Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 289 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 233 out of 289
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 289
  3. Negative: 32 out of 289
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. GrahfZeppelin
    Jun 7, 2016
    10
    It's a remastering of a damn fine game that has been upgraded to near perfect! Odin Sphere on the PS2 was an under-appreciated gem that was swimming in charm, beauty and solid game play but, it wasn't without it's faults. The faults in question were never game breaking or frustrating but rather just tiny little nitpicks here and there that just stopped it from being a near perfectIt's a remastering of a damn fine game that has been upgraded to near perfect! Odin Sphere on the PS2 was an under-appreciated gem that was swimming in charm, beauty and solid game play but, it wasn't without it's faults. The faults in question were never game breaking or frustrating but rather just tiny little nitpicks here and there that just stopped it from being a near perfect masterpiece. This remastering, however, has fixed any issue the original had and turns Odin Sphere into a game that can sit along side the greatest games ever made.
    The combat is as fluid and solid as action based combat can get with minor improvements taking cues from Vanillaware's later title 'Muramasa: The Demon Blade' and the more recent Indie game 'Guacamelee' from Drinkbox Studio. The crafting and upgrading systems have been tweaked to be more modern and coherent. The ground breaking graphics and animation have had a crisp make-over and the stunning music and well acted voice work has been cleaned up.
    This is exactly what a remaster should be; take a classic game and modernize it and make it more accessible without compromising it's original integrity.
    What else can I say? If you liked the original; this is a better version (and for purists, there is 'classic mode' where the original game play is in tact). For fans of more recent Vanillaware titles like Muramasa: Rebirth and Dragon's Crown; Odin Sphere, in my opinion, is the definitive Vanillaware title. Hell, anyone into action JRPG's in general will find plenty to love in this game.
    It was an absolutely wonderful experience on the PS2 and it's just gotten better. 10/10    … Expand
  2. ivyking007
    Aug 17, 2016
    10
    cons - maybe a bit repetitive for some gamers
    inventory system first time use will cause frustrating

    pros- artwork
    combat
    BGM
    story

    overall this game is perfect for playstation exclusive title , must tried for ps4 gamers
  3. SaikotykSamurai
    Jun 9, 2016
    10
    Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Vanillaware and I have played the original Odin Sphere on PS2. The Odin Sphere was an amazing game and definitely defined what features i thoroughly enjoy in a video-game. However, as fun and as mesmerizing as Odin Sphere was it fell short on a few things which I felt werent game-breaking but many younger games might. Frame rate lag,Let me start off by saying that I am a huge fan of Vanillaware and I have played the original Odin Sphere on PS2. The Odin Sphere was an amazing game and definitely defined what features i thoroughly enjoy in a video-game. However, as fun and as mesmerizing as Odin Sphere was it fell short on a few things which I felt werent game-breaking but many younger games might. Frame rate lag, repetitiveness, and lack of variety between characters other than storyline and slight changes to gameplay were all issue that Odin Sphere fell a bit short in.

    Enter Leifthrasir~

    Leifthrasir is Vanillaware's attempt at taking an already breathtaking piece of work and make it better. And if you don't read the rest of this review Ill sum it up right now and tell you that they were extremely successful.

    Leifthrasir takes all of the issues with Odin Sphere fixes them. Frame-rate issues? Gone. Lack of variety between characters? Out the window. About the only thing that is still present is the repetitiveness of the levels. Now i know that might sound game breaking, but the thing is that even though level repetitiveness is still present, each character feels like its its own game now. Think Castlevania: Symphony of the Night except instead of just being able to play Richter and Maria, they now have their own storylines and exclusive areas as well as a complex fighting system unique to their character.

