Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber

Be warned: if you're thinking about buying this game, there is a lot of Japanese text in it. And I mean a lot. The first time the cart was plugged in, it took about half an hour to plough through all the menu options and (largely unskippable) story sections. After that, it took about another two hours just to get to grips with the basic game functions. Unlike most Japanese N64 games, where a bit of trial and error with menus will get you into the game, if you can't read Japanese you really are not going to get full enjoyment out of Ogre Battle 64.

The game is a strategy/RPG crossover. In a typical fantasy land, full of dragons, hellhounds and the like, you control a leader who in turn commands a number of military units. Even without reading the Japanese text, the objective is simple enough; kill the bad guys and reclaim the land. Each unit contains a number of soldiers, who can be arranged into different formations according to the type of attack strategy you need. As the soldiers fight the enemy, they gain experience and their fighting skills become better.

The RPG slant comes into play between battles, where characters interact in a similar way to Final Fantasy VII on the PlayStation. Alliances are made and broken, relationships struck up and ended, and betrayals and murders committed. It all seems very interesting. If only we knew what they were wibbling on about! Some of the plot can be worked out just from the animations, but most of the time you can only guess what people are saying.

Roll-Ogre Jackpot

Hopefully there will be an English language version soon, because the game itself seems quite promising. The game is structured around sequences of missions, designed to capture one small area of the land at a time. This lets you build up the power of your forces without having to worry about being trounced by some super-powerful enemy you encounter by accident.

Each unit – friendly or otherwise – is represented on the main map by its leader, and forces are guided around using an icon system. This takes a while to figure out, so useful advice for first-timers is to use the R button immediately, then press A on the first icon to activate the rest of your units. If you don't do this the first time you lose a battle it's Game Over and you have to sit through the whole intro sequence again!

An annoyance of the game is that, as far as we could work out, there's no way to speed up time on the main map screen. If you've sent your troops on a long march, you have to sit and wait for them to reach their target, which gets a bit tedious.

Combat begins automatically on contact with an enemy unit. The only control you have, apart from the formation of your troops, is deciding the fighting style when battle begins. Again, this option is in Japanese and we couldn't suss out what difference it made.

Battle sequences are fairly simple RPG-style affairs, the two sides facing off and individual soldiers darting forward to make attacks or magicians casting spells from the back row. The graphics are attractive, with an unusual 'painted' manga look to them. Soundwise there's a lot of standard bombastic RPG music and clanking swords, with nothing that stands out.

Without knowing the plot, and considering the sheer volume of Japanese text, it's hard to recommend Ogre Battle 64 to anyone but the most hardcore import gamers. There does seem to be a good game in there somewhere, but we'll have to wait for an English translation before we can appreciate it fully!

Okay... according to the RPG fanatics who have played all the previous Ogre Battle and other variously named Ogre titles, this game is the dog's... er, doodads. They've been waiting for about the past three decades (yes, even before videogames were even invented – they're strange like that) for it to come out and they decided long ago that it was, and is, quite simply the best thing since the bloke who invented bread had a bit of an accident with his hedge-trimmer and ended up chopping his prized loaf into slices. Which is the reason that none of them are going to be allowed to review it.

You see, while we obviously accept that certain types of people like certain types of games (we'd never make someone who absolutely hated football review a footie title for example) sometimes it's important to get the view of someone who's new to the subject for a more balanced perspective. After all, ask a chain smoker to review cigarettes and he'd give them a rave review (probably), but that doesn't mean that someone who's never tried ciggies is gonna like them, does it? And that's why I've been lumbered with this game.

Don't get me wrong: I went into this review with an open mind, preparing to be drawn into a mystical world of dragons and ogres and feats of daring do and such-like. After all, although not an RPG 'fan' in any sense of the word I've swashed the odd buckle from time to time and I absolutely loved Zelda which is sort-of an RPG, and so I expected some rather nice things from this. Be warned though: it's dull as week-old dishwater. Really.

It's A Monster!

