However, the dual-release of one version with anime cut-scenes and another with CG cut-scenes is a little odd, as it's exactly the same game apart from those eight, short video clips.
But, simply put: it's fun.
The characters are easy to relate to and empathise with. The voice acting really lends its full weight to their personalities. We feel Shingu's pain and guilt. We know how protective Hisui is of Kohaku. We can enjoy the bonds between the characters.
The story centres around Shingu Meteorite and Kohaku Hearts. Our hero Shingu finds siblings Hisui and Kohaku Hearts on the shore near his village one day. Believing Kohaku has the 'Despir Sickness', Shingu attempts to heal her via what is known as a 'SpirLink' (pronounced "spear-link") – when a Soma-wielding person enters another's 'SpirMaze', somewhat like entering a person's dream. Unfortunately, Kohaku's Spirune are subsequently scattered all over the world. Shingu then vows to get back all the pieces that make up Kohaku's personality. And so the game begins.
Controlling Shingu and Co. is very straightforward, D-pad to move and jump, Y is guard, X opens the menu, A is a standard attack, and B is a special attack which changes depending on what part of the D-pad is pressed at the same time. Which attack is linked to which combination is customisable and can even be changed mid-battle. This is very useful as it means attribute-effective attacks can be used to deal more damage to enemies.
Each character has two gauges. The first is only used by the player-controlled character and decreases as they attack an enemy. Stronger attacks decrease it faster. Defending against some enemy attacks will help boost this gauge ready for the counter-attack. If it reaches zero, the player must wait for it to recharge slightly before they can continue attacking.
The second gauge only fills up as damage is done to enemies. This energy is used to unleash some special attacks or to call out another character to attack/heal, etc. Strategic use of every character's gauge is essential when fighting stronger bosses later on.
The player only controls one character at a time and the other characters in the battle are handled by the computer. The AI can be set to various tasks like 'attacking nearest enemy', 'healing', etc. It handles the roles very well, but not so well as to make the game too easy. Player-controlled characters are very responsive, though the story forces alternative characters to be used at certain points in the story, so beware of getting too comfortable with just the one of them.
After defeating bad guys, you get items and materials. These materials are used for what is called 'Soma Build[ing]'. Like ingredients in a recipe, they can be used to upgrade the abilities of characters. Anything from health increases to the ultimate 'Combination Blaster'. When a character has learnt certain skills through Soma Build[ing], the 'Soma Evolve' option appears. This then allows that character's Soma to be powered up, but according to the chosen route. Each time there are three options: Battle Skills and Parameter Skills; Parameter Skills and Support Skills; Support Skills and Battle Skills. The upgradeable abilities and stats increases that are received vary accordingly.
Finding the materials needed to upgrade certain things on characters provides reason to wander around and grind the day away. The random battles are very short and can sometimes be completed in a matter of seconds or avoided completely, as the meandering monsters are easy to see and easy enough to avoid, should that be desired. Those who enjoy video games but detest the endless grinding that seems obligatory these days can rest at ease. You will WANT to do it.
Namco's Tales Studio also added a little extra fan service. Throughout the game there are items which seemingly do nothing... Until the player reaches a certain point and can then use 'EX attacks'. This is when a character from another game can be summoned to the battle to attack the enemy currently being targeted. The DS's touch screen has been used well for this, it serves as a 'support attack' command console. Initially starting with 2 slots, to which any character's attack/support moves or items can be assigned, as can the previously mentioned EX attacks. It's perfectly placed to simply tap with a thumb in a spare split-second to summon that character. If the character is already in the battle, they obey the command at the earliest opportunity. An excellent tactic here is to have characters with healing abilities sit out the battle and bring them in to heal when necessary.
While following the story, the player is taken to many different places, and made to fight many different people and things. The puzzles en route are not as taxing as they might have been, though this is definitely not a bad point. They serve to break the game up a little by adding some light thinking to the mix.
Admittedly, the story does seem to drag a little, and 50+ hours is perhaps a little much for a hand-held game (forgetting the Gotta Grind 'Em All series), but when it's done you'll be wanting to go back for more.
Score: 8/10
Glossary:
Spiria – a person's heart and spirit.
Soma – a weapon which utilises a person's Spiria.
Spirune ("spear-rune") – pieces of a person's Spiria. Each one is an emotion or similar.
SpirLink ("spear-link") – a way to enter a person's SpirMaze for whatever purpose.
SpirMaze ("spear-maze") – only seen after performing a SpirLink, it is the physical manifestation of a person's defences around their Spiria. Can essentially be thought of as a dungeon to play through.
Despir Sickness – a disease affecting people's Spiria, displayed through a change in character. Different people are affected in different ways.