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IGN Review of Laevatein Tactics
Pardon the blatant kick-off to this review, but it's undeniably true -- Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics is just a basic tactics game on DS. That isn't necessarily an attack on the overall quality; it's just the truth. If you've played other tactics games and want more, Hero's Saga might be a fine title to pass a little time with. Hero's Saga Laevatein Tactics is a decent tactical strategy game for DS If you're new to turn-based tactics games though, there's so much better out there for you to check out as "required reading."
Though, Hero's Saga has a solid foundation, it's not overly-ambitious. It's built on the same general design as Final Fantasy Tactics or the Tactics Ogre series. Players build and upgrade their crew of fighters, progress through the story mode, and can then trade items and go head-to-head with friends over wireless. You've got a token medieval symphonic accompaniment, an unlikely protagonist, and few cute female characters – both good and evil – to mix things up a bit, a couple nice story twists, and plenty of battling and customization.
Apart from the core mechanic, which is based on the same "chess board" of character movement, attacking, defending, item usage, and terrain-based attack buffers, Hero's Saga does switch a few things up. For starters, all main characters make use of a weapon/magic system called Vaettir Arms, which are basically spirits that attach themselves to warriors, and then allow them to make use of dormant skills, and switch classes and effects simply by swapping out weapons. Without getting too deep into the mythology of it all, these Arms are basically the Espers of Laevatein Tactics, and both hero and villain make their identity through this human/spirit pairing.
Different Arms have the ability to give each player specific magic and skills, as well as a killer offensive attack when in battle. Post-use resting is required, thus adding some additional strategy into the mix. Battles also work out slightly different from most tactics games, having each main hero accompanied by a small army. When initiating battles, players volley back and forth with the other team's army, and can focus on either the hero or his/her soldiers. This is a nice addition, and one of the few ways Laevatein Tactics makes itself feel fresh.
These battles also use a stronger visual style than the overworld itself, acting almost like the switch from "map" to battle screen in Fire Emblem. As soldiers are picked off round after round, the hero becomes more vulnerable and each returning volley yields fewer supporting attacks. In addition, players can use different strategies during attacks, such as aggressive rushes, regular attacks, and defensive formations. It's a simple system that helps Laevatein Tactics break out of the "basic tactics" mold.
The only other defining aspect of gameplay comes at the hands of the base system, allowing players to actually capture and level up bases around the map, use them to heal units, add more support soldiers each turn, and increase morale within a certain distance of squares from the building. It acts very similar to a simplified Advance Wars building capture system. As for the rest of the game, if you've played other tactical games on Super NES, PSX, or Nintendo DS, you've already seen what Laevatein Tactics offers. Will it dethrone some of the greats out there? No. If you found yourself spending some time with Hoshigami Remix, Luminous Arc, or Devil Survivor though, Laevatein Tactics is a decent contender.
As for the US localization, Aksys games did a great job of translating the story, writing, and pace of the game. Acting as the unofficial DS "strategy-RPG" guy over the years, I've seen plenty of games that suffered on this front. Laevatein Tactics feels like there was plenty of time put into the localization process. And while the game's generic visual style, character design, and audio might burn out some players on an otherwise-entertaining experience, those that give it a chance will find an entertaining story that's well written. Competition is fierce on DS – especially on the strategy front – but Laevatein Tactics is far from a "quick release" slouch of a tactics game, and it's nice to see some added effort put into bringing a game across the ocean.
©2009-10-22, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Though, Hero's Saga has a solid foundation, it's not overly-ambitious. It's built on the same general design as Final Fantasy Tactics or the Tactics Ogre series. Players build and upgrade their crew of fighters, progress through the story mode, and can then trade items and go head-to-head with friends over wireless. You've got a token medieval symphonic accompaniment, an unlikely protagonist, and few cute female characters – both good and evil – to mix things up a bit, a couple nice story twists, and plenty of battling and customization.
Apart from the core mechanic, which is based on the same "chess board" of character movement, attacking, defending, item usage, and terrain-based attack buffers, Hero's Saga does switch a few things up. For starters, all main characters make use of a weapon/magic system called Vaettir Arms, which are basically spirits that attach themselves to warriors, and then allow them to make use of dormant skills, and switch classes and effects simply by swapping out weapons. Without getting too deep into the mythology of it all, these Arms are basically the Espers of Laevatein Tactics, and both hero and villain make their identity through this human/spirit pairing.
Different Arms have the ability to give each player specific magic and skills, as well as a killer offensive attack when in battle. Post-use resting is required, thus adding some additional strategy into the mix. Battles also work out slightly different from most tactics games, having each main hero accompanied by a small army. When initiating battles, players volley back and forth with the other team's army, and can focus on either the hero or his/her soldiers. This is a nice addition, and one of the few ways Laevatein Tactics makes itself feel fresh.
These battles also use a stronger visual style than the overworld itself, acting almost like the switch from "map" to battle screen in Fire Emblem. As soldiers are picked off round after round, the hero becomes more vulnerable and each returning volley yields fewer supporting attacks. In addition, players can use different strategies during attacks, such as aggressive rushes, regular attacks, and defensive formations. It's a simple system that helps Laevatein Tactics break out of the "basic tactics" mold.
The only other defining aspect of gameplay comes at the hands of the base system, allowing players to actually capture and level up bases around the map, use them to heal units, add more support soldiers each turn, and increase morale within a certain distance of squares from the building. It acts very similar to a simplified Advance Wars building capture system. As for the rest of the game, if you've played other tactical games on Super NES, PSX, or Nintendo DS, you've already seen what Laevatein Tactics offers. Will it dethrone some of the greats out there? No. If you found yourself spending some time with Hoshigami Remix, Luminous Arc, or Devil Survivor though, Laevatein Tactics is a decent contender.
As for the US localization, Aksys games did a great job of translating the story, writing, and pace of the game. Acting as the unofficial DS "strategy-RPG" guy over the years, I've seen plenty of games that suffered on this front. Laevatein Tactics feels like there was plenty of time put into the localization process. And while the game's generic visual style, character design, and audio might burn out some players on an otherwise-entertaining experience, those that give it a chance will find an entertaining story that's well written. Competition is fierce on DS – especially on the strategy front – but Laevatein Tactics is far from a "quick release" slouch of a tactics game, and it's nice to see some added effort put into bringing a game across the ocean.
©2009-10-22, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved