If you have played a JRPG before, you know exactly what to expect from this. Luckily, that's a good thing in this case.
User Rating: 8.5 | Hercules no Eikou: Tamashii no Shoumei DS
As a way too obsessed fan of RPGs and greek mythology alike, I bought Glory of Heracles hoping to be able to "10" it. Heracles didn't quite make it there, but made a solid effort. First of all, you should not go into Glory expecting a unique experiance, because you will be sorely dissapointed. Have an open mind, however, and you will have a lot of fun during your stay in ancient Greece. This is a typical Japanese RPG in nearly every respect, from the silent, amnesiac hero (presumably Heracles) to the largely cookie-cutter fields, towns, and dungeons. The battles are turn based and, admittedly, a little too frequent for my taste. The fights are easy for the most part, but the difficulty annoyingly spikes during "powerful" battles, which are also random, though rarer than normal random fights. The monsters in these fights are faster, stronger, and smarter with spells and helping each other with "rallying snarls" to revive seemingly-dead partners. However, these powerful battles are the only way to earn "rutilant eyes", useful as forging materials late in the game. Your entire party is immortal (except for certain temporary party members) and as such, can be revived with items or magic should they lose all their HP. This does not mean death is impossible for other good guys though, and you will actually feel sad when Achilles gets sliced in the heel and bleeds to death, or an old friend who happens to be a ship captain rebels against the bad guys, getting brutally killed with one punch for his troubles (it's even more heart wrenching when you factor in that he has a young daughter). The game has boss battles, too, ranging from the legendary Kraken to the sphinx come to life (spoiler: It's big). Even with all of these JRPG standbys, Heracles adds it's own mix to the formula by making your entire party amnesiacs, which makes you compelled to beat the game to uncover the truth. Also, there are plenty of real-world and Nintendo refrences. My biggest laughs came from the description of Egypt, where you make a brief camo midway through the quest: "...The citizens are building something they say will be a wonder of the world. Will it? Only time will tell." and at one point, our silent hero must make an alias for himself. (After all, going around calling yourself Heracles is bound to attract unwanted attention) One of your fellow party members suggests "Pit", to which another replies "Pit? That dosn't even sound Greek!" Good stuff. 
