InuYasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel
Fan? Done with all the other RPG’s on the DS? Well then it might be worth it.
Tags: Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel Categories: DS Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Feb 21st, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Role-Playing | No | ||
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The television show InuYasha: (We always have a freakin’ subtitle), was a disappointing follow up to the brilliant Ranma ½. Rumiko Takashi had hit pay dirt with the earlier series, and InuYasha felt like a forced attempt to follow up. The series was a huge success, both in the US and in Japan, and is in heavy rotation on Adult Swim.
As with all successful licenses there are video games. The latest of which is an RPG from Namco-Bandai, subtitled Secret of the Divine Jewel. It stays quite faithful to the premise and characters of the series. Right down to the lunar cycle, and InuYasha’s human form. Centered on a new character Janis, the game doesn’t simply retell a story you already know. Janis is a half-Japanese exchange student, who makes fast friends with Kagome. She ends up on the wrong side of the Bone Eater’s well, and joins in the crazy feudal adventures.
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There is a wide variety of characters and enemies from the show, and fans of the show will be pleased with the layout and presentation of the story. This game will hold the rapt attention of even the most casual of the shows viewers; the function of using a new character allows them to reintroduce the whole world of the anime.
As a standard RPG though, it leaves something to be desired. The story and settings are well developed, but the characters are stale. Beyond Janis, Kagome, and InuYasha they are introduced en masse. While this is related to the fact that there are millions of pages of source material, I think that they could have been introduced in smaller packs, or some even skipped over to be used in the next game. The game mechanics are well done, but there needed to be more character customization.
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The battle system is menu based, but with a twist. As long as they have not cycled through their turn, you can use simple attacks in tandem. This system is also used to take hits for a character. It is mostly a novelty, but it does distract you from basically the same old same old. The MP system is generated as you walk, but even attacks take away from it, and there aren’t many items to instantly recover it. It requires you to waste a turn in battle. Which leads me to my biggest pet peeve; every few steps in this game you’re in a battle. Sometime you finish a battle and the very next step is another encounter. I don’t mind the occasional level grind, but I don’t need to be buttonholed into it. It seems to be a way of hiding how small the dungeons really are. Even the most linear of RPG’s have some deviations. InuYasha seems to offer little more than abject wandering outside of the linear path.
This is an average game that will entertain in the most basic sense. With the huge field of RPG’s out for the DS, there are a lot of choices to come first. Fans of the show will find the magic and melodrama you love in the series. RPG fans in need of a fix, will find a cheap one here.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Looks nice + Perfectly adapts source, and in my opinion improves it |
4.0 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- Far too many pointless encounters - Plot drags about - Too little character control |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Essentially a bland hack and slash. This will scratch the itch of those hopelessly RPG addicted, but it'll be like bumming a cheap smoke. It'll do but you aren't gonna enjoy it. | |
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Tags: Inuyasha: Secret of the Divine Jewel
Posted by Mike "Two Tone" McConnell on Feb 21st, 2007 and is filed under DS Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
