![]() Tolkien’s masterwork The Lord of the Rings). This is more of a heroic fantasy story with many of the tropes that form the backbone of that genre (also derived from Norse mythology by way of J.R.R. I think it’s fair to say that this game is conceptually tied to some of the tenets and themes of Norse mythology, especially the grim and fatalistic tone, but they are not by any means an exact adaptation. There’s a pretty complex story contained herein, with multiple playable characters crossing paths and interacting in ways that help to build a mythic chain of events which leads to something incredible. In case you were wondering, now you know.Īs for what it has to do with this game, well… that’s complicated. They survive the cataclysm and emerge (eventually) to repopulate the earth in the wake of the devastating conflict. ![]() Among them are a man and a woman named Leif and Leifthrasir. It’s fated to happen and can’t be avoided. You probably know that Ragnarok is the end of the Norse gods the final battle where pretty much everyone kills everyone and everything else and most of the nine realms are wiped out. So, what exactly is Odin Sphere Leifthrasir? What, you may ask, is a Leifthrasir supposed to be, anyway? A little Norse mythology lesson for you. It meant I got to experience the game in 2016 with improved visuals, a slightly better-contoured controller more suited to my hands and the social media pulpit to pound it into the summer games lists of everyone that loves good, classic niche gaming. Honestly, there’s a part of me that’s glad I missed out on this one the first time around. #Odin sphere or grimgrimoire ps2Odin Sphere Leifthrasir exceeded my expectations and pressed upon me nearly insurmountable guilt over not having played the PS2 version. From Princess Crown to GrimGrimoire to Odin Sphere to Dragon’s Crown, this is a company that has managed to find that creative sweet spot through the combination of developer brilliance and creative expression. Vanillaware has been pushing boundaries since forever, and their footprint, while off the beaten path of commercial viability, has always been strong, deep and enduring. It’s more a case of recognizing just how far ahead of its time Odin Sphere was. ![]() Looking at the graphics, animation, music and, most importantly, the gameplay, this isn’t so much a case of Odin Sphere’s core mechanical and aesthetic concepts passing muster in this increasingly cynical age of aggregates and numerical scoring systems. #Odin sphere or grimgrimoire Ps4So, if I never played the PS2 version, how can I possibly assert that the ten-year-old Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, a brilliant HD remake for the PS3, PS4 and PSVita, is still engaging in this day and age? Well, I’ve been around in this hobby for a long time and sometimes, you just know these things. But since you probably want an actual reason, I’ll oblige. I was probably playing Resident Evil for the 48,730,578 th time. Don’t ask me what kept me away from Vanillaware’s 2D brawling genius back then, because I couldn’t tell you. As I said in my Early Impressions piece I never played it because, well… I was really busy. I never played the original build of Odin Sphere for PS2, released way back in the days of yore (or May 2007). The phrase ‘still holds up’ applies here. I was not a fan of the gameplay at all, though.PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita I guess if I have to choose, I choose 13 Sentinels because of how the story gripped me all the way through until the end. I don't know why, I guess it just seems like one of those games that seemed really innovative for its time. I only played the Vita version, but I can imagine it being even better back when it came out on the Wii. I'm a huge fan of the visuals in that game and I think it's the most beautiful of the three VW games I've played based on art style alone. I can't quite put my finger on why, either. This game actually has a vibe to it that unsettles me more than some horror games. The story feels like a fairy tale, and not the Disney kind but the original dark and creepy kind. ![]() Having five distinct characters with five distinct stories and styles of gameplay made the world feel lived in and whole. The remake fixed that with each character having their own combo system (it's really amazing what this did for the gameplay and its repetitiveness) and I think it made the game go from bad to great. The story is the best, too - by a pretty wide margin. Definitely their most ambitious and creative game. And being able to play it in any order means everyone's experience of putting together that puzzle is different. The way the story worked like a puzzle was really cool, though. 13 Sentinels was really good, but suffered from being very convoluted. ![]()
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