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Best RPG out for the PS2!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 28
Date: November 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the most unique RPG out. They are using the same battle system that FFXII is going to come out with. This game seems to be even better than Final Fantasy!! And I am a big Final Fantasy Fan!!! You have to buy this game!

Another game Ruined by lazy ATLUS

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 10 / 23
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

ATLUS having ruined stella deus, now turn their attention to publishing Magna Carta a game with a huge number of irritations and flaws. Lets take a look at how the game is ruined.

1)There is a horrible BEEP at the end of every dialogue press and every time you move the cursor on the screen. It's absolutely horrible and serves no purpose at all. So many people have complained about these silly beeps (they were in Stella deus, DDS etc) yet arrogant ATLUS did nothing to change this before the american release..

2) If you want to turn the sound effects off you get rid of that sound, but you also get rid of all the voices and all effect sounds in the game. Sound effects and voice are stupidly listed under one setting.

3)There is HORRIBLE subtitles spread over 30% of the screen in EVERY in game dialogue sequence. It ruins them and it can't be turned off. You can turn them off in all other RPGs why not this one??

4) The battle system is awful and very badly designed. 3 people take part in combat across a free moving terrain, yet there is no AI you must control all 3 characters. Imagine playing Star Ocean while all the other players stood still as one character moved. Laughable and frankly embarrasing.

5)After EVERY kill the charcter repeats a stock phrase like "It was over before it started" again and again and again. You can't stop this. Awful

6)Hitting the opponent requires you to have perfect reflexes and perform a 3 button combo, any miss and you will fail the attack, It's very awkward to learn and makes combat unenjoyable and dull. Think of shadow hearts with a faster ring and the need to be 100% perfect.

7)No widescreen, no prog scan, only stereo sound. Banpresto are way behind the pace nowdays.

8) The graphics are below par, and some characters are blocky and don't resemble the anime portrait that is in the dialogue boxes. It feels like a game, not a living breathing world.

Atlus used to make great games like SMT:Nocturne, and now they publish this. Their flagging sales surely signal the end of their foolish publishing decisions. And it was all going so well.

I won't even grade this one.

Heavily flawed, and it didn't need to be....

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: November 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I agree with the flaws the previous reviewer has pointed out they destroy any enjoyment the game might offer. It's so frustrating that ATLUS has done this, because it could have been a great game. The artwork is beautiful, but the fighting menu beeps and technical flaws render it flawed.

Atlus has really gone downhill lately, a sthey insist on putting horrible irritations in their latest games. Their sales will continue to suffer if they do this.

Softmax's first PS2 rpg is a hit...very unique and exciting!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 10
Date: November 30, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Magna Carta is a breath of fresh air when it comes to your every day RPG. This game, to me, is something I look for in all my role-playing games. It's not "cute-sy" and has more of a mature look to it. Despite the fact that the main character looks oddly like a woman, the story, visuals and concept are worth the money.

The main character, Calintz, is part of a mercenary group known as the "Tears of Blood". Tragically (gasp!), his past haunts him as the Yason (the enemy kingdom) did something terrible to him, which empowers him with this need for revenge. The game starts out with a simple enough mission to go and protect some Wizards as they meet and prepare for this "Ultimate attack" that will save the Humans from the Yason. Unfortunately, it goes bad and the attack back fires. This is where the story... sort of... begins. Together with your cadre of mercenary buddies, you complete quests, fight monsters and do pretty much the same thing as you would do in Final Fantasy, Star Ocean, or any of your other run-of-the-mill RPG's.

The thing that seperates Magna Carta from the rest is the use of a "timed" battle system. A wheel, presenting a combination of different button presses, forms when you wish to attack a target. Once the first button has been pressed, you need to time it correctly for the other button presses as the wheel turns at a reasonably fast rate - creating the desired effect. The bad part about it... well, if you mess up and miss a button or time it incorrectly, the attack fails and you lose your turn. This change from your ordinary turn-based fighting style lends to the uniqueness of Magna Carta, as its presented well, but requires practice - making the whole combat thing and defeating enemies more enjoyable as well as rewarding. Other fighting styles are default for certain characters, but many more must be learned and they can be mixed and matched to your character, since only 4 styles can be used in a battle - each with their own up's and down's. It's also important to note that battles are also run by "Leadership". Whether or not a character likes your main character, which is determined by socializing at save points, determines how fast that character can attack. Every character runs off this Leadership system, and as more enemies are present, the Leadership is lower. Think of it as morale. Your characters can attack more often if their morale is high and you are winning the battle, but if you are losing, you'll lose attack chances - enemies also use this Leadership system.

