Ever Grace
Review of Ever Grace
Darius and his dear friend Sharline, who up until now had a fairly normal life, were two souls destined to confront fate when they are mysteriously transported to another world.
Why are they here? What lies before them and how will they ever get back? Only time will tell, and you have to help each of them find the answer in their own individual quest, of Ever Grace.
Each character has their own abilities and equipment and is totally independent, until they meet up, but even then they dont share items or Palmira (money).
Fighting, and exploration takes place in the third-person view. Most monsters appear in a wisp of swirling smoke, some will come back over time and some wont (as in regenerating). You dont go up in levels like a traditional RPG, instead you just gain Palmira to purchase better equipment, and upgrade and maintain current equipment.
You do have basic stats however, and you can find fruit that will enable you to raise them. Another thing about the equipment is the magical ability they contain. This comes in very handy for taking out the monsters from afar. One piece of armor may have a fire ability, while another may have earth magic.
When you get to a save point/crystal you find your one true, (though greedy) friend, the merchant. Here, you can shop, fix, upgrade, and even switch between Sharline and Dariuss quests, (once you have completed one of them). The merchant will also on occasion comment on your attire. If what he sees pleases him you may be granted something extra. Strange as it may seem, the more bizarre and creatively you dress you character may actually have an impact on what you can acquire in the game.
When you finish the game you can start a new game keeping all the stats and equipment from the previous game. There is another extra, but I wont tell you about that one…its better to discover it for yourself!
The graphics are fairly good considering two points. First off, it was originally slated to be on the PSOne, and secondly it was a launch title. There are times when things slow down here and there, but it did not adversely affect the gameplay.
The characters and monsters are done well and have a fair amount of detail. Also changing the type or color of anything you are wearing (or holding), can be immediately seen.
The only issue was the camera. It takes time getting used to. While you may rotate it, along with lock in the forward view, fighting bosses in particular was sometimes frustrating due to the poor angles used.
All the cut-scenes are done in real-time and are done well; there is no lag between the scene and the action. Also it contains quality voice acting, although this can be skipped by pressing the X button and just read the text that accompanies it.
While at times the audio atmosphere can get a little quiet and stale, there are other times when you will be turning your character around quickly just to double check that that noise was just the wind.
The music on the other hand is just plain old weird. Dont get me wrong here, I walked around work (irritating all of those around me) for days singing, or should I say chanting, the Ever Grace songs.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Ever Grace' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Robert Gibson © Absolute PlayStation
Click here to view our 18 Ever Grace in-game screenshot slideshow
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