Koudelka

In a time where RPGs became mainstream due to the success of Final Fantasy VII, the Playstation was in its glory days. With the success of Final Fantasy VII came some other great RPGs for the Playstation. Breath of Fire III, Parasite Eve (though not really considered an RPG to some), Final Fantasy IX (yes, even a Final Fantasy game). However, in the shadows of these games lurked an epic gothic horror RPG released by Sacnoth, a company of ex-Square employees. Although it's not as popular or well known as some of the other RPGs I listed, it's still a great game nonetheless that puts them to shame. Enter Koudelka.

The story of Koudelka begins with a young woman named Koudelka Iasant who is called to the Nemeton Monastery by a faint voice. Unknown by who it is, she enters the Monastery, when she meets up with Edward Plunkett. After some adventuring, they encounter James O' Flahterty and then their real journey is about to begin, filled with mystery, mayhem, murder, and horror...

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Koudelka is a Playstation game that most people have probably never heard of. I do admit, it is probably a love it or hate it game, but it has a lot of high points as well as low points. oddly enough, I am one of those people who love the love it or hate it type of games. It is a Strategy-Horror-RPG which is reminiscent of Resident Evil and Final Fantasy Tactics (with a touch of Grandia). And that is said in the best way possible. I must say, some of the movies made me think Parasite Eve, as well.

The story of Koudelka is about a young woman, Koudelka, who has spiritual powers. She can speak to spirits, and is a medium for them to come into our world. The time frame is the late 1800's, somewhere in Wales. Koudelka has been summoned (because of her powers) to a large monastery near the ocean. this place is rumored to have many mysterious happenings and she is supposed to unravel them and solve the mystery. Well, when she arrives...well, as you can guess, it isn't pretty. Some...

THE GOOD:
all aspects of character growth is under player's control, unique musical score, multiple endings, perfect length, genuinely challenging

THE BAD:
sidequests are few and pretty obscure

SUMMARY:
The defining characteristic of Koudelka is its refreshing maturity. With the average age of gamers' climbing to 29 as the industy expands, it's sometimes hard to imagine how the most celebrated RPGs can be popular with the aging audience. Although complex in nature, the typical RPG storyline is also sadly childish compared with most other genres. In this respect, Koudelka is a welcome square peg.

The setting of Koudelka is a remarkably convincing universe hovering between the realms of reality and fantasy, benefiting from the inclusion of elements from both without becoming committed to either. The premise has your heroine investigating a dilapidated manor that has a dark history as a political prison. The...

THE GOOD:
Battle system, full-motion video, character depth, mature content.

THE BAD:
Limited level advancement, uneven enemy difficulty.

SUMMARY:
I thought Koudelka was a great combination of horror and role playing, two of my personal favorites as far as genres go.
It had beautiful blood-stained backgrounds, in-depth character development with realistic emotions, wonderfully animated full-motion-video & cutscenes, and a great plot to boot.
Sure, some of the enemies are a little silly-looking, but at least they're unique!
This game even managed to take my distaste for an arrogant, holier-than-thou character, and transform it into sympathy towards the latter half of the story... amazing.
The only minor downside is that if you don't have a specific item in your inventory at the end of the game, the final boss nukes you. XP

THE GOOD:
Koudelka is a cool character, Cool monsters and enemies, trippy "possession" Moments

THE BAD:
The sound, the play, THE FRIGGIN UNBALANCED ENEMIES!!!!

SUMMARY:
I wanted to like this game. I popped it into my PSone, saw the opening scene, and fought the intro battle, giddy at the feeling you get when an rpg lets you load bullets into stupid creatures. But that's where the fun ends. After the first battle, you can become worm food at any time. I stepped out into the first room in the game, and was promptly killed (in one shot mind you.) by an upside down zombie man! Now that's cheap! The enemies are horribly unbalanced, and their stats seem to be completely random. One second, you easily squish a roach, but that very same roach can kill you in one hit the next time you fight! yuck. And then there's the weapons, which are somewhat scarce and break easily. They're usually in the same spots every game, but...