Ah the gameboy advance, home to the greatest library of hand held games and oozing with quality. I spent many hours playing so many games for the thing that it felt like the good ol snes games on the go. Now among great rpgs like golden sun, fire emblem, and final fantasy there exists an SRPG that is of a familiar series, but is lesser known within it. I come to you escapists to inform you of Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis (KoL as I will refer to it from this point), an SRPG developed by Quest and published by Atlus that may not be ground breaking by any means, but a solid experience that will suck you into dozens of hours of game play.
So going about my typical procedure when reviewing let?s start with the graphics since that?s the first thing one comes to notice when starting a game. The General art style itself is equal to that of what you would see in Final Fantasy tactics Advance, the difference between the two though is the color. KoL is a very well detailed game with good looking sprites, animations, and scenery, but it lacks vibrancy to say the least. It can seem rather monotonous with many greens, browns, and grays that dominate the battlefield and scenery. It is a war game after all, trying to give a gritty feeling to it, but it doesn?t seem to ever ?pop?. The games medieval art style, detail to architecture and the over world map give it a nice distinctive accent that blends well with the story and setting. Aside from a somewhat narrow pallet of colors the game expresses a quality for detail comparable to that of SNES games which is commendable.
The sound is another aspect of the game which one may get mixed opinions on even if we are talking about a GBA game here. It is quite possibly the weakest aspect of the entire game, containing some music that is passable to say the least. Now don?t get the wrong idea, there is some exceptional music in this game, with pieces that really fit the scenario and will leave you humming along with it as it continues. Pieces with power to them, or ones that can be pretty emotional at times have a nice subtlety to them that can become a rather subliminal experience. Then there is some of the battle music... it?s not bad, just at times can be very annoying after extended periods of listening to it. I personally blame the limited hardware and compression for this fault as some of these songs could have sounded quite good on better hardware, but the limited hardware of the GBA makes it squeak out in sometimes a rather unpleasant way. So the whole opinion of music is a more a matter of taste and how much you don?t mind compressed sound like that of what you would experience on a NES or SNES.
Now for one of this game crown jewel, and that is of course the story. For those of you who have played Final Fantasy tactics (PS1/PSP), you will feel right at home with this story sans the Shakespearian talk. The Story actually is the first in the entire Ogre battle saga as the events that take place in KoL occur before the original SNES game ?March of the Black Queen?. You play as a knight by the name of Alphonse who is second in command of his unit which is commanded by his noble friend Rictor Lasanti, sent on a mission to the island nation of Ovis. Shortly after arriving your attacked by pirate (Yea!! Pirates!!), and Alphonse is separated from his companions, later to be found by a local girl by the name of Elanor. Alphonse later befriends other individuals that soon play much bigger roles in the story, gradually learning of the brutality and corruption that is under the influence of a regiment known as the White Fang troops. As the plot unfolds, Alphonse begins to question the actions and motives of Rictor, as circumstances lead to problems between the two. Eventually they become enemies, though there is much more going on than Alphonse is led to believe as the focus of all the trouble stems from a holy object which various factions wish to obtain. That object is Longicolnis, a sacred spear said to be made from a heavenly being. So what starts off as a political conflict shifts to divine workings as supernatural figures begin to manipulate and cause havoc that leads the player through some interesting revelations and story arcs leading to the grand final battle.
skip to 6:40...couldn't find a better vid
Overall the story is very well done with strong and meaningful characters that people can relate to. Alphonse is a very strong character, who starts off as a normal person but matures as the story unfolds to become a capable leader. His sense of bravery is rather natural and his character, along with other cast members, comes off likable and realistic which makes it easier for players to become attached to. Despite what may seem to be some dry dialogue at times the story is excellent and will provide you with well over 20 hours of fun.
Chaaaarge!!
