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IGN Review of Folklore
A melancholic piano sighs under the backdrop of sea-blown wind. As you meander along the paths of Doolin village, your steps color the scene with murder, suspicion and knowledge of the many realms of the Netherworld. This surreal and often-times haunted journey is the journey of Folklore - and this is one great reason to own a PlayStation 3.
Folklore, a title developed by Game Republic, is a game that documents the eerie quests of two individuals and their mysterious calling to the village of Doolin - a place where (supposedly) the living can meet the dead. This title, for the most part, is an action/adventure RPG, and charges you with the task of unraveling the mystery and intrigue that envelope this small community. To do so, you'll need to walk the halls and fields of the Netherworld in search of clues that will ultimately reveal the cause of a blood-stained 17-year-old strife - a strife that's left families bitterly torn and memories buried under psychological trauma. Sound interesting? It is, but there's a lot to it, so let's start (as we usually do) at the beginning.
Ellen is a soft spoken, charming young woman who lost her mother at an early age. However, as the game begins, she receives a letter, signed with her mother's name, that beckons her to the village of Doolin. Amazed and frightened, she sets out at once in hopes of seeing her long-lost parent and making sense of her clouded and depressed life.
At the same time, Keats, an editor for the occult magazine Unknown Realms, receives a strange and panicked call. A woman, speaking of faerys and Doolin village, begs for help before being cut off. Intrigued and going on instinct, Keats also makes his way to this quiet place in search of answers and a good story.
You'll be playing as these two characters through the entirety of the game, and Folklore lets you choose who you want to be for each chapter. Keep in mind, however, that while each individual has separate chapters through the beginning and middle of the game, their stories will converge at the end, which means you'll eventually need to have them both reach the same point. Considering this, you may want to alternate between each character chapter by chapter, but that's just one way to do it. The choice is yours, but you can't play Folklore exclusively with one character - you must complete their respective stories.
But let's discuss how Folklore functions. When you begin a new section of the game, you're given the option to select either Ellen or Keats, and then you play through that chapter from their perspective. Generally speaking, the chapter starts in the village where you talk with the residents, explore Doolin's dark past, and other more slow and dramatic activities. Then, after certain events transpire, you open a door to a new realm of the Netherworld and spend the remaining time there fighting through the ranks of Folks before facing the Folklore, a massive beast occupying the end of each realm. This episodic structure works well for Folklore, and even gives players a natural stopping point to break up extended gaming sessions. The pacing of each specific chapter is also very carefully planned and balances the dialogue/narrative with the battle segments nicely. We must mention, though, that the alternating character dynamic may be problematic for some. Although it's always interesting to get the same story from differing perspectives, Ellen and Keats end up sharing a fair amount of expositive material, which can be tiring. More troublesome is the fact that both Ellen and Keats will traverse the exact same realms of the Netherworld in the same order, which means that you'll be seeing those realms a lot. While they do change Folk types and enemy patterns enough to make it tolerable, it can be disappointing at the end of a boss fight when you realize that you have to do the same realm over again (including beating that very boss a second time). The weight of this flaw truly depends on your tolerance for repetition and how much you enjoy a game that forces you to go back and try something again. But the battles as a whole are definitely satisfying. They all, as we mentioned before, take place in the Netherworld and only involve your character and the many Folk that inhabit each realm. Once you enter a field of battle, you have a fair amount of control over your character. The left stick handles character movement and the right stick handles camera control. L1 locks-on to an opponent and enables strafing, and R2 lets you dodge/roll in any direction. Those are the more basic, typical commands of Folklore. The remaining controls get a little more interesting. Each face button can be mapped with any ability at any time, which means that you can choose whatever powers you like and throw them on whatever button you like. This is a fantastic mechanic which empowers you with a lot of creativity. For example, you can find a really effective group of three or four abilities that work well together, and once you map them to the buttons, you can use them without any further menu interface and the result is satisfying. And changing the face buttons is very simple - just press L2 and a menu pops up with the entire list of your abilities, which can be sorted either by elemental alignment or by what realm they were acquired in. Once you find the ability you need, just tap the desired face button and you're good to go.
