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Square is not the only great RPG maker!!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 8
Date: June 13, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This game is just remarkable from the story to the graphics. The story is almost as good as a Final Fantasy game. The graphics are great if not better than a Final Fantasy game. The gameplay is different but is not hard like everyone complains it is. It took me only five minutes at the most to learn how to play it and I find it much easier than a Final Fantasy game. Some people are just to lazy to adjust to different things. Different doesn't mean something is bad. This is at the top of my list of my favorite RPGS. This a must buy game. This is the best RPG since FFX.

BUY IT NOW!!!! IT WON'T DISSAPPOINT!!!

just a review

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood is a good RPG. The soundtrack is good, minus the opening song. Voice acting good although sometimes it isn't as good as it could be. The battle system is intersting. It depends on the Chi, how much your allies like you, and leadership (and some other things as well) which will effect the timing bar. However, you are only able to use one character at a time, causing you to think strategicly. It also requires you to push the buttons on time. Too late or too early makes it so you cannot attack and you have to wait for the bar to refill. It's a good RPG and I reccomend it.

Visually arresting and unique

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 06, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I am almost finished with this game, and am finding it a bit difficult as I near its end. What I love about this game would be its visually arresting style, as well as the character designs and the storyline. I like the technical aspect of the game interesting as well, especially the different elements that come into play, and how each character corresponds to the different elements. There is something unique and different about this game that sets it apart from everything else out there.

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.

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!

Quite happy with the game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 19, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've been waiting for this game to be released domestically for almost three years now. Not for the artwork in my case, but simply because the game sounded incredibly intiguing. So when it was finally released I made sure to preorder it. What I've found has been quite the enjoyable game.

Now I'm not sure about some of these complaints. Slow loading you say? I ahven't really noticed, about the same as all the RPG's who demand to put in battle transition screens these days. And I have not even heard a single one of these ear drum shattering "beeps of doom" others seem to mention. (You may want to check your PS2 real quick.)

The battle system meanwhile, is extremely tough, I think I failed 6 to 8 out of 10 times in attacks for the first half an hour of play and it took me several hours of gametime to even feel comfortable with starting to use combos, let alone the extra few hours it took to master them. But keep this in your mind, I don't think I've played a non-strategy or RPG game in almost a decade so I'm not exactly our resident button mashing master.

As for the graphics and sound and other less than important issues; the graphics are great, with cut scenes being very very nice looking and just quite impressive to me. The music itself is also very good and really fits into the game's experience.

Finally, I gave it 4 stars in fun only because the fighting system was difficult to get used to and it did cause some frustration at first, but that was the only thing for me and barely reason to lower the stars. Anyway, try the game only if you are also the same type to give a game more than 30 minutes to prove itself, or read past the first 50 pages before chucking a book out. This game has some growing pains, but it will definately repay you a hundredfold for the investment you put into it.

Great game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 10
Date: March 08, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I purchased this game as a gift for my boyfriend, and he loves it. The game is just beautiful to look at and set up very well. Amazing game! :D

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

In all honesty people

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: December 29, 2005
Author: Amazon User

You will read countless reviews on game sites and vendors that this game is mediocre and had so much potential. It is such an ignorant yet simple reaction to scorn a product because it did not live up to your ultimate expectations (i.e. final fantasy replica) but the person to blame is yourself for having the expecations in the first place. There are a few things that I did not perticularly agree with in this game, but same with Final Fantasy X, VII, and all the rpg's people revere as gifts from the gods. I am not a hardcore gamer but I do apreciate a good story with good characters, especially when done with style.

First, the environment that the game cultivates is simply beautiful. The environments are similar in look and quality to FFX. The character designs are fresh and original, so what if the male figures aren't juiced on steroids (save for a few) it adds depth and variety to the palette. The blend of CG, 3D animation, and 2D animation is very uniform and well executed. The moves in battle are a pleasure to watch and the sound effects are well done. The background music is fantastic, the peices were chosen very well to compliment the mood the story is trying to portray.

The mechanics of the game are more complex than the simple 'your turn', 'their turn', 'lets pick a spell'...that all of us are used to. It brings a fresh approach to add some actual action in the fights rather than having a convoluted version of a tactical rpg. The chi system I admit is a bit awkward to facilitate, but it is easy to learn. The load screens are frequent (and it does get redundant) but they aren't as long as some reviews state. Most loads take about 10 seconds. The opening movie is beautiful....but the song is truly as bad as everyone says. And I will substatiate that the voiceovers are absolutely horrible.

But the characters and the story is what defines an rpg from the rest of the genres and should be the foundation for why we purchase them. This game truly earns five stars for the characters and story, and a subtraction of a star for the poor voiceovers (but at least it has them!) Buy the game, the art book is worth the extra five dollars. Just because is wasn't published by Square-Enix doesn't mean it's a poor title. I am looking forward to future Magna Carta titles.

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