Magna Carta also makes use of this "Chi" system, where opposing "Chi" deal more damage to eachother, and complimentary Chi aid eachother. In battle, its crucial to plan ahead and determine what type of "Chi" each enemy possesses, as well as whether or not they are more or less vulnerable to your attacks. As a character attacks, whatever Chi he is strong with will deplete. If the Chi is gone, the character is unable to attack until the Chi regenerates.

The only thing that irks me about Magna Carta is that you control one character in battle, but 3 can be present. Magna Carta likes to use something similiar to a "paper-rock-scissor" effect - giving you the option to use whoever you want in battle, but sometimes requires you to switch to another character as the "Chi" depletes itself or an enemy just happens to be strong to the type of "Chi" your character uses. While it sounds impressively imaginative, whatever characters you aren't using just stand there and look pretty. This knowledge comes in handy, as you'll now be prepared to use every character, every chance you get since you will want to make sure he levels up his styles and isn't a wuss when he is really needed in a battle.

The visuals, simply put, are outstanding. While men and women are tough to distinguish from one another sometimes, don't let that discourage you in the least, as Magna Carta is full of vibrant and interesting local's and characters.

The music is also well done, and whether or not the intro song turns you off, it grows on you after awhile and you'll find yourself wanting to listen to it again. The background music and battle music is also well done, but isn't anything out of the norm when compared to other RPG's.

Magna Carta is a breath of fresh air to the RPG world, blending a myriad of different gameplay ideas into one impressive game. While it suffers from some tiny things, the game by itself is fun and compelling enough to keep you interested.

A solid RPG that is weighed down a bit by an over complicated combat system.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 59 / 64
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The biggest deal about this release of the Korean designed & developed RPG Mana Carta: Tears of Blood is the inclusion of character designs based on renowned fantasy artist Hyung Tae Kim. Not to mention that this is the first Korean RPG that I can remember ever playing (they usually come from Japan).

The game comes with a beautiful 100 page booklet that features tons of custom artwork by Hyung Tae Kim in addition to a brief strategy guide that takes players through the 1st few hours of this game.

Hyung Tae Kim has a very distinct drawing style in which his male characters have a decidedly un-masculine approach to their appearance that also somehow keeps them from seeming like they're gay at the same time. (A lot of reviewers have stated that they think the male characters in the game look like females, but I didn't think so, though they don't look like your typical butch male characters either).

As with a lot of fantasy artists as well, his female characters are beautiful with usually something like triple E size breasts. It literally looks like they're smuggling water melons under their clothes. But this is commonplace in the fantasy genre though it bugs me that developers still think that the majority of RPG fans are teenage nerds who haven't ever kissed a girl or seen a girl naked. I'm a 30 year old male and while I don't mind huge breasted women (more of a butt & legs guy actually), the way they're drawn by a lot of fantasy artists is just a wee bit distracting in the breast department and keeps a lot of people from taking the fantasy/RPG genre seriosly.

But I digress. Now onto the game.

The game itself is kind of hodge podge of almost every element from modern famous RPG's. You got something similar to the "judgement ring system" from Shadow Hearts, the graphics style of Legend of Dragoon, the characterizatios from FFX, and a bit of the free roaming aspect from Star Oceans' battles.

The battle system itself is what seems to be drawing a lot of love it/hate it opinions from people. I'll be honest, on the surface and upon playing the game for an hour or so, I hated it. The fact that you can only control 1 character at a time in the battles and the other ones just stand there really irked me. Plus, I just couldn't quite get a handle on the whole "Chi" thing that the game flaunts in your face from the get go.

Add to the fact that the game kind of just throws you to the wolves without really getting accustomed to the battle system. There is a character that takes you through a tutorial of sorts but it goes by so quickly and there's so much to take in that it really isn't beneficial.

But as I've played it more and begun to understand it more, the more I actually like it. Unlike Star Ocean which was a real time and non-turn based affair, Magna Carta takes a turn based approach to that type of battle system.

I do wish that you could have your other characters do something else than just stand around while your main character is attacking since at the beginning it seems like it just leaves them open to attack. But the more I familiarized myself with what was going on the more I liked it.

The only element is that your attack styles are tied to certain environmental elements or "Chi" that is really confusing and weighs down what is otherwise a pretty novel approach to RPG battles.

