
Published by Atlus
Reviewed by Seby
Article
Discussion Forum
First
Impressions:
I
had been looking forward to Thousand Arms coming out for quite some
time because I had seen the screen shots for it on rpgamer.com and
couldn't wait to play it! Although I knew nothing about the plot,
a friend mentioned to me that it was a 'dating simulation' game.
My one thought - this is going to be interesting.
Graphics:
If
you are a fan of 2D games like me, this game is definitely worth
checking out! The battle animation is wonderful, but when you
summon up an elemental spirit, it is nothing to say "wow" about;
in fact, it was a little disappointing. The elemental spirits
were more like still images with little animation or flashy effects.
The way the characters look on the "overworld" and in towns is
a little weird too. There is nothing like watching your nicely
animated battle characters get hit with a mallet every time they
leave a battle and being reduced to chubby little sprites, but
they do grow on you as you play the game.
Sound/Music:
Sadly,
bad voice acting ruins another good import game. The way the main
character (Meis) sounds doesn't seem to fit him at all, and several
of the girls have very annoying voices. The music in this game
is perfect though! It fits the scenes very well and has a wonderful
beat! I was surprised and delighted when I saw that they kept
the original Japanese opening too!
Gameplay:
I
was not impressed with the battle system at all. You are allowed
three members in your party, one in front and two in the back
row. You are the character in front and are the only one that
can attack and use attack magic on the enemy. The front character
can also use healing magic. Only one character in the back row
can use the healing magic items and status ailing magic items.
So, basically, you are only able to use 2 out of your 3 characters
at a time. The two characters in the back cannot attack unless
they are switched with the character in front. This brings me
to another thing I didn't like, switching characters. Let's say
that you have Meis as your attacking character, but he is just
about dead, so you switch off with Sodina. The good thing here
is that you can continue to battle; the bad thing is that Meis
cannot come back into play! You cannot switch back to a character
after you have switched from it. So, if you are down to one character
in your party, and you die, that's it! Game over! I found that
just a tiny bit annoying. What makes up for switching is that
when you battle, every one in (and out) of your party gets EXP.
The story line is not very interesting, but that isn't what makes
this game so good. The thing that will take up most your time
in the game is…The Dating! The main point of the game is to date
as many women as possible and "use" them to upgrade your weapons
and get newer spells. So when you think about the main character
Meis, the word 'player' should come to mind. There is a choice
of around 7 different women that you can date, all with completely
different personalities and interests. The object is to keep the
women happy by taking them on dates, asking questions or giving
them gifts. If you make the girls happy, you are often rewarded
with a kiss. But beware! If you make them mad, you get negative
reinforcement!
Enjoyment:
I
found the game very enjoyable. It is fun to play, not completely
boring and there are several parts that are funny, suspenseful
and sad. The dating is just the best! It is also the funniest
part in the game, especially if you get the girls mad at you.
Multiplayer:
None
Overall
Impression:
I
think the game is pretty well rounded, despite the voices, but
it is a game that you might want to rent first to see if you truly
like it before you go out and spend the money on it. If you were
to ask me if I think the game is worth buying, I would say yes.
Marketing
Efforts Towards Women:
This
game was not made for the female section of the gaming world.
I think this is clear due to the fact that you are dating women
in the game. However, I do think that females could still have
fun with it; I know I did. It is cute and very funny when it came
to picking the right thing to say to say to the women. Most of
the women in the game are fairly clothed (except for Wyna who
was wearing a bikini the whole time). Sodina
plays a major role throughout the whole game and is vital to the
ending. Cheats, Hints, and URLs: Gamefaqs.com
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