Reviewed: April 21, 2008
Reviewed by: Roger Cox
Publisher
Namco Bandai
Developer
Omiya Soft
Released: February 5, 2008
Genre: Strategy
Players: 1-4
9
2
3
8
7.0
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Like you might have read or heard already, Culdcept SAGA is very much like the board game, Monopoly. Except this board game features a weak story that follows a princess and a boy (the hero) as they try to restore peace to their country.
Your goal will be to summon beasts and gain control of strategic locations on the battlefield until you free land of enemies.
Be for warned, this is a deep strategic game that will require a lot of patients to learn and play. Most single areas (boards) easily take over two hours to complete and if you lose you will have to restart that area.
Before you begin the game make sure to reference the game manual. The manual even states “Be sure to read this manual carefully before playing.” Most of the time I never look at the manual, but Omiya Soft went to great lengths to create a very useful, colorful guide that will help familiarize you with the game and it is definitely worth a look.
You begin the game by creating a cepter. You have a few options to select from, but it is pretty limited. Afterwards you begin the story mode which will introduce you to the princess and the cepter you created. Your cepter is currently a slave, but that will change over the course of the story.
The game plays out much like a board game with elemental, color coded squares, cards, and dice. You begin by taking turns rolling the dice to determine how many spaces you will move. Then you automatically draw a card from your deck (or book) of 50. If you land on an unoccupied square you can choose one of your creature cards and place that creature as a “guard” on your now claimed property.
If your opponent lands on that square at any point in the game, they will have to decide whether to pay the toll for landing on it or they have the option of challenging you with a creature from their hand.
If they lose the battle then they will be forced to pay the toll, but if they win your character dies and theirs will appear on their now claimed property.
One of the game’s objectives is to claim ownership of as many squares as possible in hopes of collecting Magic Power. Each level has a predetermined target goal for total Magic Power points. Whoever reaches that target value first will win the game.
One of the quickest ways to obtain Magic Power is by passing “GO” (monopoly terminology) or in other words the starting point on the board. Getting a high roll on the dice is good to begin the game until the land (squares) start to become occupied.
Culdcept SAGA is a lot deeper than that. For instance, putting an elemental creature down on a matching elemental square will give your creature an HP bonus. Also, if you have adjacent squares that you control, it will lend you a support bonus. Certain creatures will be able to get critical attacks and others will be able to neutralize the attacking creature. It really just depends on the element and how your characters match up.
You collect new cards at the end of each battle whether you win or lose. Then you can customize your deck of 50 cards. It can be challenging to pick the right cards to use for your next match, but you will eventually understand what cards you need. It frustrated me at first, but customizing my deck grew on me like customizing my Magic the Gathering cards did back in high school.
The game’s strategies get even deeper, but you will have to experience it firsthand. The game will definitely frustrate you at first, but if you give the game a chance I am sure you will enjoy it to some degree even if it isn’t your type of genre. Fans of the genre will admire and love Culdcept SAGA.
There really isn’t a whole lot I can say about the graphics in Culdcept SAGA except that they are bland. There is no High Definition detail at all and this looks like it could have easily been an Xbox Live Arcade port. I am not sure why Bandia Namco Games decided to publish it as a retail game.
Even though this game originally appeared on the PS2 in 2003 it still looks like it could have easily come from the PS1, N64 era. The graphics are really that simplistic. It is obvious that this game is only about the gameplay and not the graphics. A little HD wouldn’t have hurt, even if it was only for the backgrounds.
Just like the graphics, sound was not a concern for the developers. Their focus was purely on the gameplay. That is fine and dandy, but you cannot develop a complete product by half-assing the other main facets of a game.
The voice acting and music are poor while the weapon sound effects are adequate.
The value here will vary from person to person. The excessive length of the battles might turn a lot of people off, but you can save mid-battle. The card building feature and being able to collect all 487 cards will be enjoyable to those who have enjoyed it before.
Although single player is enjoyable and lengthy it is the multiplayer that really adds value here. Online play was a great experience where up to four players can compete (computer or up to 3 human players). Playing online will definitely put you to the test against some of the best and it is a great way to keep building your collection of cards.
The downside to playing online is that you will have to complete these long battles. You can’t quit or save and resume later. It is also frustrating not being able to see your opponents cards like you grow accustom to in single player mode. The developer claims that this was done to “encourage players to use their minds.” I believe you should still have the option to see your opponent’s cards or not. In either case, Culdcept SAGA is a relatively enjoyable online game if you can spare an entire evening to battle.
You have probably read this on many other sites, but the easiest way to describe the game is by telling you it is Magic the Gathering meets Monopoly. You play with a deck of 50 creature, item, and spell cards. You play on a color coded, elemental game board which you place creatures instead of houses, your creatures battle the opposing players, and you get points for passing “go.”
This game will require a lot of patience to play and master. If you have enjoyed several card games before and the idea of having a board/card game appeals to you then I highly recommend you give this game look.
If you’re skeptical at all, rent this game or play the demo on Xbox Live. You will be glad you didn’t just buy it because this game is not for everyone.