Summary
As always, the charm of Bioware games is irresistible
The Good
Bioware is one of my most favorite game-developing companies. Thanks to their wonderful modern-day RPGs, my admiration towards them comes close to what I feel for LucasArts, Sierra, or Squaresoft, my idols of game developing.
Baldur's Gate saga,
Planescape: Torment and both
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic games belong to the best games the genre has to offer. Now, another game joins their ranks, and this is "Jade Empire".
I'll start with the main aspect of "Jade Empire", namely its
role-playing system. You might have heard from some people that "Jade Empire" is not a true RPG. Knowing about its action combat, some fans approached the game with suspicion, and later proclaimed it to be just an action game without true role-playing, unworthy of Bioware's great legacy.
Plainly said, this is not true. Or you could say it is true in a very superficial way. Indeed, what the game does
not have is the kind of strategic, party-based combat fans of previous Bioware games were accustomed to. You don't control your party members and they serve more as an enhancement for battles than a really indispensable element. Also, you don't equip much in the game, except stat-modifying amulets. In battles themselves, your reflexes will play at least as important role as your levels and stats.
So, this is not a real RPG, after all? Well, if in your opinion role-playing equals combat management, then "Jade Empire" can only be considered a "light RPG". However, in case I'm not mistaken, the original meaning of role-playing is exactly this - being able to
play a role. You are cast into a game world and you are supposed to choose a kind of behavior for your character you think would fit him and you. Of course, according to this definition most Japanese RPGs (except
Shin Megami Tensei), and even many Western ones, don't really qualify as such, as they are actually about gaining levels and fighting and not about making decisions. There are lots of great games among them, but not much
true role-playing. In my humble opinion, role-playing is about being able to react in different ways to the events, to define yourself
morally, not about getting thousand kinds of spells and swords, specifying in hundreds of abilities, or exploring millions of dungeons . This is why for me "Jade Empire" is a real RPG that fully satisfied my desire for role-playing. It has precisely what I consider true role-playing: the ability to solve problems in various ways, and to follow different codes of ethics.
Lately, this kind of role-playing has been thankfully given a major boost (think of
Fable or Bioware's own "Knights of the Old Republic", to which "Jade Empire" is by the way similar in many ways). "Jade Empire" doesn't really offer an original concept and is mainly based on the ethical system of "Knights of the Old Republic" (replacing Jedi with Way of the Open Palm and Sith with Way of the Close Fist). But it exploits this system to the full. Nearly
everything in "Jade Empire" can be done in at least two different ways. This includes not only small side-quests but the main story as well. The final confrontation can also be handled in two different ways. There are also three different endings in the game. This doesn't result in a total open-endness of the story: you follow the same main plot no matter what you decide. But your
motivation for what you are doing is different, depending on how you handle moral problems that you encounter in every place. This system is great because it allows you to take moral position without neglecting the story at the same time or turning it into a "choose your own adventure" kind of thing, which is in fact nothing but a fancy word for an utter lack of story. If you wanted a combination of an engrossing, focused story, and freedom of choice, you won't find anything better than this system.
The
quests are usually the core of Western RPGs, and Bioware's games are famous for having great sub-quests. "Jade Empire" is no exception. You'll find the same enchanting assortment of high-quality quests as in Baldur's Gate or Knights of the Old Republic games. Tired of uninteresting NPCs who send you on boring errands, as a result of which you gain useless items? "Jade Empire" is exactly the opposite. The NPCs and the quests they give are fantastic in their variety, and the rewards are appropriate (mostly a large chunk of experience points). I can't even begin to describe how cool it is to plunge into the net of side-quests in "Jade Empire". First of all, as I already mentioned, nearly each one of them can be solved in at least two various ways. Sometimes each one of those ways leads to
another sub-quest, which varies depending on the choice you've made, and so on. For example, one time I was involved in a large quest which could be solved in two ways, I followed one of them, and it splitted into
four ways (killing a corrupt judge, killing a weak-natured minister, ruining the career of the judge, or making the minister look ridiculous), each one with its own complications. Note that every time you'll have to test your conscience, because you can complete many quests simply by killing people, which will result in Closed Fist points (and a bad feeling). And all the quests are interesting, I honestly didn't encounter even one that was boring (okay, I didn't do every side-quest, so maybe there are some, but I doubt it). They include such cool stuff as getting people married, comforting two spirits of children who were abandoned in an orphanage, investigating crimes for a police captain, acting in a theater, participating in a debate about Western and Oriental cultures, and many more. Naturally written, intelligent dialogues with a lot of branches help to immerse the player in almost every conversation with every single NPC.
The actual
combat system might come as a shock for RPG fans. But if you thought "Jade Empire" is just a meaningless hack-and-slash game, you thought wrong. Of course, since the combat is real time, quick reaction will play an important role in it. The controls are very simple: you have a basic "attack" button, an unblockable powerful attack which takes time to execute, and a button that allows you to block the enemy's attack, to jump over the enemy, or to roll to the sides (combined with other buttons). It sounds simple, and it is; most importantly, it's
fun. Seeing your hero fighting in hand-to-hand style, performing all kind of crazy leaps and rolls, is cool and fits the Chinese setting of the game very well. The combination of fast-paced combat and heavy quest-based role-playing is just delightful. Also, there are never too many enemies - the game remains primarily quest-oriented.
