There are better RPG's out there, but Albert Odyssey is one experience you won't forget. It's definitly worth trying.
Released in 1997 for the Sega Saturn, (1996 in Japan) Albert Odyssey is a 2D RPG and has an old school feel. You begin the game with an opening cutscene where an old man (but pretty annoying) tells you the prologue of the game's storyline. After that's done, then you start the game. You will be treated with another cutscene. There's a couple who have an infant, which is named Pike. The village they live in was attacked and on fire. So the couple trys to escape, but the man has an uneasy feeling about using this sword in his hand. This was no ordinary sword, however. It's the sword that has Cirrus's (you learn about her in the prologue) soul inside of it. The sword also happens to talk to. So then, despite not wanting to, the man uses it to get rid of the attackers. But they failed...unfortunately. But Pike the infant was still alive, so Cirrus uses a mysterious spell and protects Pike from the attackers. After all the mess was over, an angel came and noticed Pike on the ground sleeping and the mysterious sword by him. So the angel takes them to a village, where later, Pike was raised and became a teen. And that's where the game begins...
You start out your game in a happily forested village filled with angels. You'll soon have the option to leave the town and explore the land. While exploring through the land, you'll encounter with numerous battles against enemies. The battle system in Albert Odyssey is a turn-based system. If Pike is faster then the enemy, then he will do an action. You have the option to ether attack, defend, use a magic spell, use an item, or run away. When attacking an enemy, normally, you can count on it be successful, however, at times, your enemy will block your attacks, which can be a little annoying. After you defeat an enemy, you'll get experience points, which is needed to gain levels. You'll be doing this VERY often in Albert Odyssey . Along your adventure, you will encounter more friends to join you. Pretty soon, you'll have up to 5 allies. And fortunately, the characters you encounter have are very special and have good personality. You also encounter a lot of important people. When it comes to villages, Albert Odyssey doesn't offer a lot, but enough for a normal RPG. Now that I got the positive side down, let me go to the negative side of Albert Odyssey...
I'd like the point out that the most annoying problem is the load times. Since the Saturn is a CD-based console system, you normally expect loading times. But this can't really be allowed here. When you are walking in the fields, then encounter a battle, the battles themselves take a while to load. You'll end up waiting up to 6 seconds for the battle to be ready. What's worse is that battles are very common in this game, so this can be an annoyance. But on the bright side, the NA version of this game has slightly faster loading times then the Japanese version, so it's better then nothing I guess. Another thing I'd like to point out is that the game is at times pretty slow paced. During cutscenes, you will sometimes have moments where there's no action at all, and you wait for a while until someone says something. Also, the battles can be a little slow paced as well, which is something you need to get used to. One last problem with Albert Odyssey is the difficulty adjustment. Through most of the game, the battles and tasks are pretty simple and aren't very challenging. But near the end of the game, the difficulty level rises very high unexpectedly. The boss battles are a lot longer then other boss battles you encountered. (I had to battle a boss near the end of game for over 30 minutes!) So near the end of the game, the difficultly is a little unfitting.
So, Albert Odyssey definitely has its flaws, but it also has its good moments as well. So this is a worthy buy for any RPG fan. (Unless you really dislike the flaws I mentioned above)
Graphics:
As said before, the game has an old-school feel. Instead of taking full use of the Saturn's amazing 2D capabilities, Albert Odyssey looks more like a 16-bit RPG. The good thing I'd like to point out, however, is that Albert Odyssey uses the Saturn's capabilities on special effects and on some of the environments, and they look great, even today. Still, it would've been nicer if the game was developed fully around the Saturn's hardware. But those who want a taste of an old-school RPG feel will find plenty of it here.
Sound:
While the graphics don't really take advantage on the Saturn's hardware, the audio sure does. The soundwork in Albert Odyssey has a mixed feeling. The music, in general, is very good and is, at times, beautiful and a little emotional. However, I wish the battle music was better. The theme itself is not bad, but you'll hear it for almost every battle you encounter. The sound effects are pretty good and are nice to hear. While Albert Odyssey does have voice acting, it's pretty sparse. You'll hear most of it in the prologue and opening cutscene. Otherwise, the only other voices you'll hear will be the small voice samples for the battles. So, all in all, the audio consists of very good music, good sound effects, and so-so voice acting.
Conclusion:
Like I said before, there are better RPG's out there. Albert Odyssey does have its strong moments, but it also has some annoying moments as well. If you're up to deal with the annoyances, then go ahead and try to get a copy on ebay or something. (I should warn you, however, that finding a copy won't be very easy. If you find one, it might be expensive.) This is an old-school filled RPG that has a good story, good music, and a pretty good presentation. So this is definitely worth playing for RPG fans.
RPG Length: 15-20 hours
Pros:
-Good story and presentation
-Some of the battles are pretty fun, especially with many spells used.
-The graphics are decent, but the special effects are great!
-Very good soundtrack
-Cool character design
Cons:
-The battles are too frequent
-The loading times between battles are a little annoying.
-The game feels a little slow paced at times
-The fact there was voice acting in the beginning, but not a lot through the game feels a little odd.
ESRB Warning:
This isn't a big deal for most people, but this game, surprisingly, got away with some things an E-rated game (today) wouldn't allow. For one, there's some comic mischief and even some mild cussing as well. This game was released during a time when ESRB didn't have as much descriptions as they do today. But if this game was released today ,(2005) it would probably get:
E10+ (Everyone ages 10 and up)
-Mild Fantasy Violence
-Comic Mischief
-Mild Language
Compared to the game's current rating:
KA (Kids to Adults) (It was the same as an E rating back then)
-Mild Animated Violence
-Comic Mischief
So this game feels like an E10+ game.