New and Innovative SRPG
Fine Gameplay Indeed:
From the outset the game brings you into fray and gets you familiar with the basics of gameplay. For years I begged for a strategy game that allows for you to make the most of your movement and action (attack). RoS has this in spades. The ability to move about and attack simultaneously speeds up the battles, but keeps them strategic at the same time. If there is any dead space (time where enemies aren't near) you are able to pass through your allies for healing and attribute bonuses.
Character development is your typical SRPG fare. You can increase your ATK, DEF, MAG and MOV by leveling up. You also are able to learn skills and power them up as your earn points. There is a attack called the OverBreak which each character is able to perform "special" attack and support skill that can affect multiple enemies or allies. Pretty cool when you're in the bind. There is a gauge that has to be filled in order to use this.
I though the additional side items were quite nice. If anyone has played the Etrian Odyssey game there are some similarities here. When in town or traveling about you can attend to Quests (allows for improving you character's gear and magic, etc.) Train (increase your stats over time) and Shopping (I think a cool feature).
Shopping is interesting for you don't get to actually pick your items. You have to learn as a skill and send someone to choose items that could or could not benefit your party. Unusual and different, yes, but that's what Atlus is known for.
Graphics:
Good for a DS game - vivid and bright colors. The character sprites are decently drawn and complement the backgrounds (environment)
Sound:
The sound is your standard Atlus fare music which actually sound decent with a pair of headphones. The battle sounds get a little repetitive, but the option to skip the battle scenes are possible.
Challenge:
I found the game to be quite challenging and not to be taken for granted. There are a lot of things to pay attention to (movement, momentum counter's by enemies, and party alignment). At times you'll have to escape rather than fight, but as you progress you'll learn your best offensive and defensive strategies.
Conclusion -
I hope this review is useful. The gameplay mechanic is highly innovative. I can't tell of another strategy game that play's the way RoS does. I feel the reason the IGN or Gamespot team's haven't done a review is that they're probably playing this AWESOME game. My rating would be higher, but I could always hope for a sequel or another game in this genre. It's truly a new way to do strategy games and something not to miss out on.