[PS2] Soul Nomad and the World Eaters

"SOUL NOMAD & THE WORLD EATERS"
Developer: Nippon Ichi
North American Publisher: NIS America
Genre: Strategy RPG
Price: $39.99 USD
NA Release date: 25 Sept. 2007
Title in Japan: Soul Cradle (released 15 Feb. 2007)

US box art:


JP box art:


Official English website: http://www.nisamerica.com/games/soulnomad/

Story as explained by Hindman's wife while Hindman nods and pretends to get it:
"Soul Nomad and the World Eaters opens with the game world largely in disarray, thanks to three particularly nasty creatures, called the--you guessed it--"World Eaters," and the demon forces that controlled them two hundred years back. Their commander has been sealed away, but the World Eaters are sitting dormant in the world, posing an obvious threat. In some sort of sealed village, the hero, whose gender the player selects at the start of the game, is training for battle. The idyllic lifestyle is short-lived as he is called to wield an Onyx Blade that contains the spirit of Gig, badguy supreme. The hero is apparently the only one who can possibly contain Gig's spirit without getting consumed. Even then, Gig is constantly trying to lend the hero more of his power, which will slowly destroy the hero's soul and leave behind a body for Gig to ravage the world in. In and out of battle, Gig approaches with all kinds of offers for dark power of smiting, many of which are dotted with a telltale "Bad Ending" symbol. The story holds some promise and is complemented by a script that is more serious and less humorous than previous Nippon Ichi games--not to mention more crass."

Gameplay: Said to be somewhat similar to other Nippon Ichi titles, but not so much to the point one can call it a Phantom Brave or Disagea knockoff. Players create/revruit characters from among the game's almost 30 varieties and prepares them to battle enemies, so tha tthe main character does not have to reply on Gig as much. Too much use of Gig would like, eat the world or something. The visuals and sounds are a lot like Disagea, but the gameplay does not seem overly so.

Battles are turn-based and on a grid, but use squads instead of single-chara-versus-single-chara type actions to play out. Room decor and formation also have very big inpacts on how a squad will perform, and players need think carefully about both of these things. Additionally, rooms can be augmented with decorations, which provide a variety of bonuses in addition to the room's normal effect.

Reviews:
RPG Land: RPG LAND Game Review: Soul Nomad and the World Eaters

Quote:

Overall, Soul Nomad and the World Eaters is a wonderful addition to the NIS family of tactical RPGs, providing a deep and enjoyable combat system along with a serious plot that quite surpasses its predecessors, while still retaining a certain level of humor that Nippon Ichi is known for. Where else could one get the line, "You sister-loving man-cow!"?

(Also discussed at length within the site's podcast, starting at about the 45-minute mark)

Game Vortex: Soul Nomad and the World Eaters On GameVortex.com

Quote:

While the gameplay helps to make Soul Nomad and the World Eaters stand out, its main character, Gig, makes it a memorable and entertaining one.
...
hroughout the game, Gig will tempt you with power; ignoring Gig's temptations could mean death, but accepting his help allows him to corrupt your soul a little more - eventually allowing him to completely take over your body.

GamerNode: GamerNode: PlayStation 2 Video Game Reviews - Soul Nomad & the World Eaters

Quote:

Unlike a lot of past NIS games, this one doesn't involve nearly as much back tracking and customization which is something the diehard NIS faithful will dislike, but the non-initiated (or busy) will appreciate. You can also tie levels to your main character, meaning you don't have to go and grind over and over and over in most situations.

Movies:
US trailer: YouTube - Soul Nomad and the World Eaters US Trailer
Combat overview trailer: YouTube - Soul Nomad and the World Eaters US fight Trailer
Gig Edicts: YouTube - Soul Nomad 2 Edicts
Trailer from NISA press event: YouTube - Soul Nomad Trailer


Screens:









Jam it back in, in the dark.

Just by looking at the way the squads are set up, I'm getting some Ogre Battle vibes out of that. After watching the combat trailer, I'm even more hopeful that plays the same like the Ogre Battle series which can only be a good thing because I loved that series to death. Definitely looks like something worth checking out.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Is it just me or does that dialogue font look serious weird? Take a look a the seventh screenshot and tell me that I'm imagining it if you wish, but that 'g' and 'b' look like they don't fit with the rest of the letters.

Just another example of sloppy localisation on the part of NIS America, I guess. They bring some of the best games over, and they do nice work overall... but they are so sloppy about the little details.

How ya doing, buddy?

Yeah, it looks like the same font they used on Disgaea 2 which just made if feel weird after having Disgaea's font burnt on my retina. Their choice in font as of late as puzzled me as they had good fonts in Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom.

As the NIS whore that I am, I'll eventually pick this up but I'm pleased that it looks like you'll have to use some actual battle strategy rather than level up strategy.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by ZeroSlash

Yeah, it looks like the same font they used on Disgaea 2 which just made if feel weird after having Disgaea's font burnt on my retina. Their choice in font as of late as puzzled me as they had good fonts in Phantom Brave and Makai Kingdom.

It was this bad in Disgaea 2? I didn't really notice, since I was too busy staring at the mass of horrendous typos and spelling mistakes in that game. They released that one when their QA team was out to lunch, I tell ya.

I'm a huge NIS fan, but I'm not a fan of NIS America at all. They just bring me the games, ya know? I like the company that makes the games.

How ya doing, buddy?

I'm rather lenient on typos and misspellings as I'm horrible in that manner myself. So long as the voices are ok and speak with good grammar I can live. It's just that the font is annoying with all the sharp angles as opposed to the rounded style of the previous games' fonts.

