Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is an HD remastered version of Vanillaware's cult classic PS2 action-RPG and is published by NIS America in the Pal territories. Odin Sphere Leifthrasir examines the perilous period of the Cauldron War from five different perspectives; characters may be noble heroes in one chapter and rendered villainous in the next. Does the hack-n-slash combat of Odin Sphere Leifthrasir stand the test of time?
Erion Is On The Brink Of Ruin
The young girl closes the latch leading up to the attic behind her. Her faithful companion Socrates, a black cat, is, as usual, accompanying her. It's here in the attic that the girl loses herself in tales of valor and intrigue, heroism and deception, and the power of love; she pours extensively …show more content…
The narrative is interwoven beautifully between the chapters; heroic figures in one perspective are cast into the role of the villains in another - the supporting cast displays a surprising amount of moral ambiguity in Odin Sphere Leifthrasir. And while the playable characters all are virtuous in their motivations and actions, they do act in accordance with their own sense of morality - which results in confrontations between them at certain junctions in the story, rendered all the more potent when you understand what brought them to blows in the first place. The depiction of the supporting characters also varies between the chapters depending on the protagonist's allegiance. Like, for instance, Odin, who in Gwendolyn's tale appears as a man forced to adhere to tradition and status, but is nothing more than a vile cretin in Mercedes' recounting of events. Vanillaware also awards additional context to previous interactions between characters and events in the story in subsequent chapters, which renders actions previously deemed unilaterally evil more sympathetic. Vanillaware spends a surprising amount of time elaborating on the intricate interpersonal relationships as well, rounding out a narrative that is deceptively deep and …show more content…
I am impressed with how well Vanillaware has differentiated the various characters from one another, both mechanically as well as narratively. They play differently enough to feel unique and distinct, and their goals and aspirations vary enough to differentiate the chapters from one another as well. For example, consider Cornelius, a prince transformed into a Pooka (a humanoid rabbit-like entity) by a curse. He constitutes the epitome of the honor-bound knight, motivated by a sense of duty and true love simultaneously, ticking the boxes for the traditional hero archetype in high fantasy. Conversely, take Oswald, or the Shadow Knight, who is a moral relativist questioning is self-worth. And while each chapter in Odin Sphere Leifthrasir revolves around battling throngs upon throngs of enemies in purely reductionist terms, Vanillaware has, through skillful characterization, ensured each chapter feels different from the
Erion Is On The Brink Of Ruin
The young girl closes the latch leading up to the attic behind her. Her faithful companion Socrates, a black cat, is, as usual, accompanying her. It's here in the attic that the girl loses herself in tales of valor and intrigue, heroism and deception, and the power of love; she pours extensively …show more content…
The narrative is interwoven beautifully between the chapters; heroic figures in one perspective are cast into the role of the villains in another - the supporting cast displays a surprising amount of moral ambiguity in Odin Sphere Leifthrasir. And while the playable characters all are virtuous in their motivations and actions, they do act in accordance with their own sense of morality - which results in confrontations between them at certain junctions in the story, rendered all the more potent when you understand what brought them to blows in the first place. The depiction of the supporting characters also varies between the chapters depending on the protagonist's allegiance. Like, for instance, Odin, who in Gwendolyn's tale appears as a man forced to adhere to tradition and status, but is nothing more than a vile cretin in Mercedes' recounting of events. Vanillaware also awards additional context to previous interactions between characters and events in the story in subsequent chapters, which renders actions previously deemed unilaterally evil more sympathetic. Vanillaware spends a surprising amount of time elaborating on the intricate interpersonal relationships as well, rounding out a narrative that is deceptively deep and …show more content…
I am impressed with how well Vanillaware has differentiated the various characters from one another, both mechanically as well as narratively. They play differently enough to feel unique and distinct, and their goals and aspirations vary enough to differentiate the chapters from one another as well. For example, consider Cornelius, a prince transformed into a Pooka (a humanoid rabbit-like entity) by a curse. He constitutes the epitome of the honor-bound knight, motivated by a sense of duty and true love simultaneously, ticking the boxes for the traditional hero archetype in high fantasy. Conversely, take Oswald, or the Shadow Knight, who is a moral relativist questioning is self-worth. And while each chapter in Odin Sphere Leifthrasir revolves around battling throngs upon throngs of enemies in purely reductionist terms, Vanillaware has, through skillful characterization, ensured each chapter feels different from the