    The battle system is nothing to cough at either. Every battle feels like a street fighter match, where as before it was just a hack and slash. The controls are very fluid. pulling off combos and evading attacks feels natural. All this coupled with new items, revamped alchemy system, and access to Odin Sphere as well as Leifthrasir? 10/10 would buy again. Vanillaware does great work and Leifthrasir is another S rank on their play-card.    … Expand
  4. lifelack
    Jun 8, 2016
    10
    Got this game, the Storybook Edition. Fantastic art style, 60 FPS, 1080p, top notch animation. Even if it's a remake it's my first play with Odin Sphere. It's amazingly complex and intuitive at the same time. The story is great. I wasn't able to put it down for the entire night. I wasn't sure I would like it. The best comparison I can give is this: it's a bit like a cross between aGot this game, the Storybook Edition. Fantastic art style, 60 FPS, 1080p, top notch animation. Even if it's a remake it's my first play with Odin Sphere. It's amazingly complex and intuitive at the same time. The story is great. I wasn't able to put it down for the entire night. I wasn't sure I would like it. The best comparison I can give is this: it's a bit like a cross between a Tales of game, old gen brawler and Child of Light. The combat are fast and dynamic, with heavy emphasis on crafting. This is a gem.… Expand
  5. Wrathalos
    Jun 23, 2016
    10
    It's a beautiful game with fun gameplay and a compelling story. Vanillaware did an incredible job making this game I loved every second of gameplay that it provided.
  6. xenofiend95
    Jul 4, 2016
    9
    Vanilla wares underrated masterpiece from ps2 is given justice in this remake that many others never see. Not only is the beautiful signature art brought to HD, the gameplay has been updated to have the speed of Muramasa with an upgrade system similar to Dragons Crown. Not only is this update more accessible it is also much more replayable. The original version of the game is alsoVanilla wares underrated masterpiece from ps2 is given justice in this remake that many others never see. Not only is the beautiful signature art brought to HD, the gameplay has been updated to have the speed of Muramasa with an upgrade system similar to Dragons Crown. Not only is this update more accessible it is also much more replayable. The original version of the game is also repackaged for those who missed it and for purists as well. Untouched though is the masterfully Norse inspired story of love, deceit, destruction and war nearing a post apocalyptic event. The fame is still separated in five distinct stories of several memorable and very likable characters. Any fan of Japanese RPG's or action RPG's should do themselves a favor and experience this wonderful game as well as any of Vanillaware's products for they are all A+ in gameplay as well as presentation.… Expand
  7. muffinman1
    Jun 10, 2016
    10
    Got this game, the Storybook Edition. Fantastic art style, 60 FPS, 1080p, top notch animation. Even if it's a remake it's my first play with Odin Sphere. It's amazingly complex and intuitive at the same time. The story is great. I wasn't able to put it down for the entire night. I wasn't sure I would like it. The best c
  8. MonokumaPop
    Jun 27, 2016
    10
    I have not played the original PS2 title of this game which is a shame cause I missed out all these years on such a beautiful game. I can say that I have finally found my all time favorite game that I will go back to play a lot more of it in the future. The charm this game has is incredible- the beautiful visuals, characters with different touching stories and different combat in each andI have not played the original PS2 title of this game which is a shame cause I missed out all these years on such a beautiful game. I can say that I have finally found my all time favorite game that I will go back to play a lot more of it in the future. The charm this game has is incredible- the beautiful visuals, characters with different touching stories and different combat in each and one of them, the combat is so simple yet so much fun. From my personal experience I was so touched by this game that in every story of the 5 characters I couldn't hold back and cry a bit (which honestly doesn't happen that often I can tell you that), Honestly just go and try the game yourself and you will see the charm it actually holds, this game is a diamond among the sea of Playstation games and I am glad I have bought it.… Expand
  9. SZJX
    Jul 4, 2016
    9
    Perfect game. It's exceedingly rare how a video game nowadays can keep the player guessing and playing for hours just to see how the story unfolds bit by bit until the very last moment, not to mention a story that appeared to be quite mainstream at the first sight. The feeling of seeing everything gradually fit together until the finale is incredible. The author certainly knows his stuff.Perfect game. It's exceedingly rare how a video game nowadays can keep the player guessing and playing for hours just to see how the story unfolds bit by bit until the very last moment, not to mention a story that appeared to be quite mainstream at the first sight. The feeling of seeing everything gradually fit together until the finale is incredible. The author certainly knows his stuff. He seems to have mastered all the European mythologies and legends by heart to be able to mix and match them at ease without any jarring feeling, while keeping an unmistakably Japanese core at the heart of the story. Also, apart from certain chapters, which felt a bit artificial and prolonged so that each protagonist/individual drama gets the same number of acts, the story is almost flawless: You keep thinking about it even after you finish, and everything just clicks naturally, unlike so many ridiculous money grabs which simply leave gaping holes here and there or make you cringe. Actually, a lot of plot treatments make much more sense than the abrupt turns of events in the original The Ring of the Nibelung by Wagner, which a part of the story loosely adapted. The convincing voice acting (the Japanese version at least) and atmospheric arts also played a big part in it, as well as all the typically Japanese attention to details. In fact, if you take out all the gaming components, this in itself is a top notch hours-long stage drama to be enjoyed on its own. I'd recommend anybody to buy it just for the drama alone.

