purchased this game for 16 dollars, and was expecting one to two hours of enjoyment at most because of the reviews on this site. I was surprized to be at hour 20 now and enjoying it even more! The graphics are definately not top notch, but they are very much viewable, and the story is what catched my attention. So far, it's very intuiative and interesting. I read that one person hated the voice of the characters, to them I must state, "I don't know, i am playing it with japanese voices and english subtitles" because simply, the japanese voices are awesome and the subs make it more of a genuine JRPG experience. Is it final fantasy? No way. Not saying it is, but it's definately a great experience and well worth the 20 bucks retail for this title. The cut scenes are basic, but get the point and story across. The action is top notch and the battle system is very fun when you get the hang of it and definately adds strategy into the mix. Overall I gave this a 4 star review. There are of course things that I would consider to improve, but for 20 dollars.... it's definately worth the purchase. Don't rent this title...Buy it!
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