Basically, this isn't an RPG that welcomes you with open arms. It has an extremely steep learning curve and takes some time to get into it. I can completely understand people hating it and people loving it. There really isn't an in between. But I also think that a lot of people who have given this game 1 star reviews didn't stick with it like I did. Trust me, it takes a while to truly understand what's going on.

As for the story, it's pretty much your basic FFX type story with the same characters who are out to avenge someone or something. Generic, but it's also done with a lot of style and heart.

The graphics at first appear to be behind the curve of last generation PS2 games, but the more you play it, the more the graphics become very cool and appealing, not to mention detailed.

Anyway, here's how I weigh the pro's and con's of this particular Atlus released title:

PRO's:
+ Great character designs
+ Innovative if sometimes troublesome battle system
+ great music
+ great plot.

CON's:
- "Chi" aspect to battles is really, really confusing.
- Women characters look like they're water melon smugglers in terms of their gargantuan breast size.
- Game is a bit too linear and could use a few more side quests.

If you're looking for something truly different in the RPG world, try this game out. It's certainly unlike any other one that you've played before in terms of its battle system. Whether that's a good or bad thing will depend on the individual player. But just stick with it for a while before passing judgement!

More fun than it looks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 16 / 17
Date: December 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Despite what the other reviews here maybe have you believe, Magna Carta does have a lot to offer. It's true the game may be hard to get into, but trust me, once you do, it becomes a lot of fun.

This is not a game for the traditional RPG inclined. It's a game which looks typical on the outside but has a lot of depth under the surface and beautiful graphics and music to go along with it. Speaking of the graphics, they're beautifully rendered (even making the trees/water/grass in the enviroments swing and sway, along with your character's clothing) with very natural movements of walking and running on the map. The battle graphics aren't as big as what you may have seen in Final Fantasy but aren't horrible either. The CGI, if you could say that, is mostly just in the opening sequences, the rest of the game using buffed up cut-scenes to good effect, even coloring flashbacks in grainy sepia-tone. The music is also well done, understated but not forgetable, catchy but not annoying.

Now, onto the battle system. If you want a simple explaination, the system is a cross between the Judgement Ring from Shadow Hearts and the more action style of Star Ocean 3. It takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it becomes pretty easy. My only complaint is with the "Chi" system of energy each character draws from for their power (whether it be attacking or magic); it just limits a very unique battle style, weighing it down unecessarily.

Some people seem to have complaints with the voice acting but besides a bit of stilted (read: odd, dramatic pauses in sentences) I found the voice acting pretty good; nothing to write home about but, like Star Ocean 3, listenable and at least decently acted.

The storyline, as it goes, seems to draw from a different place than most war-oriented RPG plots do. It focuses on the individuals on both sides (including the enemy) and makes war out to be more realistic, where both sides have something to lose and in the end, are just protecting themselves and their land. It raises a lot of questions about who is really the good side in battle, which I found a lot more intriguing.

My only other complaint besides the "Chi" system is with the character designs. Sure, they're gorgeous and unusual but with the kind of time period the game is set in, they seem too bright and out of place, as if they're outfits you know they really wouldn't wear into battle but I quickly forgot about them getting caught up in the mix of the story, they just blend in with the characters themselves, who are also different and unique.

The game runs a lot like Star Ocean 3, in that to get to one town, you must cross through winding roads and through other towns to get where you need to go. Along the way you have a stealth-like system for detecting enemies on the path: A orange ring surrounds your character, small usually, allowing you to run quickly, but at the risk of heading blindly right into an enemies path, though you can widen the ring significantly with the push of a button to see ahead of you, causing a walk instead of a run so that you can sneak up on opponents or avoid them alltogether. Also, when you're playing during a key event in the game, the roads/dungeons you travel in, will not respawn monsters once you have killed them all, which leaves you, usually, at just the right level to defeat whatever boss you have to fight.

Lastly, the game is pretty linear in style, the story unfolding and taking you along with it, only allowing for a side-quest (usually to obtain items for a special weapon) every now and then, even going so far as to stop you from entering places that have no bearing on your current mission, which may bother some who like more freedom.

I have not played all the way through yet but here my list of Pros and Cons so far:

"Pros"
-Beautiful Graphics
-Subtle but memorable Music
-Unusual Character Models
-Unique Combat System
-Interesting Storyline

"Cons"
-Combat Weighed Down by "Chi" System
-Slightly Overdramatic Voice Acting
-Mostly Linear Gameplay
-During Key Events, No Monster Respawn

Worst RPG of the year.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 1 / 14
Date: December 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is easily the worst rpg of the year. There is almost nothing to make it even remotely decent. Utterly appaling.

