Game of the Month #37 (February 2018) - Odin Sphere

The nation of Valentine used to be a prosperous kingdom, until its greedy King held control over a magical relic called the "Crystallization Cauldron". He used it to conquer the nearby nations, but eventually lost control of it, and watched as it destroyed his kingdom almost overnight. Now, several other nations are fighting over the ownership of the Cauldron, and thus the world.

The game consists of five individual plots, that tell the story of five protagonists who are all tied to the fate of their world. Each protagonist wields a weapon known as a Psypher, a powerful crystal based weapon that can absorb Phozons from fallen enemies. The stories are all connected to one another but each one takes a different course. It is also possible to meet another protagonist in one story either as an ally or an enemy. All of this is tied together by a girl named Alice, reading about their adventures in her grandfather's books.

The game is on PS2, on PS3 store as a PS2 Classic, and remade for PS3, PS4, and Vita as Odin Sphere Leifthrasir.

Which would you recommend, remake or PS2 classic? Need to get it for this month still

Which would you recommend, remake or PS2 classic? Need to get it for this month still

Probably better off with the remake. It Includes the originals gameplay as a separate mode, so you get two games with the same story for the price of one.

Also for a little fun for anyone interested, they created 8-bit Odin Sphere as a flash game:
https://atlus-vanillaware.jp/osl/8bit/

I played the remake sometime last year, and I started out really enjoying it. The gameplay started out fun, the art style was great, the story was decent, and the different perspectives through varying timelines for the overall story, was an interesting approach.

My overall problem with the game was that the farther I got into the game, the gameplay just became less and less fun, and having to go through all the repeated levels with all the characters made the game feel like a grind just to see the story progress, and just thinking about it now, a majority of the story is forgettable to me right now.

A low, 6/10

Repeated post, RIP

Heads up that the remake is discounted from $85 to $25 if you live in Australia.

Not sure if something similar is available elsewhere.

I played the remake sometime last year, and I started out really enjoying it. The gameplay started out fun, the art style was great, the story was decent, and the different perspectives through varying timelines for the overall story, was an interesting approach.

My overall problem with the game was that the farther I got into the game, the gameplay just became less and less fun, and having to go through all the repeated levels with all the characters made the game feel like a grind just to see the story progress, and just thinking about it now, a majority of the story is forgettable to me right now.

A low, 6/10

I have to agree with you in terms of the repetitiveness as you progress through the game. I finished the PS2 version in 2012 and I enjoyed the beautiful artwork and 5 different storyline perspectives, but the repetitive combat and recycling of the environments and bosses took away from the overall experience for me.

I am debating on whether to replay this game on the PS4 for this discussion, just in case my opinion changes with the PS4/Vita version as it has been 5+ years since I last played it.

While I can understand where people are coming from with the repetition already, I just finished Gwendolyn's campaign and I have to say I'm really enjoying it so far.

It will be interesting to see how long the gameplay holds up.

I feel like this thread needs a wee bump to the top

I have only played an hour or so of the game (I'm playing on Vita), but here are some thoughts:

-The art is, as always with Vanillaware games, stunning.
-The combat borrows heavily from Muramasa and Dragon's Crown. Or, rather, both of those games iterate upon Odin Sphere's combat system. This isn't to take anything away from the game: battles are just as fun here as they are in those games!
-I'm not hooked by the story yet.
-The game is very system-rich, although (so far) it does a good job of easing you in.

I'm finally conintrating on this game. I'm near the end of Gwen's path (Chapter 6) and I'm bouncing back and forth between "This is really fun. I'm glad to have played this" and "Oh my god. Is this ever going to end?". The story so far is kinda nice. The amount of issues that each character has is interesting to say the least. Gwen kinda makes me want to do a character study on her since there seems to be something there that they're hinting at (you know aside from daddy issues she has).

The gameplay does have it's problems. For one, the enemy balancing doesn't seem to be there at times. The barbarians at the start feel easy to fight while I don't think the fire monster mini bosses have a stun animation. This could be due to me being under leveled, but I blame that on the way you do level. Magic (I can't remember what they call it in game, but it's magic non the less) levels up by absorbing the spirits that come out of the enemies. Cool. The way you level you hp is by eating food. This is cool too. My problem stems from two things. 1, I don't feel more powerful when I level up. It seems like I'm doing the same damage to everyone, which is a problem when I'm fighting the boss of the chapter and it feels like I'm not doing anything. 2. There doesn't seem to be alot of food out there, aside from seeds, but I'm never sure when I can use the seeds since I need the souls to make them grow and you never know when a big horde is going to be in a room or if it's just going to be six guys, which would waste the seed that needs eight souls to grow. I would grind levels and money (which I have a lot of things to say, but I'll save it so I don't sound any more stupid), but why would I if I feel the same at level 5 that I do at level 20.

