Septerra Core: Legacy of the Creator
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![PC Gamer [with CD] (1-year)](http://www.jungleshop.com/prod_images/B000NDESM0.01.THUMBZZZ.jpg "PC Gamer [with CD] (1-year)")
You play as Maya, a young woman at the center of a power struggle to control her world. A fabulous, multilayered planet with a gigantic computer at the center, the planet was designed by an ancient creator. The Creator's plan works in such a way that once every century, the continental layers align so that light can reach the planet's core, powering up the computer and making its secrets accessible to anyone possessing the right keys.
Unfortunately for Maya and her friends, a Chosen Lord named Doskias has decided to hurry things along, and is prepared to destroy the planet if it means he can activate the Creator's computer 40 years early.
Recent role-playing games have a tendency to combine a fantasy quest and combat sensibility--including swords, spells, and, above all, healing--with what is otherwise a science fiction concept. Septerra Core is no exception. However, the layered setting of the Creator's world is vigorously thought out and beautifully drawn, putting this particular genre hybrid in a class above most of its competitors. --Alyx Dellamonica
- CD-ROM: 0 pages (1999-10-26)
- Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows 95
- Publisher: Interplay
- Label: Interplay
- Format: CD-ROM
- Studio: Interplay
- Our Recommended Age: 12 - 20 years
- Average Customer Review: based on 28 reviews
- Sales Rank in Videogames: #10375
Now that we've gotten past that little step, let's look at this from an indepth perspective:
(FYI Each comment has either a pro or con mark following them.)
Story: The storyline moves at a good pace, without bogging down too much along the way. +
Characters: The list of playable characters is short, only 9 total. The total combinations for the party are limited as you must ALWAYS have Maya, but otherwise, you can build the party to fight certain circumstances. - The characters, though, do have their own personalities and motivations. Makes them believable, even recognizable to players. +
Graphics: The backgrounds are beautiful. + Some of the area maps are a bit too repetitive, which makes it too easy to get lost in. - The characters themselves could have used more animations. -
Sound: The voices are nicely coordinated, HOWEVER, there are problems in some of the actors getting the right feel for certain lines. - The overall music is very short and gets looped too early, meaning it's usually the first thing players will disable. Combat sounds are probably going to be following right behind. -
Mobs: Very few differences in mobs. You see one human type, one animal type, you've seen them all. Aside from coloration, almost no distinctiveness in mobs. - Mobs have too few attacks. There's not quite enough to keep a player from reading a book while they run fights. -
Combat: Slow and tedious. - The use of the limited number of Fate Cards (Spells), and the special skills you find/acquire is rather poorly used. 90% of the mobs, even the bosses can be put down with merely your basic attacks. Using the Cards and Skills isn't really necessary. - It can take a while to get used to the combat system, even if you were familiar with most of the Final Fantasy games or Chrono Trigger. -
Dungeons: There are some HUGE dungeons in the game, getting through them can be a quest in itself. + The dungeons are huge, and getting through them AND then WALKING back out often can push a player's patience to the breaking out. - There is no mention in any of the literature on the game that speaks of the map function, which makes navigating the dungeons so much easier. -
Replayablity: Moderate/High. It's one of those games you beat, then shelf for a few months/year, then dust off when you need something to do. Given the length of the game (I think I clocked it at 75 hours to beat during my rush trial of it), it will keep people going if they pace themselves.
Overall: It does have it's flaws. Every game does. If a player can overlook them, then they can enjoy the game pretty much to it's fullest. Remember that this is an old fashioned RPG, a real gem in this age of FPS and MMOs. Some folks will enjoy it for that fact, some folks won't. It's really a personal call.
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first off, this game has the overall feel of the final fantasy series. keep in mind septerra core is fashioned after CONSOLE RPGs. hence, this is NOT an action RPG (a la Diablo), so for those of you who are NOT interested in ATB (active time battle) or turn-based time battles, this game is NOT for you. these type of CONSOLE RPGs are usually slower paced and requires more patience....which those of you who play action RPGs may find a tad bit slow...but then of course, final fantasy (which is a great series, btw) would also be slow.
for the critics who claim that septerra core is linear, try playing any of the final fantasy series (or any other CONSOLE RPGs)...most of those are very linear.
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the battles reminds me of chrono trigger very much. you get to see the enemies walking on the map, rather than random battles as you walk around (i.e. final fantasy). also, unlike final fantasy, the battle takes place directly on the walking map, rather than teleported to a different backdrop.
also, the fate cards (magic) that can be combined by several characters is similar to chrono trigger's dual and triple techs. using more than one fate card allows you to summon up greater magic (i.e. greater than the sum of the parts)
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the graphics remind me of the diablo series. however, the backgrounds in septerra core are actually much, much better than the diablo series. they did a really good job on that. however, keep in mind this game is 2D, so no 3D special effects. nonetheless, the characters, enemies, and attacks look great....and the sound is even better.