Published by ATLUS, I agree with the other reviewers that it's horribly made with the worst combat system ever in an rpg. It has horrible subtitles over the screen, poor graphics that look very blocky and there is little fun factor in it.

What's wrong.

1)Poor graphics - Looking like ps1 they are a disgrace.
2)Idiotic beeps which are common to some Atlus games but they are unbearable here.
3) Dull presentation and storyline.
4)Absolutely awful combat system that is the worst ever made.
5)Horrible set dialogue after every kill which would drive you mad.

A bad mess from start to finish.

If you want high quality then look at Shadow hearts/SMT:Nocturne/Dragon quest 8/DDS 1 etc

I wanted to love it but I just can't

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: December 07, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Just to clarify, I have been waiting for this game since the first incarnation (Magna Carta The Phantom of Avalanche) was released in Korea years ago. I too am a big fan of Hyung Tae Kim's artwork so I will not be discussing whether or not the character designs and art style are appropriate enough. You either like it or you don't. I wanted this game to be better than it was but crippling gameplay has soured me to the whole experience.

First, let's start with what I was expecting. What I was looking for in a game this time around was a good story to tide me over until FF 12 will be released. I have previously played Star Ocean 3: Till the End of Time and Radiata Stories which had excellent battle systems but slightly less satisfying story lines. This game is probably the complete opposite of those two because it excells in story telling and character developement but completely massacres itself in the battle system. Even reading the directions and going through the useless in game tutorial, this battle system will punish you mercilessly. Once, you've messed up i.e. missed a button or let a character die, you're pretty much screwed even in regular enemy battles. In fact, regular enemy encounters can be tougher than boss fights for the sheer fact that there are more enemies and if you are suprise attacked and your characters don't love your leader, you won't even get a turn in to correct any mistakes. A status effect will handicap you to the point of rendering the rest of your party useless as the enemy's attack bar gets shorter and yours gets longer. Once things have gone bad, they will probably stay that way. That said if you always get the first attack, your characters love you, there's the right kind of chi in the area, etc. then you will go through the same repetitive botton pressing series that you've done in nearly every other fight. You cannot customize the order of your moves so oyu will do the same lame attacks in order to get to the stronger ones. I will admit, this is the first button pressing trinity drive game I've played myself. After I got used to it, the only mistakes I've made is when switching between characters and styles.

There is no open ended gameplay to be had. Trivial sidequests for getting weapons by fighting more enemies in your area just about covers it. Also, it is hard to just go out and level up because enemies don't regenerate unless you reload your game. Plus, there aren't enough different enemies in the game to prevent this from just becoming a chore. Basically, gampeplay is just the vehicle for propelling the story without being an end in itself. Maps are simplistic and don't invite you to explore much besides just getting from point A to point B.
Basically, I just thought I would suffer through the battle system to get to the end of the story because it is very engaging and I would like to see the conclusion. However, the Counter mode has now made that hope impossible. At one point near the end, you are forced to use the Counter mode, which I have never used in regular battle because I have found it too bothersome, to advance in the storyline. Well, even with help from the guide, I keep missing button presses because they fly by quickly. There is no in depth tutorial either in the books provided or in the game itself to tell me what I am doing wrong and how to correct it. Right now, I am at a complete standstill and don't think I will ever finish the game because of this. I will admit that I am not very good at Judgement Wheel type controls but for me to spend 70+ hours on a game that frustrates me at every turn and to get stuck like this, is just wrong.

As much as the story itself is well thought out and enthralling, I just can't reconcile the fact that I should be frustrated like this over a game that is supposed to be fun. I'm giving it two stars because of the story and collectable art extras provided but I would recommend for any consumer to try this game out for yourselves before buying it. $55 is still a lot for a poster and a mini artbook.