Lastly I wish they gave us a choice of who we were playing as from the start. As much as I like Gwen, I'm bored of playing as her and I want to get on to playing as one of the other four. I'm not even sure how much I have left of her story, but I think I would be more optimistic about playing the rest of it if I was able to switch between Oswald and Velvet and whoever else is going to be playable, kinda like how they did it with Birth by Sleep.

I'm finally conintrating on this game. I'm near the end of Gwen's path (Chapter 6) and I'm bouncing back and forth between "This is really fun. I'm glad to have played this" and "Oh my god. Is this ever going to end?". The story so far is kinda nice. The amount of issues that each character has is interesting to say the least. Gwen kinda makes me want to do a character study on her since there seems to be something there that they're hinting at (you know aside from daddy issues she has).

The gameplay does have it's problems. For one, the enemy balancing doesn't seem to be there at times. The barbarians at the start feel easy to fight while I don't think the fire monster mini bosses have a stun animation. This could be due to me being under leveled, but I blame that on the way you do level. Magic (I can't remember what they call it in game, but it's magic non the less) levels up by absorbing the spirits that come out of the enemies. Cool. The way you level you hp is by eating food. This is cool too. My problem stems from two things. 1, I don't feel more powerful when I level up. It seems like I'm doing the same damage to everyone, which is a problem when I'm fighting the boss of the chapter and it feels like I'm not doing anything. 2. There doesn't seem to be alot of food out there, aside from seeds, but I'm never sure when I can use the seeds since I need the souls to make them grow and you never know when a big horde is going to be in a room or if it's just going to be six guys, which would waste the seed that needs eight souls to grow. I would grind levels and money (which I have a lot of things to say, but I'll save it so I don't sound any more stupid), but why would I if I feel the same at level 5 that I do at level 20.

Lastly I wish they gave us a choice of who we were playing as from the start. As much as I like Gwen, I'm bored of playing as her and I want to get on to playing as one of the other four. I'm not even sure how much I have left of her story, but I think I would be more optimistic about playing the rest of it if I was able to switch between Oswald and Velvet and whoever else is going to be playable, kinda like how they did it with Birth by Sleep.

There doesn't seem to be alot of food out there, aside from seeds, but I'm never sure when I can use the seeds since I need the souls to make them grow and you never know when a big horde is going to be in a room or if it's just going to be six guys, which would waste the seed that needs eight souls to grow.

Once you clear a battle stage, no more enemies will spawn, so I tend to do my gardening there and then before moving on.

Also, once you get eggs, using seeds with a hatched chick/en seems way more productive in terms of XP gain, and allows you to focus phozon usage on your skill upgrades. And make sure you're using the chef to make new recipes whenever you can, as those come with a hefty XP bonus!

I'm a touch behind you story-wise but I appear to be having a lot more fun with it than you are. I love the battle system, and I don't share your gripe about not feeling powerful enough, so that probably has a lot to do with it.

I'm finally conintrating on this game. I'm near the end of Gwen's path (Chapter 6) and I'm bouncing back and forth between "This is really fun. I'm glad to have played this" and "Oh my god. Is this ever going to end?". The story so far is kinda nice. The amount of issues that each character has is interesting to say the least. Gwen kinda makes me want to do a character study on her since there seems to be something there that they're hinting at (you know aside from daddy issues she has).

The gameplay does have it's problems. For one, the enemy balancing doesn't seem to be there at times. The barbarians at the start feel easy to fight while I don't think the fire monster mini bosses have a stun animation. This could be due to me being under leveled, but I blame that on the way you do level. Magic (I can't remember what they call it in game, but it's magic non the less) levels up by absorbing the spirits that come out of the enemies. Cool. The way you level you hp is by eating food. This is cool too. My problem stems from two things. 1, I don't feel more powerful when I level up. It seems like I'm doing the same damage to everyone, which is a problem when I'm fighting the boss of the chapter and it feels like I'm not doing anything. 2. There doesn't seem to be alot of food out there, aside from seeds, but I'm never sure when I can use the seeds since I need the souls to make them grow and you never know when a big horde is going to be in a room or if it's just going to be six guys, which would waste the seed that needs eight souls to grow. I would grind levels and money (which I have a lot of things to say, but I'll save it so I don't sound any more stupid), but why would I if I feel the same at level 5 that I do at level 20.

Lastly I wish they gave us a choice of who we were playing as from the start. As much as I like Gwen, I'm bored of playing as her and I want to get on to playing as one of the other four. I'm not even sure how much I have left of her story, but I think I would be more optimistic about playing the rest of it if I was able to switch between Oswald and Velvet and whoever else is going to be playable, kinda like how they did it with Birth by Sleep.

On the damage point, levelling up the psypher seemed to help me a lot. Toxin and Volcano (3 x Cusbane and 3 x Habernisto, respectively) can also be pretty powerful - especially with large bosses that don't move too much. If you don't have those, anything that burns or poisons can also help.

