One of the first games in a long LONG while to really suck me in.
Gameplay:
The gameplay of this game is very well done, you can use three different weapons by half the game (one handed sword, two handed sword, and spear) and you are able to use different forms of magic which are all amazing (except for maybe the first one, but that is to be expected since it is the first one). For example, one of the spells involves unleashing a very large fist from behind you to smash into your enemies.
However, there are also negative aspects. One of which is that the game is much too easy on easy and normal modes, and is extremely tedious on hard mode. What I mean by this is that on easy and normal modes, you can coast through most bosses without a second thought, but on hard mode even the extremely minor enemies take a very very long time to kill at the beginning of the game and it gets really annoying and very boring. One possibility is to simply run past the enemies (called shades) when you can and to fight it out when you can't. However, these fights become much less tedious by the later half of the game when you are capable of dishing out devastating attacks.
GAMEPLAY: 8/10
Story:
The story of this game is one of its best aspects. It had an amazing story that will leave you yearning for more. You can truly relate to the characters and you will genuinely care for them. The story mainly involves your character (whom you name) trying to scrape a living for his sick daughter in a time where humanity is at the brink of extinction and dangerous shades loom around every corner.
On your adventure you will encounter Grimoire Weiss, a talking book of magic with a british accent and a witty tongue; Kainé, a slutty and filthy mouthed "hussy" as Weiss calls her who is half shade and half human; and Emil, a young and kind boy with the ability to turn everything he sees into stone and so, wheres a blindfold at all times. Your character himself is not that interesting, but the characters around him MORE than make up for that. Also, I will state again that the story is AMAZING but I don't want to spoil anything big here. The only negative thing is that it takes some time to pick up.
STORY: 9.5/10
Graphics:
The graphics are very good with detailed characters and very detailed enemies. The environments are also amazing, although the fields may look a bit bland to some people. Nothing much to say here, since the graphics is.. well.. its not bad but not anything worth mentioning either. Also, for some reason, gamespot made a really big case about your lead character being ugly...
GRAPHICS: 8/10
Soundtrack:
Amazing.. Just amazing.. the first game soundtrack that I have ever downloaded and I enjoy it to this day. Nothing more to say here.
SOUNDTRACK: 10/10
Extra and Post-game Stuff:
There's a lot of stuff to do in this game, and a hell of a lot of side quests. Now although these side quests are mostly fetch quests, some of them are interesting and can trigger some interesting dialogue. Also, they are completely optional so nothing says you have to do them. You can also fish and grow plants if you're interested. Finally, one of the best things about this game is that there are 4 endings and... well lets just say that the last ending is very... interesting and just leave it at that for you to find out.
EXTRA STUFF: 9/10