An ambitious game in some respects but the speed of the game drags the rest of it down with it.
Septerra Core is a very ambitious game for many reasons. First of all, the sound is amazing in most areas. In battles, the music can be described as moody but it can get repetitive quickly but all other sounds are fantastic. From the laser shots to the sword swings, the combat sounds fit the tone and play quite well. On top of that, every word in the game is voice acted. This may very well be the first game where that is the case and because of that, the game is so very memorable. Each character as a unique personality that anyone can remember after playing and each distinct voice pulls you more into the game than one would expect. While you're playing, you can't help but feel that you know about them and you want them to succeed because they are people who have extraordinary problems.
On top of that, the story is so intriguing, you would have to be asleep not to get drawn in. The tale begins with the main character named Maya. She is a junker from Shell 2. The story is unique because the world is not a round planet but 7 flat shells around a rotating spine. I don't want to ruin it all for you but suffice to say, those above Maya and her companions are on route for something horrific and it is up to her to stymie their attempt.
The graphics are basic looking and can only run at a 640x480 resolution. This is highly unfortunate because the game doesn't look sharp at times but the sprites are colourful and it does run smoothly. Though the game is quite good, the one major issue is the game has is pacing. The pacing of the story is fine, but the battle's take much too long. Each character, including enemies, have a status bar that can be used at 1,2, or 3 bars. 1 are weaker attacks, 2 are medium attacks and 3 are your strongest attacks. The main problem is that when someone goes, the bar stops for everyone while the animation goes ahead for the one sprite doing something. This is okay when there are two people on the screen but when there are three group members and six enemies, well you can guess how long it can take. Not only that, but the characters seem to have superhuman jumping ability as they jump to the target to strike them. There should have been an option to make it real time.
There were some stability issues and some major bugs but if you download the latest patch, you probably won't have to worry about it.
The game was a great buy at sixty dollars in 1999 and is a steal at four dollars from the internet. If you wanna try an older RPG with an awesome story, spend a few bucks and get this gem.