Beautiful game, as is standard for Vanillaware. I also think the combat and cooking systems are pretty damn solid. It's really the writing and acting that hold this one back from being a true favorite: really couldn't care about any of these people or what they do and the way they talk can be pretty grating. I'd also argue the game is a bit too easy and doesn't really innovate in any big way: it's just a polished ARPG. Which is cool and appreciable, but when you stack this up against 13 Sentinels or Unicorn Overlord, it's just not nearly as impressive. Still pretty fun though.

I suck at the game. The gameplay was a bit boring for the character I was on. So I dropped it and watched the cutscenes on YouTube at 4.0x speed. But seriously the story for this is better than the other games I've dropped.
All the characters are interesting, and most are likable. The story's scale is large and stays that way. There are many epic scenes and I'm not saying that in the "EPIC REDDIT MOMENT" meaning, there are truly epic scenes. The characters are well written, with a variety of realistic and mythical motivations. The gods are written as gods are in greek and ancient tradition, they are prone to superhuman emotions, as in they go far off the spectrum, all their actions in the game are fully believable. The story (coupled with the amazing art direction) truly draws you into the world. There were two small twists that I was genuinely surprised by and they were well-written, as in they added to the story and made me have confidence in the writing - 2 small twists wehre i was genuinely surprised,
(SPOILER)
the identity of the frog (maybe I just didn't pay enough attention), and the king's plan to get the ring back via Gwendolyn.
(END OF SPOILER)
Also, can't believe the artist and writer is one person. What a talented person.
Possibly the most consistently great game story I've ever experienced.

Good game with amazing art and a reasonably interesting story, but unfortunately extremely repetitive. Even on the first character I was feeling drained midway through because there simply isn't enough variety. The second character at least does substantially more damage, but at this point I feel like I've seen all there really is to see in terms of gameplay from this game. It may be something I pick back up way down the line, but for now I don't want to waste at least 20 more hours with 4 more characters when I could play something more engaging.

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.

Review in progress:
Just as overrated as Muramasa for me. The gameplay loop is repetitive and the story is as boring as it is wordy. I'm not a fan of the level design, either. You go traverse through a series of tiny, flat, and nearly identical-looking zones. There's no sense of cohesion. I'm not saying it needs to be a Metroidvania, but having areas that are larger, interconnected, and visually distinct would go a long way toward making the world feel more alive.

The alchemy and farming mechanics didn't really add a lot to the core experience.

I had to drop some items for an alchemy tutorial and was kicked out of the room without warning afterward, which made me lose everything on the ground. I'm so used to autosave being a standard feature in modern releases at this point, but it's completely absent here, so I lost a fair bit of progress. Good times.

At least the artwork is great outside of some questionable character designs. That's definitely their strong suit.

I'm still not getting the Vanillaware praise. Hopefully, I'll enjoy 13 Sentinels more.

This game is too long for its own good. To get to the ending, you will need to essentially play the same game with 5 different characters, and chances are you are mentally done after just one. There's also something discouraging about having to start from level 1 with each new character over and over again when you've just finished a playthrough with a lvl 70 something character. Another unfortunate consequence of all this is also that there is a high chance you'll be forced to play with a character or two whose gameplay you're just not feeling. Thankfully you can always switch the difficulty to easy if you want to speed things up by a few hours.

The gameplay is good. It's satisfying to chain different skills together to juggle an enemy for a long period of time, or to cause a massive barrage of explosions and damage indicators popping up on the screen by casting spells and using items back to back in a quick succession.

The prose is also good when it's good, and I'm glad to have got to the ending to see how the game wrapped up everything. Some of the story moments will also blow your mind to a degree when things that were foreshadowed earlier come together in a logical manner. However, the payoff of the ending struggles to be substantial enough to justify the time and the amount of repetitive gameplay needed to get there. Come for the gorgeous art and stay for it too, I guess.

You know that RPG you start, then life happens, then when you get back to the game it's been so long you forget what was happening so you restart it? Odin's Sphere was that for me every 3 years, for nearly 2 decades.

I'm glad I finally finished it, it was pretty cool!

Everyone should play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

Vanillaware has a habit of creating some of the most beautiful games out there, and Odin Sphere is no exception... it is absolutely gorgeous.

I have a weak spot for Norse mythology, so I enjoyed that aspect of the game's world/setting. Game is overall solid from a gameplay / combat standpoint with multiple characters and POVs. The only negative that brings this game down a fair bit for me, is that after a while of playing, it is prone to being a bit too repetitive.

Still worth playing though - for maximum enjoyment, I'd recommend cutting the game up in short playtime sessions to combat its repetitive nature.

