Galerians: Ash is one of the most enthralling games I've ever played, to say nothing of being underrated.
In Galerians, we are introduced to Rion, who is something of an amnesiac with powerful psychic powers. As we led him through the game, we learned of his backstory, being the son of the man who created the aforementioned Dorothy and having, in his brain, the key to destroying her once and for all. He meets up with Lilia, a young girl who has the actual computer virus needed to destroy Dorothy, and he fights the Galerians, a group of powerful psychics who are attempting to destroy him to protect Dorothy, whom they consider their mother. We also learned that Rion was nothing more than a clone of the now dead boy Rion, with an advanced AI in his mind, and the execution program for the virus in his mind. Dorothy planned to use him to hunt down Lilia, but this turned out to be her downfall. Rion turned out to be more human than she could have expected, choosing to side with humanity and killing her with the virus. This also appeared to kill Rion, but if this game stars him, this obviously isn't true.
Galerians: Ash quickly thrusts us into the shoes of a newly awakened Rion, once again fighting to save humanity from the Galerians. Only now, these Last Galerians, seem to be on the verge of wiping out humanity with only Rion having the power to stop them. This leads you into a twisting turning head trip that is as much fun to follow as it is to play. Its almost like a survival horror game with a serious sci-fi bent to it.
The game play is what makes Galerians so original. Rion, as a powerful psychic of sorts, has a variety of attacks and a defense method that he can use to combat the Galerians and their minions. But his resources are not entirely unlimited; to fuel his powers, he has a variety of drugs that he will inject into his system. These vary in effects, from healing him, to recharging his energy for a particular attack so he can use it more or to ward off an impending short, a state that occurs after he uses his powers too much. When shorting, his psychic powers go into overdrive and he is invincible and kills enemies simply by being in proximity to them. However, he loses health slowly like this and he cannot use his other powers, making this both a blessing and curse. It takes measured use of all of his powers, shorting and his drugs to defeat the Last Galerians.
It should be said that the game play isnt all roses and candy. Rion moves stiffly, aggravatingly so at times and this can cause a variety of annoyances; from getting stuck on a wall as you try to turn a corner, or not being able to move quickly enough to evade an enemy attack or trap. In addition, with many of the boss fights, it is possible that you will get stuck, unable to defeat them if you do not have the right drugs to aid you. Should you short in a boss fight and not have a delmetor to ward it off, you will be stuck shorting, the boss unaffected by it, and dying very slowly. It makes keeping multiple saves a must for this game, not an option. The game itself is also somewhat confusing to follow if you try to figure out everything that is going on. Many things are not exactly what they seem in Galerians and it continues to be true in this game. This is especially true of the Last Galerians and their leader, Ash.
Also, the graphics and combat need to be mentioned as well. While the cinemas are pretty top notch in quality, the in game graphics are nothing all that special, especially for a PS 2 game. Seeing as how this game came out none too long after the Resident Evil remake for the Game Cube, the fact that it looks closer to a PS One RE game is pretty annoying. Also, the combat requires you to charge each attack before you release it. Should you be hit or let go of the button before your concentration bar has filled, you must start the charge over. While this isnt all that bad for some attacks, others take some time and make using them on bosses quite annoying. However, the sound is excellent in Galerians. While the lip synching is pretty horrible (they didnt adjust it for the american version) the voice acting in this game is very believeable and at no point was I pulled out of the experience by it, quite the opposite in fact. The story itself is told through many full cinemas that, while they make the game that much more enthralling, they never become so common as to be aggravating.
Galerians: Ash is a game that rewards you for actually looking past its only so-so shell and delving into what is in front of you. While some may be turned off by the repetitive levels, I found myself continually pulled into this game, wanting to uncover the secrets that lie behind that next door. And the final disclosures of the storyline blew my mind away, leaving me wishing desperately for more information on the world of Galerians. Very few games have ever done that to me and for that reason, Galerians: Ash goes on the list of my favorite games of all time. I can only hope you will give it a try and agree.
Score: 9/10