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Rondo of Swords
Publisher: Atlus
Developer: Success
Genre: Strategy RPG
Release Date: April 15, 2008
Platform: Nintendo DS
Reviewer: Eric
 Atlus is known for releasing the most unique RPGs on the market today. If you
don’t buy these games right away you’ll be out of luck too. So is Rondo of
Swords worth the investment or should you let this game wash away in the other
duds Atlus released?
Get ready for a challenge with Rondo of Swords. The game feels a lot like Fire
Emblem (see Fire Emblem review), another strategy role playing game that is hard
and full of pleasure. There is a war going on in the medieval times and you have
to find your way to victory through all of the stories twists and turns.
The story is pretty deep for a strategy RPG. The game is like Assassins Creed in
ways (see Assassins Creed review). Both games have stories that shock you from
the very beginning, which is nice to see after so many simple storylines.
 Rondo of Swords shines the most with its unique battle system. It looks a lot
like any normal strategy game, however in order to attack your enemies you have
to move through your actual enemies. The battle system might sound simple when
explained, but its not. Make sure you go through the games tutorial for some
extra help.
The route system is a nice spin on the tiresome formula that we’ve been use to
since day one. You can run through numerous enemies if you want, but you have to
make sure you save one spot so your character can stay there. By running through
your allies will also give you some boosts too so it might be best to run around
the field a bit to get some higher stats.
 On the down side your move might end up being your last. Enemies seem to have
the ability to run through your entire team if they are within a few squares.
Magic users and even archers tend to die after one simple hit. This usually ends
in countless resets during battles since magic users tend to play a huge role in
beating heavy armored units.
While I’m on the battle systems subject I better let you know about the games
first battle. You will literally spend hours on this battle; if you don’t go
through the games tutorial then you might be running to your local store to
trade in this game. Rondo of Swords is hard, harder than Fire Emblem. The first
battle tests your skills to a fine point, one false move and it’s Game Over. It
literally took me two hours to figure out the right path to beat the games first
battle. If you can manage to beat this battle then you will be rewarded with a
terrific game.
 Some of the games other blunders occur after a few battles into the game. In
between battles you can send your characters to do quests, shop for items,
training sessions and so fourth. When has an RPG make you complete a battle to
buy items? If you are running out of healing items then you are pretty much
screwed because you have to beat the current battle to get any. To make things
worse you have to pay for these things. This is a miserable aspect of the game
considering the fact Rondo of Swords is a hard game.
The games graphics are showing age as well. Compared to most Nintendo DS games
out on the market today, Rondo of Swords has some weak graphics. A lot of the
games stages are reused, the characters only have a few animations and pretty
much every other game in this genre has better looking graphics. I’m not saying
Rondo of Swords is an ugly game, it just doesn’t stand too well when compared to
other games.
Final Verdict
If you are up to a good challenge then Rondo of Swords is your game. With all
its minor flaws I did find myself loosing hours of sleep whenever I played it.
The story is strong and the new gameplay aspect in the game is note worthy. Make
sure you pick this game up fast if you’re thinking about buying it, Atlus games
tend to disappear after a month or two.
Rating
8 out of 10
Rondo of Swords Trailer
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