Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

 PlayStation 2
Orphen: Scion of Sorcery Image
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

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  • Summary: As Orphen, the powerful but lazy sorcerer, you're always thought being a hero was too much work. But now you don't have a choice. Harnessed into a risky adventure, you must use your dark powers to help your desperate companions resolve their unique quests.
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Orphen Movie 2

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
  1. GamePro
    80
    While some who prefer more traditional gameplay might not like Orphen's action adventure twist, it still has a compelling storyline, interesting characters, and a good dose of fun.
  2. Antagonist
    70
    The story that drives everything along comes across splotchy and haphazard.
    All this publication's reviews
  3. GameSpot
    67
    The disjointed nature of Orphen is unfortunate, because it's easy to envision great gameplay experiences being the product of its game system.
  4. Core Magazine
    50
    While including enough varied modes of gameplay to set it apart from most RPGs on the market, Orphen's inconsistent presentation and oftentimes stale gameplay make it one of the Playstation 2's more forgettable launch titles.
  5. Hot Games
    50
    The story is un-engaging, in no small part due to the unsympathetic characters, the nail in the coffin for any second-rate adventure/RPG.
  6. PSX Nation
    50
    It's got minimal replayability, awful voices and a mixed bag of goodies, but it's strangely addictive and not too hard on the nugget when it comes to planning and strategy.
  7. Gaming Age
    33
    A poorly translated, and obvious first generation RPG. It doesn't stand out at all, and will be buried by plenty of other RPG's on the system.

See all 15 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Toxin_MMA
    Sep 25, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. While nostalgia does factor in heavily for me. I remember being a kid and being enthralled by the models of the characters and hope awesome the enemies were. The game had such a dark undertone and scared the hell out of me and I loved it! One of the most solid games I ever played in ps2.… Expand
  2. KyleS.
    Dec 10, 2002
    10
    This game is is a great action/adventure game with about 8.5 graphics, gameplay 9.5, and sound 8,a nd so all in all i would defientally giveThis game is is a great action/adventure game with about 8.5 graphics, gameplay 9.5, and sound 8,a nd so all in all i would defientally give this game 10/10. Its a gotta get game.… Expand
  4. JJthejetplane
    May 24, 2004
    7
    I mostly agree with kyle the game rocks and some of these critics are fucking retards i hate it one an actally good game or one of your I mostly agree with kyle the game rocks and some of these critics are fucking retards i hate it one an actally good game or one of your favorites gets a bad rating. … Expand
  5. Gustavo_Doria
    Jul 4, 2020
    7
    Game with great wasted potential.

    Ok, so you're Orphen, the moneylender sorcerer who was tricked by Volcan and Dortin into Chaos Island.    Game with great wasted potential.

    Ok, so you're Orphen, the moneylender sorcerer who was tricked by Volcan and Dortin into Chaos Island. Once in the ship, you are attacked by monsters, the ship wrecks and you have to choose 1 of 3 characters to help in their questline.

    You can choose which of them to help first but that doesn't affect the story, only the spells you have can be of some advantage. The story is ok and has a nice plot twist at the very ending.

    The best thing is surely the combat and graphics, considering a 2000 game. The combat is unique, being some mix of turn based and real time:you attack but then return to your original position. There are no damage count, you can only see the life bar in red(enemies) and blue(you and team mates).

    The worst part of this game is the gameplay outside battles. The camera doesn't help, hitbox sometimes SUCKS bad(hello Mars segments) and the traps are way too punitive. You just want to get done with some parts.    … Expand
  6. NojEsco
    Nov 21, 2019
    7
    In many ways this game is not very good, and I'll gladly admit it -- The movement is stiff, the locations bare, the animations are atrociousIn many ways this game is not very good, and I'll gladly admit it -- The movement is stiff, the locations bare, the animations are atrocious and the overall story is actually three smaller stories that literally contradict one another (albeit that this was actually given a somewhat interesting explanation as to how this is possible). There's plenty of oddball 3D platforming that's more annoying than either fun or challenging, there are game-lengthening bits that are just unnecessary (such as one part where you jump through time like 6 times in one sequence) and the battles, in particular boss battles, are irritating because the enemies all have weaknesses that the game doesn't tell you. Oh, and that final boss fight - only once did I complete it without using Gameshark/Action Replay.

    However, this game does have many shining, pleasant elements as well. While sparse, the visuals are crispy, colorful and often times very artistic. The light and shadow work is honestly way ahead of its time, creating realistic shadows that change in scale and positioning absolutely perfectly, on par with the Resident Evil Remake on the Gamecube. Also, the battles are unique and highly cinematic in execution, and the maps of the ruins feel like actual places, to some extent. The dungeons are interesting, the puzzles are fun and the game itself is generally somewhat challenging while rarely becoming frustrating. The music, while perhaps too light, is actually quite beautiful at times, and the sound effects/design is really impressive for a game in 2000.

    On the narrative front, the dialogue isn't particularly well written, but I do appreciate the attitude that the writers had, which was unique at the time: They gave us a cynical hero who HATES fantasy cliches despite being forced to partake in them, such as a grieving father looking for his long-lost daughter. With him is the naive and somewhat gullible Magnus and the purposely-irritating and abrasive Cleo, and between them, a recurring problematic troll, and finally some villains, you are perhaps more happy when Orphen gives one of them a verbal burn than when he wins a conflict. Finally, the voice acting, while deliciously over-the-top, absolutely sells the fact that this is one-part fantasy epic and one-part fantasy-parody, and Quinton Flynn's performance as the main character is absolutely top-notch (honestly giving a much better smartass-hero performance than Nolan North ever has).

    If the game has one distinct problem is that it's not a good adaptive work. Orphen was a slightly-comedic Dark Fantasy that was actually pretty violent and tragic when all is said and done, and this game would never make you think such a thing. I love this game but I also love the anime, and frankly they feel like they belong to two separate intellectual properties.

    But still, I do admit I love this game, being my first PS2 game and the first I ever saw that blended Humor with Fantasy in a way that wasn't just Wacky or Sarcastic, instead being borderline Self-Aware. It hasn't aged gracefully, but it's cheap, it's got momentum, the art is still good as is the sound design, and it's legitimately fun overall. As such, I don't necessarily recommend it, but I'm going to play it for years to come.    … Expand

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Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best PS2 Game of 2000
19
#19 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2000
24
#24 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2000