Soul Nomad is a perfect example of what NIS America is all about, publishing games that general mainstream companies such as SquareEnix like to avoid or pass over. If it weren't for companies like NIS America we would never have seen how unique Soul Nomad is compare to the typical rpgs out there. Comprise of vulgar language throughout the game as well as glorifying killing innocent people if you decide to become a bad guy, Soul Nomad is the kind of rpg game that as a parent, you probably want to shy away from. But for those that's looking to try something completely different and none political correct, Soul Nomad might be the kind of rpg game that will put a smile to your face.
STORY
Name's Gig and I take shit from no one.
Prepare to face your doom, World Eater.
In a hidden village near the outskirts of the nation of Raide, you and your best friend, Danette, have finally grown up to be chosen as the next guardsmen for the village by Lady Layna, the village leader and founder. Lady Layna explained to you that since your birth, you have been sheltered from the outside world within the hidden village for your protection because the world for the last 200 years have been in turmoil by war and evil forces known as the World Eaters. The World Eaters are powerful giant shadow beings that consumed the land and its people for the last 200 years. Now it appears the world will soon come to an end thanks to the World Eaters. But there is still hope yet for the world as Lady Layna tells you that since your birth, you have been chosen by her to fight against the World Eaters and save the world. However you alone don't have the power to go up against the World Eaters so she gave you a special sword called the onyx blade. Within the onyx blade is the trap soul of Gig, the master of death and destruction. Gig was once the master of the World Eaters until he was defeated by Lady Layna 200 years ago and had his soul banished into the onyx blade. Lady Layna explained to you that only with the power of Gig can you defeat the World Eaters but there is a cost to using Gig's power. The more you use Gig's power, the more you begin to lose your soul to Gig as using his power means that both your souls will be fused into one. You must be strong and not let Gigs power corrupt your soul to the path of darkness. Will you take the path of righteousness and fight to save the world or turn to the dark side and use Gigs power to rule over the world? Only you can decide which path to take in Soul Nomad.
It's hard to get a good grip on the story simply because there are too many variables with different story routes that have different story branches and multiple endings even if the main theme of the story stays the same in principle. But if you're looking at the main story route where you play the hero in saving the world as part of your good deed, the story starts off decent enough to follow. But once it gets near the end, things start to be a bit confusing for you with revelation about your main character that doesn't seem to make any sense and the introduction of two different worlds and different gods that it becomes confusing and hard to understand. The story flip flop back and forth between being a comedy rpg story and a serious rpg story. The story fails in trying to be a serious rpg story due to its lack of explaining the history of the story and the characters better. But this doesn't mean the story fails overall because even though you really don't understand too much about the whole World Eater part of the storyline, you do sort of enjoy the story as you play the game and get a good laugh out of it. This is where the comedy part of the story comes in. And most of the comedy part where you enjoy the story is due to the characterization of Gig and the rest of the characters in the game. They make the story fun and enjoyable and it's really a treat to watch these characters interact with one another. You can say the colorful story characters are the saving grace on what could have been a very boring story. So it's a bit of a mix feeling when it comes to the story. It's a bit confusing following the major plot of the story but at the same time you do enjoy the atmosphere that you get from the story thanks to the none political correctness of the characters and their coarse language.
Score 7/10
CHARACTERS
Is this the entire team?
Surprisingly this is a large cast of characters. Granted half of them are villains and party members that are just basic recruits for you to use in your fighting units but they do play a role in the storyline as part of a supporting cast since the story gives us two routes to take as either a good guy or a bad guy. Since the story is pretty light and short, there's not much of a background development to most of these characters. I would say on the normal hero route, the top six main supporting characters do have somewhat of a decent background development. Still individually these characters aren't going to impress you much. However the good news is that overall the cast of characters are extremely colorful and likeable thanks to their personalities. They remind us of how real friends behave throwing insults at one another but under those insults you sense there's no animosity but love just like real friends. Out of all the characters in this game, Gig is the one that's the most interesting and memorable. His character and the voice actor that plays him actually keep the story entertaining from what could have been a dull and boring story. It's a bit of a marketing ploy by having a character do the unpolitical correct thing and throw out swear words so often just to get a bit of an attention but in this case it works. None much depth to these characters but their likeableness wins out in the end.
