(This post contains major story spoilers for Odin Sphere.)
Being that my online persona is ‘Prinny’ you’d assume that Disgaea would be my all-time favorite game. And you’d be correct at one time: Disgaea was my favorite game when I played it back in 2003. It just so happened that I first started to use the internet around that time and chose to encapsulate my online self in that series. It feels like a tradition I started as a preteen and isn’t something I think I can change at this point, having been online for about 22 years now.
It was 2007, and I went to our local Family Video rental store which opened in our small town in rural Kansas. Many rental stores had tried to open up there, but a lot of them inevitably went out of business at some point. Family Video opened and just wiped any competition out, with their better pricing and better selection. The rental store business was vicious, even so late in its lifespan. Our old go-to was Hollywood Video, but they, like so many, also closed down around 2005 or so. Japan may hate rental stores, but for myself, and many others I imagine, rental stores were how I was exposed to so many different video games I’d never have tried otherwise.
Renting Odin Sphere was like renting anything else: I looked at the shelves of PS2 games from A to Z, I spotted it, thought it looked cool, and picked up the green box behind it and rented it for five days. It’s something I’d been doing for a long time at this point since my parents were divorced, and on weekends it was Dad’s turn to look after me, so we’d go to the rental store where he’d rent a movie and I’d rent two games.
What I wasn’t ready for was how much I ended up loving this PS2 game. From the moment the opening sequence played showing the characters and the games theme played, I knew I was in for something special.
Odin Sphere is a game by Vanillaware, who are well known at this point for their hand-drawn 2D graphics. Every single element, from animation to background is made by hand, so as a result their games take a long time to release. The studio is headed by George Kamitani, whose first game was on the Sega Saturn, Princess Crown, which was created by Atlus. Princess Crown never saw an English release, even when it was ported to the PSP years later. GrimGrimoire would be the first game North Americans would get to experience a Kamitani game, with Odin Sphere debuting one month later, though Odin Sphere was originally supposed to be released first but was delayed.
While I love the PS2 original, back then I remember struggling with it a lot. The game is a 2D beat-em-up style game where you have a POW gauge. The gauge depletes when you attack or block, and if that gauge runs out, you’ll be stunned for a few seconds and open to attack. This is the exact same as a stamina gauge that would be popularized later by Demons and Dark Souls, so keep in mind that the idea of something like this was incredibly foreign for the time. You couldn’t increase the POW gauge or anything however, so it was stuck the way it was.
In truth, I haven’t played the PS2 original in about 15 years or so, so my recollection on it might be fuzzy, but needless to say, while I adored the game, there were a lot of humps to get around and figure out, such as the leveling system, or how the combining and potion system worked, or even the limited inventory system with its bag system being practically lifted straight out of World of Warcraft of all things.
I did eventually beat it by renting it enough times (Sorry Vanillaware. I bought the game and the remake later, I promise!) and it was tough but I did it, and despite any hardships, I loved my time with it. So much so that the game and its art inspired me to draw its characters, which during that time I was pretty obsessed with drawing and I had thought my life path would be art. That…is not what happened, but that’s a story for another day.
Years later, an announcement happened that would rock my gaming world: Odin Sphere was getting a remake. Titled Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, I was beyond ecstatic for it. While the game continues to look amazing on the PS2 in SD, I couldn’t wait to see how it looked in HD. There was still a bit of trepidation though, as I recalled the game being bumpy in places, but I was older now and none of those bumps were going to get in the way of getting to experience this game again. I had a job and income at this point, so I pre-ordered the collectors edition in anticipation for the game.
Not only did the game look beautiful, but they fixed every single problem I had with the game. The additions were meaningful. The stage layout was changed to be much more diverse, and yet the core essence and gameplay of the game remained. The POW meter is instead used for the brand new skill system, and when you get the hang of it as well as juggling enemies, it’s one of the most satisfying feelings ever. By the end of the journey, I had come to a realization.
Odin Sphere Leifthrasir is, to me, perfect in every single way.
The story is the same. The cutscenes are the same. The music is the same. The gameplay is changed quite a bit to make for more variety in levels, the leveling system is simplified instead to just be one main level which is much easier to manage. Hell, they even included the original game with all its quirks and nuances intact as an optional thing to play, just with HD visuals, which is a fantastic inclusion and makes Leifthrasir the definitive way to experience Odin Sphere. If you’re a purist, you’re not left out, and I think that’s an incredibly thoughtful inclusion.
I’d like to talk about the story next, but I also want to say that you should absolutely experience this story for yourself if you can. While I’m omitting a lot of important details, I’m also going to be going over the general plot, and character stories, and I would encourage you to play the game yourself before moving on if possible.
The games story is about a young girl, Alice, who walks into an attic and finds a book on the floor. She picks up the oversized book and sits on a chair, with her black cat joining her, and begins to read a story. Thus does the tale of Gwendolyn and the advent of Armageddon begin.
The plot is divided between five different characters, each with their own play style. They’ll often meet up with other main characters you’ll play as, sometimes as friends, sometimes as enemies. As you experience more of their stories, you’ll eventually find that these stories all are told on a timeline. Each character experiences the events of the unfolding story at different places and at different times, and in order for you to understand the whole, you have to play as each character to see what happens in the grand scheme.
Much thought was put into the pacing, as playing as Gwendolyn first shows a series of events, and yet her story is only a fraction of what occurs. Yet each story is it’s own full story, where you start at the beginning and have a conclusion with no loose ties for that particular character.
Gwendolyn’s story is about a valkyrie princess who believes it’s honorable to die in battle and that is her purpose in life. Yet her innermost thoughts torment her, and she has doubts about her father, Odin, and his love for her. She combats these feelings and inevitably betrays the kingdom to save it, yet her father, in his grief, makes the decision to punish her by forcing her into a life of love, where she will live and never achieve the valkyrie death she was promised. This punishment however, becomes a revelation of a different kind of life, where she does find true love, and in so doing, realizes how powerful love can be. Does she feel this love because of the spell cast on her, or is it because this is how she truly feels? For Gwnedolyn, she chooses to believe in the latter.
In Cornelius’s story, he is poisoned and left for dead in the underworld, but instead he finds that he is transformed into a Pooka, a rabbit-like race who are the remnants of a civilization whose king’s avarice cursed them to be so. He obtains a sword and flees the underworld, only to find that his kingdom has been taken over by one of the Three Wise Men, and he realizes in his form that none will know him as the rightful prince.
In Mercede’s story, she is a princess of the elves, and is quite spoiled as a result of her upbringing. Her mother is killed in battle against Odin’s forces, and while she mourns, one of the advisors takes the opportunity and asserts himself, telling Mercedes at first what to do, but then taking complete control from her, as her troops start to lose faith in Mercedes because she does not know what to do, and watches as her kingdom is slowly taken from her.
Oswald’s story is about a man who has chosen power, but at the cost of his humanity, and if he continues to use his power, he will be consumed by it and lose his humanity at any moment. Death is always looming around him, and yet he has the ability to fight them off. However, one wrong move will mean the end. But he finds new meaning in his life when he meets and begins to develop feelings for a valkyrie warrior, Gwendolyn.
Finally Velvet’s story is about not just her, but the state of the world. A cauldron is set to be the cause of Armageddon, and yet the world and its powers seek the ring Titrel to take control of it, hoping to use its own power for domination. Velvet knows that this cauldron will bring about the end of the world, and so she fights on to stop the Armageddon from occurring.
After the stories all conclude, a sixth story is unlocked, where we learn that the cauldron has been activated, and is bringing about the end times. At the end, the five heroes must go and defeat the literal harbingers of the end to stop the Armageddon. It is here the player must make a decision, and choose who will fight which boss. If the player chooses correctly for each boss, then the true ending will play and the true final boss will be fought.
If the player makes even one wrong choice however, the bosses will still be fought, but the end of the world will still come, with an incredibly depressing bad ending cutscene. What’s amazing about this isn’t just how the player can choose these, but how making the wrong choice will sometimes result in unique cutscenes, as these bosses are also characters you’ve met on your journey. When you pick the wrong choice, you see a cutscene where that harbinger kills the character you’re playing as, and it really gives a powerful sense of your choice; this was completely your fault.
