JasonF

The other week, I picked up Enchanted Arms. I hadn't played a JRPG in a while and was itching to play one, and the price was right. I'm roughly halfway through the game and I've got to say -- it's a fun game. It is very much a Japanese RPG, with the stereotypical characters, the linear gameplay, the excessive random encounters, the cutesy sidekicks, and the turn-based battle system that we've come to expect from the genre.

On a whim, I decided to see what reviews for the game looked like. To my surprise, the reviews were all mediocre at best, and decried the game's stereotypical characters, linear gameplay, excessive random encounters, cutesy sidekicks, and turn-based battle system.



Am I the only one who thinks "That's exactly what I expect from a JRPG." Giving a bad review to Enchanted Arms based on those characteristics is like giving a bad review to Gears of War because different weapons have different strengths and weaknesses, and you have to shoot at moving targets, and sometimes you run out of ammo, and if you're in the line of fire you can get shot. Don't play a FPS if you don't like FPSs and don't play a JRPG if you don't like JRPGs.

So here's my review of Enchanted Arms: It is a JRPG. It doesn't do anything new or exciting to the genre, so if you don't like JRPGs, don't play this game. But if you do like JRPGs, this could tide you over until Blue Dragon and Eternal Sonata and Lost Odyssey come out.

fujishig

I look at it a little differently. How does Enchanted Arms compare to all the other JRPGs that are out? Not very well. I'd rather play probably a dozen other JRPGs (admittedly all are on other platforms) that came out in the months surrounding it than Enchanted Arms. How does Gears of War compare to other console third person shooters? Very, very well.

Reviews aren't everything, and buyers need to take that into account. I certainly don't think someone new to the genre should review the game, but I didn't see that happening with the Enchanted Arms reviews that I read.

Liver&Onions

Yup - I longed for a good JRPG not having been part of the PS2 crowd, and EArms was my go to thing. And yes, it did roll everything I was missing into a JRPG. Out of a scale of 10, I gave it just over a 7 - so not a bad game, but not a great game either.

Now bring on Trusty Bell/Eternal Sonata & Blue Dragon!

Chris_D

Yeah in the end though it's a case of reading the review text. Most decent reviews go into pretty good detail about how they arrived at the final score. So therefore, if they're complaining about things that you know don't bother you, you can take that into account for the final score. It's one of the reasons EGMs reviews suck so much, because they just don't give the space to really review a game properly, and 3 seemingly random numbers don't do much for me. To be fair though, if you listen to the podcast you can sometimes get a much better summary of what they thought of a particular game.

taffer

Every review, professional or otherwise, is just an opinion of how much the reviewer likes the game. There are some highly rated games that I absolutely cannot stand, and there are lower rated games that I love. One man's turd is another man's treasure.

PopcornTreeCt

Nobody wants a game that doesn't improve upon the genre. Gears of War blows away the 3rd person genre. I'm not gonna play a FPS just because I want to play a FPS. The game has to deliver more than that.

Liver&Onions

For the most part, yup.

fumanstan

That's probably some of it too. If you've been itching to play a specific genre, something middle of the line will probably feel a bit more exciting and refreshing to you then if you've been playing one after another and have another great game fresh in your mind.

dvd182

This isn't true, though. I'm not saying I don't agree with your sentiment, but the existence of cookie cutter romance novels, romantic comedies and summer action movies prove that sometimes people just want what is familiar. It would be great if everyone wanted and only supported innovative games and triple A titles, but it's just not the case.

KurrptSenate

I thought that game was absolutely terrible. The environments reminded me of playing an old king's quest. The battle system is not nearly as fun as mega man battle network.

don't get me started on that "fruity" character

GreenMonkey

Enchanted Arms shows a 69 on Metacritic. IMO any 7 should be enjoyable for folks of the genre.

A 7/10 FPS game, FPS game folks will like a lot, and it will bore me to tears.

A 7/10 JRPG I can quite likely enjoy. I liked Star Ocean 'Till the End of time (Star Ocean 3) quite a bit. It shows 80 on Metacritic.

IMO if you're a fan of the genre, you should enjoy anything over a 60/100 on Metacritic.

The comic is funny though.

JasonF

Innovation is great, but I think there's nothing wrong with following a formula as long as you turn out a good game that follows the formula. Enchanted Arms doesn't break any new ground, but if you like the formula, you'll like the game, since Enchanted Arms implements the formula well.

By the way, Kurrpt, in regard to that fruity character:

KurrptSenate

As someone else stated...


basically, you know going in if you'll like this type of game. It's generally harder for me to get into RPGs, at all. For me, it's all about the battle system.

But seriously, if anyone liked this game, I think you'd love the MMBN series for GBA

Lastblade

I am halfway thru Enchanted Arms, and I really enjoy the game. It is a pretty much by-the-book Japanese RPG. If you like/enjoy jrpg conventions (random battle, overly dramatic story about a young hero who doesn't know who he was and get mixed up to save the world 5 seconds you push the start button), then you will like this.

The graphics is actually pretty nice (in spots) and the battle system is fun. It has a pokemon feel to it by collecting those golems. A good pickup at $20 or less.

EDIT: Oh yah, if you are an achievement wh*re, then you owe it to yourself to get that easy 1000 points.

wlj

i have always wanted to play this, but I have never got around to it.

Apollo

I got this game for $19.99. Knowing that I haven't played a Jrpg, since Phantasy Star 4, I pretty much disregarded the review. What I found out is that I hated turn based rpgs.


So Thank you Kotor, Jade Empire and Oblivion

taffer

KOTOR is actually turn-based too. The turns are kind of "hidden" behind the scenes, but it is definitely turn-based. The game uses a simplified D&D ruleset.

Apollo

Taffer

They hidden it pretty well in Kotor, but yes i do remember it now. I must say it felt like a real time fighter.