One of those overshadowed games that really deserved the spotlight.
I really wasn't very good at the game, or familiar with the genre, but the game nevertheless captivated me. I loved its characters, it's setting, and I can still remember some of the music quite a few years later. The bosses really stand out because I had nearlly an impossible time with practically all of them. I'd wait eagerly to see when my attacks when make the boss start to fall over a little bit, knowing that I was close to winning the fight.
What is the fighting like? It's an actiony version of turn-based gameplay where you choose up, left, right, and down commands that fill up an artes bar at the bottom of the screen. You fill this bar with as many commands as will fit, and if you get the right combination, then you'll get a special attack called an arte. For example, up, down, up has main character Van do a back flip kick on the enemy. Battles were fun, but for me often frustrating, But that was likely due to my inexperience. Despite the difficulty, I had to persevere, the game was too fun.
The story revolves around three people who each obtain a Ra-Seru companion that remains on their arms. These Ra-Seru can summon monsters, and provide for elemental attacks in battle. The purpose of the journey is revive the Genesis Trees so that the mist can be repelled from the land, as it makes monsters plentiful and violent. The simplicity of some moments, such as freeing a castle and seeing a market open up outside, were very memorable, as were more special moments like entering Noa's true Hometown, with it's grand and beatifull structure.
In all honesty, this game brings back good memories, and if it caused me to rent it so many times from the same store, that's really saying something. I'm glad that I gave this game a chance, as it had introduced me into my favorite genre of all. We ended up buying the game year's later, but my brother was the one to really play and enjoy it then.
I got far in the game thanks to looking up the best moves, bosses' hitpoints, etc., but even then I found the game a challenge. The fact that I looked up so much to get through the game haunted me for a long time, but I don't know how far I would've gotten without such info. I just try to avoid doing that stuff nowadays.
That was a little off topic, but it goes to show just how much I can remember, just how much I still care about a game that I feel should've really made it big. I would've loved to see more than just one sequel, but what are you going to do?
I highly recommend this game, if you can find it. And while it may seem basic and outdated compared to today's games, it truely is a masterpiece.