Radiata Stories is a role-playing action game published by Square Enix for PlayStation 2 in 2005. Radiata Stories is an entry-level RPG that might even manage to impress some mid-level enthusiasts. It does have a little of its own personality, but it’s completely built on the foundation of past classics.
It’s not hard to detect Radiata Stories influences. Players will see elements of games such as Kingdom Hearts, Majora’s Mask and Star Ocean to name a few. The characters are likable if not so memorable such as Jack the dimwitted star of the game. He’s so much the anti-hero that players won’t be able to help but like him. It’s not original in any way but like your favorite sitcom it follows a predictably comfortable premise and pattern.
Radiata Stories Storyline
Starring as Jack Russell, a teenage boy who simply assumes that due to his father’s heroic nature that he’ll follow in the same footsteps, players will have their work cut out for them to transform this zero into a hero. Unfortunately, tried and true heroism seems to skip a generation. However, Jack pays no mind as constant setbacks and defeat will not deter him. Maybe the kid’s a hero after all.
Starting out in the Rose Cochon Brigade, Jack, Ganz and Ridley take on various heroic tasks but their idea of swashbuckling devil-may-care action turns serious when Ridley is attacked by a couple of orcs and almost dies. An elf saves her life which ends his own and thus starts the ball rolling for Radiata Stories as the elf isn’t pleased at the altruistic actions that took his siblings life. Eventually the humans are drawn into a war with the elf people which are elf’s, orcs, dwarves and goblins and Radiata Stories branches off into two directions and players will have to make some choices.
Choices within Radiata Stories
Players get to choose a side, either the humans or the elves. In any case players can replay the game from the other perspective. This will give players about 50 hours of gameplay time. The unfortunate thing about this game is that they can’t play as any other character other than Jack. Players will have a party consisting of three other characters, but they can’t switch between them. Through strategic maneuvers and the ability to issue commands they can control them by proxy. They instinctively know what to do and don’t get in your way as they do in some RTS games. These guys are so good that it almost makes it too easy to tackle enemies which is why this game is great for novices.
Jack is very easy to control. He hacks, slashes and blocks. Players can modify some of the moves and earn a few more including some special attacks. They are not bogged down by a series of button commands or an arm’s length of inventory items. The combat and subsequent gameplay has been simplified to good effect.
Radiata Stories Graphics
Mechanically the game is solid. It has a nice presentation with lengthy cutscenes which are well acted and animated. The story is disappointingly clichéd, but the presentation makes the journey more interesting than the destination. The music accompanies the situations perfectly with all forms of musical dynamics including foreshadowing that hints at things to come.
The visual style of Radiata Stories is as appealing and varied as the plethora of characters players find within. The exaggerated anime art direction will draw in that particular demographic and the glib dialogue will also appeal to this consumer target. The environments are extremely detailed and fun to explore, while brimming with little eye-catching touches such as blowing trees, roaming animals, falling leaves et al that simply help to bring this colorful world to life.
Departing Words
If players have been around the block and recognize that intro from Monty Python’s Flying Circus, you might just appreciate the off-the-wall nature of Radiata Stories. Unlike previous RPG offerings from Square / Enix which are usually more epic in nature, Radiata Stories is a breath of fresh air filled to the brim with colorful characters and corny situations. In fact, you could think of Radiata Stories as the sitcom of role-playing games. It’s not quite as deep, but it’s entertaining in small doses.