To start off with, this is a Jrpg through and through; and is regrettably thus the focal point of a lot of negativity on Metacritic. Low scores based on "voice acting in Japanese" or "Old plot devices and predictable story lines" or "un-innovative gameplay" .
Prior to my review, I would like to debunk some of the negativity; "IF" you like j-rpgs, then you will find no fault with thisTo start off with, this is a Jrpg through and through; and is regrettably thus the focal point of a lot of negativity on Metacritic. Low scores based on "voice acting in Japanese" or "Old plot devices and predictable story lines" or "un-innovative gameplay" .
Prior to my review, I would like to debunk some of the negativity; "IF" you like j-rpgs, then you will find no fault with this title; the story is your tried and true save-the-world montage, however, a old story concept can be just fine as long as it is told RIGHT, and it is my opinion the writers did a fine job of integrating previously known plot devices and character personalities and making for a enjoyable experience. Despite it feeling glossed over at points (due to it taking place over many generations), there is a undercurrent through the whole story that adds depth and feeling to the long term characters. For example, the game feels episodic; but you can tell from their behavior how the characters grow and change from beginning to end; they are not as two dimensional as some characters have been in other stories.
Also, as an afterthought the translated script is more or less accurate (some inconsistencies, but nothing major), but my favorite aspect is that conversations are mature and thoughtful, some philosophy mixed in at some points and humor at other points, but no-head-slamming-against-a-wall derp conversations that tend to occur in a lot of official translations (NA translators trying to appeal to younger, broader, audiences etc).
Diverging storyline based on choices, light/dark focus, provide for multiple playthroughs and provide some sense of "control" to the story (limited, but still some to an extent).
Gameplay is your standard fair nothing great, nothing horrible there is a large selection of skills, all with their own animations and can be combo'd and many turn into group skills etc, making for a diverse experience. For those that can't stand animations (esp. when you seen them a hundred times) you can turn them off to speed up the game play. The battle maps offer some variety through positioning of characters as each character has a tactical formation they can have others join in on (to creat combo attacks and chains) based on where on the grid you place your party members.
Not as polished as the Disgaea series, but comparing the gameplay of Agerest to Disgaea is just unreasonable as one is a accomplished developer with many big sales hits under their belt, whereas
Agarest: Generations of War was the founding title for the devs; later titles show clearer progress, from the imports I have played.
But that is not to say the combat is by any means poor in Agarest: Generations of War, it is intelligent, tactical, and dynamic you need to think, plan, and adapt to every fight and unlike what people claim, grinding is not required to see the ending(s) of the game its all about placement, members, and skills chosen.
As for audio and visuals there are over 100 unique cgs, diverse sprite emotions for every character (the portraits that represent the characters), and you can tell effort was put into every character concept. Music is engaging, and effort was put into giving the tracks proper ambiance and feeling and not super-annoying the way a lot of other j-rpgs are (they mix up the battle musics so its not the same thing over and over). Voice acting is rich and emotional they feel "in character" and not just rehearsed lines, mind you these voice actors have tremendous experience under their belts from prior projects. (though bear in mind if you're a "English first" kind of person, you may have greivances but at least, everything but combat voices are subbed unlike what some other reviewer here wrote.
An amusing concern/gripe is the scantly-clad girls and innuendo, as there are many people that label this an "eroge" or "hentai" game. seriously? would this make it to Steam or port over to PS3 if this had "that" level of adult content? Get a brain people. The artstyle is a sales ploy through and through and personally i'm enough of a perv to appreciate those half-naked anime girls. :P (not just for horney teenagers!) Ultimately it's up to personal taste if your a prude or delicate sensibilities are offended by sexualized artstyles, move along.
The next point for me is there are multiple endings (varied, not cookie-cut like ME3 heh), and a "true" ending all based on wives married, the blance between light and dark by the end of the game- and other factors. And while each generation is fairly linear there are branching choices that add to replayability for new game+'s. And the obvious mechanic of creating your linage, and the skills/appearance they share amongst the parents.
Those are the core points I can think of at the moment; as for why this game should be considered more favorably; if you enjoy j-rpgs, I believe you will have fun with this game.
I'm glad I discovered this gem on Steam and hope they bring the rest of the serie… Expand
Agarest: Generations of WarYour Score0 out of 10User Score
