Radiant Historia [US Import]

A very solid RPG. The story is brilliant right out of the door but loses momentum a bit as time goes on and could have done with maybe being a few hours shorter. Some character motivations also seem a bit questionable and certain mystical elements of the game world come across as convoluted and poorly explained.The time travel element is well done, locations, characters and situations take on different meanings in the two main different timellines. The downside is that sometimes you crave a bit more variety in terms of the game world as you replay the same areas again and again.The combat system is a fun grid-like system that encourages you to hit enemies into each other and chain together attacks to defeat them. Ususally in each new area you will have to experiment with the best method to defeat the new batch of enemies. This is fun up until the end where the game just feels like area after area filled with enemies to slow your progress.The graphics are nicely done, about the level of the DS Pokemon games with good and distinctive art direction.Overall a highly recommended game for the DS. Recommended for someone who has played a few RPG's but this is not too harcore.On the compatibility side, DS games are region free. This game was never released in Europe so you will be looking at getting a US copy. This will work fine on any DS or 3DS. 3DS games are region locked, but the system will still play US DS games as the games never were. I played this on a PAL 3DS and it worked just fine.------------------------------EDITSince playing the game and writing this review Radiant Historia: Perfect Chronology has been released for the 3DS. This is a graphical update with some minor new content and voice acting which is by all accounts pretty decent.All the reviews seem to point towards Perfect Chronology being pretty decent and negating the need to pick up the DS original.Just bear in mind that the 3DS is NOT region-free unlike the DS so you will have to pick up the European version.

As a RPG fan I was thrilled when I played this game. It is easily one of the best RPG's I have ever played, if not the best. It has an amazing story with great plot and character development, a far better than average battle system, great music, and is just all around really fun to play.The gameplay is built up around time traveling, while trying to save the world, you will alternate between two different timelines. Changing something in one timeline will not only affect that, but changes made will also carry over to the other timeline. This might sound a bit strange at first, but once you try it you will get a hang of it real soon.Took me around 40 hours to complete with all sidequests completed, (with a minimum of grinding, also a really nice thing for me since i hate having to grind for hours for levels and equipment) which I would say is more than can be expected from a handheld RPG (and completing the game 100% is totally worth it if you ask me).Even after completing the game 100% it is still fun to play again, and I would actually recommend it. Small details in the dialog that you had no idea what meant the first time around will suddenly make perfect sense, and because of the way the time traveling mechanic is made, you can choose to do some things in a different order, and this way perhaps get a slightly different experience (you don't have complete freedom, but you do have some extend of choice on which order to do certain things).Maybe I haven't played as many RPG's as some of the veterans out there, but this is definitely one of the best I have ever played, beating games like Final Fantasy VII and IX and Chrono Trigger which are some of my favorites, actually the only other RPG i can say i have had as much fun playing would be the Golden Sun series which will always be a personal favorite of mine.

In recent years I've moved away from japanese RPGs with their linear plots and pre-made characters and got more into western RPGs for their open ended nature. Radiant Historia, however, brought me right back to what was so great about the JRPGs I played as a teenager on the PSONE (in my opinion a golden age of JRPGs). Visually and sonically this fits in right alongside games like Xenogears and Star Ocean 2 and has a long complex and twisting story spanning two different timelines you can jump between at any save point. The characterisation is excellent and the dark tone and mature plot doesn't patronise players in the way I feel some JRPGs do now. Warning: If you don't like games with long story scenes and no voice acting forget about Radiant Historia. Personally I find both of these facts to be positives.The battle system has just the right mix of tradition and innovation to make it easy to grasp but challenging to master. Strategy is the key to even small battles, but this never feels boring. Throw in a fantastic midi soundtrack, that puts many orchestral scores to shame, and multiple endings and you've got one of the best RPGs on any system since Xenogears.The one downside is the lack of a quicksave feature that actually makes it a pretty bad game to play anywhere you may be forced to quit suddenly. Really the quicksave function should be a standard feature of all portable games now. Even so as a game in it's own right (regardless of system) it's a masterpiece. Such a shame that it hasn't had a European release. I paid a lot to get the US version and I don't regret a penny of that. Excellent game.

I received the game within 2 days of ordering it via standard delivery (I was given a weeks estimation). I've put in about 10 hours so far and I love the storyline and the characters and can't wait to play more. Just for future buyers; you can play this on a UK based 3DS, but not on a normal DS (from the research I did).

Not the best RPG on the NDS, yet, still good.It's a solid alternative to the Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy Series.And eventhoug the mediavel look isn't very original regarding RPGs, it manages to bring some fresh no details to the genre.