tri-Ace

Game Description: Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria tells the story of another valkyrie sister that takes place hundreds of years before Valkyrie Profile: Lenneth. In this latest installment of the legendary RPG series, divine insurrection besieges the heavens. Invoking his power as king of the gods, Odin hastily reincarnates the spirit of rebel valkyrie Silmeria into Alicia, Princess of Dipan. However, unbeknownst to Odin, the spirit of the battle maiden awakens within Alicia, still seeking vengeance. Believing his daughter to be possessed, King Barbarossa of Dipan declares Alicia dead and exiles her to a faraway castle. Odin learns of Silmeria's awakening and dispatches the imperious Hrist Valkyrie to summon her spirit to Valhalla. Alicia runs in fear—and Silmeria in defiance—as they embark on a journey where nothing is what it seems and all hide behind a mask.

Film critic Roger Ebert says that videogames aren't artistic in the same way that movies or books are, and he's right. All three structure their stories in different ways: the plot of a novel—William Thackeray's Vanity Fair, for instance—won't fit neatly into a three-act film without some cuts, rearrangements, and reimaginings. But I don't agree that one kind of storytelling is inferior to the others.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Alcohol Reference, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Suggestive Themes

I was concerned when the game opened and plonked me down in the middle of some teen angst of the boy-girl, largely platonic variety. Indeed, the fact that the teenaged female was baring her midriff and wearing pants that she seemingly forgot to button gave me cause for worry. Fortunately, I wasn't thrown into The Star OC, but rather I had discovered a well-done and epic role-playing game courtesy of tri-Ace.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

Game Description: Set in SD 772, four hundred years since the climactic battle with the Ten Wise Men, humans and aliens now co-exist together in both advanced and less-developed societies, as the Galaxy Federation continues to research the cosmos to gain more influence in Space. The story begins as Star Ocean's protagonist, Fayt Leingod, brings his family and childhood friend, Sophia Esteed, to the Federation-managed resort planet Hyda for a vacation, but the dreamy holiday is abruptly ended when Hyda is attacked by an unknown space military. In the heat of the attack, Fayt is separated from his family and Sophia, and he begins an emotional quest into the unknown to find his loved ones. Along his journey, he gets caught up in the war of an uncharted planet, but in the end, he learns the terrible untold secret about the world and himself.

So Radiata Stories, the action role-playing game (action RPG) from tri-Ace, should be my personal heaven: it's got a branching story that the player controls in a pretty big way, a bonus dungeon, and more sidequests than every Final Fantasy ever made. How can a game with so many choices be so boring?

 

Game Description: Radiata Stories offers real-time RPG action in a beautifully-rendered fantasy setting. In the land of Radiata, human and fairies coexist. 16-year-old Jack Russel lives in this world—he's a poor peasant whose father was a heroic soldier. When Jack enlists in the army to follow in dad's footsteps, he meets a wealthy young aristocrat who seeks to be a knight. With is unlikely new friend at his side, Jack will find his place in the world by fighting in a terrible war that may doom their world.

According to the ESRB, this game contains: Fantasy Violence, Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs and Alcohol

When looking at RPGs lately, it seems to be getting harder and harder to tell them apart. You know how it goes—a young hero from a quiet town is thrown into circumstances beyond his control. He sets out to right a wrong and gathers together a band of friends to help him on his quest. After facing insumountable odds and legions of evil dragons/sorcerers/corrupt rulers, etc., our courageous hero emerges victorious to right all wrongs done to innocent townsfolk everywhere. Justice prevails, you win.