Okay, in case you think we're being a little unfair, let's take some time out to explain a little about the gameplay before we go back to criticising the game. Our story starts in the long-ago and far-off lands of Zeteginia, where a young lad runs away from home (well... runs is a bit of an exaggeration, strolls briskly would be more accurate) to join the army. Some brief while later said lad graduates from army college and sets out to find his fortune, save the world from evil and eventually get himself a nice consulting job with the Zeteginia Ministry of Defence.

Before you begin the game proper, you are asked to define a few personal details such as an appropriate name for your character and his various personal qualities. You can choose to be a heroic, hero-type character, with a pure soul and a kind heart who always pops home on Sundays to cook a nice hot meal for his mum, or you can be a black-hearted, vile, treacherous, two-faced sneak who wants nothing more than to bring pain and misery to the land (kind of like a medieval traffic warden!). Your choice of personality traits can affect the plot later in the game, so you must make sure you choose wisely!

This done, the scene shifts to the wild wastelands of Zeteginia where our newly-graduated (with honours) hero joins the army of one of the many border kingdoms in which he hopes to prove his worth as a leader, and all sorts of adventures ensue. Or at least they should...

Zounds! Forsooth!

What actually happens is that you get to watch a few screens of very simple animation which set the story for your next mission, then you are sent to the map screen. From here you have a choice: travel to the location which is highlighted on the map... er, or quit the game. This is one of the first "hang on a minute..." moments of the game. For even those who are fairly unfamiliar with RPGs will know that, while they pretty much always revolve around some mystical quest or other, in between quests one of the essential game elements is that you get to wander round the local towns and talk to the tinker, the tailor and the lampshade maker about the 'strange goings-on hereabouts'. And yet you can't in this game: why? Well for the answer to that we consulted the RPG-nerds... er, experts. Their answer? Well, apparently Ogre Battle isn't just any kind of RPG, oh no... it's a "tactical RPG". This means that essentially what the developer has done is to take the battle-part of RPGing and strip the majority of the "non-combative" gameplay away from it. Which leaves us with? Well, read on...

Once you've moved the cursor to the correct location, you get another brief 'plot sequence' in which you are shown a smaller map and your mission objectives are explained, and then the battle begins! Starting off at your home base, you get to organise your armies and send them out across the map to find the enemy strongholds. Along the way a variety of nasty creatures and enemy soldiers pop up and mount attacks on you and your units automatically engage them in battle – at which point you win... or you lose. Yup, it's turn-based combat time! Hurrah!

Oh... The Excitement!

Essentially combat can take place without any interference from you. Each side squares off at a corner of the screen and then each force takes turns to attack. Each attack generates a certain number of hit points if it's successful and a unit that loses all its hit points is killed. Basically if you've ever played any of the Warhammer dice games then this is the combat system that's used... only you don't actually get to roll a die. The result is strangely unsatisfactory since you have very little influence over the outcome of the battle (although you can choose to run away) and yet it quickly becomes clear that these combat sequences form the vast majority of the basic gameplay.

Essentially, the real influence you have over the actions of your characters is through the 'Organise Forces' option. This allows you to form new units, transfer soldiers between units, assign new recruits, promote soldiers, equip them with weapons, and set offensive tactics (from a choice of four). Once you've sorted all this out (and if you're really serious about it, it'll take you absolutely ages) the combat pretty much looks after itself. Which is great if that's 'your thing'. If, however, your idea of fun is to face down huge monsters with just a joypad and your own reflexes to rely on, then you're going to find this game leaving you strangely empty. Even Starcraft 64 – which is essentially a strategy game – relies on quick thinking and reflexes in a battle as much as it does forward planning. This is about as exciting as rolling dice on an empty table – slightly more visually attractive perhaps – but no more exciting for all that.

Ogre And Out...

