The nation of Valentine was once a grand kingdom with powerful magic. With the power of a magical relic known as the "Cauldron," King Valentine subdued the neighboring nations and brought them under his control. His kingdom enjoyed a long period of prosperity... but a sudden disaster destroyed it overnight. War broke out between the Fairy Kingdom of Ringford and the warrior nation of Ragnanival over ownership of the now-abandoned Cauldron, and control of the wasteland that was once Valentine. With the battle growing fiercer by the day, Demon Lord Odin, King of Ragnanival, sets forth a plan to conquer Ringford and claim the Cauldron once and for all.

Meanwhile, in the neutral realm of Titania, King Edmund had become a puppet king of his court sorcerer Urzur, who schemes to follow a forgotten prophecy and bring about the Armageddon; a prophecy stating that the world will be destroyed in five great disasters, but the survivors will become kings...

As the nations struggle for control, the world steadily slips unknowingly toward its demise, and the prophecies become clear.

The Cast of Characters in Odin Sphere

Gwendolyn: Proud Valkyrie Princess
Daughter of the Demon Lord Odin, sorcerer king, and a princess of the Kingdom of Ragnanival in the frozen north. She is a courageous Valkyrie whose name is known and feared on the battlefield, yet her older sister Griselda is even more skilled in the ways of war. Growing up in her sister's shadow has led Gwendolyn to be quiet and reserved, but she will stand up against anyone when necessary.

Cornelius: Tragic Prince
The prince of the kingdom of Titania. One day, Cornelius awoke to discover that he was in a land he had never seen before, and he had been transformed into a beast. His love for Velvet, a foreign princess, drove him to make his way home, yet he feared in his heart that she would stop loving him if she knew what he had become. Cornelius is a serious young man with a strong sense of justice, but his youth leads him to hold naive, idealistic views.

Mercedes: Young Fairy Princess
The princess of the Fairy Kingdom of Ringford, and next in line to be Queen. She is a bit timid, but won't hesitate to act recklessly to prove her abilities to her mother. Following her mother's death, Mercedes is forced to become Queen at an early age. She strives to become a mature and strong leader to live up to the memory of her mother.

Oswald: The Shadow Knight wielding a blade of darkness
A cold-blooded human warrior serving the Fairy Kingdom of Ringford, Oswald is renowned and feared as the Shadow Knight, the man who slew a great dragon. He was abandoned as a child, but was taken in by Melvin, nephew to the Fairy Queen Elfaria. He is a stoic man who lives to serve his adopted father, and cares little for the consequences of the actions he is ordered to perform. As a result of his training and skill, he places little value in his own life.

Velvet: Princess of a fallen kingdom, haunted by a curse and death
The surviving princess of the kindom of Valentine, which was mysteriously destroyed in a magical explosion. To hide her identity she fled to the forest of Elrit , and became known as the Forest Witch. She pieces together the prophecies foretelling the end of the world. Though usually serene and composed, she is now desperately trying to figure out a course of action that will somehow halt the Armageddon. She detests her father, Odin, because his actions caused the death of her mother.

Jan Code: 4984995900162

View the back cover and screenshots for this item on the main NCSX website.

» The title screen features a scrolling forest floor at night which moves towards the left while clouds and a big moon hang in the sky. Occasional shooting stars may be seen whizzing downwards.

» Leave it alone and a shot of the forest floor is shown with a ladybug standing on a plant. The camera pans upwards and Gwendolyn walks into view followed by Cornelius who greets a shining butterfly who flies by. Next up is Mercedes followed by Oswald. The shining butterfly greets them all and lands on the hand of Velvet before flying off and continuing to finally rest on top of a flower where it dissipates into sparkly jewels that slowly waft away.

» Press START and be greeted with:

NEW GAME
LOAD

» Start a NEW GAME and you may select the difficulty before a blonde moppet walks into a room and yawns. A black cat is already pacing inside and arching its back to stretch as cats will do. If you don't do anything, the girl will yawn continually and audibly. You can pick up the cat and carry it around for giggles as it meows. Walk over to the burgundy easy chair and the blonde girl will hop onto it immediately with her legs dangling over the seat. Although the cat and chair are interesting, your target is the tome that's lying on the floor. Upon picking up the book, a text box appears on the top of the screen with the name Gwendolyn and her HP, Psypher, Gold, and Playtime States. Bring the book over to the easy chair, select Yes, and the story begins.