    The gaming aspect is quite good, enough to keep you playing and feeling satisfied between acts of the drama. Each character's style is distinctive and enjoyable enough. It's definitely not perfect, though, with difficulty being the major issue. The "normal" difficulty felt a bit too easy and sometimes I didn't sweat at all during a full chapter, with some bosses being extremely easy to deal with, and only felt totally geared up for less than 10 boss battles in the whole game. However, once you get used to "normal", which is the default, it will be really difficult to switch to "hard", which guarantees you to die a few times even battling a middle boss. There should be a reasonable middle ground between them. On repetition, I'd say it's just a minor issue, since although each character revisits the same place in theory, the actual map and battlefield each time is different enough to keep you intrigued. And even the same type of boss has variations in details when battling different characters.

    9/10. I definitely recommend it to anybody, no matter you're interested in JRPG or European mythology, or just simply enjoys a good story with soul (which is really rare nowadays), you'll find this game amazing.    … Expand
  10. Letiste-Gaming
    Jun 22, 2016
    10
    No solo es una maravilla en lo jugable, sino que su historia te atrapa y sus personajes realmente te importan. Y todo esto sujeto por el apartado visual 2D mas impresionante que este servidor haya visto jamás. Una maravilla que dentro de 10 o 20 años seguirá igual de fresca. A falta de probar Final Fantasy XV, el mejor RPG del año.
  11. jingQ
    Dec 11, 2016
    10
    + beautiful 2D world
    + interesting story
    + You can see Organized by time of story
    + Easy control. but had a great action
    + Many routes
    + sound track
    + good voice actor
  12. DevilSurvivor
    Nov 18, 2021
    10
    This game deserves all the love it can get, and the saddest thing is knowing we will never get anything like this ever again. There's so much attention to detail, so many improvements as well done to the original version, and in an oversaturated market of ironic and edgy stories, this very down to earth story of love and how it can be expressed and challenged in different ways is the mostThis game deserves all the love it can get, and the saddest thing is knowing we will never get anything like this ever again. There's so much attention to detail, so many improvements as well done to the original version, and in an oversaturated market of ironic and edgy stories, this very down to earth story of love and how it can be expressed and challenged in different ways is the most charming thing I've seen in a long time.

    It's been a long time since I've "fallen in love" with a game, and I couldn't have picked a better one. It was so good I instantly bought the next game from the same developers despite it being a completely different genre.

    I hate 2D side scrollers, I think they're the laziest thing a company could ever do, but this one is fantastic, and it shows that it's a gem of the PS2 era.    … Expand
  13. jeanphilt
    Feb 5, 2018
    8
    Let's just start by saying that the art design is beautiful and the gameplay very fluid.
    The game is like a mix of Child of Light and Street Fighter.
    I don't like these 2 games very much but the result is quite interesting. The story, the gameplay and the length are much better than Child of Light Officially it's a mix of 2 styles : side-scrolling beat-em up and RPG. At the    Let's just start by saying that the art design is beautiful and the gameplay very fluid.
    The game is like a mix of Child of Light and Street Fighter.
    I don't like these 2 games very much but the result is quite interesting.
    The story, the gameplay and the length are much better than Child of Light
    Officially it's a mix of 2 styles : side-scrolling beat-em up and RPG.

    At the beginning, I played it on hard and I found it to be relatively easy, except a few bosses.
    After a few hours, I ended up switching to easy/normal because on hard, some bosses became just way too long.
    I think the game would be even better if the difficulty was a little improved.
    Harder normal areas and shorter boss battles.

    Many mentioned the repetitive aspect of the game. Personally, I played the first 2 books so far and yes it's a little repetitive but it's really not that bad since the story is quite different and there are new areas in each story. What I find a little repetitive is the gameplay itself. I think they should have made it a little slower paced and more strategic, at least in some areas. Maybe just bosses. Indeed, at some point, there are so many fights and since I'm trying to achieve the best score that I end up using the same overpowered strategies/skills/potions that the fights became just a huge mess of me spamming enemies without letting them any time for attacking.

