E3 06: Enchanted Arms Hands-On

LOS ANGELES--Slated to be the first Japanese role-playing game to hit the Xbox 360, Enchanted Arms is the work of developer From Software, known for its Armored Core and Otogi games. Enchanted Arms is a full-on RPG, set in a fantasy world in which massive elemental golems once served humankind. At some point, the golems simply went insane, wreaking incredible damage and leaving the land devastated, mysteriously stopping and shutting down some time later. Hundreds of years later, the golems begin acting up again, and one young man named Atsuma seems to be able to absorb their power and control them. This premise was hinted at through some impressive-looking cutscenes we checked out, in which a huge, fiery golem with a molten stone sword took on a slender, watery golem in what could only be described as a clash of the titans. But we were eager to start playing.

Afterward, we dove right into a combat scenario in which Atsuma and several allies took on a demon golem, fuming with fiery power. Combat in Enchanted Arms seems as much inspired by collectible card games as it is by other previous role-playing games, so expect to have to use strategy and skill to win your battles. Each character in your party may be equipped with several different unique skills--there are no character classes per se, so how you distribute your skills, as well as your characters' attributes, will have a lot to do with how effective you are in battle. The other thing about Enchanted Arms' combat is that you sequence your turn, deciding who does what in which order before committing to the moves and watching them play out. This lets you strategically combine your skills, rather than watch as characters take turns purely based on their initiative scores. Of course, that doesn't mean you'll have an easy time. Our opponent was able to take out a couple of members of our party with a couple of explosive attacks. However, the battle was far from finished.

Once in a while, characters may gather up energy to use particularly damaging special attacks (with names like Meteo Rush), and we were able to dish these out as Atsuma and a companion of his, Raigar. The combat graphics all seem to be rendered in real time and look quite impressive--they're clearly evocative of the Final Fantasy summoning sequences, and indeed, you'll be able to use a combination of both human characters and golems to do your dirty work. The golems are all unique and have their own specializations and powers. A rep for Ubisoft informed us that more than 75 different golems could eventually be found, and the game will even offer an online-arena battle mode, letting you pit your best party against other players. Expect some hidden surprises--we were delighted to learn, for instance, that one of the golems was none other than Raikoh, the undead hero from From Software's underappreciated Otogi games.

Enchanted Arms will reportedly feature 50 hours of gameplay, or even more for those who want to find everything in the game. But it won't just force you to slog on through noninteractive sequences, since there's a fast-forward option in battle, and you can even attempt to autoresolve those battles you don't wish to fight.

We managed to vanquish the fiery golem in the end, no doubt because we had a ton of hit points for the purposes of an E3 demo designed to make show-goers feel good about themselves and get excited about Enchanted Arms. A cutscene followed, revealing how from the burning husk of the golem's body spilled forth a young woman, very much unconscious if not dead. Atsuma barely catches her as she falls, but this sequence raises some interesting questions about exactly what these golems running amok are all about.

Enchanted Arms is being localized right now--the version at E3 has English dialogue but Japanese text. The final US version won't have a Japanese language track, but Ubisoft reps reassured us that great care is going into the voice over for the game. Enchanted Arms will be available sometime this summer, exclusively for the Xbox 360. Stick to GameSpot for further coverage.