Enchanted Arms, Enchanting Gamers

Roll the red carpet for the first turn-based RPG for the Xbox 360! The US release for Enchanted Arms is ever so near now, and here we have an in-depth look at just what all the enchantment is about. We understand that the 360 is currently in an RPG hiatus, but all signs point that the wait will be worth it!

An Enchanted Epic

Caution: if you wish to play the game with fresh eyes, you might want to skip this part about the introductory story. But don’t worry, no major spoiler here.

The game is set in a world that had experienced a great war in the distant past, wherein Devil Golems (powerful puppets manipulated by humans) played a crucial role to the war’s outcome. And what other kind of outcome would that be but total and utter devastation? You guessed it! The war took a nasty turn and eventuallly obliterated the entire civilization. Wow, just like Atlantis!

Roll the red carpet for the first turn-based RPG for the Xbox 360! The US release for Enchanted Arms is ever so near now, and here we have an in-depth look at just what all the enchantment is about. We understand that the 360 is currently in an RPG hiatus, but all signs point that the wait will be worth it!

An Enchanted Epic

Caution: if you wish to play the game with fresh eyes, you might want to skip this part about the introductory story. But don’t worry, no major spoiler here.

The game is set in a world that had experienced a great war in the distant past, wherein Devil Golems (powerful puppets manipulated by humans) played a crucial role to the war’s outcome. And what other kind of outcome would that be but total and utter devastation? You guessed it! The war took a nasty turn and eventually obliterated the entire civilization. Wow, just like Atlantis!

Now that a new era has arrived, the Devil Golems no longer exist while the humans only have a fraction left of their magical powers of enchantment. And so we meet the protagonist, Atsuma, learning how to use his magical powers in school; his powers are special. Just like in that anime “Alice Academy,” Atsuma has the power to nullify the enchantments of others, which unfortunately makes him a social pariah on campus.

Your adventures as Atsuma start when an earthquake hits and, as RPG parties go, you and your friends start to meddle. In your investigations, you discover that the golems have gone haywire and have started attacking people. You stick your nose in some more until finally you bump into a Devil Golem right out from ancient myth. Cue massive pandemonium, insert lots of screaming, fade-in tense background music. The plot thickens and you’re off to save the world!

An Enchanted Environment

With a game in High Definition, it’s not surprising that an RPG wouldn’t maximize the raw power of this technology. HD is love! You might have a hard time resisting the urge to simply let your character just stand around idly while you take a good look at your surroundings. The environment is absurdly absorbing.

And what RPG would be complete without cinematic cutscenes? The first CG sequence will definitely rock your socks, or in this case, enchant your arms (nyar-har-har). But seriously, you might want to say bye-bye to your social life for the next couple of days after you’ve started. Eyes on the screen, hands on the controller.

An Enchanted Experience

The gameplay of Enchanted Arms is your typical turn-based system. Battles are set on a grid where you can move your party members and make them perform skills. This entails considerations for distance between you and the target and the range of your skill.

You can choose different camera angles during the fight, helpful if you’re in one of your “oooh, pretty graphics” moods… or if you want to take a good look at your golem from different perspectives. Yes. You heard me. You get to call in golems so they could fight with/for you! And golems come in different sizes, different colors, and different personalities. Kind of reminds me about some other game… Pika-pika!