Forget Fisher Price, From Software have kindly brought us an RPG-by-numbers. Not that we’re complaining though as, simplistic as it is, this game is damn good fun to play.

So guys and gals, welcome to the world of Enchanted Arms (EA); full of overly colourful and extravagant characters that wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. The developers probably think that us gamers have about that same level of IQ from the sounds of it too, as you can glide through this game without much thought or many challenges.

But feminine bitchiness aside, how does it really fair up against the competition? Well, it’s no Oblivion, but the characters and comedy really keep your interest. The story is of course your generic RPG tale; rebel teenager Atsuma accidentally gets involved in starting an apocalypse by setting free an ancient evil golem called the Queen of Ice, and only him, his enchanted arm and his wannabe-hero friends can stop it. But the addition of openly gay characters like Makoto, who’s so camp he could light a bonfire, and amusing dialogue and in-jokes between the good guys, makes you want to come back for more.

Plotwise, the story is advanced in quite a slow way, with only the occasional gorgeous cut scene to make your jaws drop. Instead of FMV pushing the story forward, masses upon masses of dialog between the characters guide you towards your next goal, superimposing character portraits with minimal animation and subtitles on the screen every few minutes or so to help you on your way.

SAVING GRACE

It does follow the successful Final Fantasy ‘create an RPG’ guidebook though, with random battles, dramatic story lines, detailed environments and magic based fighting, and we know what we like so there’s now't wrong there. Plus the developers even clicked on small details that might irritate some RPG fans, like waiting for what seems like hours to find the next save point. Annoying factors like that are gone in EA; you can save at almost any point in game except mid-battle, and also, if you die in a battle, you don’t have to go back to the last save, you can now just press ‘retry’!

But this is where the play-by-numbers aspect comes in. EA is a really enjoyable game, but it doesn’t really offer a big challenge to well travelled RPG-ers. They’ve made it simple for you to work through; battles aren’t very taxing and thought-worthy until towards the end, you can save almost anywhere, and its very linear, meaning you wont spend hours not knowing where you’re supposed to go next.

This is great for newbies, and we’d definitely recommend this as a game for those new to the genre, but somehow they’ve managed to pull off some secret Star Wars-esque Jedi mind trick that means that those who’ve played every Final Fantasy game and any other role player in-between will still enjoy this; simplicity be damned!

FIGHT NIGHT

Then we move on to the fighting; one of the duller aspects of the game. Battles are grid-based, with ranged magical attacks. As with many RPGs, elements come into play (fire beats water etc), so you have to consider how to attack different types of creature, but in all honesty you can usually win 80% of the time without giving it much thought.

This is also where you get introduced further into the world of golems. Although your arch-nemesis is one, golems are used every day in the EA world similarly to how we use robots. You can create your own golems using ‘cores’ that you find during your travels, each with their own specialities, and then depending on your next opponent, you can add the most useful golems to your party and attack away!

Oh, and don’t be disheartened by your first golem. It may look like a baby Pokemon they threw out of the series for being too sickeningly cute, but you get much cooler ones later, like one with a pizza for a head, and a werewolf with an 80’s mullet that would make Motorhead’s Lemmy proud.

Finally, we couldn’t go without highlighting the graphics, since this was supposed to be designed as a next gen RPG from the ground up. Well, it’s pretty, but again, it’s no Final Fantasy or Oblivion. Sadly, the London area lets the game down, all murky browns and dullness, colours very reminiscent of From Software’s Chromhounds, but that’s made up for by the excellent ‘Tron-esque’ first dungeon you explore. On the whole though, the environments and characters are bright, colourful and detailed, and it was good to see more of a manga/Japanese influence coming through rather than being smothered by western ideals.

All in all, EA isn’t an ‘outstanding’ game, but it’s got all the good aspects of an RPG, and there’s something to suit all levels of player here. It’s entertaining, amusing and doesn’t use up much brain power. It could have been improved on before release, but even so, it’s definitely worth checking out. Keri Allan

//[ENCHANTED ARMS IS…
> Oddly addictive
> Good fun to play, but often easy
> Great for entertaining dialogue

Perhaps not awe inspiring, Enchanted Arms is still a solid RPG that’s enjoyable for newbies and veterans alike.

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