White Knight Chronicles

Written by Adam Woolcott  on March 04, 2010

Review: These are what Xenosaga robots looked like in medieval times.

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The Уmy first RPGФ difficulty level is just the tip of the iceberg with White Knight. The much-hyped avatar, at least in the single-player game, is useless. They have approximately zero involvement in the plot; no party members even so much as converse with them aside from one part in the very beginning of the game - when Leonard and The Avatar are the only two party members. Otherwise, Silent Bob is more like Invisible Bob. At the very least they could have pulled a Saints Row 2, recorded some dialogue for the character, and at least tried to implement them into the plot, but they didn't. Instead we're left with a hollow shell that nobody pays attention to, making The Avatar seem like a creepy hanger-on. It could have been redeemed if perhaps The Avatar ended up flipping out at the end and turn on the party for ignoring them, but that would require the game to have a sense of humor... which it doesn't. The plot itself is the by-the-numbers fare you've seen multiple times, with predictable twists and cookie-cutter characters; there's really nothing memorable about any of them. To make matters worse (or is it better?), the adventure is unusually brief, taking at most twenty hours to complete... with a finale that's nothing but an advertisement for White Knight Chronicles 2.

Of course, the single-player game is only half of White Knight Chronicles. While it isn't quite as robust as a typical MMO, WKC does a good enough job of aping Phantasy Star Online and other games of that ilk. After reaching a certain point of the single-player game, GeoNet unlocks. At this point, The Avatar can buy quests from guild УstoresФ throughout the game, based upon your Guild Rank level. These quests can be tackled solo, but are best experienced with other players that you can invite into the game. Completing the quests earns experience towards your Guild Rank, cash rewards, and items that usually are exclusive to the GeoNet adventures. This is where the УInternationalФ comes into play Ц the original Japanese release was much leaner on features compared to the version we got over here. There's over fifty quests to partake in, and the online features have been greatly enhanced for the west, with better voice chat and community features that had to be patched into the Japanese release. What's nice about WKC is The Avatar can carry experience, equipment, items, and cash back and forth between the two sides of the game. Not having to balance two setups on the same character is a really good thing.



The largest feature added to White Knight's multiplayer game is the Georama system; fans of the two Dark Cloud games will definitely recognize that term. In WKC, an NPC in the campaign will sell a deed Ц that deed lets you use the Georama within GeoNet to build your own city. The town can then be customized in numerous ways, selecting the buildings, shops, and people to inhabit it. While playing the single-player game, you can find NPCs in all the cities to recruit into your Georama, and as The Avatar's rank increases, more and more options become available... though many of them require real cash money to buy. As an added bonus, people can access your Georama even if you're not playing the game, and when you are online, it can be used as a gathering point for questing. It's actually a little disappointing that the Georama isn't available in the campaign; the ability to build a city as a sort of home base would have rocked. It works in the Suikoden games, yeah?

As White Knight Chronicles is technically an older game Ц it was announced and shown before the PS3 came out, after all Ц the game is a bit underwhelming visually. There are parts of the game that are really nice looking on an artistic level, while others have a great sense of size, scale, and scope. The maps are large and the dungeons are dark and dank, though with the latter they tend to look samey after a while. All the cliched locations pop up too Ц the desert world, the mysterious abandoned area, the grassy plains, a mountain climb, etc. They apparently weren't inspired to create a snow level, however. The most impressive portion is Greede Ц its unveiling is probably the most visually arresting part of White Knight. The parts of the game when you transform into the White Knight are kind of cool too Ц those massive enemies that you come across while traveling suddenly become small next to the Knight, and the other party members look like tiny ants in comparison. It comes off as Gundam in the middle ages. The character designs are decent enough, though even with a robust character creator, The Avatar still looks painfully out of place next to the meticulously detailed main party members.

Level 5 games usually have great soundtracks, and White Knight is no exception. Thematically a lot of it reminded me of Rogue Galaxy, and certain melodies seem like blatant nods toward it. The battle theme Ц the tune you'll hear the most Ц is a lone exception, as it's generic and dull, especially after hearing it for the zillionth time. On the whole though, the music is good and fits the theme of the game. The voice acting, on the other hand, is a bit lacking. It's not bad, mind you Ц it's just a little too melodramatic and hokey; it makes the story a bit cheesier than intended. Some of the dialogue is also awkward and silly Ц the Leonard/Cisna dynamic makes a soap opera romance seem authentic, and a certain scene towards the end of the game that's probably supposed to be УmovingФ is as emotional as a corpse. Despite the storage space that a Blu-ray disc can offer, there's no Japanese language track, so you'll just have to deal with the English dubbing and all its quirks. Or just play on mute.