Level 5's long awaited White Knight Chronicles is fun, but feels like only half a game...
From the makers of Rogue Galaxy, the Dark Cloud series, and other titles comes White Knight Chronicles, an RPG for those without a lot of time on their hands.
Gamplay:
Like most role-playing games, WKC utilizes a party system. As you progress you will meet a few new (and forgettable) characters and join forces with a number of NPC party guests. When battling, EXP points are doled out to all characters, active or not, making it so that you really have no need of ever using your weaker characters. Also while leveling, each character receives 4 SKILL points to be spent on various attacks, raising stats, magic, etc. The rudimentary system is comparable to the License Board of FFXII, though nowhere near as interesting. One complaint I've heard about FFXII is that all characters can learn all the same skills; in this game a few of the skill trees are off limits for some, making those characters weak and pretty much useless.
Battling is easy and somewhat fun as everything is done in real-time, but you are only ever in control of one character, just like another Level 5 game, Rogue Galaxy. How do the others fight, you ask? You simply give them commands in the main menu and they will perform them dutifully. The downside is that the command menu is less detailed than say, FFXII's similar system. In FFXII you had the power to give commands based on certain conditions (i.e. Heal after X% HP loss, etc). In this game you have to learn to trust your AI party members and more often then not they will come through for you…but still it's quite a crapshoot (i.e. All members need to be healed but your healer will only heal 1 person even though s/he also has a 'group heal' command programmed as well). In all though the game is extremely easy and if you find yourself dying often you're probably doing something wrong.
Another important aspect of the battle system is your AC or "Action Chip" meter. Landing blows on your foe (or taking hits yourself) can give you action chips, which are the currency you pay to use skills. A basic attack requires zero AC but more advanced moves can take 4 (and combos even more). When your AC meter is nearly full you'll have the option of transforming into the White Knight, a process comparable to Usagi transforming into Sailor Moon, no joke.
Usually you won't need to transform for anything less than a boss fight (or on occasions when multiple massive enemies decide to attack your party together)…but user be warned! Fighting as the Knight is as clunky and slow as a beat up old truck. He walks like his feet are in cement, but at least he can attack swiftly and do massive damage.
Quests can be attained throughout the game and are accessible from the World Map. When you select a location on the map a list of available quests in that location is also shown, making it quite easy to see what you've got. Partaking in said quests is not as simple as all that however. First off, you should know that the level recommendation for each quest is not to be paid attention to. If you are level 8 and go solo into a level 8 and above quest you will likely be served up on a silver platter to some trolls. You see, you have 2 options when questing: online co-op or offline solo (and solo means ONE CHARACTER). The online co-op gives you the opportunity to join a friend, or to be matched with another player also working on the same quest. Personally I found questing to be disappointing, and wish you could use your entire party.
SCORE=8
Graphics and Sound:
This isn't the most beautiful game I've ever played, but it's no slouch either. The environments aren't all that and a bag of chips, but the subtleties are nice: sand blowing through the desert, the sway of plants in the breeze, the babbling brooks, etc. The real beauty of this game however, is in the cinematic cut scenes. Wow, talk about spectacular…if only WKC lived up to the pace of those scenes. The music is also decent, though nothing to write home about and the Japanese voice-acting is above-average.
SCORE=9
Story:
Within the first 20 minutes of White Knight Chronicles, you should pretty much have grasped the gist of the entire plot.
Our hero Leonard has a job at the local liquor store and is sent to the neighboring village to bring back wine for the feast at the castle. At said village he meets up with our heroine Yuri and they return to the castle together---dreaming of the luxury and riches within. Surprisingly they are not shot dead on the scene when they decide to sneak in for a better view…but they are there just in time to be caught in a massive attack on the city by an evil organization called Wizard. The fiends proceed to slay his majesty, the revered king, and pursue Leonard and the princess into the bowels of the castle…
…where the White Knight's armor awaits…
Too bad for Leonard, the fair princess is kidnapped and thus begins your harrowing journey into lands unknown! Along the way you'll run into an adulterous amphibian organized crime boss, learn to fly dandelions, and much more! To be fair, it isn't THAT much more. I finished the main quest in 26hrs with extensive item searching and so on…so don't expect an epic adventure.
It's a shame really…I would've been content to continue my quest much further.
SCORE=7
Value:
Like I said, the main quest lasted a grand total of 26hrs for me. Searching for weapons, items to improve your equipment, etc. can take some time…but you shouldn't feel the need to spend such time. Weapons/Armor you find/buy along the way will prove more than adequate to complete your journey and employing the services of the amphibian smithies is unnecessary. It's a shame things couldn't be a bit more difficult…I may have had more fun (and that's probably the first time I've ever said that). Regardless, there are a number of multi-player oriented quests out there for you to try out, but if you're a gamer that wants to play alone, don't bother with WKC until you find it discounted.
There are plenty of trophies to be had for you trophy nuts out there and also a town-building option in GeoNet (WKC's online service) so you should be able to get a lot of time out of this title, but again, it won't come from the main story itself.
SCORE=8
Summary:
This is a game I've heard hyped by a number of people for quite a while and I discovered it one day at my local game store selling for 1700yen ($17) so I thought I'd check it out. At first I was sucked into it and quite excited to get started…but in the end I sat there scratching my head, wondering what I had just played. White Knight Chronicles was the equivalent of a 30-minute television episode…when I was expecting a 2hr movie. My final word? Wait until the price drops.
Gameplay=8
Graphics and Sound=9
Story=7
Value=8
Overall=8