So what conclusions can we draw from all this? Well, essentially Ogre Battle 64 is a game which will appeal to fans of a very specific genre. Simulation fans won't necessarily like it. RPG fans won't necessarily like it. Arcade fans are probably going to hate it. The kind of person who's going to like this is going to be someone very methodical, who has a lot of patience, and who is obsessed with statistics and with little details but who doesn't really like too much action in their lives. If you're the sort of person who's idea of fun is buying box-loads of little lead figures and spending hours and hours intricately painting them (and we're talking painting them properly – doing the undercoat the day before as per instructions and always washing the brush after each colour) then setting them up on a massive table in your loft and enacting epic campaigns lasting many months... then this is probably the game for you. In fact it's probably the perfect game for you!

At the end of the day Ogre Battle is not bad... as far as it goes. It does at least deliver everything that it promises... it's just that what this game promises doesn't really amount to very much at all!

Thank God for Atlus. if it weren't for them, we may never have seen Ogre Battle in any form on our fair shores. Now, with OB 64, N64 owners finally have a real strategy-RPG of their own (and it only took four years!). The makers of this deep, deep game went on to create such classics as Tactics Ogre, Final Fantasy Tactics, and now, Vagrant Story. What more do you need? Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber hits shelves this fall.

Too long we've waited for a true strategy RPG on the N64. Atlus has finally stepped up to the plate and localized Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber. Bringing this game to the U.S. was a no-brainer according to Gail Salamanca, product specialist at Atlus, "The only strategy/RPG on the N64...one of the biggest names in RPGs...yes, must do Ogre Battle 64."

Like the original, OB64's melees are played out automatically, although you can intervene and change which targets your troops focus on midbattle. It's not very fast-paced, because the point of this game is to deploy your troops across the terrain and then methodically outmaneuver and destroy your enemy. You've got to keep your men equipped and well rested for them to be effective in battle.

As Ogre Battle 64 begins, you play a new recruit thrust into the role of a commander in the government army as rebel forces are gathering to attempt to overthrow the monarchy. Predictably, our hero soon begins to question the royal family's motives, and general confusion ensues. While it may not be an original story, it doesn't diminsh the premise of this game.

For those of you who may have been overwhelmed with the complicated navigation and battle system in Ogre Battle on the SNES and PS, Ogre Battle 64 contains a full tutorial. Trust us, it helps. After playing through it, even Greg had a good idea of what to do in each part of the game. That in itself speaks volumes!

Currently the translation is looking pretty smooth and should satisfy discerning RPG fans once Atlus finishes polishing up the text. They aren't dumbing down the game for the coveted "E" rating either--the complicated plot and presence of a few choice expletives make that very clear.

It's only natural to be skeptical of the game's length and music, since it is on cartridge. Let's clear that up right now: OB64 will contain 40-plus hours of gameplay with a branching story line, and the music is on par with most SNES RPG fare. If any of you remember how good those games sounded, you should be very happy right now.

Nintendo 64-owning RPG fans finally have reason to celebrate. Atlus, publishers of the original Ogre Battle and its sequel, Tactics Ogre, have announced plans to localize and publish the third installment of the series, Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber, on the N64 this summer.

Despite its ridiculous title, OB64 actually looks extremely promising. The mammoth 320-Meg cart received rave reviews in Japan, and packs some of the best, most crisp visuals and sounds the N64 has seen to date. The game looks and plays similar to the original Ogre Battle (released on both the SNES and PlayStation here), with over 40 different scenarios, a ton of character classes and that dreaded Reputation meter.

We'll be back with a proper preview, but in the meantime, check out these screenshots courtesy of Atlus. The folks at Quest have created some of the best strategy games of all time, so if you're a fan of the genre, you'll definitely want to keep an eye on this one. It's going to be hot.

Orge Update

Ogre Battle certainly seems to be shaping up nicely, with a huge amount of variety in the game-playing details. For instance, attacks must be planned to take character alignment (position relative to the enemy) and element type (fire, earth, water and wind) into consideration for maximum effect. Terrain type affects movement and falls into three categories: grassy, class has a distinct, and appropriate, set of attacks (Dragon or Magician-types, for example, can't use items, so they conjure up attacks by summoning their dragons).

Character status after an attack is also indicated visually, rather than using a if poisoned, your chap will reel with purple blotches above his head, (purple seems to be the official colour of poison in Japan), or appear consumed in lightning when totally incapacitated.