PS2 Stella Deus - New Import

The refinement of the genre made popular by games such as Final Fantasy Tactics and most recently, Phantom Brave, continues unabated with Atlus' new contribution. Akin to previous efforts in the turn-based tactical strategy space, movement is performed on overlaid grids where party members shuffle one by one and face off against enemy troops. As the characters move to and fro, one will marvel at how solid the game looks and feels. The heroes animate as if they have substance within them and attacks carry weight. The animations and actions are expertly followed by a camera which swivels around with jumpy, fast motion as it seamlessly captures the game from different angles and perspectives. Little spot animations and special effects also look spectacular - capes roil, clothing sways, and tousled hair bobs. Magical attacks shake the screen as if the effects of the magic were powerful enough to cause the entire virtual world to rattle. Combo attacks may also be ignited by joining the skills/magic of two or more heroes for impressive blows which knock off thousands of enemy HP. Character classes in Stella Deus are an interesting lot. They include: Alchemist | Archer | Bigot | Cleric | Elementaler | Fighter | Iron-Fist | Thief and others. The Bigot class looks awfully like the Fighter class except its hunched over a little and wears a loosely drawn cape. The menu and options are a mix of English and Japanese which makes the game fairly friendly for the kanji-caped. Major battlefield moves such as "Move | Attack | Skill | Item | Finish" are in English. Upon choosing the Move command, grids light up in blue which show the distance that a hero may roam. The various menu commands may also be hot-keyed to the joypad so that pressing the various buttons effects Attack, Item, Skill, etc. As an added bonus of sorts, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Masaharu Iwata composed the majestic music for the game which adds warmth and depth to the already substantial atmosphere.