Radiant Historia [US Import]

A very solid RPG. The story is brilliant right out of the door but loses momentum a bit as time goes on and could have done with maybe being a few hours shorter. Some character motivations also seem a bit questionable and certain mystical elements of the game world come across as convoluted and poorly explained. The time travel element is well done, locations, characters and situations take on different meanings in the two main different timellines. The downside is that sometimes you crave a bit more variety in terms of the game world as you replay the same areas again and again. The combat system is a fun grid-like system that encourages you to hit enemies into each other and chain together attacks to defeat them. Ususally in each new area you will have to experiment with the best method to defeat the new batch of enemies. This is fun up until the end where the game just feels like area after area filled with enemies to slow your progress. The graphics are nicely done, about the level of the DS Pokemon games with good and distinctive art direction. Overall a highly recommended game for the DS. Recommended for someone who has played a few RPG's but this is not too harcore. On the compatibility side, DS games are region free. This game was never released in Europe so you will be looking at getting a US copy. This will work fine on any DS or 3DS. 3DS games are region locked, but the system will still play US DS games as the games never were. I played this on a PAL 3DS and it worked just fine. ------------------------------ EDIT Since playing the game and writing this review Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology has been released for the 3DS. This is a graphical update with some minor new content and voice acting which is by all accounts pretty decent. All the reviews seem to point towards Perfect Chronology being pretty decent and negating the need to pick up the DS original. Just bear in mind that the 3DS is NOT region-free unlike the DS so you will have to pick up the European version.

As a RPG fan I was thrilled when I played this game. It is easily one of the best RPG's I have ever played, if not the best. It has an amazing story with great plot and character development, a far better than average battle system, great music, and is just all around really fun to play. The gameplay is built up around time traveling, while trying to save the world, you will alternate between two different timelines. Changing something in one timeline will not only affect that, but changes made will also carry over to the other timeline. This might sound a bit strange at first, but once you try it you will get a hang of it real soon. Took me around 40 hours to complete with all sidequests completed, (with a minimum of grinding, also a really nice thing for me since i hate having to grind for hours for levels and equipment) which I would say is more than can be expected from a handheld RPG (and completing the game 100% is totally worth it if you ask me). Even after completing the game 100% it is still fun to play again, and I would actually recommend it. Small details in the dialog that you had no idea what meant the first time around will suddenly make perfect sense, and because of the way the time traveling mechanic is made, you can choose to do some things in a different order, and this way perhaps get a slightly different experience (you don't have complete freedom, but you do have some extend of choice on which order to do certain things). Maybe I haven't played as many RPG's as some of the veterans out there, but this is definitely one of the best I have ever played, beating games like Final Fantasy VII and IX and Chrono Trigger which are some of my favorites, actually the only other RPG i can say i have had as much fun playing would be the Golden Sun series which will always be a personal favorite of mine.

In recent years I've moved away from japanese RPGs with their linear plots and pre-made characters and got more into western RPGs for their open ended nature. Radiant Historia, however, brought me right back to what was so great about the JRPGs I played as a teenager on the PSONE (in my opinion a golden age of JRPGs). Visually and sonically this fits in right alongside games like Xenogears and Star Ocean 2 and has a long complex and twisting story spanning two different timelines you can jump between at any save point. The characterisation is excellent and the dark tone and mature plot doesn't patronise players in the way I feel some JRPGs do now. Warning: If you don't like games with long story scenes and no voice acting forget about Radiant Historia. Personally I find both of these facts to be positives. The battle system has just the right mix of tradition and innovation to make it easy to grasp but challenging to master. Strategy is the key to even small battles, but this never feels boring. Throw in a fantastic midi soundtrack, that puts many orchestral scores to shame, and multiple endings and you've got one of the best RPGs on any system since Xenogears. The one downside is the lack of a quicksave feature that actually makes it a pretty bad game to play anywhere you may be forced to quit suddenly. Really the quicksave function should be a standard feature of all portable games now. Even so as a game in it's own right (regardless of system) it's a masterpiece. Such a shame that it hasn't had a European release. I paid a lot to get the US version and I don't regret a penny of that. Excellent game.