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.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is another banger game released by Vanillaware and between Muramasa and 13 Sentinels, the only other Vanillaware games i've played, this game falls in the middle of both camps. It has a strong gameplay-focus like Muramasa but it also has a good overarching narrative like 13 Sentinels. Though i wouldn't say Odin Sphere's plot is anywhere near as good as 13 Sentinels, i loved the sort of fairy tale simplicity that was going on in the narrative. It makes sense too, after all, this story is told through the eyes of a little girl reading books about legends from long ago. In fact, i would argue that Odin Sphere is a great example of "sometimes, simple is best". It's not a complicated tale and it's themes aren't particularly deep but it's characters have enough charm and it's through the simplicity of their stories that i was able to feel invested in them and their struggle. The overarching narrative also makes it really cool when you're able to see when two unrelated events are happening at the same time and how they may affect the overall narrative. The most noticeable example is when four of the five protagonists are in the Kingdom of Titania, fighting through the streets and the sewers are around basically the same time, yet for completely different reasons. But that's just the big one, as there are other moments in the narrative like this and it's just really cool to see. It adds an element of worldbuilding that you don't really tend to see in a lot of other games, even those that have excellent worldbuilding otherwise.

Character ranking: Velvet > Oswald = Gwendolyn >= Cornelius > Mercedes.

Gameplay-wise, it is a pretty fun 2D action game. I already found Muramasa to be fun and this game is just that but better. Unlike in Muramasa, each character plays completely differently so while the game can feel a bit repetitive in the areas you visit, it manages to mitigate that by giving everyone unique movesets. Gwendolyn and Cornelius are your standard lance and sword wielders respectively and i believe they came first because of how relatively simple they are to play as. Then Mercedes shakes things up by letting her fly freely and shoot very quickly, decimating enemies at the cost of her combo game. And if you were missing combos after playing as her, then good for you, because after Mercedes comes Oswald who literally has Devil Trigger. Velvet is a mix of Gwendolyn's range and Oswald's combo game thanks to her chains and as a result, she ended up becoming my favorite character to play as. Velvet really was a case of the best being saved for last.

Gameplay ranking: Velvet > Oswald > Cornelius = Gwendolyn > Mercedes.

The presentation of the game doesn't require me to say much. It's Vanillaware, makers of games with beautiful 2D art. I was really in love with how much this game embraced it's fantastical nature. Every stage background is gorgeous and the character designs are on point. Music good. I've got to say, this is easily the best-looking Vanillaware game. More of this please. I also have to give special shoutout to the command inputs. You're given five special inputs for your Psypher Skills but not only can you register more whenever you feel like it but you can even choose whether they are triggered by the D-pad or the control stick and whether or not they can only be activated on the ground or on the air. You don't see something like that in action-games a lot, at least i haven't. So good for you Vanillaware.

If there's any criticisms i have about the game, there is the repetition issue i mentioned earlier. Sure, it's mitigated by each character's unique movesets but if you continuously play this game, you might find yourself feeling a bit burned out. It's not super short like Muramasa is and it doesn't have the story/gameplay side thingy that 13 Sentinels has, so the possibility for burnout is there a little bit. As far as the story goes, while Mercedes grew on me as a character, i found her story to be the weakest one and that alongside the fact that i wished for a more combo-oriented character meant that i did admittedly have the least fun with her route, though it's not like i wasn't enjoying it. The presentation slightly tanks a bit whenever you do something in one character's story that leads into an event you already saw in another so the game just cuts to black and goes "and so, this this and that happened and now we go to the next scene". It's understandable why they did it but 13 Sentinels had several moments where you would see other character's stories playing out in the background while you're doing whoever's story it is you're doing at the moment. I won't hold it against Vanillaware for not doing something they end up doing in a later game, it would've been nice to see.

Odin Sphere is good and it gets the Armagon Seal of Approval.

Leifthrasir é uma versão aprimorada do clássico Odin Sphere de PS2, produzido pela nossa saudosa Vanillaware, um dos poucos estúdios que temos no mercado atualmente que ainda consegue entregar jogos side scrolling extremamente bonitos com essa pegada anime´like, e esse aqui em questão, se tratando de um remake/remaster não foi diferente.

O segundo jogo da companhia se trata de um beat'em up com elementos de RPG, situado em um universo fantasioso, onde iremos acompanhar 5 protagonistas com suas respectivas narrativas se aventurado pelo mundo, com isso, teremos uma valkiria buscando aprovação de seu pai, um coelho espadachim amaldiçoado, uma fada inexperiente tendo que assumir a liderança de seu povo, um cavaleiro sombrio procurando propósito pra sua vida vazia e uma bruxa carmesim tentando parar o inevitável traçado pelo destino.. ui.
A história é bem bacaninha de acompanhar, é meramente simples com cinemáticas de personagens estáticos falando um com os outros, mas funciona da mesma forma, a dublagem japonesa é maravilhosa e ajuda muito a digerir a trama; ela é conduzida por seleção de capítulos, que vai do prelúdio até o sexto capítulo e finalizado com um epílogo, cada campanha atinge umas 4 ~ 5 horas em média para completude.

Eu gostei bastante do sistema de combate, sendo um beat'em up o gênero fala por si só, mas aqui temos diversas habilidades únicas por personagem junto com o sistema de alquimia, o preparo de poções dá mais camada de aprendizagem, assim como a refeições que fazemos durante os intervalos, sendo o nosso meio principal de ganhar nível no jogo; além disso temos o phozons, um recurso que ganhamos quando derrotamos inimigos ou extraímos de plantas/borboletas, ele serve como moeda para melhoramentos de habilidades, mas também utilizamos o mesmo pra cultivar plantas, que vai nos garantir frutos, servindo como ingredientes para pratos mais sofisticados, que nos darão mais XP consequentemente, então você sempre fica naquela dualidade na hora de usar, algo que achei bem implementado na gameplay.

Um dos problemas principais desse jogo é a sua barriga, ele é bem repetitivo, levando em conta que temos 5 campanhas diferentes, a maioria dos eventos se passam nas mesmas regiões, então.. espero que tenha gostado de explorar aquele mapa pela primeira vez, porque você vai voltar pra lá com outro personagem.. mais 4 vezes. É meio cansativo senhores, não vou mentir, mas a progressão de personagem nesse game é tão bem feita, que eu ficava até animado pra próxima aventura, de qualquer forma estejam avisados.

Seguindo para termos visuais: qualidade Vanillaware, os caras não decepcionam nesse departamento e vale dizer que o Odin Sphere original é de 2007, então envelheceu super bem; apesar dessa nova versão possuir melhoramentos, a direção de arte se manteve da mesma forma (obviamente)

A trilha sonora é um ponto neutro do título, sinceramente não me pegou com quase nenhuma faixa, mas também não desgostei.

Pra finalizar, eu tive uma ótima experiência com o título, gostei pakas da reta final e fiquei viciado nas mini mecânicas integradas na gameplay, por conta disso recomendo pra geral ai.

Ps: VELVET MELHOR PERSONAGEM

Brilliant game. Awe-inspiring presentation (it's Vanillaware), fun combat (especially as Velvet and Mercedes). I own and played the original ages back but never finished it.

The circular maps are a good touch though they can sometimes make things easy to miss. One thing I really appreciated was the ability to "listen" for items as your character runs along the ground - the item name popping up on the screen makes a sound as do the mandragoras, and it's very helpful for combing over areas you've missed.

My only complaint is that the story and general pacing felt a bit overlong, but the structure works well and justifies it if you can stick with it to the end.

I loved every protagonist, I loved the framing, and I intend to go back for the plat. Vanillaware is a gem of a studio and I'm thrilled to have spent time in this storybook. Not a 10 for me but pretty damn close.

I have complicated feelings on this one. Of course, the presentation is fantastic. I think I am a bit spoiled having played 13 Sentinels first, though. The faces are barely animated at all in this one, and while I think it works for characters like Odin, it does not do any favors for characters like Mercedes and Oswald. It makes everything they say feel a bit sarcastic (though this is not a jab at the english VA, I liked it quite a bit). Far and away my biggest problem with this game is the structure. Each “book” has you playing as a different character, who all play pretty different, though being me I gravitated towards the nigh-uncontrollable flippy-dippy melee fighters. But with these characters, you are going through the same 8ish areas, fighting the same 30ish enemies, ending with one of the same 10ish bosses in each level, and it gets old really fast. I understand these assets probably cost a ton to produce and reusing them is resourceful, but it is so much padding. It negatively impacts the story too. It's a great, simple concept: viewing the lives of the children of these classic fantasy archetypes, with the conclusion that they are pretty much all horrible parents. However, it feels forced to go in certain directions just so I can fight the damn blue worm dragon for like the 5th book in a row. Not all of it is bad, I love seeing little details in one book heavily expanded and explained in another book (like seeing why Pooka ran the food store in book 1 explained in book 2). However, while it would require pretty extensive rewrites, I would’ve preferred a 10-15 hour game reusing less gameplay elements rather than a 35 hour journey that feels pretty tiring by the middle of book 3. I wish I could’ve liked it more, but it feels very forced into a structure that doesn’t benefit it.

Disclosure: I was QA on the original version of this title

I played the original when it came out and I liked it a lot. This is a pretty extensive remaster -- it adds HD graphics as well as retooling the combat system, bringing it closer to some of Vanillaware's more recent titles.

The combat switch up really changes the feel of this game. It is more about racking up combos and juggling enemies. I feel like in the original I spent more time picking my shots and playing defensively. I didn't hate the old combat, but this new version plays really well, and it is cool that you can switch it to classic mode if you prefer it.

This game looked great when it first came out and it looks amazing now in HD. I like these character designs better than most of Vanillaware's other games and they still hold up.

I like the story in Odin Sphere, it is an interesting mesh of different perspectives that come together to give you a broader understanding of everything that is going on. It is cool, but takes a long time to get to its point and some of the chapters feel like they have some filler in order to bring them up to the right size. The writing can also be a bit grating and repetitive at times, though the voice acting is really great.

Odin Sphere is a fun game to play through and has an interesting story. I am glad this remaster exists and that it makes the combat and the game itself a bit more accessible.