A very solid turn based j-rpg that lacks final touches to bring out the true potential of the game.
Gameplay - typical fantasy turn based j-rpg. Storyline wise, i dont think i need to say much as Gamespot has said alot about it. The battle system is a very good postive to what the game has to offer. U select 4 primary characters to be placed randomly on a 3x4 grid everytime u encounter enimies. Usually, the player takes the 1st turn to attack (except wen a surprise attack is initiatied by the enemy.) U assign all the moves from each of the character. Once finished, they will carry out the assigned move and then it will be the enemies turn. U may say it has a hint of repetition but since you encounter many different golems as u progress thru the game, there is a urge to make u try out and train golems u have not used before. It may be said that encounters are 'just' that bit too often but even if 3 out of ur 4 characters die, they will be revived automatically in the next battle so long if ur final character doesnt die.
Graphics - As I said, I was very surprised wen gamespot gave a 6 for graphics after wat i have seen from screenshots and video previews. I also read many player's reviews of the game, some agreed with GS review and some gave it 9 or even 10. I must say to all the people in the world, whoever gave this a 10 for graphics honestly should get their eyes tested cause they can see SH*T. CG cutscenes for me are impressive i must say, its more or less like Final Fantasy but with better lighting and shadows. But to only judge this & give it 10 would totally be incorrect. The in-game graphics are very average for a Xbox360 game. There is very little texture or details on surfaces. The only next-gen graphics i see are again lighting & shadows.
Sound - Average soundtrack u would hear in a typical j-rpg. Not bad but nothing special like FF. I played through the game in english dialogue. And yes, u could say the speech was "annoying, too many lame coversations, unecessary speech tutorials...etc etc." but i must say, this doesnt not contirbute much, if not any, part of the gameplay. For me, I got used to it. P*ssed off? Just fast-forward the speech by slamming the A button. Simple yeh?
Value - GS is right about the 40hr mark gameplay. And if u dont consider that to be long, im not sure which games u will for a j-rpg. Yes, I have played games with much longer times, and thats why i gave it a 9. Never played the multi-player, nor was i ever interested. I just got sucked into the gameplay. And yeh, there is ALOT of dialogue which takes up a bit of time, but thats how the game tells the story to us gamers. Its true i would only paly it once, but thats what I always have done for rpgs especially once u know what happens in the end.
In the end, Enchanted Arms is a very solid game without the best in-game graphics in the world, however just because of this is enough to encourage u gamers to try it out. As I have said before, final touches were lacking in certain areas, say, 1). no ability to change armour 2).shops in a form of station-point in between levels and routes instead of proper shops in town. 3). graphics should be much more detailed in certain areas and improved texture on different surfaces 4). More CGs instead of old-skool text based narration going thru the game explaining the storyline.....and maybe a bit more.
But I do recommend u to get this game if u like j-rpgs because it is just plain fun and take u a good 40-hours to complete.