Magna Carta: Tears of Blood Review (no fat)

Game Description

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood takes you into the beautiful and thrilling world of Efferia. There are two races that live in Efferia: Humans and the Yason (a human-like race whose most obvious difference is their ears). Unfortunately, these two races are in the midst of a great and terrible war. This is the story of Calintz, leader of the Tears of Blood, an elite mercenary group sworn to destroy all the Yason. After a failed attempt at attacking the Yason capital, Calintz stumbles across an amnesiac young woman named Reith, and this is where Calintz’s true story begins.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood – Gameplay

Magna Carta doesn’t just follow Calintz around, you can also see what your Yason counterparts, The Four Warriors, are up to. The story is unraveled by watching both sides of the conflict. As Magna Carta: Tears of Blood is a role playing game, you can take up to 3 characters in battle with you. Magna Carta: Tears of Blood can be a very complex game due to many special features that the creatures have added. One of the most important elements in the game is a character’s Chi, the type of energy they use to attack.

Characters are given fighting styles that are aligned to specific Chi elements, of which there are 8 different types. The type of Chi in the area is dependent upon the color of the lantern, which is found in every area of the game. You can change these lanterns to best suit your characters fighting style, for example, Reith uses a water style so if the are is filled with mountain Chi, you might want to change it to a water Chi so that Reith will not run out of energy.

A unique feature of Tears of Blood is their movement system. When moving across a map, you are able to use one of three options: Detect, Dash, and Rest. When you enter onto a map that you can use these abilities on, a highlighted circle shows up around your character. The circle is important because anything outside of it is invisible, be it a treasure chest or a monster. The size of the circle changes depending on your mode. Detect has the largest while Dash has the smallest. It is recommended to use the Detect mode, which causes your character to slowly walk across the screen making everything and everyone visible. The Dash mode is used once you have cleared the map and Rest is used when you’re character has been injured. Just don’t Rest near an enemy or you will be in for a rude awakening.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood Battle System

Tears of Blood has a special battle system which is part turn based and part player action. Your turn, and your enemy’s turn, is based upon a “leadership meter” which accumulates during gameplay. You are given three characters but only one can be used at a time. The battle system is called the “Trinity Circle” and is a circle that appears on the screen with specific controller buttons in certain locations. The player must hit the correct button at the precise moment in order for the attack to succeed. If you complete it successfully, you charge your “Trinity Drive” which can be used to unleash massively powerful attacks.

It is important to pay close attention to your character’s Chi and the Chi in the area. The Chi is used every time you attack, and it is possible to drain the area’s Chi so that your character is unable to attack an enemy. If you drain the Mountain Chi during battle, any other character who uses the Mountain Chi will be unable to fight. You can learn new fighting skills and expand your moves by battling enemies. Some moves come with additional modes, such as Combo mode (create combo attack by stringing together moves) or Counter mode (guess the enemies Trinity Circle attack).

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood Sound

The soundtrack for Magna Carta is nearly as well written as a Final Fantasy score. The opening credits, which are excellent to watch, showcase an English song called “Tears of Blood” against CGI scenes from the game. It is a beautifully written and played song. Throughout the game, you are treated to a high caliber musical score which complements the anime style graphics well.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood Technicalities

The game is a visual masterpiece and the sweeping fantasy landscapes are a thrill to stroll through. There are several CGI cutscenes which are smoothly transitioned into the gameplay. The characters are drawn so that it’s almost hard to tell the sex of some of the characters. Calintz and Azel are both very ambiguous. There is not a music note or a paint stroke that is out of place in this game.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood – Summing Up

The gameplay is very unique compared to several RPG’s that are available on the PS2. On one hand that’s a bonus, but on the other it can cause a series of problems. You have to play very close attention to every little detail. From what lantern is in the area, to what Chi your fighting style uses and your party’s Chi diversity. To succeed, you will need to take a few moments pause before heading into battle. The unprepared die quickly in this game.

A special feature about this game is the ability to build relationships with your characters. At certain points you can talk to your party members to build up your relationship and you can even give them gifts if you say the wrong thing. The better your relationship, the better you fight together in battles. Yet another fun aspect is that you can have your characters fortunes told, which can increase or decrease their luck.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood is not a game if you just want an easy, uncomplicated adventure. It can be very frustrating at times and the battle system is hard to master. However, if you are looking for a unique game with an amazing storyline, memorable music and ambiguous male characters, than Tears of Blood is the one for you.

Magna Carta: Tears of Blood

The game currently retails for $54.99US.