Life is short. Playing videogames, you just try to enjoy yourself and tend not to think about such weighty issues. But in the case of the puzzle-RPG Venus & Braves (released on February 13, 2003 by Namco for Japanese PS2), managing a 14-member team by pondering the lifespans of hundreds of prospects within a timeframe of 115 years is the key to survival.
Venus & Braves tells the story of the soldier Blood Boal, who was revived in the year 999 and granted immortality by the goddess Ariah. His mission, as directed by the goddess, is to lead a small army of no more than 14 soldiers to defend civilization from monsters responsible for the Apocalypse forcasted for the year 1099. The first members of Blood's rag-tag bunch include burly Garef, thoughtful Lily, and the mischievous and ever-hungry Wippel. His friends appear the same age but are mortal. As the years slowly progress and the team grows, Blood is forced to distance himself from his friends when he realizes that weak friends are a hinderence to the strength of team. Wippel bauls his head off when Blood cuts him loose, and later on Garef and Lily grow old and request retirement. In this respect, the predominant theme of Venus & Braves is similar to the movie Highlander, where the ageless protagonist feels lonely despite having company. Whereas many other RPG's would slap on a dull battle system to the story and call it a game, Venus & Braves excels by making its gameplay the foundation of the story.
Initially appearing deceptively simple, the puzzle-like battles gradually become a very cerebral experience as new features are added to the gameplay in progressing chapters. Battles are fought on a grid 4 squares wide and 3 rows deep. You can place at most 7 of 14 soldiers on the board at one time. The front row attacks, the middle row supports the front (by adding damage to the attack, by reducing damage from the enemy, or by directly attacking [archers only]), and the back row heals itself. Statistics for each class of soldier vary, and therefore, different classes are better suited for specific positions on the board. For example, wizards and witches have high support stats, so they should be placed behind warriors or knights, who withstand most of the damage in battle. An archer should be placed in the second row behind an open square so that he/she will have a clear shot at the monster. Finally, some classes can heal their entire row, just him/herself, or not at all. The order in each turn is based on the attacker's speed. At the end of the turn, you can choose to rotate your rows, back to middle, middle to front, and front to back. Fallen soldiers cannot be replaced (no revival spells!), and weakened soldiers accumulate damage throughout the course of multiple battles until a planned trip back to home base. All HP is replenished after each battle. However, when a soldier has accumulated damage greater than or equal to their total HP across multiple battles, then they will be punished with the dreaded blue :( face, and all stats except HP will decrease until they've rested enough from battle.
The key to winning the game is not just to have enough strength to pass a single battle--it's to recruit strong soldiers and organize them in a formation that ironically doesn't require that you rotate and heal. Sure, each person who deals a finishing blow will get a small stat increase in 1 category, but the level-ups cap at 5(!) You can level-up items, too, but again the effect is relatively small, and anything leveled to 10 or above will become $#!+. Unfortunately, monsters in year 1090 have on average 400+ HP, whereas in 1010 most had ~100 HP. In comparison, a typical 15-year-old starts with 10-20 HP regardless of the year…
So, how do you make really strong soldiers? The old-fashioned way… you breed them. ;) Place a male and a female soldier next to each other on the grid. Check the speed of the characters to make sure they participate (attacking or supporting) directly after one another. After the battle is over, check the gestalt board. As characters develop close relationships, the distance between the figures on the gestalt board will shorten. When those figures overlap, head back to town. You'll be treated to a dating scene, and in subsequent return trips, the couple will become engaged, married, and then bear children (illustrated with a very-educational black screen ;) ). As a rule, children at their prime will be stronger than their parents were. Grandchildren of different families will have even higher stats, and so on.
The gameplay wouldn't have been as addictive if it weren't accompanied by classy graphics and music. The entire game is painted in lush 2D, visually looking like the lovechild of Japanese anime and oil canvases from the Louvre. The music is equally terrific, emphasizing brass, strings, and occasionally ethnic drums, pan flutes, and acoustic guitars in either flowing ballads or medieval marches. The crisp clashing of swords and arrows make you feel like you're in the middle of a war in the Dark Ages. Hands down, Venus & Braves boasts the best 2D graphics, artwork, and orchestral soundtrack of any game in recent memory.
As I finish this review, I'm nearing the end of my second playthrough, which will probably total between 100-110 hours. There's lots to do here, from collecting special characters in chapter 9, to earning special weapons from Xenosaga's Kos-Mos in 1100, to unlocking the bonus quest/online versus mode, to creating the nearly invincible great-great-greatgrandkid of one of your characters 50 hrs earlier. Japanese requirement is moderate; the guide at gamefaqs and the English insert (Asian editions only) will get you up and running quickly. Unfortunately, progress on the fan translation has slowed to a halt (covers 999~1030 / 1115), so it'd be difficult to interpret any parts of the latter story not conveyed through the pictures. Playing Venus & Braves has been an absolute delight. I'm convinced that if this were localized in the US, it'd have the potential to become a sleeper hit as big as Disgaea. It's painful for me to assume that US publishers have dismissed it or SCEA has changed its standards due to 2D RPG drivel like Unlimited Saga, because Venus & Braves is actually the opposite: an instant must-have classic. 10/10
PRS aka RedCoKid
Movies, screenshots, and additional info:
Official website (View -> Status Bar ON to navigate)
Trailer
In-game battles
