PlayStation 2

Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity

Final Fantasy Tactics, Tactics Ogre, and Vandal Hearts are all great games that have set the stage for the tactical, turn-based RPG genre. First they brought us Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, then the famed Shin Megami Tensei series, and now Stella Deus; Have Atlus games not proven their worth in developing games for the RPG genre? Sure, Stella Deus’ graphics may not compare to the full motion videos or dramatic renderings of a Final Fantasy, but if that were all you the consumer had wanted, these reviews would be much simpler to write! In fact, it’s a game’s ingenuity and capacity to captivate that makes it great. Why else would such old games as Suikoden II and Final Fantasy Tactics (before its reprint) sold for close to a hundred dollars? Thankfully, Atlus has proven once again that they know what they are doing, and with such knowledge, have brought us Stella Deus!

Il ne reste plus grand-chose à dire, Stella Deus donne juste un nouveau souffle au genre, avec une difficulté assez élevée, et renforcée par la langue. Il est donc conseillé à ceux qui ne maîtrisent pas les kanjis d’attendre la version américaine, car ce jeu mérite vraiment d’être acheté et d’être compris pour être savouré. Stella Deus est le meilleur Tactical-RPG que je connaisse depuis Front Mission 4.

It's easy to pick up, it's tough but not controversial Hoshigami tough, it allows for level-grinding, but not Disgaea amounts of mindlessness… Boring, long narrative and bad voice acting aside, what we have here is the most balanced SRPG for those who would like to become serious fans of the genre. Genre vets may be tired of the formula by this point, and Stella Deus does not bring much new to the table. But what is here is so finely tuned, anybody from those with slight interest in the genre to longtime fans looking for more of what they know will be able to procure countless hours of captivating gameplay.

Stella Deus is a tactical role-playing strategy game in the tradition of games like Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea that doesn't strive to be too awfully unique but does offer just enough variation to stand on its own merits. The game is driven by a serious storyline and lack of cuteness that does make it stand out slightly from the latest pack of Japanese RPGs to make it stateside this year.

Passant étonnamment après Magna Carta au niveau de l'importance dans le catalogue 505 GameStreet, Stella Deus se révèle pourtant nettement meilleur et surtout continuellement digne d'intérêt. De fait, même si vous pouvez oublier une traduction intégrale, le soft d'Atlus se pose comme l'un des meilleurs RPG sur la console de Sony, réinjectant dans l'esprit des amateurs des petites doses de FFT. Convaincant au niveau du design, du gameplay et rythmé par une bande-son fantastique, Stella Deus vaut nettement l'attente qu'il a suscité. Si certains mettront en avant un certain classicisme, cela ne retire en rien la force ludique de ce soft. Profitez de son prix et partez pour des heures et des heures de stratégie.

Stella Deus is a strong addition to the SRPG genre. It's a lengthy adventure with several new treats that it brings to the table. Unfortunately even with these new ideas there is still a prevailing sense of deja vu with the gameplay that is just too hard to shake. Issues like spotty AI, linearity, PS 1-ish graphics and some iffy voice performances also hold this game back.

Tactical role-playing is one of those genres I've been playing a lot in the last few years. For some reason, though, I haven't tired of it like I have military first-person shooters or Baldur's Gate-style action-RPGs. Atlus has been a major supplier of quality offerings of this ilk -- with Disgaea, Tactics Ogre, and Shining Force GBA on its résumé. Stella Deus is the first to come out after developer Nippon Ichi branched out on its own, but it's still a peachy offering in the genre that tactical fans will flock to.

As a tactical-RPG fan since the days of Shining Force and Master of Monsters, I'm always up for the chance to invade a grid-based kingdom and see just how much havoc my turn-based warriors can really create. As you can imagine, the last couple of years have been quite productive for me -- as there have been far more U.S. entries in the strategy role-playing genre than at any other point in history. And while none of these titles from the past few seasons have yet to overtake the game that kick-started the whole revival in the first place (Disgaea: Hour of Darkness), that doesn't mean that they're not going to stop trying.

The old school look certainly has its charm, but cleaning the characters up a bit wouldn't take any of it away. Overall, Stella Deus is like that old man that sits on his porch at the end of the street: Past his prime, unwilling to change his ways, but still inherently likeable.

Atlus has made something of a niche for themselves with all (or most) of their games in some way revolving around the RPG acronym. Role-playing Game is what that means, and as it stands, Atlus seems drawn to its potential in some form or another. Throughout the current gaming generation, that's where their name has taken them to the top anyhow, by adding RPG elements to releases like Dual Hearts, Choro Q, and of course the company's adored Shin Megami Tensei series. Probably playing an even larger note for Atlus as of late was that they were the one to revive the often ignored strategy-RPG.

Japanese turn-based strategy games have enjoyed their own niche on the PlayStation 2, the more notable representatives being Nippon Ichi's colorful and entertaining games. Stella Deus: The Gate of Eternity is not so brightly wrapped, but the game brings with it some unique gameplay elements and a great, ethereal visual style. This is a game that aims to appeal directly to the existing console strategy audience, and there's enough that sets Stella Deus apart to make it worth a look to those fans.

Atlus and Pinegrow’s Stella Deus is another one of those strat-RPGs in the vein of Final Fantasy Tactics and Disgaea that are all the rage these days (something that I’m very grateful for), and barring any horrible balance issues or rigid linearity (both major problems in Pinegrow’s last RPG, Hoshigami), even the worst of these types of games still tend to be pretty darn good. Yet here I am, with very mixed feelings about one of them. It’s no single major flaw that hurts Stella Deus, either, but a series of smaller ones.

Stella Deus manages to emulate Nippon Ichi's strategic masterpiece fairly well. Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything to make it noteworthy over titles like Disgaea and Phantom Brave. The strong battle system just isn't enough to carry the mediocre localization and PSone graphics of this game. And for the life of me I can't figure out why the worst voice actor in this game plays the main character.

Though its immediate predecessor (Hoshigami: Ruining Blue Earth) isn't that old, Stella Deus feels like a relic. It's not that it's so bad, necessarily, it just treads water and plays it safe, making you feel like you've seen it all before.