Score: 7/10
GRAPHICS
Do you like what you see?
Like with all NIS America rpgs, the graphical presentation isn't the best feature in a NIS rpg game. Most of the NIS rpgs are more or less presented and develop with the old school rpg format in mind and Soul Nomad is no different from that approach. What you basically have here is the old school 2D approach in terms of environments, story scenes, and battle presentation in a side to side action. The world environment is pretty much comprised of a 2D world map where you have the sprite of the main hero or heroine traveling on roads from town to town. Once you reach a town you don't really enter a town but get a pop up menu of the town that has a listing of places in the town and names of the people that are in that area of town. The background of the town is basically just an artwork piece of the town. Not exactly an eye appealing approached for those that love graphics in a game. Story scenes too are done in more of an old school comic book format where you have the artwork of a character and their bubbles popping up with their dialogue. There are some 3D sprites scenes with an environment background but those are far and few between as most story scenes are done through the comic book approach. The one thing that is 3D is the battle map once you enter a battle. On a battle map you have little 3D short sprites of the leader of each unit as the presentation of that unit. Once battle is initiated it goes to a 2D side to side scroll format where you see animation of your units and the enemy units engaging in a back and forth attack. Even though its 2D it's actually quite a treat to watch these battles. Especially the skill attacks as they are a sight for sore eye to watch sometimes. In the end you can say the graphics are probably the kind of graphics you would see in a PSP or the first Playstation console than that of the Playstation 2.
Score: 7/10
MUSIC
You don't like the music in this game?
You really can't say anything great about the music in this game but than again you really can't say anything bad about the music at all. There's not much of a strong music presence in the story and that's due to the fact that the story presentation isn't strong to begin with as most story scenes are done through a comic dialogue using balloon bubbles so most of the music presentation comes from the menu screen, town menu, and the battles. In a way Soul Nomad music is more or less like elevator music playing in the background. It doesn't have an impact in the game but its there so that the game has some sound instead of being all quiet and boring. I really can't recall any good musical scores from this game at all and that's the honest truth even when I played the game till after I finish playing the game. Not one musical tune stood out for me which means this is more or less an average musical presentation.
Score: 6/10
GAMEPLAY
It's one of him against all of us.
Feel the power of Demon Blast!
Game Information
Genre: Strategy RPG
Publisher: NIS America
Disc: 1 DVD Disc
Memory: 539 KB
Players: 1 Player Mode
Analog Control: Yes
Digital Control: Yes
Rating: Teen
Release: September 2007
This is a basic old school strategy rpg gameplay presentation that's very linear. Everything is pretty much focus on story scene and battles. Outside of those two there's not much else to the gameplay. You basically have a world map with listing of various towns or cities on it with roads that connects these towns together. Since the story is very linear, it directs you as to which town you need to go to activate the next story scene or dialogue. Once the story scene is over you are than put into a battle map mode where your objective is to clear the battle map by defeating all your enemies. When the battle map clear objective is complete you are then put into the next story scene to get the story moving again. The process than repeats itself once again with story scene, battle map, and than story scene again. This is basically the whole gameplay. For those looking for a bit more of an in-depth gameplay you may need to skip this game. You can't really explore towns at all as each town basically just consists of menus with names of people in them. You can talk to those people to fight them or kidnap them as recruits for your units. Those are just minor features that can be voided if you prefer to skip interacting in towns other than for story scenes. You don't even need to stock up on supplies in towns at all. Buying and selling items and stuff actually takes place in your main menu on the world map. The game itself doesn't offer any random battle maps for you to use as a leveling tool like with most regular strategy rpg game. That's not to say there isn't a feature that offer random battle map fights for you to use as a leveling up tool. It just doesn't take place on the world map like with most rpg games. The battle map fights are done like most strategy rpg games where you have a basic checker board map that has enemy units on it. Your main unit which consists of the main hero can summon other units onto the battle map. From there it's a simple turn base system where each unit can move and attack other units. The only difference here is that once you attack or is attack by another unit, the fights themselves within the units are automated and you have no control over how your units fight. You can only watch for the outcome of the battle. However there is a minimum control on how you want each unit to fight base on the jobs you place within the unit rooms. For example if you want a unit to attack another enemy unit back row line than you would place archers in a unit more. Each generic job class character has three different types of attacks for front, middle, and rear positions within the unit rooms. A unit is defeated when the leader of the unit is killed or the entire unit gets wiped out. The battle system isn't as complicated as it may sound. True basic strategy rpg elements for those that have played strategy rpg games before. Some minor features to be noted are:
Rooms: Rooms are like small boards that you can place your fighters into to form a fighting unit. There are many different types of rooms and as you play deeper in the game, more rooms will become accessible. The number of fighters you can place in a room can vary between 3 fighters to a maximum of 9 fighters. You may need to keep changing and scrolling through different rooms until you find the room you want with the number of fighter placements you want. You can also boost a room abilities and number of fighter placements by doing an inspection on the room. Decors: Decors are accessories that you can equip onto a room to help boost the room stats or give extra added effect to the room and the fighters placed inside the room. An example of this is say a Décor that gives 20% boost in attack. When you equip this Décor onto a room, all fighters in the room will have a 20% boost in attack. Leaderships: Appointing or assigning a fighter to be a leader of a unit is very important because whomever is the leader will represent how the unit will attack and move during combat as well as the Tactics the unit will have. Each none leader fighter will have a stat called Leadership which will help boost the overall stats of the fighter that has been assign as the leader of the unit. If the leader dies than the unit will die. Gig Edicts: Gig Edicts are basically items you can use in the game during battles or outside battles. The only thing here is item usage is used through the Gig Edict menu instead of a menu called Item. Items vary from HP recharge items to items that help you steal enemy units Decors. Skills: Each job class has their own set of skills that can be used during attacks. Skills can only be activated if the unit stamina is below 80%. In addition to regular single skills of a fighter, you can also have group combo skills base on characters and job combination. Tactics: Tactics are special skills that each fighter has but are only useable if that fighter is the leader of the unit as tactics are special skills that can only be used on units or enemy units without actually engaging them in combat. Inspections: Inspecting a room or any room is Soul Nomad answer to providing random battles for you to use to level up your fighters since the game itself doesn't provide any random battles within the world map or storyline. The purpose of inspecting a room is basically you climbing the floors of each room. Each room has about 100 floors or so. As you climb deeper into the room floors, the level of the enemies starts to rise. And we are not even talking about the fact that each type of room provides a different starting level of enemies. The more advance rooms can have enemies that are 100+ levels higher than all of your fighters at floor 1 even. There are two options to clear a floor before you can advance onto the next floor of a room. The first option is simply to just last out a set number of rounds that the Floor Clear criteria has in place. The second option is to simply go after the Room Sentry unit or Room Tyrant unit as they are the bosses of each floor. Keep in mind though that Room Sentry unit is much higher in level than the regular enemy units on the floor. Room Tyrant units can even be 300+ level higher than your main fighting unit. Defeating Tyrant or Sentry early on during your climb will raise the abilities of the room which in turn heighten your Décor Items even more. However there is a limit on just how much you can raise your room abilities so once a room abilities has been max out, it might be best to leave the Tyrant or Sentry alone. Clearing a floor will earn you Gig Edit items, Décor Items, and Room Points. The interesting thing here is that as you earn Room Points, you can than use those Room Points to customize and boost the stats of a particular fighter individually. You also can make some decent money by doing Inspection as well. Steal, Fight, Combine, and Kidnap: In town menus it's actually possible to steal, fight, combine or even kidnap townspeople using certain Gig Edicts on them. What is the purpose of all this? It depends on what you are looking for. In some cases, stealing from townspeople can net you some hard to get Décor Items early on in the game. Fighting with townspeople is a great way to actually mug them for their money. In fact the fastest and best way to make money is by fighting with townspeople because some townspeople are so rich that you can make over 500 000 GP in an instance just by defeating them. Combining with townspeople is the same as fighting them but the only difference here is that instead of getting GP as a result from winning you are actually stealing some stats from the townspeople and adding those stats to your unit stats. Kidnapping is another word for recruiting the townspeople into your army. You just need to defeat them in a fight first. Merchants: Merchants that sell Gig Edicts and Decors can be located in the main menu. There are different types of Merchants and what they sell varies. Each time you buy something you are raising the level of the merchant up. Once a merchant level gauge is full you can fight that merchant to get access to a higher level merchant which will offer newer and better things. Job Class: There are about 27 different job classes that you can buy and create as a fighter in addition to the storyline characters. The storyline characters themselves all belong to one of those 27 job class. Each job class has its strength and weaknesses and serves different functions within the unit of a room. Each time you buy a new fighter they always start at level 1. However the game leveling system allows you to level new fighters pretty quickly.
Unbalance is probably the one single word that best describe the overall gameplay of Soul Nomad. There are times where you can't put the game away and just want to keep playing on and on while other times battles take far too long and the level differences between higher and lower level units make no sense in the outcomes of fights or during fights. The good thing about the gameplay is that there are so many different jobs and possible rooms for units that it becomes very addictive. The unbalance part of the battle system is that sometimes when you attack a unit that is over 200 levels above yours, you do no damage on one round of fights but the next round you can do massive damage to them. This can be a bit frustrating at times where you can't figure out why you are able to do great damage while other times you can't do any damage at all. It's also a bit frustrating and cool at times when you are able to defeat an enemy unit that is so much higher in level but the enemy can defeat your unit when your unit is so much higher in level too. It's a give and take thing that becomes too unbalance. Another example of unbalanceness is that some job classes are just too weak in defense and hp. A mage job is the main example of this unbalance. It doesn't matter how high in level a mage job is, they can easily be killed in one or two hits most of the time even from an enemy unit that is 100 levels lower than them. That just annoys and frustrates you to no end. Cheesy long distance tactics attack can really unbalance the gameplay too. In most cases attacks are followed by counter attacks that give your healer a chance to heal the unit during both exchanges. However units that have mages as their leader can launch a magic attack from far away without the process of attack and counter attack and simply can kill off a unit leader or a unit outright. This cheesy type of tactic attack can really frustrate you at times because on some maps, the enemies have so many mage units that they can wipe out all your units that you summon even before you are able to get a chance to move your units. This all just leave mix feelings on the gameplay. It can be really fun or it can be really annoying. And that's not a really good feeling to have in the end from a game that doesn't really offer anything else outside of the battle system.
Score: 7/10
EXTRAS/REPLAY
So you like an extra boss?
The game doesn't really offer too much in terms of extra as you're basically looking at only three extra bonus maps that you can have access to. One of the bonus map you can get on your first play through but the other two bonus maps can only be obtain on your second and third attempt at a replay. However the thing to note in regards to the two bonus maps that you can do after your first play through is that you really need to be near the level of 1500 to be able to take those maps on since the bosses on those maps are pretty much at max level 2000+. This would require a lot of time on inspecting rooms to power level all your units to near level 1500. But the meat of the extra feature is the game replay ability since there are numerous different endings and story branches that allow you access to different characters in the overall storyline. The nice thing about the game is that the good route (normal) and the bad route are quite different from one another so it feels like you are playing a totally new game if you decide to take a different route from your first game. And once again each route also have its different possible endings as well. Not a lot of extras but enough reasons for you to want to replay this game a few times.
Score: 7/10
As far as rpg goes I have to say I did enjoy playing Soul Nomad. It wasn't a total rpg gaming experience that a person may want but Soul Nomad did offer a unique none political correct approach that made the game fun and laughable. The colorful characterization of Gig was very refreshing in this game from the usual rpg flare that I've come to play over the years. And the gameplay in a strange way was addictive at times being able to demolished enemy units with massive damage and power skills attack. That's not to say there weren't times where things got a bit cheesy where enemy units can wipe out most of your units even when your units are at a much higher level. If you treat Soul Nomad as a change of pace rpg game to keep you busy when you need a break from those massive long traditional rpg games than you have no problem enjoying this game. And this is how Soul Nomad should be treated as, a light hearted fun strategy rpg game.
