Review: Taiko, by Eiji Yoshikawa

It’s quite some years ago that I read Musashi, by the same author, and I’d wanted Taiko for a long time but (until recently) found it hard to get my hands on a copy. Was the wait worth it?

In short, yes. Which was a relief.

Taiko actually occurs at a very similar time to Musashi, but the two stories do not intersect (nor is there any reason for them to). It follows Hideyoshi (as he became known), one of the three titans of the later Warring States (Sengoku) period in Japan, in the late 16^th century. I was slightly familiar with much of this political/military story from having played Kessen III a lot, but there are of course differences and more detail with this historical novel. Unlike Musashi, Taiko looks at the big picture of Japan as warlords struggle for supremacy while the shogunate falters. It’s a tale of war, treachery, plots, betrayal, and diplomatic cunning.

We join Hideyoshi as a young boy, and his childhood is not idyllic. From little food to a frail father, things don’t get much better in his later childhood. But eventually our protagonist leaves home and flits from one thing to another, gradually learning more about the world.

Hideyoshi is renowned as one of the three major figures of the era, and it’s in the impulsive but brilliant Nobunaga’s service that he earns the right to advance on merit rather than a prestigious bloodline.

Being the star of the show does mean that some of his weaknesses (womanising, primarily) get somewhat light treatment, and I don’t know the history of the era well enough to judge if the demonisation of some of his opponents is justified (Ieyasu, another major figure, is treated with great regard). What’s fascinating is the very different culture to Europe either at the time or in the medieval era (which, in some ways, is more akin to the Warring States period due to the near constant warfare in the 14^th century). By the end of the book my mind was naturally leaping to lines such as “Well, he screwed that up. Time for him to commit ritual suicide.”

Personally, I found Taiko very easy to not only read but become engrossed in, and the long term, detailed little threads (the enmity then friendship with Inuchiyo, for example) added to the story’s depth. One complaint is that the story is abridged (not sure why or by how much) in the English translation.

Musashi seems to be the author’s biggest hit, in the West at least, but I found Taiko to be very enjoyable. It’s a little like a simpler version of Three Kingdoms, with a greater emphasis on taking the reader into the world. At 926 pages or thereabouts it’s a reasonably hefty read, even abridged.

 

Thaddeus

Retro-Review: Shadow Hearts Covenant (PS2)

And so my impossible quest to acquire a PS5 continues, but I have to say having a PS2 and some great games to play in the meantime is a very nice diversion. One of my favourite games (arguably the single best) I’ve ever played is the RPG Shadow Hearts: Covenant. But how does it stand more than a decade and a half down the line? I’ve kept this retro-review as spoiler-free as possible, though the premise is revealed.

As a side note: the PS2 remains magnificent. It’s smaller than its successors, quieter, and the load times are actually quicker.

 

Story

The story sticks with the protagonist of the first game, Yuri Hyuga. He’s an interesting lead for an RPG, as he’s half-Russian, half-Japanese, and the game’s set in the real world (during World War One). Yuri’s a bit of a smartarse, but a likeable fellow, and he’s mourning the love of his life. Germany’s rolling through the Ardennes Forest, and Yuri’s protecting the church where his paramour is buried. Until he suffers a curse and is defeated.

The premise, then, is to cure Yuri if possible, and to stop the group of politico-religious lunatics who attacked him in the first place (the German army brought one of them in to try and take the church). Aided by an assortment of allies including a former German soldier, a very cool wolf, and a vigilante superhero vampire wrestler, Yuri sets about knocking seven bells out of the secret society. But it turns out they have ambitions way beyond him…

It does help a bit to have played the first game, but it’s not essential. Characters that return stand perfectly well on their own and context should not be a problem. The plot moves along rapidly, there’s little flimflam, and my playthrough (not going for many side distractions) took me around 30 hours over the two discs. Yuri’s the focus but most other characters get fleshed out at least a bit. Lucia was, and remains, both my least favourite in gameplay and story terms.

