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The ESRB says:
Fantasy Violence: GamerDad saw characters hack and slash monsters and soldiers, but defeated enemies just disappear and there is no blood. Suggestive Themes: Some of the shapely cartoon female characters wear somewhat skimpy clothing. Mild Language: Words like damn,' hell,' and bastard' are used sparingly. Use of Alcohol: One of the enemies drinks something in a wine glass. In a far off land, war torn kingdoms fight over a magical cauldron of destruction. Five warriors' lives will intertwine in the impending battles. In Odin Sphere for the PlayStation 2, play as each warrior as they fight to save their lands. Odin Sphere is a 2-D hack and slash fantasy action game. Each of the five characters represents a chapter in the story, and each warrior's tale weaves in and out with one another so you can see all sides of the story. Play as a Valkyrie, a witch, a shadow knight, and yes, even a fairy princess. Battles take place in short, circular 2-D side scrolling stages. Wizards, goblins, boss dragons, and other critters and warriors come at you from both sides, and you must use combo weapon attacks and blasts of magic to defeat them. The quicker you can beat the enemies in each area while taking minimal damage, the better items you'll get at the end of each round.  Odin Sphere places a heavy emphasis on item manipulation. Players can mix collected ingredients to make better and more powerful items and potions. Mixing items is fun and simple with an easy to use ring menu and entertaining ways to collect items (like growing sheep from a plant, for instance). Unlike other action role playing games, you don't gain experience points by defeating enemies, but instead by eating foods. You can take some foods and ingredients to restaurants and the cooks can use them to make better foods that give your characters a giant boost in experience points. One of the highlights of Odin Sphere is the detailed 2-D graphics. It looks as if the beautiful artwork from the instruction booklet came to life and leaped into the TV. Play control is quick and fluid. The only big problem with Odin Sphere is that the action can slow down to a crawl when there are a lot of moving objects on screen. But other than that, Odin Sphere is a fantastic 2-D action game with loads of personality. Don't pass this one up!  
Odin Sphere is all about fantasy violence. Characters hack and slash at each other with weapons and magic, but defeated enemies shed no blood and only disappear when beaten. The storyline is all about war and fighting, though. Some of the female characters wear somewhat revealing outfits. Mild language words like damn,' hell,' and bastard' are used sparingly. For alcohol use, one of the enemies drinks something from a wine glass that gives him a fiery breath attack, but for all we know he could have just been downing hot sauce.
The game has a lot of mythological references and themes, and features demons and the underworld, so families with strict religious rules may have a problem with that. And some of the monsters look a little scary and nightmarish. Reading skill is helpful, but not always required, as most of the text is followed by pretty decent voice acting (and you can change it from English to Japanese voices, too). While there are three difficulty selections, younger gamers and less experienced players may still have trouble with the tougher boss battles. Odin Sphere is best suited for teen gamers, but preteens may be OK with the game, too. Comments? Chat about it in our forums! Format For Printing | Tell A Friend | Digg | Slashdot | del.icio.us | Buy This Game Home > Review Archive > Video Games > Results: Odin Sphere |
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