But there is much more to the combat system than just that. There are three kinds of offensive techniques: bare-handed, armed, and magical. Bare-handed techniques don't require any additional energy, but do not always inflict big damage. Weapon techniques tend to be more powerful, but spend your Focus points (once your Focus bar is depleted, you cannot attack with weapons any more). Magical attacks spend your Chi, which you'll also require for healing yourself. In addition, there are support techniques which inflict negative status on the enemy (or cure your own). Some enemies are immune to certain techniques (for example, golems cannot be hit at all with your fists), so a wise and balanced distribution of your skill points is advisable.
You also have a party in "Jade Empire". Many characters will join you on your journey, some of which are entirely optional. You can have only one character at your side during combat. The party members have two modes, attack and support. If you put them into attack mode, they will draw the attention of the enemies to themselves, but their attacks are usually poor compared to yours, and they can't support you in any way when attacking. If you choose them to support you, they won't be targeted by the enemies and you'll have to fight solo, but each character will enhance your fighting in some way (for example, Sky makes you fight better with fists, Dawn Star gradually restores your Chi, etc.).
In the beginning of the game, you either choose one of the game's template characters, or create your own. You can be male or female in this game. This actually influences the way some people react to you (particularly your party members). When you gain a level, you can level up by increasing either Body (affects HP), Spirit (affects Chi), or Mind (affects Focus). You can distribute the points freely and can therefore create a balanced all-around character, a specialist in martial arts, a fighter proficient with weapons, or a magic user. To spice up the role-playing, there are some fun little mini-games (mostly of vertically scrolling shooter category), none of which is obligatory, but which can be accessed at any time once you recruit a certain character.
The
story of "Jade Empire" might be simple, but there is more greatness in its simplicity than in the complexity of some other games. It is your archetypical "good vs. evil" kind of story in essence, but told in an original way (partly because of the cool Chinese setting, partly because of the great character cast and in-depth dialogues), involving, of course, the moral alignment of the hero himself/herself, thus directly connecting to gameplay. What makes this story outstanding is an
awesome plot twist that comes just when you begin to think the "bunch of nobodies against evil empire" story comes to an unspectacular end. Bioware delighted me with their great plot twist in "Knights of the Old Republic", and now they did a similar thing in "Jade Empire". Of course, the plot twist is of a totally different nature than the one of "Knights of the Old Republic". I love plot twists, and this was a great one. Nobody saw it coming. Among the twists I have encountered in books, movies, or games, this is one of the best, although it is fairly simple in nature.
"Jade Empire" features great
characters. Your party members are absolutely fantastic. I find them even more colorful and memorable than your companions in "Knights of the Old Republic". The gentle Dawn Star; the enigmatic Sagacious Zu, tormented with his dark past; the wonderfully amusing Black Whirlwind (perhaps a relative of Minsc from Baldur's Gate?); the "mad scientist" Kang; the stubborn and haughty Princess Lian, and all the others - all of them are charming, each in his/her own way. Great companions to have with you on a perilous journey. In a typical Bioware fashion, those characters react to each other, make remarks, like or dislike each other when in your party. For example, if you recruit Black Whirlwind while having Dawn Star in your party, he'll comment about the "magenta beauty" having "great legs", whereas Dawn Star calmly responses that those legs can kick him so hard that he will shut up. Or how Dawn Star and the princess dislike each other (jealous of the main character?) in a typical feminine way.
Those characters don't just become static figures when joining you; you can talk to each one of them at any time, and many times they'll have something new to tell you. Persistently talking to them leads to more insight into their lives, which in its turn leads to more character-related sub-quests. If you talk to the characters, you'll discover a lot of depth in their personalities. And, true to Bioware's tradition, you can romance some of them! You can even have a gay or lesbian love relationship! Or try romancing two characters at the same time and see how it turns out.
NPC characters are very detailed and appealing, some of which tell you wonderfully engaging personal stories. As for the villains, I cannot reveal much, because the identity of some of them is a plot spoiler. The most interesting one for me was Death's Hand, a character clearly influenced by Darth Vader from Star Wars movies (he also wears a mask), with a tragic past behind him.
The
setting of "Jade Empire" its one of its undeniably strongest points. Whoever came with the idea of setting a RPG in a China-like fantasy land should be awarded a prize; but whoever crafted the world of "Jade Empire" with so much care and understanding of everything Chinese should get an even bigger one. I love Chinese culture and I was absolutely enchanted by the world of "Jade Empire". Everything here is
authentically Chinese. Bear in mind that the developers avoid any concrete historical details and never call the world of the game by the name that inspired it; the imaginary history of the Jade Empire has little to do with the real history of China. Spread around the country are various books and scrolls that will tell you a lot about the background story of the country (reading the scrolls also awards you experience points, by the way).
