Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir

released on Jan 14, 2016

A remake of Odin Sphere

Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir is an enhanced HD remake of Odin Sphere game for PlayStation 2. Many various adjustments and changes were made in gameplay, considering comments from people who played the original game. While this is enhanced version of the original and it's trying to stay true to it, there are new gameplay and story elements presented in this release, some of which include new boss fights, new attack moves, new background music, and new map area to explore. While the initial idea of the developers was to make just n HD remastered release, it ended up being more of a re-created game version. As such, the game offers both classic mode as well as refined mode with all new elements and new gameplay.


Released on

Genres

RPG


More Info on IGDB


Reviews View More

terrible thought: the lower class we had been demeaning (vita players) might have been on the right side of history

its 2d air juggle combo game with lite-ivalice art, lite-ivalice story, real-ivalice music - how could i be honestly mad at all

the only things i can really complain about is its small scope, quite a bit of repeating levels and some slow menus, but generally i am cumming . i am comboing and i am cumming. i am doing a cumbo

meh.
after 13 sentinels i wanted more of that vanillaware magic.
i didnt quite get that. artstyle is beautiful, the gameplay feels fast & responsive at all times. but this game lacks substance. the story couldnt get any more basic, the characters don't grow on me. i do not want to engage with them or get to know them more. the english dub also sounds kinda whacky. an endless gameplay loop with okayish controls also does not seem to do it for me. they tried to give this some kind of atelier flair by giving you the chance to mix potions and a lot of other things with ingredients you find along the way. this gets more complicated to the point where you just stick with the first formular you learned in the beginning which absolutely is enough for this game because its button mashing at its finest while looking out for your level. if you do that, this game is really easy.
and sorry but doing this over and over with all the cast? i dont know if i want to do that. step by step maybe but this story isnt worth grinding another 40ish hours to fight the same enemies in the same areas again just with a different character.

NOTE: This review is about classic mode (aka PS2 mode) on hard, with all refinement options turned off.

This is one of those weird scenarios where most gamers "in the know" with regards to notable releases in the 2000s are aware of Odin Sphere, but the conversation kinda begins and ends with how pretty it is in a "WHOA COOL ROBOT!" sort of way. Why aren't we actually... talking about this game, a game with a mechanical identity that's absolutely peerless (even in attempt!), and a narrative that's shockingly effective and affective?

From the bizarre "platformless action-platformer" movement design to the inventory management, to the alchemy, to the leveling system, to the positional-centric combat—All carefully made to be only EXACTLY as complex as they need to be to promote meaningful decision-making—this is a game that even in spite of its flaws feels like Vanillaware's magnum opus, which is INSANE when this is literally their first game (under their current name, anyway). And yet here we are.

It's after midnight and I gotta be up in 4 hours ("If death cannot be avoided, then I welcome my fate.") and I'm rambling incoherently but just... this is already one of my new favorite games of all time y'all, fucking play it. It's on every PlayStation device released since 2007, you have no excuse unless you're Xbox's Strongest Soldier in the Console War or whatever.

NOTE: Will definitely have more to say about both Classic AND Refined mode whenever I play and finish the latter; this remake FASCINATES me.

i was really enjoying this but the 3rd book really drained my motivation to continue, might come back and finish it later but for now i'll just stop

Leifthrasir targets exactly what Odin Sphere had a problem with: variety . Additional mini-bosses, redesigned levels, reworked boss fights, and the introduction of skill trees that help diversify the combat styles of each character as well as adding a much stronger (and less confusing, frustrating) sense of progression. Vanillaware not only manages to rectify Odin Spheres shortcomings but in fact pushes it into one of my favorite combat-oriented 2D platformers ever.