Folklore

by Josh Wilcox - 2007/10/18 7:53pm

A game to be known as something spectacular for generations to come. A classic that changed the way people look at a system, like PS1 with its revolutionary 3D graphics on a CD instead of a cartridge. Sure it’s not revolutionary Graphics, but it is a step up.

Folklore is a genre of its own with its action-based game with RPG Elements, it keeps people happy, and I don’t know about you, but I love the accents. Great touch . . . I also like to laugh at the accents, cause it’s an SCEA Japan Studio’s game. So yes, it’s a fun laugh for a while. They keep the game nice and simple, and the storyline, nice and complex, twist and turns, and dead bodies. Oh what more could a gamer such as myself ask for. When I figure that out, I’ll get back to you.

Folklore is something special as soon as you put it into your system, with its interesting array of designs of levels and the opening menu. Its difference in voice acting, and characters that look far beyond bizarre, this game can’t help but be different. One thing I noticed right from the get going of the game was the Costume selection in the opening menu. Yes you can unlock a variety of costumes to make Keats and Ellen look spectacular. There is also something called Dungeon Trials which on click sends you to an online user agreement. Now after you accept, the following process takes a short time. And after that, you find out that this little puzzle of an attachment, allows you to run through other people’s dungeons, so their realms. They are of course just like in the game with minor tweaks. But Still an interesting little concept. The odd thing that through me off in this menu was the ability to access the Web Browser through the game, but I found out, downloadable content will be made though the website and also on the PSN. I guess that’s just JAPAN Scea’s way of saying we are working on the in game XMB, calm down. I am calm, you calm down, I’m not freaking out, You’re freaking out!



Anyway, right from the get go of the game, and the visuals are spectacular, absolutely splendid in every way shape and form. The voice acting is very easy to catch, for the fact that they will most likely through you off balance. Like I said, British/Irish Accents, I love them to death and this game makes me happy for that fact. Once you break into the game play, you start off with the good ol’ RPG elements. I recommend using this time in mapping your way around town, since the map you use in the game . . . its pretty blank with no label’s and such. That’s the one thing I would like to note about this game, well you roam the Folk realms, you collect picture books, these picture books provide helpful hints to defeating tougher folk. I recommend taking a sneak peak in detail to the Hand guide in the game case to gain some valuable info that I missed when I played. Way to pay attention to detail Vash “Shakes head”

The Game play is smooth and clear, very well polished and when in intense battles hard to catch a breather. Unless you decide to change folk. You see there is this strange little thing that happens when you change Folk, the game Locks up for about two seconds and then BAM back to game play. Its random, and sometimes a pain, but overall I really don’t care about it, just a minor snag in a “near” Flawless game.

The story is without a doubt one of those drag you into it game life stories. The depressed girl lured to the village of Doolin, the realm of the dead. The occult magazine writer who doesn’t believe any of the experience’s he goes through. He believes it all to be a hallucination of some kind no matter the situation. The whole game is a joint storyline between the two trying to figure what happened to the town 17 years ago. One to figure out what happened to her mother, the other for a great story. I wonder just how twisted it could be hmm.



The Cut scenes. Beyond a doubt one of the most bizarre and tasteful ways to represent the games’ efficiency to be different. The comic panels with small sounds here and there to the music keep people interested, unlike reading a flat page of dialog of script and crude images. These cut scenes are not dubbed what so ever which is a bit disappointing, but reaches deep into the classic RPG world when voice actors couldn’t even be achieved (and even still, Lunar is still my favorite of RPG’s). The odd movie cut scene makes me giddy because I love the voice acting for all the random characters, and getting to know them through script first, it a fun game to guess what the voice actor will sound like.

Overall. Another must own for Playstation fans. Sorry if you can’t get it yet but I beg you to at least try it. It’s a spectacle from another realm and as compelling as most games could hope to be. Great game, great voice actors, minor nit picky material, but not enough to bash the developers for.