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Odin Sphere | 
| From: Atlus
Category: Video Games
List Price: $19.99
Buy Used: $12.98
as of 9/7/2010 17:43 PDT details
You Save: $7.01 (35%)
New (29) Used (22) Collectible (9) from $12.98
Seller: DaveGuptaXx
Rating:  50 reviews
Sales Rank: 2121
Platform: PlayStation2
Genre: adventure_games
ESRB: Everyone
Media: Video Game
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Number Of Items: 1
Batteries Included: No
Age: 5 - 20 years
Operating System: PlayStation 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.5 x 0.6
MPN: 53023
Model: 53023
UPC: 730865530236
EAN: 0730865530236
ASIN: B000IONGU4
Publication Date: September 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Intense side-scrolling action | | • | Gorgeous hand-drawn artwork and animations | | • | Fully-voiced dialogue | | • | 5 playable characters in all | | • | Fantastic bosses that tower over the protagonists |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
In Odin Sphere, players enact the story of their world's end. A great kingdom named Valentine was brought apart by natural disaster and internal strife. As war broke out, the once-great nation became a wasteland. As a demon lord named Odin schemes to conquer it, a far-off sorceror plans to use ancient magic that will bring an apocalypse. As the nations struggle for control, the world steadily slips unknowingly toward its demise, ancient prophecies are ready to be fulfilled -- unless a young princess named Gwendolyn can stop the bloody feud between nations and fight for unity.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
 The PS2 is far from dead! May 26, 2007
Skyclad (Michigan)
42 out of 44 found this review helpful
I've been an avid gamer since the Atari 2600 days. One thing I've noticed over those 2 and a half decades of console gaming is that almost always the best games for all of the systems come out at the end of the systems' life cycle. Look at the games the SNES had in its last year of life. Chrono Trigger anyone? And other games like Donkey Kong Country were displaying graphics that seemed inpossible for the SNES. I also remember playing a Batman game on the NES (forget the title)that came out as the NES was dying, it too had graphics that seemed impossible for the NES. One big reason this is is that by the time a system is about to be taken off the market, developers have had a lot of time to get to know the system's hardware and know all the ins and outs when developing games for it. Games have gotten more involved as years have passed, especially RPG's, so now the games that come out at the end of the newer system's life not only have the best graphics seen yet on the system, the developes have also had years to flesh out the story, combat and item systems. You'll understand this when you play the awesome Odin Sphere.
At its core, the game is an action/adventure RPG. You wander through areas going left to right and attack enemies in real time. It's a bit like the first Valkyrie Profile that came out for the PS1, but way more fine tuned. When enemies are defeated, they release spirits called Phozons that you can magically absorb into your weapon making it more powerful. All areas are set up in "Stages". When you get tot he end of a stage, Odin will drop a treasure chest from the heavens you can open to collect rewards. The cool thing here is, the faster you complete a stage, the better items the treasure chest will have. Also, the less damage you take within that stage will also grant you better items.
Speaking of items, you can get them in a variety of ways. There are vendors scattered throughout castles and battlefields, and you can also grow them. You find seeds all over the place, as well as sheep seeds and more. What you do is plant the seeds near some enemies, and defeat the enemies. Instead of absorbing into your weapong, the phozons will absorb into the seeds making a plant grow that will have various items hanging off of them depending on what seed you planted. It's a very unique concept. You can also cook in the game, and there's a fairly easy alchemy system you can use.
The story is all about Norse mythology, and the graphics that are hand painted reflect that. You have the option to play the game with English voiceovers or in the original Japanese with English subtitles. I selected the English option, and the voice acting is actually pretty good.
If you're a fan of RPG's at all, especially if you're looking for something that's different from anything else out there right now, Odin Sphere should be a game you should pick up as soon as you can. The game seems very involved, and it is, but the game also lets you select from three different difficulty levels at any time.
A beautiful master piece, when rpgs fuse with action side scrollers. December 7, 2008
Benjamin S. Sprague (North Carolina)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I did not know what to think of Odin Sphere. There were some good reviews and some bad reviews. Regardless if you think this is just a hack n slash disguised as an rpg you are both very right but also very wrong. I think what endeared me to the game was having the little girl pick up her black cat Socrates while plopping down in the chair with him. In a strange twist Odin Sphere starts you out as a child with a story book. All the heroes of the game are actually the characters she is reading about. See it as a similar situation as being Bastion with the never-ending story.
In a realm of fairy tales the God Odin has declared war on the fairy kingdom. He wants a cauldron to make powerful weapons but if he succeeds the world will end. Ironically enough you start out not as the hero against Odin but as Gwendolyn, one of his Valkyrie daughters who is a hapless pawn.
Actually there are 5 characters in all. There is Gwendolyn's half sister who is a red hooded witch, the dark knight Oswald that can become a shadow beast, a noble prince who has been turned into a rabbit-thing, and a cute fairy archer. All of them have their own motives as well as varied ways of attacking.
As you jump, glide, and attack you can absorb "phozons". These fuel your magic and power up the damage of your weapons for each character. While you cannot hold many items you can be clever in the way you use them. Plants for example normally require phozons to grow and you can actually bury a seed right before battle so any creatures you slay mature the plant with their dispersed life energy thus making it grow life nourishing berries. My favorite weed was one that dropped living sheep that you could bop to turn into lamb chops!
"Alchemy" is another important skill. By mixing potions you can create healing beverages or even warm elixirs that keep your core temperature up in cold environments.
