-
Well written localization
- Big variety of skills, spells, and status effects
- Oldschool RPG system with tried and true mechanics
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Generic visuals do little to bring Greek setting to life
- Skill learning and spell casting system both drag on
- Constant tutorial system frequently interrupts gameplay
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Glory
of Heracles
Score: 6.0 / 10
Petty Gods, vengeful humans, towering
structures and tragic tales of Greek mythology make for compelling set
pieces, while the weapons and magic spells found in these classic
stories can also result in compelling gameplay. Most gamers should be
well aware of a certain trilogy of games revolving around a Greek theme,
but for the underage players looking for a bloodless, God-killing
alternative, there is Glory of Heracles, the first in a long-running RPG
series to make its way to North America.
The story of Heracles starts with a literal kick to the head; the main
hero (who remains nameless at first) suffers an injury to the head from
someone landing on top of him. Assuming to be dead from the impact, the
accidental assailant leaves his body behind, but it turns out the
protagonist is an immortal, a human incapable
of dying. Immortality doesn’t protect from
amnesia, however, as the fall has caused the hero to lose his memory,
but also gain an ally in Leucos, a reverse-Bridget whose hiding her
gender for unexplained reasons. The two get lost in a typical
monster-laden forest before gaining assistance from a trio of nymphs who
immediately recognize the nameless hero as the legendary Heracles.
Tasked with retrieving his memory, Heracles
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sets out for Mt Olympus to have a chat with
his father Zeus, king of the Gods, while other immortals join the group
for various reasons.
Despite the stirring variety that can be taken from Greek mythology, you
wouldn’t know that Heracles has built its setting around it. Aside from
townspeople with an affinity for toga attire, there’s nothing in the
game’s visuals that indicate its unique alternative. The anime-style
designs and cut-and-paste locales make the game appear like any other
bland RPG, while the concept of immortal party members is never fully
fleshed out like with underrated RPG opus Lost Odyssey, even from a
gameplay perspective (characters can be killed in battle regardless of
immortality). Main hero Heracles is also your typical silent
protagonist, but is even more devoid of personality than the likes of
Link or Crono; often he’ll just stand around while other characters
engage in expositional dialog, often speaking for him with no indication
or care of how he feels.
As for the gameplay, you’ve seen it all before; you and your party
members walk around a world map filled with towns, forests, and other
trite locations where enemies will randomly draw you into battle. Heroes
and enemies each take a turn to attack one another using a variety of
attacks, spells, and items.
Each party member has a variety of skills that diversify their
usefulness, from Heracles’ hard hitting melee attacks to Leucos’ speedy
and swift strikes, with future characters offering magic spells that
heal allies and punish enemies with elemental attacks. All skills and
magic cost MP to utilize (called “ether”), which can be replenished a
variety of ways, but the most useful strategy involves “overkilling” an
enemy, which is done by attacking an opponent already knocked down.
The mechanics of the battle system are simple enough to learn quickly,
even with the large variety of status effects and ability buffs, but the
game’s tutorial system is designed in such a way that it becomes a
long-term nuisance, even after several hours of playtime; during battle,
for every spell, ability, or status effect that is used for the first
time, a message explaining how the effect works will be displayed,
halting the action until players close it. This information system may
seem helpful for gamers who have never touched an RPG before, but even
the most ignorant player can figure out most of the spells or attacks
without a long-winded explanation that constantly interrupts the
gameplay. This heavy hand-holding applies outside of battle as well,
from learning how to move your character, to the purpose of each shop
vendor in town, to even opening a treasure chest. “Excessive” doesn’t
begin to cover it.
As persistent as the tutorials may be, the overall gameplay generally
holds up, mirroring the standard mechanics acceptable for most RPGs. For
every change to the classic formula, however, there seems to be a catch
involved. To learn new skills, for instance, characters must locate and
pray to various statues of the Gods found in temples. A simple button
press to each statue will unlock a number of new spells and abilities
for characters, but they still cannot actually use the abilities until
they’ve sufficiently leveled up, making the hunt for the temples feel
like an unnecessary step to becoming more powerful. Another example
includes the inclusion of the stylus in battle; when casting certain
spells, the option to use magic circles becomes available, which is
essentially a short mini-game involving the manipulation of onscreen
circles (including tapping the center of a circle, dragging Roman
numerals to the corresponding circle, and so on). Successful completion
of the mini-game results in a more powerful spell that can even damage
enemies who are otherwise immune to the chosen element, but ultimately
this system just makes battles last longer than they need to.
Camera angles are somewhat off-putting as well, making it tricky to
navigate towns, but the real problems occur during the battle segments;
rather than displaying both party members and enemies under one screen,
a map grid in the bottom screen is used to select and target
enemies...only when one side engages the other does the camera pan back
to showcase both groups, which can be infuriating for those who would
rather gauge the targets in front of them rather than using a separate
screen.
While it may appear that Glory of Heracles is overridden with negatives,
it still equals an overall solid RPG adventure, with a well written
localization that helps establish its charm when the graphics fail to do
so. The problem is that the DS has been established as a console filled
to the brim with quality RPG games, leaving Heracles forced to walk
alongside the common folk while other portable titles take the throne of
RPG godliness.