    I think it would probably deserve a 9 if it was not for the few issues described above.    … Expand
  14. NihiRagnarK
    Mar 14, 2017
    8
    No doubt that Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is a remarkable 2D scroller RPG game.

    + Unique and detail-oriented art style + Fluent combat + 5 different character design (lancer, saber, archer, berserker & caster, lol) + POV-style development of story - Repetitive gameplay, repetitive gameplay & repetitive gameplay ================ I finished the first 3 characters on EXPERT but    No doubt that Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is a remarkable 2D scroller RPG game.

    + Unique and detail-oriented art style
    + Fluent combat
    + 5 different character design (lancer, saber, archer, berserker & caster, lol)
    + POV-style development of story

    - Repetitive gameplay, repetitive gameplay & repetitive gameplay

    ================

    I finished the first 3 characters on EXPERT but lost my patience and finished the rest of the game in SWEET. The battle takes much much longer in higher difficulty and I don't think I can enjoy them after getting familiar with the combat strategies.
    The combat is all in all great. But it is just too much.    … Expand
  15. DTanilG
    Nov 25, 2018
    8
    Спасибо за игру! Идеально! Жду продолжение, 2 часть! Обязательно куплю. Прошёл на платину, сюжет не понял.
    Минусы: отсутствует русская локализация.
  16. eruciform
    Dec 22, 2018
    9
    ** OVERALL 8.5/10 ** Gameplay 9/10 - Creativity 9/10 - Music 9/10 - Visuals 10/10 - Characters 9/10 - Plotline 9/10 - Emotional Engagement 8/10 - Replayability 7/10 - Difficulty */10

    This game was a real joy to play. The hand-drawn characters and backgrounds (though animated with splines and modern methods) are absolutely gorgeous. The gameplay is smooth and fun, even if most of the    ** OVERALL 8.5/10 ** Gameplay 9/10 - Creativity 9/10 - Music 9/10 - Visuals 10/10 - Characters 9/10 - Plotline 9/10 - Emotional Engagement 8/10 - Replayability 7/10 - Difficulty */10

    This game was a real joy to play. The hand-drawn characters and backgrounds (though animated with splines and modern methods) are absolutely gorgeous.

    The gameplay is smooth and fun, even if most of the special abilities aren’t all that useful, so you end up using a handful only. The music, while not the kind of thing I’d listen to outside the game (like I do with Nier: Automata), was very well done.

    The characters are interesting and well-developed, though my favorites were Mercedes (the fairy), and Velvet (the unfortunately oversexualized fire mage).

    The replayability is okay because of the structure of the game and the New Game+ mode, but the game is a bit repetitive in general, so it's probably not something you want to immediately restart upon finishing, like maybe some of the Tales or Disgaea games are.

    The difficulty is another weird one. It’s whatever you want it to be, from easy to impossible. Like Nier: Automata, however, there’s a huge jump from Normal to Hard. There’s also a Heroic mode where one hit kills you - that’s pretty insane, but if you want a challenge, go for it.

    My one complaint is that several women in the story are oversexualized. Only the playable character Velvet is, but every single female fairy or female efreet is your typical barbie doll with huge boobs popping out of their clothing.

    Overall, a highly recommended game. It’s not super long - I beat it in about 45 hours total, but with replayability involved, it’s longer. Even just at that length, it’s still worth it. If you like the 2D old-school Tales games, definitely in particular give this one a shot.    … Expand
  17. dangnamkhanh
    Aug 5, 2019
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The strong point of Vanillaware is the art. It really inspire me. The gameplay and story are good, but I think it can still be improved.… Expand
  18. Luigichief
    Feb 19, 2021
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. My third Vanillaware game, it is only second in the narrative category compared to the company's games. The game is very good but quite repetitive in several ways.

    The structure of the story, having a cutscene at the beginning and end of each chapter and phase just didn't like it very much. This leaves the pace pretty bad.
    But the biggest flaw in history is that it is told 5 times 'the same thing' in different points of view, some routes manage to do very well with this system, but others not so much. Velvet's route was the most affected (by constant appearances on other routes), on Gwendolyn's route her relationship with Oswald was damaged and the other slightly affected was that of Mercedes which had some moments on other routes. And the worst thing is, I don't think it's possible to fix this since the game was made on top of that.

    At various times the gameplay and the story 'disconnect' (something you play doesn't make sense narratively), even if briefly, I hate it because it takes away the immersion.