Odin Sphere's story is very intricate and you get to walk in the shoes of characters that are on every side of the conflict. Each time you complete a hero's scenario another book appears for the little girl to read. Each person has a whole tome dedicated to them alone. By that point it is your choice who you want to play as.
Even if a huge boss is too hard fret not. You can always return to your base with all the experience and items you have earned and simply do the level over again. Eventually you will be strong enough to deal with a pesky dragon or traitorous general on your own terms!
Increasing stats is pretty easy. For example just by eating a lot it raises your overall health and absorbing enough phozons will make your weapon stronger.
The character sprites and graphics have a lot of personality and detail. Remember how crono trigger and secret of mana looked on the SNES at the zenith of its' perfection? Well multiply that glory by 2 and you get the picture.
The music and voice acting also deserve praise and set the mood perfectly for each emotional scenario.
Your found maps are easy to read so going from one place to another without getting lost is easy.
The only bone to pick with Odin sphere is when there are many enemies on screen at once it lags to a crawl. In the end however that is not enough to bring it down at all.
In the end you would be hard pressed not to find something to like about Odin Sphere unless you detest all things cute and anime. It has that nostalgic spark found only in the fairy tales of our youth and there is enough item farming mini games and monster bashing to keep rpg lovers and action lovers equally happy!
Pros
+Gorgeous 2D graphics
+ Glorious hack n slash action
+ Addictive game play
+Great music and voice acting
+Well told story from the perspective of 5 unique characters
Cons
-Lags when too much is going on at once.
- In trying to please both Rpg fans and action fans it may fall short in both aspects thus failing to make either group entirely happy.
Holy Crap!!! A great side-scroller!! February 28, 2008
Bradley R. Beckwith (Whitehall, PA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the best 2-D side scroller since Castlevania Symphony of the Night. Talk about a welcome relief. When you get tired of all those first person shooters or huge combo-centeric 3-D adventures, this is the game for you.
Graphically, there hasn't been a better game on the PS2. I play this on my HDTV through my PS3 and it looks stunning. The gameplay is easy to learn, but surprisingly deep. It has those RPG elements to it, but the game doesn't get bogged down by these. All of this provides for some very smoothe gameplay.
Throughout the game, you play as five different characters whose stories are divided into five separate books. They do play in the same levels with many of the same bosses. This isn't such a bad thing as each character is fundamentally diffeent and this keeps the gameplay active.
I spent about 30 hours playing this game and found this to be time well spent. Playing this will evoke imagery and feelings of the games that were played in the NES era, but on a beautiful, sweeping scale.
Unique, in a fantastic way December 28, 2008
Sedina
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Odin Sphere is a fantastic game.
The gameplay is fast and exciting, and the storylines are epic.
Those reviewers complaining about a lack of depth in gameplay (I believe someone likened the combat to "mash mash mash") may not have experienced everything this title has to offer. The actual sword-swingin' is a little weak, but that's because it's really only a tenth of the overall gameplay. Sure, in the lower levels, you can mash an attack button and do all right. As you move on, however, you find that this tactic will result in a loading screen.
As the difficulty advances, you'll find that you need to manage attack, defense, mobility, magic, seed growth, health, food recipes, leveling up, and potions - all in real time. To make matters more interesting, many of these mechanics contrast each other.
Do you eat the apple in your inventory, thereby gaining immediate health, or do you keep it and use it later on in a larger food recipe? Do you allow the enemy crystals to be absorbed into your planted seeds, thereby growing new food items, or do you absorb them immediately to power your magic?
Quite a far cry from the easy "mash mash mash" you may see on earlier levels.
The game displays innovation in every category. Other reviewers have covered the system information (planting seeds, eating to gain health and health XP, etc). I've never played any other game like this one, and found it amazingly fun.
Pros:
* Gameplay depth
* Fast-paced
* Crisp, beautiful graphics
* Innovative potion / health / recipe system
* Tradeoffs between magic and food require planning and strategy
* Ability to retry any individual map instantly, no loading
* Ability to restart any area with current XP and items (if the area is too hard)
Cons:
* Boss fights are extremely diffcult compared to basic storyline
* Managing potions, food, and recipes can be overwhelming
The Ultimate Swan Song for PS2 May 25, 2007
John Figueroa
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
If you are a real video game fan, and not just the type who buys an XBOX so they can play "Madden", then you owe it to yourself to play this game. In the nearly seven years the ps2 has been on the market, there has never been a more sumptuous argument for the notion that there is plenty of gaming still left to be done in two dimensions. The aesthetic detail is absolutely mind blowing; the animation: exalted. Really, still images will do this game very little justice. You have to see it in motion to appreciate it, and even then, you will wonder how the hell they pulled it off. The game play is no less sublime, offering the kind of robustness,in terms of cause and effect, that is seldom seen outside of the Street Fighter series: When you hit something in this game, you feel like you connected and your avatar has weight, presence. The story line mixes elements of Norse Mythology with marionette style stage play to interweave five equally poignant tales, all to the backdrop of some of the finest gaming music you are likely to hear until the end of the "Next Generation." You will hear naysayers gripe about load times in this game, or slowdown; listen carefully: NEITHER IS NEARLY AS MUCH A HINDRANCE AS YOU MAY HAVE BEEN CONVINCED OF! The slowdown is infrequent, and the load times, though commonplace, are snappy. There is so much more to describe, but it's better you discover the intricacies of this title for yourself; if you love games, 2D, and anything old school with a touch of the new, your game has arrived.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 50
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