Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Mixed reactions"

Odin Sphere is a game by Vanillaware, developper specialized in making 2D games with stunning visuals. Though the graphics are amazing, the game is far from flawless.

Having played Muramasa The Demon Blade on the Wii before, I expected a similar gameplay and graphics. This time, the world is inspired by Norse mythology instead of Japanese lore. Unlike Muramasa, it was hard to get used by the pace. It's much slower than its successor. I always get killed easily, but after a while the game gets more fun when you get a hang of the control.

Each level is designed a bit like a labyrinth with different stages. When you finally get the map, you will know which way will lead to the boss and what treasure lurks in each stage. There are quite some interesting features in the game. You can mix different items with alchemy to get different things that can be useful in your journey. There are two types of level. You can level up your HP with food and there is also a level for your attack power which increase by defeating enemies. You can find also go the restaurant to cook with items you find in different maps to level up your HP.

There are five main characters you have to play with to complete the game. Each character has his or her own story. They have different moves and attributes. Some are slower than others. Some can fly, others don't. After completing two or three characters, the game starts to get dull. Each character has a different story, but you revisit the same maps, the same enemies... and the same bosses. The storyline wasn't enough to make this repetition forgivable.

The game would have been enjoyable if it was 20 hours long, but doing the same thing five times is just a bad excuse to try to make this game longer. Muramasa was repetitive but at least has different bosses and more solid and smooth gameplay which keeps the game enjoyable, but Odin Sphere was too long for nothing.