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Duel Hearts
by Jolex Del Pilar
Friday, August 23 2002
Although this game shares quite a lot in common with another much more famous action/adventure game, Duel Hearts has many redeeming qualities all its own.
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Title:
Duel Hearts
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Platform:
PS2
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Publisher:
Atlus |
Developer:
Sony Computer Entertainment Japan |
#
of Players: 1 |
Genre:
Action/Adventure
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Origin:
Japan
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Expected
Release:
September 2002 |
Grapevine:
One thing you will notice quickly, especially if you owned a Nintendo 64, is that Duel Hearts shares a remarkable resemblance to possibly the best game of that generation, Zelda 64: Ocarina of Time. |
Anytime I get an Atlus game on my desk for review, I know I'm in for a fairly high quality experience. Atlus is a quality game developer, and many reviewers have known this for a long time. But for some reason or another, it seems that many of the titles released by this company rarely get the marketing push that the titles seemingly deserve. As a result, reviews are probably the only way you will ever hear about any Atlus game. However, if you are here reading this now, then perhaps Atlus's Duel Hearts has gotten the marketing it needs because this game is definitely worth a look.
The storyline of Duel Hearts is actually one of the more original ones I've seen in a long time. Basically, the world of Dream and reality used to be one in the same. Think about something, and magically it would happen (I hope you can formulate the potential problem in this). However, dark desires began to manifest themselves and the "nightmare" was born. Slowly but surely the intertwined world began to disintegrate until a lone sage was able to save the world by separating the dream and real worlds. However, due to random mishaps, and plain bad luck, the two worlds were beginning to merge once again.
Duel Hearts is an interesting game in that the main game world is split into two main areas; the real world, and the dream world. Most of your NPC interaction, and plot moving cinematic will take place in the real world. The bulk of the actual action and adventure part will take place in the dream world. It's different in that, unlike other games were you had to traverse foreign lands looking for dungeons or caves with which to slay the dragon or boss character, you simply look for adventures in people's beds (har har), more specifically in their dreams. As a result, the actual real world of the game is quite small compared to the lavish worlds depicted in Final Fantasy games, but it makes the game no less grand, since the dreams of the NPCs in this game are completely new worlds all unto themselves.
One thing you will notice quickly, especially if you owned a Nintendo 64, is that Duel Hearts shares a remarkable resemblance to possibly the best game of that generation, Zelda 64: Ocarina of Time. From attaching weapons and items to your controller's face buttons, to the inventory and items screens, Duel Hearts owes more than a passing nod to the N64 classic. Of course, your companion isn't a sharp-tongued fairy in this game, it's a fairly fat, rabbit/pig hybrid called a "Baku". It doesn't fly around with pixy dust either, it rumbles around on all fours (you can even ride on his back, try doing that on a fairy). The Baku can enter the dream world at will (which as you can imagine is essential to your quest), as well as provide you with certain abilities that may help you in the dream worlds, as well as combat.
Popularized by Hollywood, crop circle "Signs" have managed to make an appearance in Duel Hearts...
While the aesthetic parts of Duel Hearts may be Zelda-ish, the actual action part of the game is more on par with Jax and Daxter, or even Super Mario Sunshine. You can get to these levels by exploring the real-world and talking to NPCs. Some will give telltale hints such telling you that they will be sleeping during the day. These levels are not exclusive to human dreams either; in fact one of the more entertaining dream levels deals with the dreams of a puppy. Of course, each level has many items and secrets that you can attain such as items that increase your overall health permanently, or even new weapons (provided you beat the boss character in each dream). You won't be able to find everything in each level until you have all of your abilities, so you may even have to revisit a dream later on to get all the items in that particular dream. Although I'm more of a fan of completing levels right then and there, I don't think people will have a problem with backtracking through a level, especially if you're a Super Mario Sunshine fan.
The combat in the game is handled very much like Zelda 64. You have the Z-targetting, which can be accomplished with one of the shoulder triggers, and a variety of swords and spears (called Holy relics in the game) with which to inflict pain. This aspect is a little different than Zelda 64 in that different weapons give you different capabilities and moves. Some weapons work better at defeating certain enemies, than others. You can procure weapons by defeating boss characters or completing quest. The boss battles were very entertaining, and the difficulty of the bosses was actually pretty challenging, unlike some of the "pattern" bosses of Zelda 64.
This sheep is the self-appointed "Yoda" of the dream world. Listen to what he says carefully.
Visually, Duel Hearts is a looker. Atlus has a great reputation for putting out games with a unique, and usually splendid visual look. Being developed in Japan, it has the distinct anime-ish look that titles from the region usually have. What I found interesting is that in some dream levels, the actual graphics style changes based on the characteristics of the "dreamer". For instance, the dream level of the female art student was very convoluted and looked like a mix of Picasso and post-modern style featuring exaggerated shapes, and upside down furniture and objects. The dream of the puppy dog featured a non-outlined cel-shaded look, which fit the simple but cheery mind of a young puppy. These were very good touches by Atlus on this part.
As I stated in the beginning of the review, Duel Hearts is good game, but many people won't hear about it, which is a shame. Sure it's not perfect, and resembles Zelda 64 a bit too closely. Duel Heart's level design isn't on par with Zelda 64's, but what game is? However it's a game that almost any gamer can universally enjoy and it's pulled off very well. It features high quality character and art direction, as well as a charming storyline, there really isn't all that much wrong with this game at all, except for the fact that no one will hear about this game due to the curious marketing techniques of Atlus. However, if you've read this far, I can't tell you much more than what I've already said except this: Duel Hearts is definitely worth your gaming dollar. Buy it for the simple fact that you want little companies like Atlus to stay in the business. These are the guys who will put out a few, high quality titles to satisfy the gamer, not to satisfy the assumptions of some newly graduated market analyst. Duel Hearts is a good romp while it last, pick it up if you can.
--- Jolex Del Pilar, "Full-time Dreamer"
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