This is a China-like fantasy world, but it feels absolutely Chinese. I'm not talking only about such easy-to-imitate details as the characteristic architecture or clothes. But there are plenty of precise and deep references to Chinese culture. For instance, the invention of fliers is an example of China's unmatched contributions to the science. The "celestial bureaucracy" is another very characteristic example of typically Chinese love to order and the central idea of Chinese sociology and philosophy, which always compares and makes parallels between the state of affairs in heavens with the one in "The Land Under the Sky". Corrupt judges and ministers are typical figures for the period of degradation in China (Ming and Qing dynasties, 1368-1644 and 1644-1911), reminding of the characters from the great 17th century novel "Jin Ping Mei". Judge Fang from the Imperial Capital is really similar to the cruel, lustful, and corrupted Ximen Qing, the hero of "Jin Ping Mei". I absolutely loved the sub-quest involving a dispute with Sir Roderick, a Westerner who calls people of Jade Empire (read: Chinese) uncivilized barbarians while being proud of beating up peasants, not washing, and using gunpowder and other scientific inventions for war purposes instead of "stupid festivals". Bravo, Bioware! Wonderful satire on typical intolerance and arrogance of the West.
"Jade Empire" has wonderful sense of
humor. Bioware's games tend to have sprinkles of humor here and there; all their games I have played until now (including even the combat-oriented
Icewind Dale) had them. But "Jade Empire" is decidedly the most humorous Bioware game to date. Its humor is always soft and fine and never degrades to the terrible "he slipped on a banana shell, how funny" kind. There are downright amusing and comical characters (the scientist Kang and Black Whirlwind are worthy of being included in a
Monkey Island game), quotes ("I find your optimism... disturbing"), excellent humorous dialogues and situations (one of your party members is attacked by monsters and shouts: "There are too many of them, and they keep coming! Like my wife's cousins!"). During one of the side-quests you'll have to decide whether a man who has promised a girl to marry her when they were both 6 years old should do so or marry his current sweetheart. You can tell the man to keep his promise; you can tell the girl to be reasonable; or you can choose the option "The two women will fight to death, and the one who wins will get the man". There are lots of such amusing dialogue options, especially for the evil character, who tends to be very sarcastic. There is also genuine satire in the game, like in the dialogue with one of the celestial bureaucracy spirits or in the dispute against Sir Roderick.
And last but not least, the
graphics of "Jade Empire" are a beauty to behold. The game world is crafted with love and care; every location is marvelous, from the mountain roads near Tien's Landing to the majestic Imperial Capital and the eerie courtyards of The Dirge. There is a typically Chinese serene beauty in almost every location, you'll find yourself simply stopping, pressing the right trigger and looking from first-person perspective at what is surrounding you. The great artwork is supported with many details. For example, there are many animals in the countryside. I love it when there are animals around. There are plenty of little Chinese monkeys, enough to satisfy a die-hard monkey fan such as myself.
The Bad
Not much, really. Beside the whining of some "fans" about how this game is not a real RPG or whatever. First of all, this is plain wrong, as I clearly explained in the "Good" section. And second, in case you forgot, some games are not RPGs and are still
fun. I can't stress enough how much I hate it when people begin to complain every time they see something done differently. This is not the game's fault, anyway, but I had to let it off my chest.
I do wish the game were a bit longer. It was a joy to play, and I hoped it would last more than the 17 hours I needed to complete it. Doing all the side quests would probably make the game longer, but not by much. Anyway, I'd rather replay this one than get stuck in a 100+ hours long boring journey through lifeless world and soulless NPCs.
It's kind of pity you could have only one additional character in the active party. It was such a fun to take two characters and to see how they behave towards each other in
Knights of the Old Republic. Granted, "Jade Empire" is more action-oriented, having real time combat, which normally doesn't go well with parties, but two or more supporting characters would hardly make it less fun, as
Radia Senki: Reimeihen proved it long time ago.
The voice acting is rather mediocre, which is surprising considering the overall good quality of acting in Bioware's games. Also, there wasn't enough music for my taste, I would love to hear more of those enchanting Chinese melodies.
The ending... Seriously, I haven't yet seen a truly satisfying ending in a Western RPG. Why they insist on concluding even their greatest masterpieces with such short scenes is beyond me. At least in "Jade Empire" they told you what happened to each one of your party members (like in
Baldur's Gate 2: Throne of Bhaal). But that and a brief "victory" cut scene was all you got (at least in the Open Palm ending - I haven't seen the two others). Are Japanese the only ones who end their RPGs with proper epic conclusions? Oh well.
The Bottom Line
Most fun I've had with a game since
Beyond Good & Evil,
Shenmue II, and
Anachronox. Beautiful, charming, intelligent, witty, this game is a pure pleasure to play. The chief reason that justifies buying an Xbox, along with
Shin Megami Tensei Nine and
Fable.