I’d remembered well a certain clash of powers near the end of disc 1 (being deliberately vague) and it was just as fantastic as I remember. The second disc I was fuzzier on, but also has some great moments, both in terms of fun and seriousness. The pillow question still makes me laugh.

There are two endings, good and bad, and more by fluke than memory I managed to get the good one. Take seriously the questions Yuri gets asked about his happiness, if you want to try and get the happy ending. Also, I’d forgotten a post-credits plot revelation so stick around and see what happens.

 

Gameplay

This is a huge strength of Shadow Hearts: Covenant because it makes excellent use of its unique ring mechanic. Instead of just pressing attack and an attack happening, the ring is summoned. Players must then try to hit areas (ranging from 1 upwards, with 4 or 5 eminently possible) to attack the enemy, with strike attacks causing more damage. Miss one and the attack ends (unless you’re using a practice ring). Other ring variations include one with bigger hit areas and no strikes and, I think, small hit areas but bigger strikes. Both areas can be affected by boosts you find throughout the game.

In addition, the ring soul is a cool NPC who bestows an extra attack on you (you determine who gets it) and has some nice dialogue. Explore dungeons properly to increase your chances of finding him, and enjoy the fourth wall-breaking speech you get when you’ve seen him often enough.

The ring is also used for discounts and markups when buying and selling goods, for healing items and spells, and for the lottery. This requires tickets, which you can find here and there, and has some nifty prizes including accessories and crests.

Crests are demonic powers that everyone who isn’t a shapeshifter (like Yuri) can equip. These gift the wearer magical spells. But there’s more to it than that thanks to some smart design decisions by the developer. Slap two Cure crests on one character and that character can cast Cure for half the normal cost. And complete an area of Solomon’s Key (a book of demonic lore where you can place the crests you own) and you can unlock new abilities, so the old crests you got 10 hours ago can still be of value.

The ring also means there are new status abnormalities such as the line speeding up, areas getting smaller, or even the dreaded fake ring which presents a load of false areas to hit. Standard bad statuses (petrification, poison, paralysis etc) also exist and poison’s particularly well done as it can get worse, with deadly poison causing massive damage.

There’s also a sanity depletion system, characters losing one point per turn. Get down to zero and you lose control of that character who just starts going berserk and attacking stuff. This happened to me a grand total of once during the game. Not the most important feature, but it’s there.

Oh, and the ring mechanic also makes it worthwhile to try your best even in easy fights because putting in good performances (such as a perfect ring battle, taking zero damage, or reducing the enemy to no or few turns) can yield rewards including extra cash, experience, and healing items.

 

Graphics

This was the most jarring difference for me, switching from the PS3’s Dragon Age: Origins to the PS2’s Shadow Hearts: Covenant. And your TV better able to take a SCART or you won’t be able to see the regular resolution. I got used to it fairly quickly but at first it really was a step back in time, and not in a good way.

Menus etc are all fine, and the FMV often looks surprisingly good (crying’s interesting. The scene where Yuri cries blood is great, the ones where he cries tears with a sad rather than angry face looks a bit… less so). Textures are often flat or basic and Yuri’s getup (dark grey) can occasionally blend in disconcertingly well with the background. The character design is good, especially Karin, Joachim, and Blanca, and the varying number of attacks is handled well too.

 

Sound

The music’s pretty good in this game and there are moments (again, crying blood scene) where the sound really adds to an already dramatic moment in the story. I also really liked the Saturday morning adventure style theme of Joachim. Voice acting varies a little, even with the same actors, which makes me wonder if sometimes they were lacking context. Kato’s voice is well done, and while we don’t hear Blanca talk too often (he is a wolf, but does speak with other wolves) his boundless confidence and occasional contempt for those who dare challenge him is rather endearing.

 

Bugs and Other Problems

I have very few gripes. No crashes, freezes, hangs, or suchlike, and while save points are required these are very common in dungeons and saving can also occur on the world map.