I received the game within 2 days of ordering it via standard delivery (I was given a weeks estimation). I've put in about 10 hours so far and I love the storyline and the characters and can't wait to play more. Just for future buyers; you can play this on a UK based 3DS, but not on a normal DS (from the research I did).

Not the best RPG on the NDS, yet, still good. It's a solid alternative to the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy Series. And eventhoug the mediavel look isn't very original regarding RPGs, it manages to bring some fresh no details to the genre.

Only comes with the game, no soundtrack

Una joyita que pasó desapercibida con la gran cantidad de títulos para el 3DS, muy recomendable para los fanáticos del RPG.

Die vorhandenen Rezensionen beschreiben das Spiel schon sehr gut deshalb hier nur ein kurzer Appell Radiant Historia eine Chance zu geben und die meiner Meinung nach völlig unberechtigten 1 Sterne Bewertungen zu ignorieren. 1. Ja, das Spiel ist auf englisch aber gut Verständlich. (evtl. Smartphone zum nachschlagen bereithalten) 2. Ja, es gibt Abschnitte wo keine Kämpfe stattfinden und die Handlung voranschreitet. Jedoch sind diese nicht zu lang und lockern den Spielfluss auf.

Radiant Historia is by far one of the best JRPGs I have played on Nintendo DS. Before I get into the gory details, because it may not be for everyone, I want to mention that this review will contain no major character or plot spoilers, but I will spoil game mechanics. Why are you reading the reviews in the first place if you can't stand any spoilers? ;) Radiant Historia is set in a steam punk-esque world between warring nations. You are the protagonist, Stocke, a "secret agent" of sorts for one of the nations. The game focuses around the political and social intrigue between these two nations and several others. As you investigate some major and minor problems you do standard JRPG stuff like fighting foes, levelling up, gaining and buying equipment and making decisions of whom to include in your fighting party of three. Gameplay This will be a long section because RH does a lot of things differently from typical JRPGs and this is what really makes this game unique. Radiant Historia is roughly like a cross between a time travel JRPG like Chrono Trigger, a Choose Your Own Adventure book and a tactical RPG like Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre. Very early on, Stocke gets the ability to travel between two timelines: a "Standard" history and an "Alternate" history. What happens in one timeline effects the other. Its best to suspend your disbelief about this sort of thing if you're going to enjoy the game. Although the game does a pretty good job of smoothing over logical inconsistencies in this method, you can always be successful with "go do something you missed" in the other timeline when you got stuck. The game forces you to jump timelines to obtain items needed to solve problems or change someone's attitude or life. You can't jump to any precise point. You are limited to "nodes" that are major events for the main character. All of the available nodes are nicely laid out in a timeline map for you that also contains pertinent information about your status on different quests. At critical junctures in the story, the main character must choose between two alternatives to progress the story. There is no penalty for a "wrong" choice as the game immediately gives you the chance to jump back in history to correct your mistake without a game restart. Completists will enjoy finding all of the "bad" endings, of which there are many. I found many of these choices to be logical yet requiring some depth of thought. You really need to consider all the character's motivations to get the story-progressing outcome right away. While some crave finding all the bad endings, I challenged myself to avoid as many bad endings as possible and was quite proud that I got through with only a few out of likely dozens of possible bad endings. The key to success in this game is following the mantra of: "if you get stuck, go to the other timeline." There was only one place in the game "near the beginning" when I wasn't sure what to do and its right in the beginning when you have to do your first transfer between timelines. Many people find themselves asking "why is doing this going to change something in the other timeline? After this first one it makes more sense what you have to do to accomplish tasks (the game makes it very clear too) so my initial frustration at this first one was quickly replaced by an understanding of how the game "works". Combat in the game is on a 9X9 tactical grid and the object is not just your standard JRPG "use your skills to kill each individual enemy as quickly as possible." The grid adds the interesting tactical element of being able to "push" and "pull" your enemies into different spaces. The front line allows you to do more damage, but you take more damage and the back line allows you to avoid damage while you do less. The middle is, well, the middle ground. Most characters have the ability to manipulate enemies on the grid in some way, with Stocke being the best at it. By pushing and pulling enemies around, you can "stack" enemies on a single square of the grid, resulting in any attack doing damage and affecting all enemies on that square. Rarely are battles the same in beginning setup and enemies change frequently. Three additional mechanics make battles fresh. Yes, we're still going. Every battle is governed by a turn order that you can manipulate. If you want to have your three characters go nine times in a row, you can switch with enemies and allow them to go before you to make it happen. There is a down side, of course. When you switch, your character becomes slightly more vulnerable to attack until they act. The purpose of switching turn order is to take advantage of the multiplier system. By alternating magic and physical skills, your characters can chain together a long series of attacks to build the multiplier, increasing the damage done to enemies when you have a large multiplier. Before battles begin, you can press the Y button to swing Stocke's sword at enemy, potentially "stunning" it. If you enter battle while an enemy is "stunned" you get a "surprise" round with three or four total turns to take before your enemy gets to act. I should probably also mention that battles are not random "sprung" encounters. You can choose to enter combat. Many are annoyed by traditional "random" encounter JRPGS and this is not one of them. Characters Extra characters (six of them) enter your party as the story progresses and leave as the story requires them to do so. Each character has a defined personality and there is character development and growth of several of the characters. They are all likeable for different reasons and I personally found myself growing to like all of them. Stocke is particularly likeable as the "reluctant" hero archetype. He is much grittier than a lot of JRPG protagonists and he is much more intelligent than almost all of them. He doesn't say dumb things and this in game thoughts are logical. Skills Combat systems are driven by skill sets and the skill sets in this game are well thought out. Every character gets some sort of "grid manipulation" skill and several characters specialize in them. You also have characters specializing in magic and some in other nuances. You can build some characters in multiple different ways although some characters clearly have strengths that you will want to cater towards. Every character in the game is useful in some way and I was surprised how much utility that I could get out of characters that seemed like they would be ineffective on the surface. You really just need to know how to play their role. Some of the best characters are not damage dealers. Characters gain most of their skills automatically through levelling although each character can also learn four additional skills through side quests. Many (but not all) of these "extra" skills are useful and make the end game much easier. One of things that I like about the skills in this game is that most of the skills that inflict status ailments on enemies are useful and make a big impact. Poison, often the lamest mechanic in most games is very useful in this game. Use it often, especially on bosses. Steal, also a very lame mechanic in most games, is incredibly useful here and can result in getting some unique equipment. The "stacking" nature of the grid can often result in multiple enemies with just a little health left and the Steal skill can be a good finishing move. Just like with damage, your chance to steal increases with increasing multiplier and increases with more enemies on a space. Equipment The economy in the game is pretty loose in that I rarely had any trouble buying anything. Note that I fight nearly every enemy that I encounter and reaped a lot of cash as a result. The challenge of this system isn't so much to have enough cash as it is to remember what time and place has the equipment that you need. Certain equipment is only available in certain times at certain places. Some of the best equipment is found in dungeons or as drops or can be stolen from bosses. Extras The game has about two dozen side quests. This may not sound like a lot to some fans, but since many of these side quests require multiple different jumps back in forth through time to complete it is a lot of extra content. These side quests can also unlock different skills. Doing different sidequests can unlock alternate endings, including a "true" ending which I have not attained yet. Length and Difficulty I am no stranger to tactical or JRPGs and I found the game challenging at first and progressively easier as I went along. It is important not to "fight" the stacking nature of the mechanics to be successful. General JRPG rules like "having the best equipment" and "having enough support items" apply here. I think I was over-levelled throughout most of the game. I took my sweet time and fought every enemy and as a result I experienced little challenge from the final boss. I think if you did a blitz play-through only fighting what was necessary you would find the game much more challenging, especially around a certain chapter. It took me 45 hours to finish the main story and most of the side quests but there is still content I haven't seen. I think that the 45 hours is probably a mid-high estimate of how long it should take the average gamer. I usually take longer than most people, especially with games that interest me. Look and Sound/Music The game has a nice look to it with interesting locations. It has a steam punk aesthetic with technology in a sword and sorcery world. Monsters have no sound effects but weapons and spells do. They are pretty basic. There is no spoken dialogue in the game. The music is very nice although there isn't much (about eight tunes or so) and it is appropriately recycled depending upon the general "mood" and location of the game. There are some times in game where the music suddenly seems to disappear. A minor glitch. Criticisms Dialogue This game has a lot of dialogue. Reading all the dialogue is very important to get an understanding of where you are supposed to be going and what you are supposed to be doing there as the timeline doesn't always tell you. I think this an advantage to the timeline because it forces you to actually pay attention. It can get tedious to listen to dialogue over and over again as you skip through time. The game allows you to press START to skip entire conversations, but sometimes when you change history the conversations change and you miss out on subtle dialogue changes and whether you actually obtained the item you needed. Its a lot to re-read if you don't want to miss out on the clues. Enemy weaknesses Just like many JRPGs, enemies in this game are supposed to have weaknesses to physical and different elemental attacks and spells. The degree to which this matters is pretty weak in this game. What I would say is that there actually seems to be no middle ground. Enemies will tend to be nearly completely immune to certain attack types or vulnerable to certain ones. Almost every enemy in the game seems to be affected by lightning, which kind of cheapens the whole enemy weakness system and makes certain characters more valuable than others, but not by much. Conclusion This is by far one of the best JRPGs I have played and in my top five games I have played on the DS. I do a lot of research before I buy games and I only buy the ones that suit my tastes and get good reviews. So, to put this in my top five means a lot. My only regret is that I finished it. By the time I finished posting this review the game is likely hard to find and has had a price jump so if you are still looking to find it, good luck!

