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Excellent controls and a pretty good story
I've been playing this since it was released. This was very eagerly anticipated in my house (I have 2 kids who play the DS as well and our favorite type of game is RPG). For the most part it has met expectations but I can't say that we are so enamored with it that we can't put it down.
The graphics quality is o.k. The opening video is good. I find the characters pixilate too much and sometimes they seem blurry. Yes I'm a middle aged mom but I don't need glasses to see up close like with the DS screen--I've asked a couple friends (all ages) and they agree--the sprite graphics aren't the best. I much prefer the ones on games like Dragon Quest IV. Overall I'd give this about 3.5 stars.
The sound is pretty good--it doesn't make me want to buy any soundtrack but it doesn't irritate. It seems standard. I'd give it 4 stars--a bit above average but not so great it merits a 5. In a few cases it does bring in a tone that really matches the storyline.
The gameplay is where this gem shines. First I will tell you--read the manual. It is actually helpful unlike the vast majority of game manuals. At first I found the battle mechanics a bit confusing but only because I didn't have a good idea of the overall system. The way they are mapped is outstanding, superb, and amazing. All of the commands map to the X,Y,A,B buttons. They are layered (so you press A for items and then it takes you to items. You press X for blow or Blood skills and then it takes you to choosing them. Y for Flurry or display life skills.) There's more but it's all in the manual which I'll state again I highly recommend you read. There is a defend option (which is useful against some of the bosses and a few of the regular encounters). The manual has defintions for many of the actions (Abilities and Debuffs). It's really quite helpful. I sometimes spend a lot of time figuring out what different abilities or skills do in RPG's so to have it laid out so well is great--of course you need to practice and figure it out a bit too but the head start is appreciated. The one thing I still don't fully understand though is the Battle Points (BP) but ah well I seem to be doing fine so far. Thanks Sega! I'd give 4.5 stars here.
I like the store menu as it shows how the item will affect the characters. Props for that. I thought it came standard until recently when I played a RPG where you didn't see this. So it was a guessing game..not fun!
The more puzzle type atmosphere of the dungeon's or caves or ships (this game has some good variety but I always call these dungeon's anyway out of habit) is o.k. While the game is very linear to me these have some variations that help to mix it up--like finding a key or figuring out how to get into an area. It is random battles--and they aren't too frequent at first but soon become so. However they are nothing like Black Sigil which seemed like a battle every step you took. These are pretty good if repetitive. There is also save and healing points where you can refresh scattered about. I appreciated that. The drop of healing items is also very high. Edited to add a note: If you do NOT like grinding and want to just blow through a story this is not your game. I happen (call me strange) to like grinding and exploring a lot. Depending on your preferences this could lower a star rating for you. I'm the type of player that has explored so much and fought so many battles that I'm over leveled by the end--that is just how I play. Just to give a perspective. This I give 3 stars
The character voices I thought were really good. I have low expectations though so that might have something to do with it. The dialogue is funny at times. I didn't find too many instances where it kind of poked fun of the genre or made me laugh out loud but it is more than satisfactory. I did think the characters themselves were a little cliched. I mean the main character is a boy hero who doesn't know he's a hero with special ability. Granted destruction is a different concept--speaking of I still find this strange. I think it's too many games with save the world as their motto.
I'm not yet finished but so far I'm happy and feel just fine about plunking down my cold hard cash for this. It doesn't rate as highly for me as the Might and Magic title released for the DS in December which, if you have not played it, I would strongly recommend a purchase over this game. It is a puzzle RPG similar to Puzzle Quest but even more fun. Probably one of the top 2 games I played for the DS last year (the other being Suikoden Tierkreis which I loved).
Keep in mind I like traditonal (j)RPG's--I am not a veteran gamer but I have played quite a few handheld RPG's for both DS/GBA and PSP including all the Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Golden Sun, Tactics Ogre, Luminous Arc, Rhapsody, and more. While Sands is not my favorite game it certainly is fun to play. I don't know about replay value (not finished yet) but my inclincation is to say once we are all done this is probably a trade in. This is different than The World Ends with You which we still enjoy playing and have played twice or Disgaea that also got a couple of play throughs.
Overall I recommend this game to those who like traditional jrpg and do not mind grindig. I would say unless you are starved for RPG's on the DS you might want to wait for a price drop. I will say, due to said grinding, I did not find it a difficult game so far (about 15 hours in--seems like about a 25 hour game tops) It is a very solid and mostly enjoyable game with great gameplay and a good manual that will actually help you. If I felt like the story held my interest a bit more and I was more enamored of the characters it would have been a 4.5 star review. I'd likely actually give it 3.5 to 4 stars. I rounded up.
Pretty solid rpg
It doesn't have much that hasn't been done before but it pulls everything off pretty well. Theres do-able voice acting, good 2D sprites, great music, an intriguing battle system, and a really good story once it gets rolling. Probably more for die-hard jrpg fans than anyone else, but otherwise a decent adventure. Part 2, sega? Maybe this time on a home console.
Great DS RPG
Pros: Great story. Catchy music. Good voice work. Unique characters, and well laid out back stories. Very challenging puzzles. The game overall is organized very well, no frustrations with menus, or battle system.
Cons: Broken battle system (shove all points into flurry, spam Y button to win). Random encounters are set too high, and with very complicated puzzles, running around a lot gets annoying. Voice work slows down the story, sometimes it can take 10 seconds for the next line to be read (and this happens consistently), very odd pacing.
Still, you can't do too much better with RPG's on the DS. Play it for the story and characters, but not for the battle system.
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