The game play of Kol is just what you would expect from an SRPG, and it proves to be a solid experience with some good depth to it that is exceptional for a hand held game. Unlike FFT you are now able to send 8 characters instead of 5 into the fray, and later you will have to partake in story missions which will require you to command two teams of 8, so you?ll have a chance to develop a nice party roster by those points. Your army can have up to 32 characters in total and will consist of many different classes?but mainly ninjas?trust me, you won?t be arguing that statement when you play. So you will develop your massive army of ninjas and other meaningless classes by pimping them up with all sorts of gear ranging from weapons, armor, accessories, and spells. There are A LOT of items to choose from of each category so you will find no shortage of higher up equipment from beginning to end. Spells can be equipped and unequipped from characters and depending on the class determines what spells people can use. Some classes have specific abilities that can only be used in that class, eg: shuriken can only be used by ninjas. There is a nice variety of classes to be had in this portable adventure from ninjas (YEA!!), knights, archers, mages, creatures, and more, how you unlock these classes is determined on the battlefield. While in battle characters can earn emblems, which are achievements basically that are acquired when specific conditions are set. These emblems are important as they will offer various stat bonuses and allow you to meet conditions to unlock other classes. Some classes require certain emblems for that character to be obtained like wizards requiring the ?philosophers stone? emblem or dragoons needing ?dragons scale?. Indeed they are achievements that matter and will help characters in more ways than one as there are ones that allow you greater influence in recruiting enemies to have a change of heart and join your cause. Unfortunately for all you completionists, not all emblems can be unlocked in single player as a few are multiplayer only. If characters are too weak for the next battle you can head into a training mode in which you form 2 teams and manipulate the battle by controlling both teams and level up your characters through those means. Of course there are always random battles too as it can be pretty boring going through training mode by yourself arbitrarily controlling both sides.
Manage your army in an easy to use roster window and pimp them out with gear you find in the story and in quest mode!
Another great game play feature to earn items, gear, and level characters is quest mode. It is quite addictive as some items can only be found in quest mode, and as you progress through the main campaign of the game you will unlock more quest mode levels. Quest mode plays out with normal battles, the difference being that the better conditions you meet, the greater to reward. It?s a type of gambling game are you set the conditions, and the riskier the better. Winning a battle in 5 turns will earn you better rewards than that of winning a battle in 10. You can opt to play without a turn limit but lesser rewards are won in it. One problem with quest mode is that you need money to go into them since it costs a substantial amount to play the scenario. The good thing it if you win you earn back all the money you paid and then some so quest move really proves to be an item farmers dream. An addictive side feature that will surely lengthen game play time by a substantial amount, my first play through I logged at least 100 hours into the game and many of those where due to quest mode.
Battle itself plays out the same as other SRPG?s with an isometric playing field where you control your allies and battle your enemies on. Characters have elemental affinities to them which are pretty self explanatory as someone with a fire affinity will do more damage to a water affinity enemy and so on. Each class, depending on their gear and the terrain as well, will have their movement range which can span half the map or be secluded to only a few squares at a time. Everything plays out typically as you see in other games but offers a solid a friendly experience none the less. The only two complaints I have about the combat are the AI and the pace. Now the AI will put up a good fight mind you that, but this is a not as harsh as say Fire Emblem or FFT. The challenge does ramp up at a good pace as you progress but as long as your characters are well equipped and leveled, it won?t prove to be very challenging aside from the odd moment where enemies gang up on one character. The pace can be another problem as it is a rather slow game; you really do need patience sometimes as the initial speed of the game and enemy AI can leave you a tad restless. It?s not an overly big problem but the speed of actions like spells or the enemies making their moves is just too slow sometimes. Overall the game play is solid with a great deal of customization, a hearty assortment of classes, skills, and weapons, and a much more forgiving experience than other SRPG?s.
hehe...ninjas are so awesome
Knight of Lodis does not break any major ground, but what it lacks in innovation it makes up for with solid game play and a story that is excellent. I could only imagine if this game was remade with better graphics and sound, it would prove to be an exceptional game with a more improved sound quality and quicker pacing. If you can tolerate to sometimes slow and time consuming battles and the squeaky sounds, this game will prove to be a fun experience with an interesting story, characters, and an addictive mini game that will suck up hours of play. The noob friendly difficulty makes it?s a good game for rookies and wont discourage veterans much either. So if you?re able to find this GBA game as I have been told it is quite rare, give it a try, its engrossing story and solid game play make this one of the GBA?s hidden treasures.
Aside from emulator your gonna have to check amazon or EBay perhaps.
