Video Game Legion

Hey guys,

I was thinking of adding a new segment to the site called "Demo Days."  It'd basically be one day a week where I would play a demo and post a review on it for your entertainment.  You think it'd be a good idea?

Today I'm going to touch base on Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll.  It is a Playstation exclusive that was released on February 8th, 2011.  It was published by Tecmo KOEI (Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage and Quantum Theory) and developed by Omega Force (Destrega and all of the Dynasty Warriors).  I hadn't heard any hype about this game but I did find it on the PS Store so I downloaded the demo anyways.  I wasn't expecting much from the game but it did surprise me in good and bad ways.

Dagda

Overall it's your typical JRPG (Japanese Role Playing Game) in the sense that the format is quite like every other JRPG that there is out there.  The dialogue between characters is text only, there aren't any voice overs and the characters are simply images that will refresh if the facial expressions change based on the dialogue...there's a lot of reading involved!

Areus

You're given a quest board which shows your current quests and what they entail.  To actually embark on the quests, you select which one you would like to be your active quest and then you navigate to the world map, select where you want to go and it takes you there automatically.  Unlike other RPG's, your world map isn't included with your character menu screen, it's a completely different sector.







When you're in a particular location you have various options to choose from such a: shops, mages guild, tavern, and adventurer's guild.  Unfortunately, this game is anything but free-roaming so you don't get to explore the world, it takes you to your destination automatically. For some, that may seem like a good thing because I do know that most people (even when given the free roaming option in a RPG) like to fast travel to locations so that they don't have to walk for 20 minutes to get to somewhere on the map.



On your menu screen you have: status, skills, equipment, items, inventory, quests, data, and of course, options.  Your character uses XP to level up and you do have a HP meter to monitor how quickly your health depletes in fights.


The fighting is one thing that I really enjoyed.  I was expecting your typical turn base fighting that you see in most JRPGs, but with this one the fighting is similar to that of Castlevania.  You have your enemies and you are capable of choosing whether you'd like to use your melee weapons or your spells.  The movement is extremely fluid when fighting and when you're controlling your characters, fighting isn't a chore in the least.  After defeating enemies, they do leave you objects/items to pick up and you simply run over them and they are added to your inventory.

Selene

I would have to say that this was my favourite aspect of Trinity: Souls of Zill O'll.  You are able to control the members of your party.  At the beginning of the game you have your main character (Areus) and two of his friends (Dagda and Selene).  You're capable of handling all three of them and all three of them have specialty moves that you need throughout your quests.  For example, Dagda is capable of lifting and kicking over pillars which can annihilate a copious amount of enemies all at once if you are surrounded and I do know that you can freeze lakes to be able to walk over them.





I was certainly impressed with what I had played and I for one am not a big fan of JRPGs, I'm more of a WRPG (Western Role Playing Game) player.

When you get a chance you should either download the demo (available for free on the PS Store) or pick up the game itself.  You will most likely not be disappointed!

Here's a trailer for you guys and have a great Thursday, well, what's left of it anyway!

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