Ogre Battle
Reviewed by Josh Rylander
Ogre Battle is a RPG/strategy game of sorts for the super Nintendo.
It was created by (in my opinion) one of the two best RPG making
game companies, Atlus. (the other being obviously Squaresoft, duh)
Unfortunately very few copies of the game were released in America.
So, it will not only be hard to find but may be a little pricey, as far as
Super Nintendo game prices go nowadays (but so is Chrono Trigger and I'd
still buy that). But, I think it is worth the effort to find this great game.
Basically the storyline is that this guy Rashidi is controlling the evil
empire and has pretty much taken over the world. Now he plans on summoning
Diablo, god of destruction. As for you, you are the leader of the rebellion and
it is your job to stop him. Actually depending on the path you take (this is a
non-linear adventure there is no real stage order) and what your reputation
is at the end you could be a savior and king or you could end up replacing
Rashidi as head of the empire and be more evil than he was.
Graphics: 9.5 out of 10
I think this game had some of the best graphics for Super NES. The maps in the
different stages were superbly done and were partially 3d, pretty good for
the Super NES. If you looked toward the top of the maps the world would seem to
fade off as if into the horizon. But the great graphics really showed off in
the battles. The backgrounds were wonderfully realistic by Super NES standards.
And the character sprites were some of the best I've seen. The animations
for attacks and the tarot cards were excellent. My only gripe is on the maps
in the stage your groups are represented by lifeless gold statues, but this is
a small complaint overshadowed by the good points.
Music and Sound: 7 out of 10
Here is the games one low point and its not even that low. The sound for the
attacks and such was good for an Super NES game. However some may consider the
music a bit repetitive. I wasn't bothered by the music. I know it wasn't Final
Fantasy VI quality but I was so enthralled in the game that I hardly noticed
it. So the music wasn't moving, but it wasn't get-on-your-nerves-Azure
Dreams type music.
Game Challenge: 9 out of 10
Ogre Battle was a challenging game. It wasn't impossible but it was well
balanced. There were times when it seemed a little hard but overall very
well balanced. It wasn't too hard or too easy and that's the way it should
be. Much of the challenge was balancing out the various groups in your
army. Different combinations with units of different types could make a
group the ultimate party or a heap of crap. With the addition of deciding
who gets what magical item and trying keep a high(or low depending on
which of the many endings you want) reputation and keeping control of the
towns, while battling the enemy searching for hidden treasure it kept you
very busy.
Game Play-Fun: 11 out of 10
Here is the games best feature. Back when this came out it was a very
innovative game (and it still is come to think of it). The perfect blend of
strategy and role playing. Like I said under game challenge there were lots
of features. The basic gist of the game is you can make different groups
out of various units, who depending on what their alignment becomes and
whether or not they level up, can become other more powerful units. The
groups can range from three to five people depend on the size units you use
(large of small).There are also many things that affect your reputation (like
if a town is taken back by the enemy after you liberated it or if you kill a unit
weaker than thou) and in turn your reputation affects many other things (like
what units you get, evil or good, and what ending you get). There are also
hidden cities and temples, hidden treasures, many many items, and even a
hidden stage which to get to it you can use a code or you can collect a series
of items which will get you another bigger item(which you need for the best
ending) which will take you to stage epsilon Dragon's Haven(the hidden stage).
Half of the fun is balancing the group's units to make the best combination
possible and the other half is beating the bad guys up. The story is also excellent.
Overall: 10 out of 10