Nice to see an RPG from Japan that is so Dark in style.

OK, first off this game was released at a time when there were not very many other RPGs out for the ps2. It doesn't change the fact that this game is still quite a bit of fun. It remains one of the few RPGs that my brother has played and enjoyed as well, and getting him to touch an RPG is very hard indeed.

Firstly, this game is set in pre-WWI Asia and Europe. Although, it certainly doesn't feel like it. Instead, it goes for vampires, ghosts, ghouls and the general undead everywhere. Save for the opening fmv, there isn't actually much blood in the game, however it has a dark and sinister overtone and many dark things are hinted at. If you're looking for a break from the cutesy characters and bright coloured graphics then this is it.
The game starts when the main character (who has the ability to shape-shift into different summon monsters during battle) rescues the main heroine. Pretty standard stuff so far, right? Well yes, but all with a slight dark twist. The girl is a key to connecting with the underworld and the villains plan to use it to unleash demons onto the Earth. Not that our hero knows this - he only did it because he was listening to "voices in his head"...
And so starts a plot where your characters eventually set off to save the world against the dark forces, again all pretty standard, but it does give you plenty of motivation to play on, which is the main thing.
The story and graphics aren't going to win many awards, however they are certainly more than good enough to keep you playing and not bad considering that this is a first generation game without the huge budget of a final fantasy.

Gameplay
It's the usual turn-based affair that we've seen time and time again in RPGs, only it does have one trick up its sleeve. Any time you want to do anything, a roulette-like wheel called the judgement ring pops up to see if you are successful. It's this that makes an otherwise boring game a little more fun to play, similar to the way Nintendo did it with Paper Mario.
At first, hitting the judgement ring is easy, however many tactics come into play later. Most attacks can become critical hits if they are struck on the edge of the hit area. But this is a risk, because any slight miss-timing and you'll miss the shot. You can also have up to 3 combos in attacks if you keep getting hits. Spells and items also use the judgement ring. Want to aim for a critical on your healing spell? Helpful, but if you miss it completely then you're in trouble. Usually, the more powerful a spell, item or weapon, the harder it is to hit it, meaning that you do actually have to get better at the judgement ring as you go through the game.
Another innovation are all the status effects that go with it. You get items which make you much more powerful, but do things like make the hit areas invisible. (How good is your memory..?) Enemies can also cast status effects on you, like make the Judgement ring spin too fast, or at irregular speeds, and so on.
The last effort to innovation are the sanity points. The longer your characters fight a battle, the more they lose sanity points. Also, you lose quite a lot of sanity points if you do something like turn into a demonic monster or anything daft like that. Characters who run out of sanity points start panicking and acting at random. A nice touch, but it's annoying in a long boss fight. Sanity points ought to go up if you're winning and down if you're losing, rather than slowly drain away turn by turn.

I've pretty much touched on everything here (there isn't that much to explain). One last annoyance I had, is that it doesn't bother to be very historically accurate. You visit bastardised versions of cities which in no way feel like they are in the run up to World War 1. They have also ripped the name of Roger Bacon out of the history books, but have rather got him mixed up with his mentor. It doesn't detract from the game, but does feel annoying when you think about it. Why not just set the game on a fantasy world? Then this wouldn't be a problem.

Sound
Music is by that Famous Japanese Composer (whose name I can never remember) and is quite good. It's mostly full of siniser tracks with a couple of cheesy ones for towns. The battle tracks feel a little odd, rather than the usual heavy exciting pieces that you usually get in RPGs.
Sound effects are okay.
Voice acting is only ever used during fmvs. Which is a good thing, because what little is there is extremely bad. Especially the villian's awful attempt at an English accent, which is even more dire than most of Holywood's efforts.

Reviewer's Bias
Strongly For

Summery
Anyway, a final score. At the time I'd give it 8/10, however it's possible that it might be less impressive today. Also, judging by the scores the press have given it, I seem to have a habit of overrating my favourite RPGs so you should probably take what I say with a pinch of salt. But of course, there's always the possibility that everyone else is wrong and I am right. ^_^