Genre: RPG
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Softmax
Release Date: November 8, 2005

When you think of a console RPG, chances are that you’ll think of Japan. Japan is the place that almost all of the best console RPG games have called home. Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and others have assured the Japanese RPG a place in the hearts and minds of gamers for years to come. Recently, however, Korea has been more and more involved in the RPG scene. Koreans are fanatical about role-playing, and they’ve even had to pass laws forcing people to stop playing MMORPG games after a certain amount of time to avoid problems with addiction. So it comes as no real surprise that a Korean RPG game is finally making an appearance on a Japanese console in the United States. Atlus, the publisher of some quirky and hard-to-find games over the years, has decided to give Magna Carta: Tears of Blood a chance to shine here in the US.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood sounds like a game that has you reading the historic document of 1215 and then having a rather violent cry. Fortunately, it’s nothing so bland as that, but it does approach it at times. The story of the game revolves around Calintz, a young man who is bent on revenge after a traumatic incident in his childhood. As he grows up, he becomes the leader of the Tears of Blood, a nice name for a group of so-called “mercenaries” – even though they don’t act like mercenaries in the traditional sense. The Tears of Blood are called upon to help in the fight against another race of people, and as this story unfolds, so does Calintz’s tale of revenge and the stories of the other main characters – each of which is fairly standard fare for this type of game.

Calintz is your prototypical male lead for a Japanese RPG. Well, almost – in fact he’s way more over the top than certain familiar characters from other games. While the other main characters might be called androgynous, Calintz can be best described as downright transgender. He wears a weird skirt-like garment, has female-esque curvatures, and has his hair done in a way that Gwen Stefani would envy. He also maintains the facial features of a young woman. In short, you’ll spend the entire game wondering just why Calintz looks like he does, and how he can possibly sound so manly while wearing such a ridiculous outfit.

Graphically, the game looks like something from the first generation of PlayStation 2 games. The character models are extremely stiff and the textures are extremely bland. Some of the environments are really cool looking, but the entire game takes place in a fixed point of view, something that should really be obsolete by now. As a result, you’ll spend less time appreciating the scenery and more time moving Calintz into every little crevice and crack to make sure you don’t miss an NPC or an item. This also causes problems in battles, which I’ll describe later. The characters don’t look convincing, and maintain fairly static facial expressions throughout. There’s also some annoying issues with the draw distance, but it seems to be intentional rather than as a result of system limitations. Something that props up the graphical aspect of the game are the excellent video cutscenes.

When Calintz moves around the map, he can be in one of two stances. One stance has him move more slowly, but is able to creep up on an enemy and engage them before they notice his approach, giving the party an advantage in the upcoming battle. The other stance is made for faster movement, but you’re more likely to be surprised by enemies. Even though the ready stance is made for getting the drop on the baddies, you’ll still be frustrated as at times you’re still on the receiving end of the first attack. Once the battle starts, the games extremely complicated battle system kicks in.

The battle system is a mix between Grandia 2 and a kick in the groin. There is a leadership meter that determines when a party member can move in and attack, as well as one for the enemies that determine when they get to attack. After choosing your party member, you move them into position, and a circle pops up on the screen, forcing you to press three buttons in rapid succession in order to pull off the attack. If you fail, the leadership meter takes a hit and you don’t attack. While you move your characters around, the leadership meter doesn’t refill, and it’s sometimes impossible to even locate the enemies due to the fixed camera view, forcing you to waste some time moving around and searching for the smaller enemies.

While I consider my reflexes pretty good, I ended up being completely frustrated with the circle and 3-button press system. I missed far more than I should have, pissing me off to no end. There are also a bunch of other combat aspects, like Chi that affects the power of certain attacks, and the damage taken by enemies. There are lanterns in certain areas that you can place items into to affect the Chi balance of an area to give your combatants an edge, but since you rarely know what types of enemies you’ll be facing, it may end up backfiring on you. You can only choose three characters to enter a battle with you, so you’ll have to do some rotating to make sure your characters all get some time to grow in experience and power.

Another interesting aspect of the game is the fact that your characters and Calintz have relational issues. By talking to them and choosing what to say, you affect their trust in you and if they don’t trust you, you won’t fight as well together in battles. Some things that you’ll say will really please one of your party members, while upsetting another. You can also give gifts to them to affect the way they feel about you, but if you give them one thing too often, they may stop liking it. This adds another element of strategy to the way you form your party and how you respond to the things they say to you, but as interesting as it is, it’s just one more bit of micromanagement that could’ve been cut.

After slogging through several battles, you’ll probably grow to appreciate the music and sound effects that the game offers. Voiceovers are really well done, for the most part. There are a few characters that just sound plain ridiculous, but they are few and far between. The soundtrack itself is a matter of personal preference, but I found it to be quite enjoyable, and it was varied enough that it didn’t grow stale. Effects of the monsters and attacks were well done too. Overall the aural experience was quite well done and enjoyable.

I know there are those of you out there who buy every single game that Atlus releases, because they’re known to become extremely rare due to limited production. For you, nothing I say will change your mind, but you’ll probably enjoy Magna Carta once and then file it on your shelf. For everyone else looking for a great RPG that will stand the test of time, you should avoid Magna Carta. It doesn’t do anything especially well, but it is novel in some ways, which may draw you in if you want to try something new. Other than that, it’s a completely average experience that ends up being more work than fun.

Score: 6.9/10