Summon Night - Swordcraft Story Review

Posted on Monday October 30th, 2006 at 8:08pm by lbabinz

Summon Night - Swordcraft Story (SNSS) is what is known as a sleeper title. In fact, it follows almost every possible rule necessary to become a sleeper title. In my opinion, for a game to be a sleeper title, it must be rare with a low production run, it can be, and in this case is, for a dying console. It can be a game that is virtually unheard of (try finding any wind of this game on something like 1up.com). And, and this is the key element, the game must be incredibly awesome. SNSS is, in its glorious splendor, a sleeper hit for the ages.

SNSS is, at its heart, an action RPG. Fighting is done in real time, with you controlling your character by moving right and left, jumping, swinging your weapon or using items and magic spells. If you have played Tales of Phantasia or Tales of Destiny, it has a very similar battle system but is thankfully much faster. Rather than controlling a party of characters however, you will be in charge of just one man. When battle is entered you will furiously run, jump, defend and attack all of the enemies on the screen. Battle in this game is nothing short of awesome. You will find yourself really working hard to beef up your weapons as they actually make a large difference in how your battles will progress.

Speaking of weapons, forging your implements of torture plays a large role in the game. You can build 5 different types of weapons including swords, axes, spears, fists and drills. Each type handles differently and there is really no benefit to switching up which type you like. In my experience, I got hooked on the play style of swords and didn't bother using anything else. This game has heavy replay value because of this however, a game played solely with drills or fists would be an entirely new gaming experience filled with new strategy and complexity.

Weapons are "crafted" by receiving recipes for said weapon and then collecting the required materials necessary to build it. Things get a little more complex by throwing in special materials that can create a different weapon if you have the required number, but overall the system is fun and easy to use.

SNSS is a bit of a dungeon crawler, however it is one of the most well done dungeon crawlers I have ever seen. While you will certainly find yourself moving from floor to floor in dungeons, the game peppers in a nice amount of story and diversity making it so that you never really feel like you are doing anything tedious in the slightest. Difficulty ramps up gradually, although never becomes hard, and new weapons and materials are always just around the corner. You will rarely become bored with this game, quite the contrary I found myself almost not wanting to move on with the game because it keeps up a quick pace.

The story in SNSS is, incredibly, extremely well done! I am quite used to GBA games that are almost completely devoid of any semblance of a plot at all. SNSS has it all, a light-hearted yet deep story, interesting and unique characters, tons of humor (very nice translation Atlus) and a finale that ties up all of the loose ends. Of particular note are the characters whom you will most certainly come to love and care about by the end of the game. The superb translation by Atlus adds in just the right touch of humor and wackiness and the end result is one of the finest pieces of storytelling I have seen on the GBA.

Graphically, SNSS looks quite nice for a GBA game. The sprites are colorful and well animated and the locales are well detailed and filled with life. I thought that the game looked extremely good for a GBA game and the colors on my DS Lite couldn't be beat. Each weapon has its own design during battles and each character has their own anime styled image when a conversation is taking place. While the game wouldn't win any awards on the PSP, for a GBA game it looks fluid and superb.

Similar to the graphics, the music in SNSS is very well done. The composer obviously made use of every inch they could get out of the GBA's limited sound tools and the result is a shockingly diverse line-up of very nice music. The sounds are fitting, moody and never get boring. I was quite pleased and surprised with the result.

The sad part of this review is that you have probably never played this game. The even sadder part is that you may never get a chance. I have no idea what the actual production run was on it, but SNSS was extremely difficult for me to come by. I picked up the only copy my local EB got and, after checking at other places like Best Buy, Future Shop and Wal-Mart, I am convinced the mainstream retailers didn't even get any copies. With the sequel already out (and, from my limited play time, it is even better), you should do whatever you can to pick up this little gem. With the DS taking up all of the portable limelight, having SNSS in the bottom slot ensures that you can have two excellent games on the go at the same time. I have seriously found this game to be one of the most addictive gaming experiences I have had of late, please find a copy for yourself so that you can enjoy this fine little sleeper hit yourself.