Radiata Stories (PlayStation 2) review "In just about every way that matters, Radiata Stories is different from your standard RPG. "

Jack Russell is the most idiotic, whiniest punk I’ve ever played as in any genre, on any videogame, on any system. Ever.

Example.

Ganz says:

“My father’s been missing for about fifteen years now.”

Jack’s response:

”Where’d he go?”

My response to Jack’s response:

"He’s missing, dumbass. Missing."

I’m paraphrasing, but that was the gist. It’s not just one or two times, either; the entire game is a series of his stupidity. He rushes headfirst into the dumbest of situations. He tries to do things that he obviously cannot do. 50% of Radiata Stories has Jack doing business that common sense should tell him not to do.

When he’s not being a dumbass, he’s being jackass. The kid goes to the entrance tournament for knighthood, gets stomped by a little girl (albeit, a little girl with a BIG ax) in the first round, gets accepted as a knight anyway just because his dad was famous, and then spends the next few hours being a bitch about the whole deal. Like it was the girl’s fault he sucked. Like if he went up against her a second time, the exact same thing wouldn’t happen. 40% of Radiata Stories has Jack either getting his ass justifiably kicked or whining about said ass-kickings.

His foot only spends 10% of the game out of his mouth, and even then it’s quick to get back in. The moment it seems like he’s going to do something cool, the second he looks like he’s going to act with some maturity, he says something or does something or has something kick his ass, and it’s back to square one.

Oh, and on top of all that, he says ‘easy-peasy’ with a straight face. Easy…peasy.

But I like him that way. True, RPGs have no shortage of whiney punk heroes, but they usually have some forced changes; they’ll realize how stupid and wrong they were before the final battle. Jack is a jackass to the very end. He makes stupid decisions. He does stupid things. Not a leader, not a savior. It’s not like he’s the ONLY one with the skills needed to save the world, it’s more like he’s the ONLY one in the right position to do anything about it. He gets thrown into the mix, surviving only through a combination of knowing the right people and sheer dumb luck. And it works.

He’s different. A fool, but different.

Really, the whole game is different like that. In just about every way that matters, Radiata Stories is different from your standard RPG.

Oh, I’m sure it looks like your standard RPG, no doubt there. The world of Radiata has a storybook vibe to it; the valleys, the plains, the cities, and the castles all look like something straight off the page. The characters are in that wide-eyed anime style that some like and some despise, and despite the game’s Teen rating, it doesn’t do much to earn it. No blood, little cursing, no nudity (thank God).

The characters themselves are standard, too; if you’ve seen Record of Lodoss War, you’ve got an idea of what to expect. Dwarves, goblins, elves in both the light and dark variety. They all act accordingly, too; the elves are convinced that humans are the source of all evil in the world, the goblins are the masters of mischief and mayhem, and the dwarves are too busy digging or too drunk to give a damn. We’ve even got some big dragons. Talking dragons at that.

Huh. Now that I think about it, Radiata Stories is like a kiddy version of Record of Lodoss War. Go figure.

But that’s not to say Radiata Stories is unoriginal. Once it sets the stage and introduces the characters, everything gets skewed. The rules are made, then broken.

Take the world of Radiata itself; vast spaces waiting to be explored. Unlike most RPGs that only let you visit the places they want you to go when they tell you to go there, there aren’t too many places you can’t reach at the start of the game; only a few are blocked for story purposes. A free-roaming world that lets you roam free…nice concept. You could probably even visit the final dungeon before the first.

The dungeons themselves? Painless. No blocks to push, no switches to switch. Most are short in size and quick in completion, and even the most complex dungeons won’t hold you for more than a half hour. Some of the later dungeons have annoying little tricks to them, a few traps that might set you back, but it’s nothing you can’t beat with persistence.