The real fun of battle, however, comes from acquiring your Folk powers. Each technique at Ellen and Keats' disposal is actually the fallen Id, or soul, of a Folk. Folk are wild creatures that roam the Netherworld, and are generally exclusive to one particular realm. When in combat, attacking a Folk can have one of three different effects: your attack can be completely deflected, it can do slight damage, or it can do damage and begin to release the Folk's Id from its body. The last option is the best, since using the right type of attack is the only way to absorb a Folk's Id. When you defeat your opponent properly, their Id will hover over their wearied or fallen form. When this happens, you press R1 to ensnare that spirit with your magic, and then you yank the controller back to pull it towards you. This usage of the Sixaxis is accurate and effective, and makes for a satisfying end to the battle. Furthermore, this isn't the only method of capturing an Id because more difficult Folk including the many mid-bosses as well as the mighty Folklore creatures, require much more involved Sixaxis controls. There are several possibilities, but one of them, for example, is a game of timing. Once you've latched on to, say, a Bargest's Id, the spirit will undulate up and down and then suddenly change color. At the moment of the color change, you yank the controller to progress the capture bar, which fills up with each successful motion. Other soul-stealing sessions involve smashing the Id left and right on the ground to weaken it, or keeping it balanced in the air. This varied, mini-game style dynamic really suits the combat system and is arguably one of the best implementations of the Sixaxis motion controls thus far. The battles themselves are entertaining and don't grow too repetitive. Combat is kept fresh in the character alternation by giving Ellen and Keats different powers for each Folk. For example, Ellen usually summons the full manifestation of a Folk Id when fighting, whereas Keats is more physical and the Folk spirit only partially emerges from him and serves as an extension of his body. These give the otherwise similar battles of Ellen and Keats a nice twist. Each Folk also has the potential to become stronger and more useful by meeting certain requirements, which "unlock their karma." For example, one Folk may require you to kill a certain number of opponents for its attack strength to increase, or you have to gather a handful of different items. On top of that, Ellen and Keats can each gain ranks by absorbing more and more Ids, which increases their health. The general theme we mentioned above also plays a large role in the design of the Netherworld in which you do battle. Most of the areas are very wide and open, allowing for a lot of movement and the usage of large (often humongous) Folk powers. And while the environments are generally still, there is a great deal of subtle motion in their design. For example, the first Netherworld locale you'll enter is the Faery Realm, one of the more beautiful and forest-like areas. When you enter, you'll notice that none of the main environmental objects display much motion, like the trees or brush, which lends a certain stillness to the scene. However, ethereal butterflies flicker constantly along the paths of the Faery Realm, as do motes of light that rise from the ground. It's this combination of stillness and motion that can be hypnotic and charming.
Ultimately though, what would an RPG-style game be without a solid story? Folklore provides narrative elements in abundance and conveys the game's story in a very refreshing manner. The reason that the storytelling of Folklore never gets old is because there are actually four different ways the game can present its narrative. The first way is through the common, computer-generated cutscene which we all know and love. The second is through in-game cutscenes, which are a little more prevalent. The third method is traditional, RPG fare, where two character models are displayed on the screen and text pops up between them. Folklore's most prominent and arguably best storytelling device, however, is the comic book scene. Throughout the game, Folklore will switch over to a mode that presents the characters, still fully modeled, in actual poses and arranges them in a frame by frame sequence just like a comic book. The text is even written in speech bubbles and will animate differently depending on the situation, such as exploding out of the bubble when the character screams or yells. This narrative method is incredibly entertaining and harnesses the same juxtaposition of stillness and motion, by creating a very "kinetic" comic book format. The result of these many plot devices is a very well-told, mystery novel game with a fantastical setting. We have to say though that the ending was a tad strange (obviously we can't say why), and things can get a bit quirky at times, so don't expect an entirely straight-forward, mainstream narrative. Other than that, Folklore's story is immensely enjoyable overall and is wrought with intrigue, thrills, and even a little humor. Graphically, the game doesn't necessarily stretch the PlayStation 3 to its limit, but it certainly doesn't look bad, either. Folklore's sheer visual beauty comes more from the stellar art direction and execution of the artistic design then the amount of processing power it requires. Furthermore, the music is rather beautiful, and while the raw number of tracks could be improved upon, the score is still poignant and intrinsically atmospheric.
©2007-10-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
But let's discuss how Folklore functions. When you begin a new section of the game, you're given the option to select either Ellen or Keats, and then you play through that chapter from their perspective. Generally speaking, the chapter starts in the village where you talk with the residents, explore Doolin's dark past, and other more slow and dramatic activities. Then, after certain events transpire, you open a door to a new realm of the Netherworld and spend the remaining time there fighting through the ranks of Folks before facing the Folklore, a massive beast occupying the end of each realm. This episodic structure works well for Folklore, and even gives players a natural stopping point to break up extended gaming sessions. The pacing of each specific chapter is also very carefully planned and balances the dialogue/narrative with the battle segments nicely. We must mention, though, that the alternating character dynamic may be problematic for some. Although it's always interesting to get the same story from differing perspectives, Ellen and Keats end up sharing a fair amount of expositive material, which can be tiring. More troublesome is the fact that both Ellen and Keats will traverse the exact same realms of the Netherworld in the same order, which means that you'll be seeing those realms a lot. While they do change Folk types and enemy patterns enough to make it tolerable, it can be disappointing at the end of a boss fight when you realize that you have to do the same realm over again (including beating that very boss a second time). The weight of this flaw truly depends on your tolerance for repetition and how much you enjoy a game that forces you to go back and try something again. But the battles as a whole are definitely satisfying. They all, as we mentioned before, take place in the Netherworld and only involve your character and the many Folk that inhabit each realm. Once you enter a field of battle, you have a fair amount of control over your character. The left stick handles character movement and the right stick handles camera control. L1 locks-on to an opponent and enables strafing, and R2 lets you dodge/roll in any direction. Those are the more basic, typical commands of Folklore. The remaining controls get a little more interesting. Each face button can be mapped with any ability at any time, which means that you can choose whatever powers you like and throw them on whatever button you like. This is a fantastic mechanic which empowers you with a lot of creativity. For example, you can find a really effective group of three or four abilities that work well together, and once you map them to the buttons, you can use them without any further menu interface and the result is satisfying. And changing the face buttons is very simple - just press L2 and a menu pops up with the entire list of your abilities, which can be sorted either by elemental alignment or by what realm they were acquired in. Once you find the ability you need, just tap the desired face button and you're good to go.