Le scelte sono il tema principale di questo gioco e sono veramente importanti. Ho visto tanti giochi recenti fare delle scelte il loro cavallo di battaglia, ma questo gioco attualmente gli dà un senso nel finale che avrete. Le scelte sono talmente importanti che, ho potuto notare, che il risultato finale è influenzato a pari modo sia dalla storia principale che dalle quest secondarie. Dà un senso a tutto ciò che si fa, sinceramente non c'è soddifazione più grande in un GDR. La trama è molto interessante perché non fa una divisione netta tra bene o male ma fa capire la vita è piena di sfumature diverse e riesce a rimanere piuttosto realistica nonostante le forti tinte fantasy. Ovviamente bisogna capire l'inglese, ma d'altronde se state leggendo questo sapete già che non c'è altro modo di ottenere questo gioco. Non ci sono molto termini complicati quindi con una buona conoscenza della lingua si può apprezzare a pieno la storia. Il sistema di combattimento è l'altro elemento interessante. E' molto innovativo, usa una griglia senza però sfociare in un sistema strategy come fire emblem, ma riesce comunque ad essere profondo. Insieme ad un sistema di combo che si basa sulla potenza delle mosse ed a ricompense in EXP ed Oro per tali combo, vi invoglierà a provare diversi attacchi eliminando il problema della ripetitività che anche i migliori JRPG hanno. Se siete amanti dei giochi di ruolo in generale, il gioco è ambientato in un mondo piuttosto variegato non ci sono troppi elementi culturali che pendono troppo ad oriente od occidente, non potete farvi sfuggire questo capolavoro. Non sto usando un'esagerazione, fidatevi.