Rogue Galaxy for the PS2 is an epic
action/RPG set in the furthest reaches of space and allows you to explore
and travel to dozens of different planets and galaxies in search of
treasure and magic items. The main character in Rogue Galaxy is Jaster.
He's a young man who dreams of being a space pirate and exploring the
universe and finally gets his chance to join a band of outlaw adventurers
through a twist of fate after waiting for many years. Once he begins his
adventures, he'll meet up with the other Space Pirates and finds himself
involved in an epic quest to find hidden and valuable treasures throughout
the galaxies. Each planet that the pirates land on presents a unique
challenge and intrinsically different environment that range from deserts
to massive technological cities that keep Rogue Galaxy consistently
interesting throughout. The characters are pretty cool with an engaging
supporting cast of pirates and robots that makes things even more
enjoyable. Along the way, he'll have to battle tons of monsters and other
foes and explore many different worlds as well. The game's storyline is
fairly standard for an RPG, but this makes things a bit more accessible
and lets you focus on the action. The game doesn't follow the standard
formulas in many areas and one of the key areas is its battle system.
Rogue Galaxy's implementation of battles takes a unique approach that
makes it feel very different than most of the other titles on the market.
Unlike
many other turn based RPGs, the battles in Rogue Galaxy occur in real
time, adding to the game's style and flair. You control one character at a
time and can use a variety of techniques during battles such as blocking
and jumping that wouldn't be possible in a turn based system. As you
battle your foes, your life bars decreases and you need to recharge your
weapon, which can either happen by waiting awhile or by using the blocking
move. In addition, you can target specific enemies, which makes them much
easier to hit. What's interesting about this is that you can change the
camera angles during battles, adding to this excitement. While this
approach makes the battles much more interesting and exciting, it also
shakes up the traditional party system, but you can still give your
friendly characters life potions and other items during the battles. In
addition, the developers at Factor 5 have come up with an interesting way
to talk to the other characters. During each battle, the other characters
will give you advice, such as suggesting which weapon to use, or ask you
if they can use a special move. It's up to you to follow or reject their
advice. This is a clever workaround that helps to immerse you to an even
deeper level, into the action and makes Rogue Galaxy an even more
enjoyable experience without losing the strategic elements that make RPG's
so engaging.
In addition to the main quest, players
can also participate in a number of side-missions and mini-games. These
add depth and challenge to the missions while also giving players the
opportunity to earn additional items and spells. One of the coolest of
these mini-games are the Insectron Battles where you can use bugs that you
collected and trained throughout your missions in a chess like battle
against other players. This is surprisingly well done and there's enough
depth and challenge in these Insectron games to almost stand alone. There
are hundreds of different bugs and items to collect along the way, giving
you endless variety in this cool hunting and gathering game. It's
surprisingly addictive and can take a lot of time from your missions in
the main quest. There's also a challenge mode where you can search for
secret special items in order to unlock new abilities for your characters
and compete in special condition battles where time and limits are placed
for each fight. These extra modes allow you to immerse yourself even more
into the world of Rogue Galaxy and make the game that much more enjoyable.
From
a design standpoint, Rogue Galaxy is a brilliant looking title, with an
epic scale, brilliant design and excellent rendering throughout making for
a smooth look throughout. The game's cel-shaded graphics give it a cool
anime-flavored feel that makes the experience feel less like a movie and
more like a cartoon. Elaborate cut-scenes and cinemas help to further
develop the game's visual and style making the game's futuristic visions
come to life. Rogue Galaxy's aesthetic mixes traditional pirate-adventures
and science fiction elements to create a truly unique feel and approach.
The game's characters and enemies feature some really cool designs that
help to bring its world to life vividly. Rogue Galaxy's soundtrack is
likewise excellent and fills your speakers with epic music that fits the
feel of the game perfectly. Overall, the game's presentation is excellent
with superb production values throughout that create one of the more
engaging RPG's on the PS2 console to date.
Rogue Galaxy stands apart from the many
other RPG's on the market thanks to its unique cel-shaded graphics,
real-time battles and engaging epic storyline. Rogue Galaxy's epic scale
is evident in the unique design of each planet, its populace and sheer
scope of its design. US players get a ton of new weapons and even an
entire extra planet to explore, which adds to the length and entertainment
value. The characters are fairly interesting and develop personalities as
you go along, with the game's plot divided into different planets to
create an appropriately epic feel. The game's battle system is
surprisingly intuitive and fluid with a great interplay between the
characters. The ability to switch characters during the game adds even
more freedom to the adventure. The ability to use and combining different
elements in RG's factory mode is another innovative feature that adds more
depth to its play mechanics, allowing you more freedom than most linear
RPG titles provide. With tons of mini-games, side-quests and a great deal
of challenge, the end result is an engrossing, engaging title that should
please fans of the genre. The game is quite long at around 100 hours,
which means you won't have to worry about things ending prematurely, which
makes for a satisfyingly deep experience. Rogue Galaxy is a superb title
that delivers one of the most interesting role playing games on the
console to date.
Grade:
B-
- Michael Palisano
