Odin Sphere

Vanillaware debuted with an MMO before establishing themselves as champions of the lush, luminous, partly hand-drawn style of graphics (of visual feasts such as Legend of Mana & SaGa Frontier 2) with Odin Sphere. A spiritual successor to Princess Crown, this 2D brawler's main appeal is not the storybook-like setting they aimed to recreate, but the fluid, elegant quality of its animations that update Valkyrie Profile to the next generation. In fact, the plot (spanning multiple interweaving routes) is far less important than the atmosphere generated by its fairy-tale critters and ominous backgrounds, a contrast that sometimes lends the feeling of a wonderland devastated by endless invasions and warfare. Even its characters seem like minor accessories in spite of - not coincidentally, their designs; its art is all visual.

Therefore it certainly isn't the smoothest or most advanced of beat-em-ups. Lengthy recovery (whether for offense or knockdowns) and stamina curb the flow of gameplay a little too much, and - with the exception of Oswald and Velvet, its physical movesets are limited the way old-school brawlers are, possessing only one combo string and a few situational moves. Nonetheless, the combat - taking place in small looping stages, succeeds in its command over ground and air space (handled by its five playable fighters in different ways) and in the vital roles items & magic fulfill (the first devoted to utility, EXP and especially crafting, and the second as powerful limit breaks charged by defeating foes). Their effect redistributes ARPG gameplay between fighting, looting, mixing and deploying.