Ogre Battle 64 - Nintendo 64
About this item
- cartridge-save system that allows you to store up to three separate files
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Product information
ASIN | B00004R8WH |
---|---|
Release date | October 5, 2000 |
Customer Reviews |
3.7 out of 5 stars |
Best Sellers Rank | #121,547 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games) #471 in Nintendo 64 Games |
Product Dimensions | 7 x 5 x 1.2 inches; 3.2 ounces |
Type of item | Video Game |
Rated | Teen |
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer | No |
Item Weight | 3.2 ounces |
Manufacturer | Electro Source Inc. |
Date First Available | February 4, 2000 |
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Product Description
Product Description
In this installment of the Ogre Battle series, players assume the role of Magnus Gallant, a young military officer in a time of social unrest. Your mission is to form alliances and battle your way to victory. Using the game's real-time battle system, you command your army through numerous battles, and as your forces grow stronger, you decide the fate of the Palatinus kingdom.
Ogre Battle 64 features a cartridge-save system that allows you to store up to three separate files, 3-D field maps, and a special tutorial mode to enhance your battle skills. And, with more than 50 hours of gameplay and different possible endings, Ogre Battle 64 is likely to take up long-term residency in your console.
Amazon.com
Nintendo 64 gamers have been waiting a long time for a true role-playing game to come along for their system. Now that wait is over. Like a good book, Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber will hold your attention until you either fall asleep on the couch or finish that last chapter.
Prior adventures in the Ogre series have left gamers wanting more--much more. Very few role-playing games (both then and now) have had such expansive depth. The series has allowed players to tweak every character, create specialized forces, and command them in battles through three different story lines.
Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber carries forth this formula in both creating and commanding your forces, not to mention choosing from multiple endings. The object is to face ogres, defeat them, and bring peace to the Netherworld. Each mission has a winning condition, which entails capturing an enemy position. A briefing before each mission supplies you with objectives and a map.
Unfortunately, not everything is happy in Ogre land. The music and sound effects have a lot in common with older SNES titles, which is to say they're not quite up to snuff. Graphically, some of the character animations are stiff, and the tiny icons are difficult to see.
Apart from those small gripes, patience is your biggest hurdle in this game. Like most RPGs, Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber is at times tedious. With more than four endings as well as three main paths to make your way through, any attempt to complete this game will greatly test your stamina. Ultimately, this is a masterpiece of sorts that only true RPG fans will be able to enjoy. --Todd Mowatt
Pros:
- Customizable characters
- Multiple endings Cons:
- Poor music and sound effects
- Tiny icons are hard to read
Review
Unfortunately for Nintendo owners, the Big N's decision to stick with the cartridge drove away almost all would-be RPG developers for the system. But all is not lost, as well-known Japanese developer Quest took on the burden of working within the restraints of the cartridge format to bring the latest incarnation of its strategy RPG series to the N64. Don't lose hope yet, RPG fans, redemption will soon be at hand. Ogre Battle 64 offers a detailed branching story and great depth of customization, both executed brilliantly within the limitations of a 35-meg cartridge. The story centers on a kingdom that has been betrayed by its king so that his throne and the social elite of the country will remain safe. After witnessing the plight of the downtrodden lower citizens, the hero Magnus finds himself leading a revolt against the powerful Lodis kingdom to gain true independence. Although based on a somewhat archetypal premise, Ogre Battle 64 spins a complex and involving tale of political intrigue, personal relationships, and battlefield drama by using numerous cutscenes and in-game dialogue. The story's use of foreshadowing and ample character development keeps the game interesting over its lengthy (about 60 hours) duration. Plus, you can affect the outcome of the story. You can view a diagram that illustrates character relationships to help keep track of everything; you can read profiles of people, groups, and countries; and you can replay past events. While Ogre Battle 64 includes an intricate story and many RPG elements, it's a strategy game at its core. As the leader of the Palatinue army, you'll form combat units of up to five characters and deploy up to ten units at a time in each of more than 40 scenarios. Before moving to a stage, you will be given a briefing that outlines the area and your objective, and you'll possibly witness a cutscene. Units are represented as sprites that move across a 3D battlefield, which incorporates adjustable views and features scaling effects for the sprites. While controlling your army, you can set waypoints for your units, predetermine how to react to enemy units encountered along the way, and camp to recover from fatigue. Icon-based menus and handy controller functions allow you easy access to the game's functions and let you issue complex orders to your units. Units do move in "real time," but you can pause the action to issue commands whenever necessary. This unique gameplay system will be an interesting variation for many gamers and a welcome return for vets of the series.
When two units meet, a skirmish ensues, and the game switches to an isometric view of the prerendered battlefield. Characters make their attacks in semireal time, meaning that multiple characters act at once, which is a bit more exciting than turn-based battles. A high frequency of parries, misses, and critical hits make the battles more interesting and less predictable, and the animation and spell effects are well done. There are other touches, like two magic users combining spells to create impressive hybrid spells with unique effects. As in the original Ogre Battle, you don't have direct control during combat; instead, you direct the battle by deciding on your unit's formation and issuing commands. A unit's strength, number, and method of attack are determined by its placement on a three-by-three grid, and you can interrupt battle to issue different commands to the attacking team. As the battle wears on, the option to retreat becomes available, and eventually the option to call for the help of one of the four elemental goddesses is provided. This is just the beginning of Ogre Battle 64's attention to detail. Each character has its own individual stats, equipment, alignment, and gender. All these factors affect various nuances of combat and determine the unit's class-change options. There are around 50 classes for human characters, including paladins, wizards, and valkyries, as well as special and secret classes. In addition, a variety of monsters can join your army, many of which can also change class. There are 13 types of dragons alone, as well as hawkmen, griffins, and deadly gorgons. Most of these characters can be outfitted from the huge selection of equipment and weaponry you purchase from shops and win from defeated enemies. Because you can rename and equip the characters in your army as you see fit, you'll soon develop attachments to certain characters and find yourself cheering when they parry a potentially fatal blow or scream in anguish when they fall unexpectedly.
While gameplay is by far the most important aspect of a strategy game, presentation always counts for something. Quest has made a great effort here, but some shortcomings can't be helped when squeezing a game this large onto cartridge format. Generally speaking, the prerendered backgrounds used for battles and conversations in various town locales are well done. Every possible type of terrain has been modeled along with bars, town squares, and modest mountain dwellings. Small details, like dust blowing down a street and plants gently swaying in the wind, make up for the slightly blurry look that results from heavy data compression. The units themselves are also slightly blurry but still have personality. Characters have nicely done portraits for speech and status screens, and most main characters carry their own signature sword, which is sure to have slain countless enemies. The 3D maps can be a bit bland and get somewhat repetitive by the end of the game, but several stages that involve breaching the outer walls of an enemy castle and making your way through the enclosed town to the inner gate look rather impressive from the multiple viewpoints. Much of the game's soundtrack consists of music by Sakimoto and Iwata, whose credits include Final Fantasy Tactics and the two previous games in Ogre Battle Saga. Unfortunately, much of the music is lifted from previous Ogre titles, but new composer Hayoto Masuo adds some original music to the game. Overall, the soundtrack is full of dramatic intensity and power. Perhaps Ogre Battle 64's greatest strength lies in its replay value. Because of divergences on the world map and decisions you are forced to make, there is no way to get every major character and see every event by playing the game through only once. Additionally, how you play will affect your reputation. Some characters simply won't join your cause if you haven't gained enough support from other characters and earned the trust of the masses.
North American gamers should be grateful to Atlus for taking special pains to bring this epic across the ocean. Aside from securing rights to the game from Nintendo (who lost the rights to publish the title), Atlus undertook a dauntingly huge translation project. Being a little on the complex side, the game is accompanied by a very thorough and competent manual. Game text and dialogue might lack a bit of polish in places, but they are very strong in most cases and do well to move the story forward and reveal the emotions of the characters.
The huge amount of customization possible and the ability to shape the involving story unfolding before you make the game a very enjoyable experience for any RPG gamer willing to venture into the realm of challenging strategy and micromanagement. Although Ogre Battle 64 will be limited at first, regular distribution will commence in the week following the initial date.--Justin Speer--Copyright © 2000 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. -- GameSpot Review
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Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
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Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers like the quality, performance, color, and condition of the video game software. They mention that it's unique, has a great story, and provides many hours of great tactical gameplay. Some appreciate the graphics, saying that they look good for an N64 game. Overall, customers are happy with their purchase and recommend it to other Final Fantasy fans.
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Customers find the game amazing, unique, and fun. They also appreciate the nostalgia value and strategic gameplay. Customers also mention that the game has epic battles and lots of replay value.
"...A long, involved plotline, meaningful characters, epic battles in which the challenge level is perfectly set, and especially in the multitude of..." Read more
"...This game is amazing fun and any RPG fan should own it." Read more
"...Love most of the music, the color, the story line...." Read more
"It holds a lot of nostalgia value while creating an amazing strategy rpg at the same time. If you love Fire Emblem, you'll adore this game" Read more
Customers are satisfied with the performance of the video game software. They mention that it works perfectly and is in great condition.
"Game is in great condition and it works perfectly. I got it as a gift for my boyfriend and he was so excited...." Read more
"...I bought was exactly the way it was described on the site, and it worked perfectly." Read more
"Great game. Arrived fast and worked in my Nintendo 64. I had forgotten how long this game is...." Read more
"Everything came and works as expected." Read more
Customers like the color of the video game. They mention that the graphics look good for N64, and the characters are drawn and animated well.
"...refreshing to see non-polygonal characters, especially ones drawn and animated well...." Read more
"...Love most of the music, the color, the story line...." Read more
"An old but addicting game. Graphics look good for N64." Read more
Customers are satisfied with the condition of the video game software. They mention that it works perfectly and is reliable.
"Game is in great condition and it works perfectly. I got it as a gift for my boyfriend and he was so excited...." Read more
"...Item was in great condition. Thank you very much!" Read more
"Honest & Reliable..." Read more
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I don't like being lied to.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2022
I don't like being lied to.
This game is amazing fun and any RPG fan should own it.
We'll definitely be back for more :)
PS: As much as I loved Zelda, The Ocarina of Time, I just HATED Majora's Mask. Couldn't believe how many time you have to go back and replay the same things over, and over, and over, and over, and over. You get my drift?!?! What a disappointment after the incredible Ocarina of Time.
-i'm still giving it 3 stars because i like the ideas behind the game, it's just not executed well.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in Canada on September 18, 2020