Returning to Ragnarok
In an industry increasingly intent on re-releasing prettier versions of old games it is relatively rare to find one of these remasters that goes back and examines core gameplay and tweaks it into something more streamlined for a modern audience. Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, a HD remake of the PS2 cult classic, not only gives the already gorgeous hand-drawn art that developer Vanillaware are known for a HD overhaul but makes meaningful changes to the original's mechanics that makes it easy to recommend for fans of the original and new players alike.
Odin Sphere, at it's core, is a heavily narrative-focused action RPG, bridging the combat-heavy 2D side-scrolling levels with lengthy and immaculately drawn cutscenes. The overarching story, centred around a prophecy foretelling the end of the world, is told from the perspectives of five playable characters who each have their own storyline that runs concurrent with the others. You will play as all five over the course of the game, each with their own fighting style and unique mechanics. The downside of this setup is that the games locations, monsters and boss fights are often reused for every character. While each character will have to approach encounters a little differently due to their unique playstyles the heavy reuse of assets may grind on some people's nerves by the third, fourth and fifth times going through the same area and fighting similar encounters.
Despite the reliance on reused assets the story and combat in Odin Sphere are great enough to carry it. The combat in Leifthrasir has been heavily reworked to the point of it feeling like almost a completely different game from the original. The original Odin Sphere's combat was a slower, more deliberate system than the remastered version. The characters had a stamina bar that governed how much they could attack and if it was depleted they would be temporarily stunned, so much of the fights were about managing your stamina and positioning, and using magic spells was comparatively rare as the fuel that powered them was more limited.
While retaining the 2D-brawler-like trappings the remastered version does away with the stamina bar and magic charge system and makes the combat faster, more fluid and flashier, feeling more the speed and fluidity of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, another Vanillaware game released after Odin Sphere. The stamina bar now governs the use of skills and spells use a separate resource akin to a traditional mana bar, meaning most of the management is moved to the generation and spending of your powerful special attacks rather than your basic ones, which chain and juggle enemies in a very satisfying way. The addition of a dedicated dodge button that can be used on the ground or in the air leads to combat that is all about dancing around your enemies and racking up huge, aggressive combos as opposed to the more measured approach needed to survive in the original.
The economy of the game has also been streamlined. One of the more unique mechanics in the original Odin Sphere was the split between using phozons (the games currency, for want of a better term) to either level up your weapon to make you do more damage, or using them to grow food from seeds that, when eaten, raised your defensive capabilities. The phozons would disappear from the game if you did not absorb them into your weapon or plant seeds that would absorb them, leading to you having to make a measured choice each battle on which way you wanted to progress your character.
This system remains intact for the remaster, but it has been streamlined to be more user-friendly. In the original game, phozons absorbed by your weapon immediately added to the experience of your weapon. In the remaster you can absorb phozons into your weapon and they are stored as currency which can be spent at your leisure, either on skills and spells and growing your weapon or for growing seeds. In the original game you would often grow and harvest plants in combat to make use of the phozons as you could not carry them over between the combat screens. In the remaster you can carry your absorbed phozons in your weapon and release them to grow seeds whenever you feel the need, allowing you to focus 100% on beating things to a pulp during the combat sections.
These updated mechanics, while making the game user-friendly and a lot of fun, do make the game considerably easier than the less-forgiving original game. For those old guard who may miss the old systems or new players that are looking for a little more challenge (and don't mind a knowingly-archaic feel) they needn't worry. Leifthrasir also comes with a complete version of the original game, remastered to HD and without any of the mechanics changes.
Apart from some frame-rate issues on some of the larger, more effects-heavy bosses (one of the more unfortunate holdovers from the original), the heavy reuse of assets, and the price tag (a remaster for US$60 may be a bit hard to swallow, even if it does technically contain two complete versions of the game) there really isn't too much negative to say about Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir. It is a solid remake of a solid game that looks, sounds and plays even better than it did back on the PS2.