Every now and then, a game comes out that looks unassuming, but has a hidden, interesting side that takes you by surprise. This aspect is true of Radiant Historia, a turn-based JRPG for the Nintendo DS developed by Atlus and Headlock Studio. One of the aspects of Radiant Historia that comes out of left field is the time traveling mechanic, which allows you to explore two different paths of history. If you enjoyed Chrono Trigger and enjoy revisiting the same place in different points in recent history, you'll warm up to Radiant Historia. Gamers who don't care for backtracking or subtle time puzzles will want to skip this one.

Graphics

Radiant Historia sports a neat art style. Environments are rendered in 3-D while characters and obstacles are 2-D sprites. This makes different elements clear to the player without any obnoxious "helper" graphics like black outlines or incessant glowing, etc.

The graphic style is sort of low-key for the environments; they seem to mostly get out of the way. It's a refreshing turn from what's usually present in JRPGs, and is more inviting than the usual "Check ALL the bushes" mentality that's encouraged in some JRPGs. Sprites are animated very well. Aht's swaying in battle, "brandishing" animations when it's the character's turn to receive a command, and the design of the characters themselves are all great. The graphics may become a bit dull over time out of battle, but they remain interesting in-battle. Atlus has some pixel know-how. :)

The concept art is top notch. It shows a strong understanding of character design and use of color. Stocke's red outfit is both stylish and reminiscent of European armor designs. Aht looks like an elegant dancer, and Marco's get-up looks like he really is carrying a bunch of potions and healing items. There are other characters that sport equally solid designs, but I don't spoil games that aren't classics already.

Music

I'm listening to the OST right now. Does that tell you anything? If not, maybe a name drop will: Yoko Shimomura. She's partly responsible for Kingdom Hearts' music, and composed all the music for Radiant Historia. My favorite tracks are Alistel's main theme and the ending credits theme, -HISTORIA-.

The soundtrack as a whole takes on a somber, pretty feel when you're out and about. Seeing as how world is slowly eroding to dust, this theme is fitting. The standard battle theme is unobtrusive and seems to encourage focus and intensity instead of raw power. The boss themes on the other hand, are in-your-face epic and carry a sense of urgency. "The Edge of Green" (mid-chapter bosses) in particular does a very good job of sparking the player's spirit.

Long story short, this game's soundtrack is easily its best aspect.

Difficulty

Once you get the hang of the battle system, I'd say the difficulty in Radiant Historia is decidedly average. A few battles will push you to really think about how to bunch the enemy up to capitalize on combo bonuses, some will use turn order to mess with your tactics, and others will test your knowledge of your abilities and how many turns they last. Veteran gamers will meet this difficulty with only minor issue, while average and casual gamers will have a little bit of trouble. The difficulty's not too harsh, however, and you can always grind to lessen it.

Gameplay

There are two primary phases of gameplay: in-battle and out-of-battle. The former is where you'll be spending a lot of your time, believe it or not. The fights are not overwhelmingly common like they are in traditional JRPGs. You seem enemies on the overworld as you travel, and can choose to avoid the vast majority of them. This makes Radiant Historia a good candidate for low-level runs. However, this also means that if you avoid fighting too much, you'll end up too weak to progress at an acceptable pace.

In-battle, it's closer to a tactical SRPG than a standard turn-based JRPG. Your enemies are laid out in a 3×3 grid and are allowed to move around during the course of the battle. Your characters aren't afforded this mobility, but some of them have skills that will move the enemy around. Put together the right skills and the right turn order (through the "Change" command), and you can wipe out regular enemies pretty handily. It's important to practice this, because it becomes more important as you progress and the enemies get tougher. When it's all said and done, though, the gameplay is still standard JRPG fare with a little spin on things.

It's a welcome spin, but it comes with some nitpicks:

• Skills that move the enemy around are rather pricey (5-15 MP)
• MP cannot easily be regenerated (the skill costs 12 MP and the item is rare)
• Some bosses have far too much HP and needlessly drag out the battle (this may be intentional...)

Overall, battles are fairly enjoyable, but will start to annoy you a bit toward the end, when they introduce more enemies that can't be moved on the grid.

Story

Radiant Historia begins with a man named Stocke, who's been assigned to the Special Intelligence unit of Alistel's army. It seems that Granorg, the country to the west, is the cause of a "sand sickness" which is eroding the world and turning people into sand. What starts out as a clear goal to our friend Stocke turns into a much broader adventure through the continent of Vainqueur and time itself. As it progresses, the story plays around with the player's expectations, questions the rationale of characters, and exposes what most would consider "evil" as merely a different perspective on the same circumstances. It's not necessarily something that I'd sit down with for nights on end, like a book, but the story does a better job than many other JRPGs out there, and stayed interesting enough for me to want to know what happens next. So I'd say it's pretty good.

Final Verdict

Radiant Historia is what most would call a "sleeper hit", which came out of nowhere, introduced a new take on the time-traveling formula, and brought some memorable characters and gorgeous music. It has some tedious points, which delayed me finishing the game for a while¹, but they weren't bad or long enough to kill the enjoyment for me.

If you enjoy JRPGs -- especially ones that question existing formulae -- I think you'll like Radiant Historia. If you want a fast-paced, action-style game that's light on the dialogue, Radiant Historia is not what you're looking for.

Metadata

Platform: Nintendo DS
US Release Date: 2011-02-22
Genres: JRPG, Turn-based
Developer: Atlus, Headlock, Inc
ESRB Rating: E10+