The real fun of battle, however, comes from acquiring your Folk powers. Each technique at Ellen and Keats' disposal is actually the fallen Id, or soul, of a Folk. Folk are wild creatures that roam the Netherworld, and are generally exclusive to one particular realm. When in combat, attacking a Folk can have one of three different effects: your attack can be completely deflected, it can do slight damage, or it can do damage and begin to release the Folk's Id from its body. The last option is the best, since using the right type of attack is the only way to absorb a Folk's Id. When you defeat your opponent properly, their Id will hover over their wearied or fallen form. When this happens, you press R1 to ensnare that spirit with your magic, and then you yank the controller back to pull it towards you. This usage of the Sixaxis is accurate and effective, and makes for a satisfying end to the battle. Furthermore, this isn't the only method of capturing an Id because more difficult Folk including the many mid-bosses as well as the mighty Folklore creatures, require much more involved Sixaxis controls. There are several possibilities, but one of them, for example, is a game of timing. Once you've latched on to, say, a Bargest's Id, the spirit will undulate up and down and then suddenly change color. At the moment of the color change, you yank the controller to progress the capture bar, which fills up with each successful motion. Other soul-stealing sessions involve smashing the Id left and right on the ground to weaken it, or keeping it balanced in the air. This varied, mini-game style dynamic really suits the combat system and is arguably one of the best implementations of the Sixaxis motion controls thus far. The battles themselves are entertaining and don't grow too repetitive. Combat is kept fresh in the character alternation by giving Ellen and Keats different powers for each Folk. For example, Ellen usually summons the full manifestation of a Folk Id when fighting, whereas Keats is more physical and the Folk spirit only partially emerges from him and serves as an extension of his body. These give the otherwise similar battles of Ellen and Keats a nice twist. Each Folk also has the potential to become stronger and more useful by meeting certain requirements, which "unlock their karma." For example, one Folk may require you to kill a certain number of opponents for its attack strength to increase, or you have to gather a handful of different items. On top of that, Ellen and Keats can each gain ranks by absorbing more and more Ids, which increases their health. The general theme we mentioned above also plays a large role in the design of the Netherworld in which you do battle. Most of the areas are very wide and open, allowing for a lot of movement and the usage of large (often humongous) Folk powers. And while the environments are generally still, there is a great deal of subtle motion in their design. For example, the first Netherworld locale you'll enter is the Faery Realm, one of the more beautiful and forest-like areas. When you enter, you'll notice that none of the main environmental objects display much motion, like the trees or brush, which lends a certain stillness to the scene. However, ethereal butterflies flicker constantly along the paths of the Faery Realm, as do motes of light that rise from the ground. It's this combination of stillness and motion that can be hypnotic and charming.
Ultimately though, what would an RPG-style game be without a solid story? Folklore provides narrative elements in abundance and conveys the game's story in a very refreshing manner. The reason that the storytelling of Folklore never gets old is because there are actually four different ways the game can present its narrative. The first way is through the common, computer-generated cutscene which we all know and love. The second is through in-game cutscenes, which are a little more prevalent. The third method is traditional, RPG fare, where two character models are displayed on the screen and text pops up between them. Folklore's most prominent and arguably best storytelling device, however, is the comic book scene. Throughout the game, Folklore will switch over to a mode that presents the characters, still fully modeled, in actual poses and arranges them in a frame by frame sequence just like a comic book. The text is even written in speech bubbles and will animate differently depending on the situation, such as exploding out of the bubble when the character screams or yells. This narrative method is incredibly entertaining and harnesses the same juxtaposition of stillness and motion, by creating a very "kinetic" comic book format. The result of these many plot devices is a very well-told, mystery novel game with a fantastical setting. We have to say though that the ending was a tad strange (obviously we can't say why), and things can get a bit quirky at times, so don't expect an entirely straight-forward, mainstream narrative. Other than that, Folklore's story is immensely enjoyable overall and is wrought with intrigue, thrills, and even a little humor. Graphically, the game doesn't necessarily stretch the PlayStation 3 to its limit, but it certainly doesn't look bad, either. Folklore's sheer visual beauty comes more from the stellar art direction and execution of the artistic design then the amount of processing power it requires. Furthermore, the music is rather beautiful, and while the raw number of tracks could be improved upon, the score is still poignant and intrinsically atmospheric.
©2007-10-03, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved