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The last Japanese RPG I had placed was probably one of the Atelier games on the PlayStation 2 eons ago, so I thought time is ripe to try another game in the genre that I usually avoid due to the time and dedication it usually needs. I decided to pick up White Knight Chronicles not only because it was relatively cheap, but also I tend to skip on space-themed RPGs such as Star Ocean and Final Fantasy (not my thing). I was aware that it did not get exactly stellar ratings in reviews, but RPG gamers seemed to like it more, both on Metacritic and on the Eurogamer forum. I have played WKC for a around 4 hours now and this is what I think of this title so far.

Graphics

White Knight Chronicles is a relatively early PlayStation 3 title, and it shows. There is nothing wrong with the art style – in fact, the scenery looks beautiful. On the other hand, the game graphics do not impress technically, I could see some tearing going on, and texture resolution is pretty low. Fortunately once you are immersed in gameplay, you stop caring about how good or bad the game looks (and to be honest it never really looks bad).

Story

The story behind WKC is the standard JRPG fare – princess has been kidnapped and you, with the help of a few other friends that join the party along the way have to save. What I found strange is that at the start of the game you are asked to create your own character, only to find out later in the game that the story isn’t about your character but someone else, who (without spoiling much) early in the game makes a pact with the Incorruptus, a huge mecha/knight which allows you to fight the similarly huge mini-bosses and bosses during the game.

Fighting System

The fighting system can make or break an RPG. Usually in JRPGs you take turns to select actions for every party member via a menu system. In White Knight Chronicles this is replaced with a pseudo-real time action system. You can switch between any of the game’s characters at any time, and move around on the fighting plane as you wish – you cannot hack and slash your way though, as after every action you have to wait for a timer to fill in order to be able to take the next one. What takes a while to get used to is the fact that once you are engaged in battle, characters can hit back at you independently where you are, so you cannot escape a hit.

As you fight, your characters earn AC (action chips) which allow the use of AC consuming moves. Leonard can also use the action chips to transform into the Incorruptus, which is handy against the bigger bosses. As you progress into the game you earn skill points which allow party members to learn new skills. These skills can be used on their own or combined to create your own combos which are used to cause more damage in one action.

The Verdict

It is obvious that I cannot rate a game after just a few hours of play. What I can say though is that I have enjoyed every minute of it so far. The story is captivating and there seems to be enough variety. So far I’ve traveled to a city and a town, explored underground caves, a desert and country planes. As you complete set objectives in the game you are presented with side quests to complete, giving the player loads of additional stuff to do. White Knight Chronicles also has an online mode, but I have yet to try that as at the moment I am more interested to progress into the game. Fantastic stuff.