» In the intro to the game, dark clouds move across the sky and a flock of Valkyries along with Gwendolyn are flying into a battlefield. The camera moves forward to an area where two beastly warriors are fighting while the ground behind them shows the bodies of many dead soldiers. In the next scene, Gwendolyn walks in from the right of the screen and runs to a dying Mesoma who lies on the battlefield. In the following sequence, the battle continues and Gwendolyn faces off against a dark knight named Oswald who gets the upper hand against her but instead of killing her, he smacks down a rampaging beastman who's attacking from behind before running away.

» Either the D-pad or L-Analog may be used to move Gwendolyn around. The button configuration is as follows:

TRIANGLE / Select Special Attack
CIRCLE / Use Item
CROSS / Jump. Press again for a double jump.
SQUARE / Attack. Hold the button to guard.
R1-TRIGGER / Draw crystals from dead enemies
L1-TRIGGER / Map overlay
L2-TRIGGER / Status Screen and Equipment
R2-TRIGGER / View inventory

» Upon starting the game, some exercises must be completed before the proper game begins. The first exercise is to hit the SQUARE button 4X in sequence to pull off a chain attack. Next, press the X button to jump and then press the X button twice to double jump. Follow the button cues shown on the bottom of the screen to get the instructions on how to move and strike.

» The characters are nearly half the height of the screen so they're pretty big and impressive to view. Gwendolyn can perform a gliding move which covers a good amount of distance if you double jump and then allow her to soar downwards from the apex of her jump. She basically swoops downwards like an avenging angel while the sounds of her ruffling raiments may be heard through the speakers. Gwendolyn can also perform a vicious air strike if you jump or double jump and then attack by pressing the SQUARE button.

» If Gwendolyn attacks too much, fatigue sets in and the Dual Shock vibrates slightly to indicate her exhaustion. Keep an eye on the top gauge located on the upper left corner of the screen for Gwen's stamina.

» The game keeps track of chain attacks and counts them for you.

» Characters can attack in three directions including overhead. When Gwendolyn attacks overhead, she'll throw her sword upwards so that it spins and strikes anyone floating above her. She then twirls gracefully and catches it without missing a beat. To perform a strong attack that removes nearly 1/3 of your stamina gauge, push down and press SQUARE for a forward attack. A normal attack only takes 1 unit off of the stamina gauge.

» After completing the training mission, you're ranked on your performance (Clear Time, Damage Bonus, and Carry Overed) and a big treasure chest drops onto the ground. Attack it to unleash the goodies within which include scrolls and fruit. Next, run to the right of the screen and push up at the EXIT sign and press the "O-Button" to proceed to the next level.

» In the next scene, Gwendolyn meets with a heavily armored Odin who towers over her and takes up nearly the entire height of the screen. Their entire dialogue is voiced by Japanese actors and a swirling sky may be seen in the background along with flocks of birds that fly from right to left. After the interaction, you're prompted to save your progress on one of five available slots.

» Press START during the game and the following options pop up on the left side of the screen

HOME / Return to home base
TEXT / Review the text inside scrolls that have been gathered for hints and tips
STORY / Review the game's storyline as you complete objectives
SAVE / Store your progress to memory card (200KB is required)
OPTION / Set the difficulty, sound (stereo/mono), vibration, timer, and message color

» After you buy something from the vendor in the first hall, he'll drop all of the goods onto the floor so you can pick them up and put them into your two satchels. Gwendolyn has 20 coins at the outset and she can purchase one of each of the first four items.

» OdinSphere is a visual feast with beautifully rendered characters and impressive backdrops. Pretty much any screenshot of the game would make a unique background for a desktop PC. The slashing action is fairly routine stuff but we're only into the game for about an hour this morning and things might get more interesting as we venture further into the adventure.

NCS Game Notes are ©NCSX 2007. All rights reserved. No reproduction in whole or in part of this document may be made without express written consent of National Console Support, Inc.