AVOID

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 13
Date: December 11, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is the most horrible RPG I have ever played. And it's very exspensive too. Very slow, and tedious. Poor battle simualations, as well. SAve your money

magna carta...better than most may think...i gaurantee it

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: December 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

magna carta is an amazing RPG, there are flaws... yet the great things about this game greatly outweigh the flaws, i myself as of now am playing this game and enjoying it an insane amount, but i digress... on with magna carta tears of blood!

okay first off let me speak about the graphics...the cutscenes are nothing short of unbelievable...they are on the lines of let us say FFX?...maybe not that FFX but close. The other game graphics arent usually as good... kind of choppy but deff. good nonetheless. I find the backgrounds in this game great, the citys have deep design but it is the wilderness that you must fight through that surprises me, i enjoyed this very much. You get the feel of where you are and can see yourself there with calintz, (the lead character), running around and beating on odd little creatures. Speaking of creatures the monster designs are very creative, you will see cactus monsters....lizards with wings...and tigers with spines going down there back. Over all i will give the graphics a 3.7/5...very good sometimes...but other times not so good. Now on to the sound.

Okay something bad. The voice overs arent that well done... there are these random pauses in the sentences that seem to make the characters seem to have downsyndrome...it also takes away from the main story, suffocating most personality and deepness within the characters. This is the biggest flaw in the game if you ask me. On the other hand the music for this game is great...it is very soothing and puts you in the mood for whatever event is going on at the time it is playing. Overall i give the sound a 3/5..the voice acting comes up very short of good but the soundtrack is outstanding.

Now we will talk about gameplay...this game is set up very differently from other RPG's...i think that is what attracts me to it. In areas where battles with monsters are you have different modes of walking...when you alk slow you can sneak up on enemies and your point of view is far out so you can see the creatures from a distance...when you run your point of view is very very limited and the monsters can attack you easily if you accidently get close enough...this means they get the first attack wich you do not want, trust me, but when running there is a lot more speed. There is also an ability that lets you rest while on the battlefield. This regains every characters health varily rapidly...i found this awesome and very helpful...but if you are attacked while in this state the creautres get first strike. The fighting on this game is very very wweird. You can have 3 people in your attack groups at a time but during battle you can only control one at a time...the other 2 will just stand there. It is also sort of a turn based fighting...your meter charges when you stand still and when it reaches certain points then you can attack. You have a range of motion on the battlefield so you must move toards the enemys if they do not move toward you. Also chi is a big part in the fighting on this game. Chi is almost the same as elemental aspects in other RPG games. you get different styles of fighting during the game and every style has a different chi (element), each area has different chi and so does each style, creature, etc. If you are in an area with lts say lighting only...and you have water style on...you prolly wont get that many attacks. This is something that can be a problem. So you must be conscience of the areas and the chi all around you. Or you could really mess up. Overall with the fighting, at first it is hard to understand... but after a while it gets easy and very fun. This is a very linear game and often you cannot go to places that do not involve the story line at that point in time...most have a problem with this...but the thing is if they would have opened it all up you would never finish the game. The missions and certain things you must do arent really explained out too much so you kind of rely on randomly guessing where to go. I think that it being so linear makes this game 100% better than it would be if it was all open and expanded...noone likes mindless running around. Another problem people seem to have is that monsters do not respond aftr killed...this i semi true. See when you go to an area and kill the monster if you com back without continueing with the story they do not respawn...but later in the game when you must go through this area again they are back. Most say you cant level up to be much stronger than enemies so it seems you are always at the right level to fight enemies...but if people would just try to explore because usually there are certain areas not associated with the story line that you can fight creatures on... and gain a lot of experience from. I myself have leveled up above par...so it is possible.Another very cool thing about this game is you may talk to your party members at save spots to make them either like you more...or hate your guts. You can give them gifts and pick between options to talk to them about. I love this feautre...because if you arent careful they will hate you and not fight that great when you battle. You need leadership when battling or your teammates will fight poorly and things of the sort...i love it, it brings the point of actually thinking to a game! Not just random butting mashing or guessing on what you can do. You must actuallyt have things planned out and fight with your mind...not your muscles. This is what i have always wanted very badily in an RPG. overall i give the gameplay a 4.5/5 i find this game very very fun, and very very addictive.

okay last but not least is fun factor...this game is very fun if you actuall give yourself a chance to get into it. Just give it a chance...it gets so damned addicting it is all you will want to do. It is all i want to do as of now HAHA i give the fun factor a 4.6/5.....very very fun

i hope this review help you out...and with a price tag of 55$ i am sorry to say... THIS GAME IS TOTALLY WORTH IT, also you get a poster and an amazing 100 page booklet...complte with profiles and a stategy guide...killer deal...seriously fi you are an rpg fan buy this game...dont just rent it...BUY it. i did and i love it sooooooo much. So what are you doing?...stop reading this! go buy the game already!
thanx a lot i hope i helped ya out

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