We all know the DS was a very popular handheld, and there’s a decent chunk of RPGs released for the thing. So, which are the very best? In my humble opinion, Radiant Historia and the Dragon Quest 5 remake. I’m not talking about Dragon Quest today, but this. Developed by a team of staff from the Shin Megami Tensei series and the PS2 RPG Radiata Stories, we were treated to Radiant Historia. I always thought that was interesting. 

Radiant Historia's story sees two kingdoms in a dying world where they are fighting for resources, and it’s your job to see what you can do about it. It’s simple but executed very well, with great character writing and some well-executed twists later on. Unfortunately, the time travel addition to this game feels like it’s tacked on. Most people would think it would be in the style of Chrono Trigger, where you’re able to go between various time periods and exploring their worlds, but this game basically lets you make a decision of which you have 2 options at the start of the game, and you’ll have to jump back and forth between both timelines to unlock access to a roadblock in the other. It’s kind of annoying to be restricted from one of the timelines, as it is just a pace killer to have to go back to the other one. It is also barely utilized in the story, which makes me think it just didn’t need to be there. I never understood why people would recommend or compare this game to Chrono Trigger since both games are vastly different and only have the time travel system as a similarity, which is super unnecessary in this game! 

The combat has enemies on a 3x3 grid, and you’re inclined to use attacks that pair the enemies' placements together in order to attack them all at once. You also have the ability to swap turns with an enemy in order to pair your party's actions together to unleash devastating combos, and let me tell you, this is seriously dopamine-enriching stuff. This game also has surprisingly well-tuned balancing. At no point in the game do I recall ever thinking a section was too easy or unfairly difficult. It was always providing a consistent challenge throughout the game, which made playing it very engaging. You’re still able to grind for EXP and over-level yourself if you get stuck, but it isn’t necessary at all. 

Yoko Shimamura composed the soundtrack for this game, and it’s incredible. If you like Kingdom Hearts’ soundtrack, then you’ll be happy to know that the battle themes in Radiant Historia sound just like those. Unfortunately, there aren't many tracks in the game, and it can get repetitive to hear the same 10 or so songs over and over again. Radiant Historia’s music blends perfectly with the game's atmosphere, always feeling in place. The final boss theme is definitely one of my favorite songs from her. 

There’s always talk about which version of this game to play, and if you want my honest opinion, I probably prefer how the original DS release looks. I haven’t played the 3DS version yet, but the biggest change is how all the characters were redesigned in a new art style that feels more in line with what was popular at the time with its almost generic-looking portraits. It’s by no means bad, but I much prefer this game's art, which seemed to also be more popular at the time of its release with a more detailed and mature look. If you play the 3DS version, you’ll get the soundtrack without the DS bitcrush and added voice acting. Of course, we’re all going to seek different things in the games we play, so that’s up to you to decide, but I’m definitely for the DS version. 

I can’t recommend Radiant Historia enough. It’s clear there was a lot of work put into this game, which seems to be absent from a lot of handheld releases at the time. This game feels like the level of quality a console RPG would have, obviously not graphically, but just the time and effort being put in to make this game not feel like a side project. If you haven’t already, this is a must-play for the system.

Inacabado, con aproximadamente dos tercios del juego completados pero abandonado definitivamente por desinterés. Escribo esto no como crítica, sino para dejar constancia de lo que ha sido un caso curiosísimo para mí, un JRPG que consiguió engancharme desde el principio y que durante no pocas horas creí sería mi título predilecto de un género que casi invariablemente me causa disgusto pero hacia el que por defecto me siento atraído una vez cada cierto tiempo por un impulso adolescente, normalmente con resultados nefastos.

Comienza el juego y no hay casa, ni mamá, ni poblado humilde. Tampoco despiertas en la cama, ni eres un adolescente, ni acompaña una melodía dulzona. Apenas rastro de lo cool o fairytale, esas dos vertientes de tono prototípicas en las que suelen acomodarse estos juegos. Más sorprendente aún: casi no hay anime. La ausencia de voces y unas ilustraciones de marcada influencia europea conforman un tono menos animesco, todavía juvenil pero más maduro y menos chirriante que la propuesta promedio. Toda una rara avis.

Y bueno, la cosa va de viajar en el tiempo, algo que suele molar. Líneas temporales, descubrimientos, hacer esto aquí para cambiar aquello allá. ