Second Opinion: Dewprism

The spiritual sequel to Brave Fencer Musashi, Dew Prism seems to improve on and innovate in almost every way Square's action/RPG formula. Dewprism's greatest feature is its ability it gives you to play the game with two drastically different characters: a young girl named Mint and a young boy named Rue. Mint fights enemies with a hoop in each hand, sashaying her way to victory like a berserker gymnast. She can also cast a variety of magic spells; both found in the demo are projectile attacks.

Rue's differences run deeper than a mere weapon swap however. A token appears whenever the swordsman defeats an enemy. Picking up the token lets Rue assume the enemy's form and function. The change need not be immediate either: Rue has an "inventory" of recently defeated enemies from which to select. Judging from the demo, absolutely every enemy - excluding bosses - can be "assimilated." And with no cost involved for transforming from one form to another, Rue undoubtedly finds himself in a nonhuman form more often than not.

The demo lets players play through the first scenario as either character, and subtle gameplay variations abound. For example, at one point during the demo, an NPC challenges the player to a race. While Mint is hopelessly outclassed, Rue can transform into a wolf to outpace his competitor on land or become a flying creature to quickly soar over water obstacles. Some puzzle solutions vary slightly according to each character's skills, as do strategies against boss opponents.

Graphics are bright and cartoony, a la Brave Fencer, with seamless polygon models and detailed, tracked environments. The few tunes showcased in the demo are peppy, upbeat, and well suited to the game's style. These days, it's rare enough for an action RPG worth playing to come along. That Square is making one potentially worth playing twice is reason for genre fans to rejoice.