Solatorobo: Red The Hunter Early Thoughts

So, played into my first couple hours of Solatorobo Red The Hunter.  So far I have to say I enjoy it very much.  So here’s a quick summarized overview of different aspects.

Story: Catchy so far.  The world is full of half human half dog/cat people.  Red is an adventurer (or mercenary) that does different jobs.  While on a job he discovers a medallion and a mysterious boy right before a humongous stone creature appears.  After a town is attacked by strange creatures, the mysterious boy hires Red to destroy the stone creature.

Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty smooth.  The combat consists of either grabbing and returning projectiles, or wrestling an opponent and then throwing them to damage them.  The maps consist of puzzles and navigating standard mazes.  While nothing hugely difficult has come my way, it does seem the complexity, challenge, and dynamics are changing.

Graphics: Best I’ve seen on DS.  I’m also enjoying the mending of 3D and 2D art.  It’s done really well.  While some may find some of it offputting, it’s got it’s own flare and I commend them for what they’ve done with this.  5 stars in my book.

Sound: I’m half and half on this one.  The music scores are great.  I think the random voice plugs are cute but some might find them offputting if they arn’t used to the cutesy Japanese style.  One downer, and it’s sort of a consistant one.  I’m running into some sound effects that just seem rough on the edges.  Such as the yelling he makes when Red does certain actions.  It’s not game breaking, but definitely not well done.

Anyways, for those that may be on the fence for this one, I hope this quick early thought can give you the boost you need one way or the other.  I’m loving it, and can’t wait for more.  Stay turned for the full review when I get through it ^_^