I rather like NISA for being a rather off the wall localizer releasing off the wall RPGs. It's just that they seem to be slipping in some finer areas now.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I hear Asagi has an actual role in the story now.

Aside from that, I have little interest in this game. The import seemed alright, but nothing to get excited about.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by ZeroSlash

I'm rather lenient on typos and misspellings as I'm horrible in that manner myself. So long as the voices are ok and speak with good grammar I can live. It's just that the font is annoying with all the sharp angles as opposed to the rounded style of the previous games' fonts.

I rather like NISA for being a rather off the wall localizer releasing off the wall RPGs. It's just that they seem to be slipping in some finer areas now.

Like I said, the overall quality of their work is fine. They really need to keep working on the details though. Personally typos and misspelled words drive me nuts. Ruined my experience of Disgaea 2, because it breaks immersion for me.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Is this set to have a wide release like Disgaea 2 or will it become rare instantly? (Even Wal-Mart still has plenty of Disgaea 2 here.) The reviews generally seem favorable.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

What is it about NiS games that make me so impatient to level up fast D:

I just got this and i'm like MAN I WANNA BE LEVEL 300000 ALREADY yeesh.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Just picked up the game today, and now I'm cycling between this and Halo 3. Halo 3 when people are around and online at peak hours, Soul Nomad when people aren't. By the way, I just love Gig's attitude in the game. XD

How ya doing, buddy?

I just started playing this. I have to admit that I don't understand anything about the way the game is supposed to be played yet. I get the most basic ideas, but the details will continue to elude me for a few more hours. I guess that's half the fun, but it's been a long time since I picked up an SRPG that I didn't already mostly understand. All the previous NIS titles have been pretty similar after all, and almost every other game in the genre owes a huge debt to Fire Emblem and (to a lesser extent) Final Fantasy Tactics.

The font looks every bit as funky as I thought it might from that screenshot up there. The story is just plain weird, and not in the usual NIS way. I can tell that NIS America have punched up the dialogue rather, adding an even more vulgar feel to Gig's dialogue than was in the original. I don't exactly mind that, since it's still in character. I have spotted one glaring grammatical error, which is par for the course with NIS America, but I guess there's not much to complain about so far with the localisation. The English voices sound fine, as you'd expect from this company.

I've heard there's not much variety in the moves you get in this game, but it's an interesting concept. Right off the bat I've got to say I don't instantly feel drawn in by this game, but I'll certainly keep playing to see how it develops before I make any kind of a judgement.

It's odd to see an NIS game without their usual style of amusing dialogue. I thought that Disgaea 2 was a more serious and less funny game than Disgaea, but this is much more serious yet. It actually reads like a straight up RPG story this time. I suppose Phantom Brave did as well, but I couldn't stand the characters voices in that, so I didn't give it a chance to impress me.

Overall it seems like there's a lot to take in and to understand. People say this game is rather similar to Ogre Battle, which I have never played. That might explain why I'm finding it all rather unfamiliar. If all the other players of this game have encountered the system before, it's going to help them a lot.

That's my first impressions, based on less than an hour of play. I'll say more when I've actually got some idea what I'm doing. I hope there are decent number of other GFFers playing this, so we can compare notes. Once I've put in another couple of hours I'll be in a better position to discuss the game with y'all. In other words, this evening.

How ya doing, buddy?

Ogre Battle? I guess it's similar in that characters just sort of attack and do their thing when they come into contact with an enemy, but that's about it. Ogre Battle is real-time, so I wouldn't say they're all that alike.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Whoa! I love it's character design. I've been NIS fan since Phantom brave and kinda unpleased their design(Including Disgaea) This is great different from older NIS game.
I wish I've my PS2 in my dormitory now. T-T

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Originally Posted by Generic Badass

Ogre Battle? I guess it's similar in that characters just sort of attack and do their thing when they come into contact with an enemy, but that's about it. Ogre Battle is real-time, so I wouldn't say they're all that alike.

They're similar in the fact that in Soul Nomad you put characters in a squad and they do different attacks depending on what position they are in (front, middle, or rear). I think that's what people are referring to.

FELIPE NO

The squad-based combat is intriguing, and I can't help but compare its appearance to Ogre Battle. I loved Ogre Battle 64, so this is extremely tempting. How good is the story for this one? It's interesting to hear that NIS took a serious approach with the script for once.

Sadly, it'll be awhile before I pick this up. I still haven't even started Makai Kingdom yet, which is the reason why I never bothered to buy Disgaea 2.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Found the story itself not great, but the presentation and writing top-notch, which I think is more important anyways.

How ya doing, buddy?

Quote:

I thought that Disgaea 2 was a more serious and less funny game than Disgaea, but this is much more serious yet.

Disgaea 2's story can't be taken seriously since it ends before it begins.

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Originally Posted by Elixir

Disgaea 2's story can't be taken seriously since it ends before it begins.

How ya doing, buddy?

Well, I finally got my copy and pumped about 6 hours into it. Like most NIS games it pulls you in with the promises of getting ultimately strong. I'm enjoying the squad combat which makes a nice change of pace for most RPGs I've played. So far my only real complaints are how some of my clerics will heal the character that needs it less than another one. Another thing that seems misplaced are all the dialouge "choices" so far it's usually only one choice just to give the main character a little voice but it feels like it would have been more complete if there were more than one to either get different dialouge paths and change the game around kinda like in persona or something like Steambot Chronicles. I mean it would have been cool with the "you are the main character" vibe. But it's still lovable NIS quality so I'm happy.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?