SECOND OPINION: Glory of Heracles

THE BAD

The music in Glory of Heracles had awkward instrumentation. It sounded like it was done by a pit orchestra that was missing key instruments and tried to have a synthesizer fill in the parts. It’s a disappointment, especially when you have other games on the Nintendo DS that push the DS to its limit in sound.

I will say that a number of songs were great. Some of my favorites were from when you were walking on the world map and sailing at sea. My top two would have to be the general battle theme and the victory fanfare, which I think could give the Final Fantasy fanfare a run for its money.

Another thing that bugged me was the main character. He’s supposed to be a silent protagonist, which is alright, but they have him saying dialogue when leveling up or when he gets knocked out. It would be like introducing something important in one episode of a TV show and completely forgetting about why you had it in the first place the next episode.

If you’ve ever seen the show Farscape, you know that they have translator microbes that get injected into the body so that all species can talk to each other. It’s introduced in the pilot episode. But then, the second episode shows them on a planet that hasn’t even broken their atmosphere and they can communicate with them easily. Someone missed something.

The general camera angle seemed like it was off. You can adjust it with the L and R buttons and it will adjust when you pass a door (which isn’t that big of an issue once you get used to it). However, just as is, the camera seems like it’s constantly just off the sweet spot of either going straight up and down or diagonally.

Graphically is where this game falls well short. Most things look rather bland, even when close up. The characters don’t look sharp at all outside of the well done anime opening and title screen. It’s almost as if developers Paon and Studio Saizensen were afraid of trying to push the limits of the DS.

For comparison’s sake, let’s look at the Dragon Quest games on the DS. All the games were gems when it came to graphics, with Dragon Quest IX making great use of what the DS could offer. Compared to these games, Glory of Heracles looks like a GBA game.

OVERALL

Despite its graphical capabilities, camera issues, and musical prowess, I liked Glory of Heracles. This was a fun game. It’s not a masterpiece in any way but, for the asking price right now, I believe it to be worth a buy.

Going back to the movie analogy, I liken it to Casino Royale. It’s something new from a series that has been around (particularly those that didn’t import the other Glory of Heracles games). It has familiar tropes. It has some issues that drive people nuts but it is enjoyable. Also, it has an amusing tag at the end that I’m sure you’ll find funny.