Folklore for the ps3 is a ACTION game with very minor rpg elements thrown in. Simply put the action is similar to that of the Kingdom Hearts series, you use a variety of combos to take out your foes. There is no traditional jrpg menu driven combat system in this game. Hence an action/hack n slash title. The reason why this game leans towards rpg is because you can select the types of attacks that you have on hand to use from a variety of attacks that you accumulate throughout the game. Its strong points are the very well executed combat system and the top notch design/graphics/visuals. Where the game falls short is the lack of rpg elements, and a lackluster story. I will elaborate in detail in the following paragraphs.
What is interesting about the combat system is the distinct use of the enemies you defeat. For example the first time you take down the "horned bull" and absorb its "spirit" you can then attack using this spirit and the "horned bull" is visually represented during your attack a few feet in front of your character, visually this is very neat. Furthermore linking together combos from various spirits makes for some distinct gameplay that in my opinion far surpasses the extremely repetitive nature of combat found in games like Kingdom Hearts. There is allot of room for creativity in how and when you combine your attacks/spirits. The combat is very fun and beautifully executed visually, if you are a fan of fantasy styled visuals you will not be disappointed.
Which leads me to what strikes me most about this game, the over all art design and wonderful use of color. The many environments, and various foes look just fantastic. Design wise I would describe the look and feel of this game as Hansel and Gretel meets Final Fantasy meets Wizard of Oz. Very distinct traditional story book vibe meets modern fantasy feel which had me deeply absorbed for the first 5 hours or so simply due to the solid combat and the distinctly gorgeous visuals. Though like most things beautiful that lack "heart", over time the flaws begin to outweigh the visual beauty.
When I said this game is NOT an rpg that is because it isn't in the traditional sense. Your character is in one very small town throughout the game and you interact with a very limited number of characters that you must interact with to unlock the next action driven playable area. There is no open world, various towns, player defined pacing of game play. Which is not a big deal to me, just do not go in with the expectation of jrpg styled exploration. This game is on rails.
And the story. In my opinion the story was convoluted, abstract and bland. There are really no memorable characters in the game. And by around hour 12 I had lost all interest in the unfolding "mystery", I simply didn't care about the story or characters.
That about sums it up Folklore. If you are looking for a different action title to mix into your gaming routine, then I say go for it, the combat is fun and distinct. Again the game looks just great, I am a fan of the art design and the graphics. On the negative side the game itself does not let you "explore", and the story was very hard to follow and boring. The characters are far from memorable and are all image and no heart. I really wanted to love this game as it made such a strong impact at the outset, though over time I just found myself not wanting to "hack it out" to learn more about a story/characters that I simply did not understand/care about. Three star game worth about $15-$20.
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