So I've just completed Gwendolyn's path (in ~7h), which I think puts me at around 15-20% story completion. I'm really enjoying this game, which is unsurprising given that it shares its core combat with Muramasa: Rebirth, one of my favourite games of all time.

The most pleasing thing since my last post is that the story has really opened out, and I am invested in the characters now. I already loved the art and gameplay, so this has addressed my main concern early on.

It has been particularly interesting to see the combat differences between this and Muramasa. The latter is far more streamlined, playing like a conventional fighter/beat-em-up with a decent skill ceiling for more advanced combos and moves. Odin Sphere, on the other hand, straddles the line between real-time and turn-based combat, in that the action pauses when you open your item ring or your skill list. Not only does this give the combat more variety and a tactical focus, but it places an emphasis on managing multiple resources (POW gauge, PP, items) throughout skirmishes and especially in larger boss battles. I'm not sure which system I prefer, but they're both right up there among my favourites.

If I had to pick nits, it frustrated me that seeds and skills both required phozons, and I would have preferred a more unified item selection in shops, but in the scheme of things these are minor imperfections in what it shaping up to be an incredible game.

I played the remake sometime last year, and I started out really enjoying it. The gameplay started out fun, the art style was great, the story was decent, and the different perspectives through varying timelines for the overall story, was an interesting approach.

My overall problem with the game was that the farther I got into the game, the gameplay just became less and less fun, and having to go through all the repeated levels with all the characters made the game feel like a grind just to see the story progress, and just thinking about it now, a majority of the story is forgettable to me right now.

A low, 6/10

"The gameplay started out fun, the art style was great, the story was decent"

"My overall problem with the game was that the farther I got into the game, the gameplay just became less and less fun"

"having to go through all the repeated levels"

"the game feel like a grind just to see the story progress"

That's exactly how I felt with Muramasa. Seems to be a recurring theme with Vanillaware.

A lot of my first impression problems seemed to have been solved. For one, I found out how to solve the food problem. I was thinking that going back to perveos levels would randomize how many bad guys I would get in each level. Turns out they are not and you can plan out where would be the best places to plant seeds.Also, I found that I didn't have a food problem. In reality, I had a storage problem. Not only is the inventory kinda limited, everything was jumbled up across six packs. I found out there is a button to open up all the packs to see what you have. I don't remember being told I had this kinda button, but it helped as now I can see all the seeds that I have. I also decided to go back to previous stages to get food for the kitchen and found that my "don't feel powerful" complaint is still there but not as well. All the enemies still feel the same strength but the mini boss seems to have gotten weaker. Maybe I'm stupid (highly likely) and I'm just not recognizing the power up. The money problem I hinted at (summing it up as not seeming to have money because enemies drop only the 1 cent Sliver coins) weirdly also was fixed by going back to the forest. Before I had 5 currency (all silvers) to my name, after I was able to upgrade all my packs to large bags and still have 52 currency (all miscellaneous).

I think my first impression gave off the thought I didn't like the game. I do like it, I just found a bunch of problems, most of which have been resolved. It's still a very slow story (as it was build off of Norse myoligy, it kinda fits) and I find the leveling strange, but so far, I'm having some fun with it.

I beat the game yesterday, and cleaned up the final few %s today. From the 'Post Your Wins' thread:

100% with all endings and scenes.

I think this is a brilliant game - standout artwork from Vanillaware (as always), a gripping story packed with twists and intrigue, and some of the best 2D action combat you will ever see. Its systems are well-explained and full of possibilities, but they are also very easy to cheese with on Normal. I felt that Muramasa was a tighter experience, and just edges out Odin Sphere across the board, but they are both among the best games of their generation, if not ever.

Really enjoyed this. Artwork is beautiful, story is pretty decent and the combat is a really cool blend of fast, twitchy action and methodical, menu-based strategy.

The only thing stopping this from being one of my favourites is the backtracking... and I'm kinda conflicted about that. On one hand, there are only around 8 areas and you'll have to beat them around 4 times each. On the other hand, the main appeal of the story comes from seeing the same events from different perspectives... and you'd basically break that if you got rid of the backtracking.

@NinjaRic & @FuzzyLapin

Mind if I ask which character was your favorite to play as?

@NinjaRic & @FuzzyLapin

Mind if I ask which character was your favorite to play as?

Might be a controversial answer given some of the things I've read online, but I'm going to say Velvet. There's an ability you can get which makes her damage output dependent on how far away you are from the enemy, which turns the combat into a fun game of trying to stay as far away as possible while also close enough to land your hits. It also helps that her campaign is a bit harder than some of the other characters.

@NinjaRic & @FuzzyLapin

Mind if I ask which character was your favorite to play as?

That's a good question, and such a hard pick!!

On balance I think I like Cornelius' psypher skills a little better than the other characters. Oswald would come a close second because I like his increased manoeuvrability and skillset.

Honestly though, there are no bad characters in the game. All five playable characters are fun to use, with subtle-to-minor affects on how you play the game depending on who you are.