Let me start out by saying that I believe this game has not gotten the credit it deserves, many reviewers out there have a preconceived notion about what Enchanted Arms was supposed to be and so their reviews are skewed, believe me when I tell you that this review is about as straightforward and honest as they come. When the word Xbox is spoken few people think “quality role-playing games”, actually I doubt if anyone thinks that. Unfortunately the Xbox 360 did not change that persona either, at least not until now. There has been Oblivion, which was a great game in its own right, but for those of us that would choose classic style over new age there has been nothing to keep us busy.
When I think role-playing games I think the Final Fantasy series, not World of Warcraft. I’m talking about JRPG’s here or Japanese role-playing games. Turn based action and spiky hair are things that I want to see in a RPG. To their credit I think that’s exactly what developers From Software were thinking too when they created Enchanted Arms for the Xbox 360. Originally released in Japan, Enchanted Arms is an old-school turn based RPG perfect for fans of the Final Fantasy or Metal Dungeon games. Over here in the US it was rather iffy if we were ever going to get our hands on this beautiful game, but finally that time has come, thanks to publisher Ubisoft. Enchanted Arms is not perfect but it is very close and will keep JRPG lovers busy for quite some time (around 80 gameplay hours to be exact). By the end of this review if you are one of those people on the fence about this game I hope I can convince you that it is worth giving a chance to, it’s that good.
Considering Enchanted Arms is a JRPG, the main point of the game is the story mode. This is the meat of the title so expect a long story with plenty of movies and dialogue. The quality of the movies are excellent, they look great and flow together well. Because this is a game that was imported from Japan the quality of the dialogue is open to interpretation, some gamers have flat out hated the talking while others, such as me, have found it bearable. You have the option of switching to Japanese audio with English subtitles but for me that was just too confusing and involved too much reading.
The basic plot of Enchanted Arms is your typical JRPG storyline. It revolves around Atsuma, a young student that attends a school in Yokohoma City for “special” students studying the art of enchanting. Without giving too much away there is a disaster that brings out all kinds of monsters and you are in charge of saving the world. What I will say about the storyline is that I thoroughly enjoyed it; I felt a connection with the characters and the plot pulled me in the same way a good movie does. As of this review I have put in around 35 hours and have almost completed the main quest, there is plenty more for me to go back and do after I beat the final boss.
