Odin Sphere
| Odin Sphere | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio |
 Atlus Vanillaware
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| Publisher |
Atlus Square Enix
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
May 17, 2007 May 22, 2007 March 14, 2008  |
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| platform | PlayStation 2 | ||
| genre | Action RPG | ||
| Subject | Fantasy | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Gamepad | ||
| medium | 1 DVD | ||
| language | Japanese, English | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | Game text in the PAL version is multilingual | ||
Odin Sphere ( Jap. オーディンスフィア, Odin Sufia ) is a 2D - Action role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 . The game was first released in Japan in 2007, developed by Vanillaware and distributed by Atlus . It tells the linked stories of five different protagonists. With its unconventional graphic and gameplay design, it stands out from current games of the genre. It is regarded as the spiritual successor to the game Princess Crown by Atlus. A European version of PAL is distributed by Square Enix and was released on March 14, 2008 .
The remake Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir ( Japanese オ ー デ ィ ン ス フ ィ ア レ イ ヴ ス ラ シ ル , Ōdin Sufia Reivusurashiru ) was released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 , PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita on January 14, 2016. The German release is announced for June 24, 2016.
action
Odin Sphere contains five stories that must be completed in a row. The protagonists come from five different nations in the fantasy world Erion, which are at war with each other. Each of them carries a psypher weapon, a special weapon that is equipped with a crystal for the absorption of phosons. Phosons are created when a living being dies, especially opponents, and they can be sucked in to upgrade weapons.
The stories are presented (in a kind of framework) as five books that can be selected and read or played with a girl and her cat in an attic.
Characters
The first plot tells the story of Gwendolin, a young valkyrie and daughter of the demon prince Odin . Since her older sister Griselda died, to whom her father thought very much, she has been fighting for the same recognition that her sister received. She is cast off by Odin when she defies him on a matter, which turns out to be just a trick by Odin to trick the opposing party and get the ring that controls the crystallization cauldron, a powerful weapon. Gwendolin is now torn between the support of her father and her affection for the knight Oswald, at whose expense this act occurred.
The other stories revolve around Cornelius, an enchanted prince, Maresa (Japanese: Mercedes), a fairy princess, shadow knight Oswald and princess Velvette.
The storylines interact with each other, and the protagonist of one story may occasionally play the antagonist for another.
presentation
The game is completely 2D, the creatures and surroundings are hand-drawn, with several parallax levels creating an illusion of spatial depth. The surroundings are partially animated, e.g. B. Plants that are moved by the wind, starry sky, seething lava. Cutscenes are told with speech bubbles, but have been replaced by subtitles in the European version (possibly because of display problems caused by the different languages). All dialogues were recorded and there is a choice of both English and Japanese dubbing .
| role | Japanese speaker ( seiyū ) | English speaker |
|---|---|---|
| Gwendolin | Ayako Kawasumi | Mia Bradly |
| Cornelius | Daisuke Namikawa | Yuri Lowenthal |
| Mercedes / Maresa | Mamiko Noto | Jennifer Sekiguchi |
| Oswald | Susumu Chiba | Derek Stephen Prince |
| Velvette | Miyuki Sawashiro | Michelle Ruff |
The soundtrack is by Hitoshi Sakimoto , who u. a. was responsible for the music of Final Fantasy XII .
Combat system
The level sections are shown as large, two-dimensional "rings"; If the player walks in one direction for several seconds, he comes back to the starting point. A "radar" map shows the positions of the player, opponents and objects, while a smaller map shows the exits from the current section. The fight is similar to that in many 2D fighting games, but a “power bar” limits the actions that the figure can perform within a short period of time. Should it be completely empty, the figure stands for a few seconds, exhausted and defenseless against attacks on the fighting area; This can be avoided by taking breaks from fighting before emptying the bar, which accelerates regeneration.
reception
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Odin Sphere received a positive reception with an average rating of 82% on GameRankings (English-language media only). The US edition of Play Magazine awarded the highest number of points and praised the "2D graphics, the detailed storyline and the unique combat system". However, the game received negative criticism for the occurrence of slowdowns on various occasions when many opponents or objects were on the screen at the same time. This point of criticism was corrected in the European edition, in which the loading times were reduced and slowdowns rarely occur.
Web links
- Odin Sphere at MobyGames (English)
- Official English Odin Sphere website
- Official Japanese Odin Sphere website
- Official European Odin Sphere website
Individual evidence
- ↑ Odin Sphere (PS2) ( Memento from January 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Edition 04/2008
- ↑ SPIN YOU RIGHT ROUND ( Memento from April 1, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Edition 04/2008
- ↑ Odin Sphere Review ( Memento from February 17, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ Odin Sphere Review
- ^ Words Dave Halverson ( Memento of March 4, 2009 in the Internet Archive )