    The insights are very interesting. And the culture of the Valkyries and how it affected Gwendolyn's story in the beginning was very good.

    About the relationship between Gwendolyn and Oswald. I rethought it a bit and it even made sense for Gwendolyn to fall in love, even though they had few interactions, they were significant and most importantly, Oswaldo showed his affection not only with words but with actions, and several of them. But that does not change the fact that for the player, all the scenes had less impact / importance due to the lack of interaction between the two, significantly damaging the use of the game in this regard.

    And in the relationship between Cornelius and Velvet Vanillaware used the letter that they have known each other for a long time and already love each other before starting the game (every game they've played so far has had this). But the problem is that here we only see Cornelius caring about his route, leaving the end of it a bit 'strange', this is due to Velvet's route only coming later, not like in 13 Sentinels for example where the routes are simultaneous for example.

    Although everything is a little different, the maps and bosses are almost always the same, with only slight changes (there are only single bosses for each route). Now the low amount of maps can piss you off. The final boss fights are very good.

    Hell, compared to Muramasa, this game has a much deeper combat and full of variety.
    The most different fights are Velvet and Mercedes.

    The visuals are incredible (Vanillaware, duhh) and some of the scenarios in particular are really stunning. The game is 100% dubbed and the dubbing is very good in general.

    The menu has extremely beautiful music and another very good one.    … Expand
  19. LG_Fox_Brazil
    Jul 8, 2020
    9
    An extremely gorgeous masterpiece that was already way ahead of it's time in the PS2 and is still a very good action RPG with an artstyle that only Vanillaware can make. It looks and feels like as unforgettable fairy tail that has a great Game of Thrones feel with multiple characters with different stories and visions of the same conflict. One of the greatest of all time. An almost perfect game
  20. Firas0002
    Jul 11, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. one of the best games that tell the mythic story of the Ragnarok between a Escandinavian gods with great and emproved artwork and gameplay of the ps2 version and what the most unique part in this game is the soundtrack… Expand
  21. TheGeekGetaway
    Oct 1, 2020
    10
    I recommend Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir for fans of its aesthetics, beat 'em up gameplay, and its fantasy story. It's honestly worth looking into the inspirations Vanillaware used for this game. Fans of fairytales and games like Valkyrie Profile will appreciate the supplemental reading material.
  22. Alexander838
    Feb 28, 2021
    10
    10/10 *********************************************************************
  23. morjito
    Aug 8, 2021
    9
    Odin Sphere is fun and immersive, the story is well-told and cleverly interwoven between different characters, and their relationships are fleshed-out. Its incredible to think this used to be a PS2 game, that up to now is able to immerse the player into the gorgeous 2D world. The characters are interesting, each with their own story to tell and unique skills to keep the player engaged.Odin Sphere is fun and immersive, the story is well-told and cleverly interwoven between different characters, and their relationships are fleshed-out. Its incredible to think this used to be a PS2 game, that up to now is able to immerse the player into the gorgeous 2D world. The characters are interesting, each with their own story to tell and unique skills to keep the player engaged. The stages, monsters and bosses can be redundant across each story, but somehow, it did not feel like a chore or a grind, "cough" Dragon's Crown. Instead, the game urged the player to move forward to find-out what happens next in the story. Odin Sphere is a must-play classic that all gamers who enjoy RPGs and good story-telling should play.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

15
#15 Best PS4 Game of 2016
92
#92 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2016
42
#42 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
87

Generally favorable reviews - based on 49 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 49
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 49
  3. Negative: 0 out of 49
  1. Worth Playing
    Sep 7, 2016
    90
    Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir takes a good game and makes it incrementally better. The tweaks to the overall title, including better inventory management and more emphasis on combat, opens it up to those who weren't enamored with the original. The option is there for those who want to play it as it was originally intended. It provides lots of gameplay time, which is something of a rarity in console titles nowadays, though there will be a few who take offense to the fact that a good chunk of content is recycled a few times. It does all this with a presentation that still manages to impress after all these years.
    Read full review
  2. Games Master UK
    Aug 21, 2016
    82
    Slick, smooth, and beautiful, it shines like never before on current-gen. [Aug 2016, p.79]
  3. XGN
    Aug 3, 2016
    75
    The game has withstand the test of time and has managed to keep the balance between fighting and turn-based action just right.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »