Record of Agarest War Zero Review

Love it or hate it, has always been the response for Tactical RPG's in the gaming community. There aren’t too many titles of this genre on current consoles so it's quite pleasing to see a new release. Record of Agarest War Zero brings a quality story and adds a few neat features to the tactical RPG format.

Record of Agarest War Zero takes place 1,000 years before the first title released. The world is at peace with a balance of light and dark, until an army of Dark forces crosses the border and confronts a girl named Mimel and Sieghart, a warrior on duty. After the confrontation, Mimel transfers a special "power" onto the main character, and the story unfolds from that point on.

Generations divide the story, allowing you to play the offspring of Sieghart with the introduction of a Soul-Breeding system. Throughout the game, a "dating-sim" feature is incorporated to build relationships with the female heroines. Before the start of the new generation, your choices will lead into a marriage and the birth of the next main character. It is definitely a unique feature to have in a RPG, but the only benefit of your bride is the inherited abilities and the weapon-type for your hero.



The battle system doesn't stray away from the typical Tactical RPG format, but brings along a few features of its own. The maps are relatively small and flat, giving you very little room for error in movement. Environmental advantages are only given by way of "field-types" that grant boosts to a particular stat on a tile. The most interactive feature on the battlefield is the ability to link attacks in a chain by placing characters in another characters "extended" zone. The game teaches the player early on how to utilize this system to its fullest, which comes in handy with the games difficulty. To help the harsh battles, a large selection of weapons and armor are available for purchase, creating, or upgrading.

When not in combat, the game plays out the story with cut scenes utilizing an Action Animation System. Large portraits of characters are displayed that animate to bring a little life to the dialog. The attractive artwork is met with an amazing soundtrack even though battle effects sometimes are faded or off. A small note, but worthy of mention, is that there isn't a dual-audio option so Japanese is all the player will hear while in battle or cut scenes.

Record of Agarest War Zero brings indulging combat, an amazing soundtrack, and an involving story to the table of Tactical RPG's. The game is loaded with a ton of gallery portraits, items, and weapons to collect for the hardcore players but this title is definitely not recommended to gamers who aren't fans of the genre. However, fans of the first title or gameplay shouldn't expect anything less than a great, enjoyable, and lengthy game.

Final Score = 7/10