Most US gamers have likely never heard of Princess Crown (not surprising, as it never made its way out of Japan) but those that have will be instantly familiar with Odin Sphere, which is a spiritual successor of sorts to the classic Sega Saturn game. Developed by Vanillaware and published by Atlus, Odin Sphere has garnered a lot of attention simply due to its art style, but there’s a lot more to this package than just pretty graphics. Describing Odin Sphere’s gameplay is something of a challenge – to say Odin Sphere is just an RPG doesn’t give the game nearly enough credit. Not unlike its predecessor Princess Crown, Odin Sphere combines role-playing, platformer, and brawler elements to create an RPG experience that will appeal to gamers of all sorts – if only they’ll look past its J-RPG outer shell.

Odin Sphere takes place in your typical fantasy setting, with warring nations and extraordinary characters. The game starts you off as Gwendolyn, a Valkyrie and daughter to the king. After watching her sister die on the battlefield, she’s entrusted with the Psypher, a spear with the ability to store Phozons and unleash devastating attacks (more on that later). You’ll eventually play as five different characters over the course of the game’s interwoven story, but the entire progression is linear. The tale is beautifully presented through in-engine cutscenes and conversations you’ll have with NPCs throughout the world. Odin Sphere’s story may fail to draw you in at times, but that may be more easily attributed to the dialogue rather than the plot. I definitely found myself continuing to play the game more for the battles than the continuation of the storyline.

The game plays out as a side-scrolling beat-‘em-up with the ability for special attacks and combos, but it has its roots firmly planted as an RPG. Odin Sphere’s story is broken up into several acts, which are then broken up into smaller individual stages. You have some limited freedom on the order you attempt the stages in, and can choose to bypass some entirely. Each stage’s respective difficulty and reward are displayed on the map, so you can decide for yourself if you’re up to the task to get a specific piece of gear, or would rather save your strength for the boss. These stage choices are as close as you’ll get to having any freedom in the game, as the entire story plays out in a linear fashion.

Set Psyphers to Stun!

Each stage is usually filled with assorted enemies that you’re free to dispose in any way you’d like. The standard attacks with your Psypher don’t usually inflict too much damage, but can be strung together for vicious combos. Button-mashing won’t really work here though, as your Power will decrease with every attack, and you’ll either need to wait for it to refill or capture Phozons with your Psypher. What are Phozons? Put simply, they’re the souls of the enemies you kill. Every time you down an enemy, their corpse will release a Phozon which can either be collected with your Psypher or used to grow seeds. Collecting Phozons with your Psypher will recharge your attack power, and also allow your Psypher to unleash powerful magic attacks. If you’re not using Phozons for offensive abilities, you’ll be needing them to grow seeds, which is an integral aspect of the gameplay. Each type of seed generates a different type of food, and requires a different number of Phozons to grow. It’s up to you to decide what you’ll use your Phozons for, and which seeds to plant. Careful seed, Phozon, and food management are a must for those that expect to succeed in Odin Sphere.