The Sword of Etheria (OZ)
 

This might actually count as an action-RPG but, since the game doesn't seem to use numbers of any kind for health or damage and the like, I'll say it's action.

Okay, so I imported this game from Europe (NTSC mode in a great game is fucking rad), and I'm wondering if any PAL-ites here have played it. It's an action game from the makers of Suikoden (the game shares a lot of staff from Suikoden III in particular) that has very loose references to the Wizard of Oz. The game's main draw and unique feature is its strong emphasis on juggling enemies to earn money, use special moves, and other stuff. It's boring and easy as hell if you simply run through by hacking guys to bits on the ground (the enemy AI's primary goal is to interrupt your juggling, and as such is fairly passive), so the comboing ends up being very rewarding because of the game's smart ally-AI and fancy effects.

The game's been out for almost a year in Europe so I can't imagine there being a lot of people who've played it lately, but still, I'm not very far and I'd like to hear the opinions of fans.

EDIT: Sort of vague, so I'll be adding in some images and such.

http://www.siliconera.com/ps2/oz/050710s3.jpg

http://www.eurogamer.net/assets/arti..._Etheria05.jpg

http://www.tokidokijournal.com/upload/hayate/oz1.jpg

I remember Miles being all over the Japanese version and trying to get people to try it out. It never really caught my interest outside the neat character designs. The fact that they felt they need to redub it and rename it for Europe was kinda depressing as usual.

Really, the only thing unfaithful to the original is the title. All the characters still share their similarities with the Wizard of Oz (names, Lex appearances), but the game has always been about battling against the Gods. Unless you're talking about a literal redub, in which case it could be a lot worse-- I'm told there are some fairly well-known voice actors who lent their voices. Hopefully Miles will chime in, maybe tell me why I always fuck up juggles on the third go-around amongst the group.

It's kind of funny, since Konami came up with a different name for each region (OZ in Japan, Sword of Etheria in Europe, and Chains of Power in Korea).

Heh, I've yet to take my time and obtain all of the endings, but this game is definately awesome! <3

Kickass stylish artworks and designs? check
Wicked musical score that fits the action perfectly? check
Fun team-based battle system with an AI-controlled party that isn't dumb? check and check!

I really like how fast the characters move between the fighting segments too.

On the negative side, methinks that it's the type of game that a lot of people would find repetitive and the graphics might not wow everyone.
That said, it's the finest 3D game from Konami that I've played. I don't know why they decided to release the console CastleVanias or Nanobreakerwhatever in the US instead.

... I'd link images, but I apparently can't post anything until I get my post count back up again... ah well.

That's sort of the weird thing, as I believe several people from the usual Castlevania development team were brought in for OZ. Considering how smart and stylish a game it is, you'd think Konami would want more of these joint-internal development studio games.

Seriously, a Castlevania with Suikoden influences would be ridiculously awesome.

Played the game a few months ago and I initially liked it. But when I advanced further in the game, I found it ridiculously difficult to keep chaining enemies in the air because other enemies attacked me. Seriously, I was getting so frustrated in the end I eventually gave up.

Too bad though, because the game had potential. Shame that the 'cutscenes' were mostly textboxes.

You need to stop waiting around for the enemy to come back to you and either start guarding or start whacking the guys surrounding you.

Haha, in my case I only had trouble with the very first mission, since Feel/Fiel starts out alone o_o
It seemed to be getting easier from then on until the end, and chaining attacks made more and more sense.

In fact, even when restarting I kept finding the first mission a bit trickier to rank in well than the others!

If I remember correctly, you can switch around your main character eventually, and buy powerups which makes chaining much easier.

Over Zenith is one of the games I anticipated, along with Berserk Millennium Falcon Arc: Chapter of the Record of the Holy Demon War. But alas.

Hey, at least Etheria is out on Europe. Might as well import it.

Holy shit, I just unlocked Bonus mode and played a stage with Leon. Encouraged by this, I checked out GameFAQs to see what other bonuses there are.

Seriously, best game to never come out in the US. Sin and Punishment my ass.

I remember seeing previews for this a long time ago. I was quite pissed off when I read it wasn't coming over. /endrant\ Anyway we get Victorious Boxers 2 for $10.00 . It just came out yet is kinda rare I've heard good things about Victorious Boxers 2.

Why this game didn't get any North America release ?? :(

Oh, didn't notice anyone post in this.

No one's really sure why, particularly when it's been released in every other region (Japan obviously, Asia, and most western European nations). There was a rumor back in the day that SCEA blocked it to prevent any competition for the then-upcoming release of Genji, which it was publishing. Who knows how legitimate that claim is.

I got the game a while ago, but I haven't played it yet. I have a question though.

That's actually just an alternate costume for Fiel. In each stage there's a hidden item called "Fragment of Intelligence", and extras are unlocked by nabbing a certain amount through any one playthrough. I believe the costumes are obtained through this way.

Wow, I just lost ANY interest in this game. Suiko III was a load of utter garbage.

Because the RPG and Action genres are so markedly different, it's very likely the bulk of the Suikoden III staff present did not do any of the programming. More like art direction, music, etcetera.

The battle programmers are more than likely from the Castlevania team, which may or may not excite you, given their track record for three-dimensional titles in the series. Still, if you were actually in a position to buy and play it, you'd be missing out by not doing so.

Great game, picked it up the day it was released in Europe. It has some problems, such as the slowdown, but nothing that ruins play. I love the music and art style, and although the gameplay does get a bit repetitive after a while I had too much fun with the juggling for it to be a problem for me. Pity there was never a sequel, as if you sort out some of the technical issues, clean up the targeting and build on the fighting system it'd make for an amazing game.

My god I had the JP import for this long and I just found out there's an English European version?!

Defintly slipped the radar on my end. Now I need to find out how to import it.

Wow, I'm amazed anyone besides me actually played this game! Personally, I love it, so much that I have some of the promotional artwork up in my room.

The odd elements from Castlevania (Leon being an indirect reference to Leon Belmont, especially with his secret costume) and Silent Hill (the Bunny making an appearance as an alternate outfit), combined with the bizarre warped Wizard of Oz setting with the demon names taken from classical Greek and Latin...the whole thing sounds very bizarre in writing but somehow manages to work on screen. It also has a soundtrack by the fantastic Michiru Yamane, who I adore.

In some ways, it has similarities to Chaos Legion (especially in the Let's See How Many Enemies We Can Fit On The Screen mentality), but the addition of the two allies gives it an edge. The only thing I didn't like (beyond the slightly dodgy voice acting) was the fact that the chapters of the story mode were locked (a bit like DMC1) and even though there was an EX mode that allowed you to play previous chapters again, I would have preferred having the cutscenes included.

Yeah, with just a few changes, it could've gone from an excellent game to near-perfect. I can always hope for a sequel, I guess, but I have no idea how well it sold.

Speaking of that, what was the name of that PS2 game that was supposed to have 60,000+ enemies on screen at once?

Ikusagami. It's an awesome game.

I assume it's Japan only too? I always wanted to try it after I first read about it, but I forgot about it until recently. I couldn't remember the name.

I tried it out a bit a few months ago since my friend has it, but I never got into the game much, and I haven't played itsince.
I saw that the main character can get an optional costume though, which is the Flame Champion outfit from Suikoden 3. Pretty cool for Suikoden fans. =p