This series wasn't entirely well-known, and doesn't have the god-like reputation that the FF series have, but, in a lot of ways, I'd say it was one of the best RPGs I've played (for the PS2). I wouldn't say that the story was the best thing written in the world, in fact it's a little strange, but it's very clear as to what's happening. It's set during WWI (if I remember correctly), and besides knowing that, forget any history you learned. The clothes, the people, the technology are ALL completely wrong. I would hazard a guess that the designers had no clue what Europe and its cities looked like.
It's weird to say how much I enjoyed this game, even though I didn't really care about any of the characters. The female lead is a German soldier named Karin (and she loses her nationality pretty quickly). She's relatively normal. There's nothing that really matters about her; she's just THERE. And I actually like the fact that she isn't another dumbass blond moron (as the FF series LOVE to have as their main character as of late). The male lead is a Japanese-Russian hybrid who turns into a demon (and eventually demons). His name is Yuri and he's a typical Japanese; brown hair, darker skin tone, brown eyes, etc. The two of them are interesting enough, I just didn't really care about them. I cared the most for a white wolf, Blanca, a freaky bad superhero wrestler, Joachim, and the ever enigmatic Russian princess, Anastasia. I hated Anastasia at first, as she's the typical whiny brat girl who's way too excited about everything and thinks she owns the world. However I quickly found that when placed with Joachim, they're hilariously weird. (Joachim, in general, is a large douse of strange.) I originally like Blanca the best (followed by the creepy puppet-master Gepetto), however as the story continued, he slowly lost his favour. Originally he was the only intelligent one and hated everyone, so he usually had interesting thoughts. But I figure it's hard to write for a wolf and he got a little boring (and it also probably had to do with the fact that he kept sucking in battle). The only character I completely hate is Roger Bacon, who is a very annoying old man.
The battle system uses something called the Judgment Ring. In order to attack, a hand spins in a clockwise circle and you must hit the orange sections correctly. Sometimes, for magic, there are green, which you MUST hit. If you don't hit any section, you wasted your turn. Also, there is a small (normally) sliver of red after orange sections and they produce criticals. For a normal physical attack, and you hit all the red slivers, you get a perfect. This system isn't at all complicated, just a little wordy to explain. I like using the rings, but if you don't like them, you can turn them off. The battles work well, and there is no such thing as leveling. You have levels, of course, but you don't need to worry as if you're playing, say, an FF. You never need grind. I found a hard spot at one of the dungeons, but it just took a little more strategy than the last. As well as to magic and physical attacks, every character has a specialty. Yuri has fusions, which let him to turn into a demon (there are three levels of each 7 elements and 10 levels in each of the three). Karin has sword arts. The only character I found extremely useless was Lucia, a fortuneteller of strange lineage, huge breasts, and a horribly bubbly, yet moronic personality. Her specialties are Tarot, which you choose a card at random (not knowing what it is, of couse), and Aromatherapy, a bunch of potions you mix together (in battle), but you don't know what characteristic you will get.
As with ultimate weapons, you can collect various items to enhance the specialties of each person. Yuri collects the souls of the monsters you kill in battle and you can level up the fusions with that. You collect the Nibelung opera for Karin's sword arts, tarot cards and oils for Lucia, battle a great wrestler named the Great Gama for Joachim, win wolf battles for Blanca, Kurando is just like Yuri, take and collect photographs of the monsters you battle for Anastasia, and collect gay porn for mannequin dresses for Gepetto. Yes, you read correctly. You give them to a gay shop-keeper, who makes the dresses for you. However, I found that what was weirdest of all, was how to get Joachim's last weapon. You participate in something called the Man Festival. It's a wrestling competition (don't worry, you fight normally, it's just against a bunch of weird guys). However the stakes are, apparently, whether to bugger or to BE buggered. If you lose, you're on the receiving end; if you win, you get to show your male dominance. Yea, it's weird.
There is a lot of collecting in this game. I like it, as I like collecting things. I'd suggest a walkthrough though, as for one of the collections, you can mess it up if you're not careful.
As far as the story goes, it's relatively straight-forward. It's also very lengthy. I don't even think I remember the beginning arc. There's a lot, and disc one is quite a long haul, but it's a plot that one can ignore easily, but still have fun. There are also two endings, a good and bad. Also, after you beat the game, you can rewatch the cut scenes except the ending you didn't choose. (Once you do both endings, you can have both at your disposal.)
All in all, this was one of the few RPGs that I enjoyed a lot, and while that's not saying much (I've only played FFVII and Legend of Dragoon), it's something that's quick and easy and very, very weird.
Currently Reading: Death Note: Another Note--The Lost Angeles BB Murder Cases by Niosisin
Currently Watching: Stargate Atlantis, Season 1
Currently Listening: Silence and the Sound of Crickets