And, thanks to the game’s simple battle system, the fighting part of the dungeons is just as simple as the exploration part. Radiata Stories is made by the same guys who made Star Ocean 3, which would be much more impressive if I didn’t think Star Ocean 3 was a piece of shit. Fortunately, that game and this game are distant cousins; the battle system takes the good from Star Ocean 3 and leaves the ugly.

Star Ocean 3 nixed random encounters and put enemies out on the map, starting battles like battles should be started. Radiata Stories does the same thing. But once you walk up to your enemy and start the fight, the similarities fade.

Where Star Ocean 3 brought cheap enemies with cheap one-hit-kill attacks, Radiata Stories makes sure you’re on even ground; as long as you don’t run from too many fights, you’ll be at the right level. And, unlike Star Ocean 3, staying at the right level is simple; every enemy gives generous experience. Hell, you’ll probably average three levels an hour, even if you’re not trying.

They both use a real-time combat system once the battle gets underway, but Radiata Stories actually hooks you up with some decent attacks and some competent allies. You can choose from axes, spears, and swords; each one giving you new abilities and new attacks to learn. You can’t switch between Jack and your partners, but you don’t really need, too; where Star Ocean 3 forced constant switching just to get away from the boss’ badass beam attack, Radiata Stories lets you control them without being in control.

It’s in the commands. You can make them retreat, make them heal, make them fight in formation, make them block, make them circle the enemy and lower the boom from all sides. It actually feels like you’re the leader when you’re leading these guys; they respond just as quick as any real human would. Maybe even faster.

But let’s say they’re not moving fast enough. Let’s say the set of bruisers you’re set with aren’t up to the task.

Switch.

By completing simple tasks, you can stock up a list of friends that goes into the hundreds, a full roster of allies available for any conflict. They’re not a bunch of faceless stand-ins, either; each one of them has history and a fleshed personality. You can see them walking along the street, heading off to their jobs, meeting their friends, going through the daily routine. And while they might all do the same things each day, it’s still better than nameless nobodies walking in endless circles.

You can take them, you can train them, and best of all, you can fight them. It might sound dumb, it might sound mundane, but my favorite aspect of Radiata Stories is the ability to kick people in the shins; a power well within Jack’s nature. This feature is actually meant for uncovering hidden items by shifting around furniture, but it has the bonus effect of pissing people off when you do it to them. Kick them once, and they give a warning. Kick them twice, and it’s on.

The character battles are one-on-one, duels designed to give you high experience for low effort. You can fight almost anyone in the game, friend or foe, it’s just a matter of tracking them down and giving them a few kicks. Granted, there are certain people who can beat you down even at the higher levels, but even if you lose the fight, it’s not game over; losing a character battle just knocks you down to one HP. So anytime you need some leveling up, you don’t even have to leave town. Everything’s right there.

I don’t think it was even meant to be all that big of feature; I only noticed by accident. But it’s a great stress reliever. This ugly girl pissed me off when I couldn’t find her stupid cat. Two kicks and a few swords slashes later, she knew who was boss. Didn’t like an order the king gave me. Still had to do the order, but whapping him in the head made things smoother. For everyone who’s ever wanted to beat up an annoying NPC, this is for you.

It’s just one of the many touches that add to the experience and stretch out the replayability; making sure that, even when you’re not advancing the story or fighting through dungeons, you’re still entertained. Everything comes off smooth and clean. Few hitches along the way. You’ll be challenged, yeah, but never annoyed. The game only takes about thirty hours to complete, but even when you’re done, you’re not really done: You make a choice halfway through the game that alters everything afterwards, a whole new quest from there to the end. Radiata Stories isn’t a game; it’s a game and a half.

If you’re looking for something new, something different and something fresh, Radiata Stories is far enough from the mainstream. If you’re longing for a taste of the old school, Radiata Stories isn’t too far. It strikes a medium between both worlds, and even throws in a few new concepts for its own identity. Original, yet classic. Tried, true and new.

Staff review by Zack Little (October 21, 2005) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.