One problem that did irk me somewhat is that companions not in the party get only half experience. Throughout the game, until disc 2, you don’t need to worry about that at all, or buying them equipment. But then there are two parts (one early in disc 2, one optional and right near the end) that requires the whole party to have good crests and equipment. Because this wasn’t necessary until then you may find (as I did, having forgotten this part) your non-regular characters are incredibly weak, and the lack of warning means you can’t buy some fresh gear. I did get through the story part of this ok but decided to give up on the optional bit (a shame, as the Man Festival is a… unique videogame experience) because Gepetto and Lucia were just rubbish.

 

Replayability

This is an interesting one. There are optional things you can do, if you go looking for them. Completing steps in the pedometer challenge is one such example, likewise completing the Man Festival, finding wolves for Blanca to fight (I didn’t stress these but, if you want to, try going back to areas you’ve cleared out to find more, such as the wine cellar), and fighting the ‘ghosts’ that Solomon’s servant offers you.

The story is a good one and combines the personal strife Yuri faces with potentially cataclysmic events that threaten to reshape, or destroy, the whole world. A bit like The Last of Us, the strong but linear story means it’s a game I like a lot but not one I’ll be replaying in the near future.

 

Conclusion

Shadow Hearts: Covenant looks dated, but in many ways it still knocks the socks off modern counterparts. The ring mechanic really keeps combat engaging and is used smartly throughout, the cast is likeable, the story is both intriguing and moves along rapidly without padding, and the final boss is suitably challenging (I’d cruised through the penultimate fight only to spend an hour or so desperately surviving before getting the upper hand with the last fight). It’s a damned shame Shadow Hearts: Covenant didn’t get a sequel that it deserved, as it’s a humorous, innovative, and very enjoyable game. If you haven’t played it for a while or you’ve got a PS2 kicking about and have a chance to buy a copy, give it a shot. You’re in for a treat.

 

Thaddeus

Review: Conspiracy (Emperor’s Edge book 4), by Lindsay Buroker

I’ve got two series on the go at the moment, and one of them is the Emperor’s Edge, by Lindsay Buroker. It’s a slightly different setting than my usual medieval/high fantasy, being more steampunk in nature, and follows the eponymous gang of criminals/heroes (a sort of steampunk A-Team) as they try and do good and foil evildoers.

I really like Buroker’s writing style, which makes reading relaxing and effortless, and I often ended up reading more in a single sitting than I’d intended. By this stage, the characters have all been fleshed out significantly, from the leader Amaranthe Lokdon, formerly a cop, to ladies’ man Maldynado, magical teen punk Akstyr, Books the academic, Basilard the mute foreigner, and Sicarius the ruthless assassin.

This time, Amaranthe and company are seeking to rescue the emperor himself, who is effectively under the control of the mysterious Forge conspirators (the series’ antagonists). We see at least one returning face, and a few more seemingly significant characters enter the stage.

I won’t spoil the plot, though it’s interesting that this book is a bit less of an isolated episode than some previous entries in the series. Every book tends to slightly shift the focus, so while Amaranthe is the core of the group the others do get their time for development, and this time Akstyr gets his slice of the action (in a way that fits perfectly with the story).

There’s some nice banter, twists and turns, though I admit one or two of Amaranthe’s decisions did make me raise an eyebrow. But, on the whole, I found the book to be very engaging and will definitely be getting book 5 at some point.

Thaddeus

(Retro?) Review: Dragon Age: Origins (PS3)

I really liked Dragon Age: Origins when I played it over a decade ago. It was one of my favourite games of all times, but how would it hold up nowadays? For the sake of reference, my PS3 is the original fat version.

Character Creation

Character creation is a whole different beast to other games because, in addition to selecting your sex, race (dwarf, elf, or human), and class (rogue, mage, warrior) players pick an origin. These determine the first two hours or so of your game before converging into the common thread of the plot. Elves have three potential starts (city elf, which is very dark, Dalish, and mage), dwarves have two (both cool, noble and common) and humans have two (noble, also very dark, and mage). Dwarves cannot play as mages for lore reasons.