All of these elements are so woven together that it creates a cohesive story that, although in some ways cliche or a trope, surpass this because they’re so well told. Yes, Gwendolyn’s story feels like it becomes a story of her becoming a damsel, but in truth, her story is just as much about her fighting for Oswald, as he is the one who is kidnapped. Yes, Cornelius’ story is a sort of Beauty and the Beast story, with him doubting his lover, Velvet would ever love him as he is, but it’s just as much about him coming to terms with who he is, and how he can achieve just as much in his current form.
This is a story that has stuck with me ever since I first experienced it, and between the writing, the localization, and the voice acting, I enjoyed every single second of it, from start to finish. I love every character, every scene, every single thing about it. It never gets boring, never languishes in hard to understand lore like many stories of this ilk do, and it manages to make every character feel alive and full of emotion. Every character has a purpose in some form, and they all have their own ambitions and wants and desires, and the world feels like it’s lived in and not just an incredibly beautiful prop. That the game is then hand drawn between the art and animation only serve to enhance the story, with the character design not being afraid to be incredibly over the top. Brigan, for example, is a gigantic human that frankly makes absolutely no sense. And yet, he is supposed to be imposing and evil, and his design as well as highly over exaggerated size serve to exacerbate this idea, which this could only be accomplished by choosing a highly stylized art style.
As if the gameplay and story weren’t enough, the soundtrack is a fantastic, sweeping orchestral masterpiece. From the games theme, to the sad and yet triumphant “A Fate Accepted”, and to the bombastic and powerful “Battle In Ringford”, every piece properly accentuates the location and scene being shown. It’s a crying shame more people don’t talk about this games soundtrack because it’s a wonderful experience worth giving a listen to. Basiscape is really good at what they do, and Odin Sphere is no exception to high level of talent that each of the composers for this game brought to the table.
I often tell people how ActRaiser changed my life, being the first ever video game I played, and how it and its story and gameplay all shaped who I am, both as a gamer and as a person. ActRaiser is also a perfect game to me, but to have it stand alongside Odin Sphere is a huge honor. These games go beyond something I play and are something that I experience. They change the way I think, the way I feel, and they bring me an unparalleled joy that I don’t think words could ever describe. Often times when I feel lost, or I feel like my hobby is faltering, I need only look at Odin Sphere or ActRaiser and remember what these games did for me and how they made me feel. They’re why I love video games and why I will always advocate for this medium.
They affected my imagination, helped me to tell my own inspired stories, and even got me to draw them. I think it’s a wonderful thing when a piece of media can inspire someone so strongly that they want to become creative with it, from drawing it to making a remix of the music, or even writing something about, whether a blog post or fanfiction. It’s a testament to what someone experienced from it that it spoke to their soul and inspired them to do something. More than review scores and more than praise, I think that’s the most powerful thing a piece of media can do. To make a person feel enabled to create a work, or to help them look deep within themselves and to think critically about them or something. This is the apex of what art can do beyond anything else, and for me, Odin Sphere is that very thing.
I won’t say Odin Sphere is obscure or anything, but it always felt like it was swept under the rug in a lot of ways. Sadly, Vanillaware wouldn’t gain any kind of popularity until Dragon’s Crown, and Dragon’s Crown only gained any level of popularity because someone got mad at one of the main characters having large breasts, and the media picked up on it. Which ultimately didn’t change anything and just made more people buy Dragon’s Crown, whereas it probably would’ve remained a niche title if they hadn’t said anything. Dragon’s Crown is a great beat-em-up as well that has no sexualizing in it whatsoever, so it’s unfortunate that a company that makes games like this gained notoriety both from its critics and from the annoying and creepy “lusty” types.
Regardless, I will always keep Odin Sphere close to my heart. I’ll always remember it for its wonderful characters, its amazing soundtrack, its beautiful hand drawn art, and the fun and engaging gameplay. Video games are, and probably always will be, an important part of who I am, and I’ll happily point to Odin Sphere as a game to play to understand who I am. When I was young, the only thing I had a lot of times were video games, and even if what I’m saying seems pathetic, it’s how I feel and a part of who I am, and considering the amount of joy and inspiration this game brings me, it’s not something I’m going to change any time soon.
Oh and, if you haven’t figured it out yet, this site isn’t just called Prinny Sphere because this is a blog about my world. It’s also a combination of two of my favorite things combined. Just like how PrinnyOfTime, my online handle, is also a combination of two of my favorite things.