"Stunning game. A must have for all PS2 owners"

Radiata Stories is a beautiful game for the PS2. It is unique and amazing. From the storyline to the actual gameplay this game is close to flawless. The only thing I can think of wrong with it is the lack of save points. That isn't really much of a problem because once you start playing you won't want to stop. That happened to me. I got home from EB Games with the game and started it up. Once I started I didn't put down the controller until I had racked up almost three hours of game time.

The story is fantastic. It starts with explaining the background of the main character. You find yourself starting off in the action. A tournament to become a knight. The story speeds up from there. It is well thought out and has many twists so you will be thinking what happens next? You find yourself in the middle of a war. You sit and think do I go with my morals and who is right or do I go with my friends and own race. Thats right, you get to make the desicion of whose side you are own. It influences the story greatly.

The thing I love the most about this game is the recruiting characters. You can recruit tons of characters and use many on different quests and adventures. The people you can recruit range from fat, old priests to hardened warriors to children and goblins. Each character is recruited in a unique way and it may take a little time to recruit them but then they will help you out in any mission. It is worth it to take half an hour to recruit some guys you like to help you with the rest of the game. You get to customize your team so it is how you want it. You design and stradegize for the perfect team for the certain battle or quest coming up. You can raise each members levels to make the perfect squad.

Once you have that squad it is time to go out and search for treasures, battle monsters, or whatever you are requested to do. Each character can equip different weapons and equipment and know different skills so every one is unique. That means you should try out everyone to find your favorites. Remember as you play to recruit for whichever side you will be on when the war starts. If you have all humans and pick the non-human side then you won't have many recruits. You could end up fighting your old friends. The same is for the human side. The two sides of the war add to the story and change the story depending on which side you pick.

That raises the replay value of this game a lot. You also may miss characters on one play through and the next use them on your team so it is a different experience. The battles are unique but not difficult to master. You enter the battles and are in sort of an inclosed arena. You slash and can use combos you have mastered to take out enemies. Your friends you have chosen from your recruits fight alongside you. You can call out orders to tell them to do various things such as attack another enemy or heal an ally or protect an ally. It takes a little while but soon you will have no trouble ordering your team around and crushing all of your foes.

The replay value is very high. You have two different paths to choose from. Both of the paths have different story lines that are only slightly similar. They also have two totally different endings. You also will have different experiences depending on which characters you recruit and use and which missions you accept. You will find that most run throughs of this game are never the same as the last one.

The graphics for this game are decent they don't hinder the gameplay and the music is typical RPG music. Both are acceptable and don't hurt the game in any way, shape, or form. This game is one of my favorites all time and I have played many games. I find that this game ranks up there with Kingdom Hearts, both one and two, and Odin Sphere for one of the best PS2 games of all time. If you own a PS2 then you need this.

Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 9/10
Music: 9/10
Replay Value: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/21/07