You make your own face, which mostly works ok except that beards give your characters totally hollow cheeks that look weird. There’s also a decent range of haircuts which were copied in the sequel and replaced with mostly rubbish in Inquisition.

On this occasion I played as a female dwarf warrior with the commoner origin, but during the years I have played every single origin and all of them are good. It’s a great way of making each start distinctive and you will encounter again those you meet at this stage. It’s also excellent at immersing you in your own corner of the world and making you understand things from a certain perspective.

Story and Sound

The story is the single strongest point of Dragon Age: Origins, and the writing team hit it for six. The basic plot is very simple. There’s a blight. Think fantasy zombies called darkspawn plus an undead dragon (there’s more interesting lore to it than that, but that’s the shorthand). Ferelden (a sort of fantasy Britain) is at risk of annihilation. You join the Grey Wardens, the only chaps and ladies who can stop it, and that’s your job.

Players have to rally different factions obligated by ancient treaties to help. But with each group paths can diverge according to how the player acts. You can choose to be super nice (as I did on this occasion) or be brutal (lots of murder-knife action for those who want it). Often these are moral questions or dilemmas with no clear cut answer, but two legitimate yet opposing choices. And because the player has a few of these factions to get on-side, there’s a constant feeling of progress towards the greater goal.

The writing of dialogue, from cutscenes to party banter, is excellent, and the voice acting is great (a particular favourite of mine is Simon Templeman as Loghain). There’s a deep sense of authenticity to the world (if one can say that about a fictional place). The dwarves aren’t just short humans, they have their own civilisation and culture. Similarly with the elves. Companion dialogue is especially good, with differing people getting along well, or not (I went with the classic Alistair-Morrigan party, plus Leliana). Unlike other games, there’s not really a weak link (one might say the dog, who cannot talk) and you can go all the way from sleeping with a companion to annoying them so much they leave or try to kill you.

The music is also good, particularly the main Grey Warden theme.

Gameplay

Combat still works very well, with differing classes bringing different but complementary skills to the table. There are some minor niggles here as frames can drop or the game stutter a little. There’s a good but not enormous range of enemy types, with differing types and level of darkspawn, alongside the mindless undead, revenants, abominations, and good old-fashioned bandits. A nice touch is the mini-slowdown and animation you may get when you kill an ogre.

There’s also a party camp where you can recover from injuries and enjoy some chats with party members (also possible for the three you choose to take into the field), and a merchant.

Graphics

Graphically, things still look pretty good. Character models for companions and the like are decent but do look a shade dated now. Less significant characters are prone to hollow cheeks. I have this turned off, but if you have a sanguine sense of humour, leave the blood spatter on. Having your characters discuss things while covered in blood is, er, interesting. Menus etc are completely fine graphically, lighting effects could be better, fire has a notably low frame rate flicker, but things are basically fine given its age.

Bugs and Other Issues

When it comes to problems I’ve already mentioned the potential in combat for things to stutter a little (it is only a little, it’s an annoyance but not a major one). I did experience three crashes during my playthrough of around 33 hours or so (NB I did not do everything that was possible by a long way). All occurred when entering the menu during combat, and in the latter half of my playthrough. Not ideal. Load times can be on the long side, and you’ll encounter shorter loading when just entering a house in a village, or suchlike.

Replayability

Replayability is excellent. Not only are there the usual differing classes and races to pick, but the unique origins add a lot to the depth of a playthrough. Plus there is a very broad range of outcomes and serious decisions with major consequences. You can be delightfully nice, or a demon-shagging, child-murdering, elf-slaughtering psychopath. Your character might end up dead, or on the throne of Ferelden.

Conclusion

Origins really does stand up as a great game. A few technical points weigh against it (dated graphics, the odd crash) but the core of the game is a match for anything that’s been released since and it remains the best entry in the series by a long way.

 

Thaddeus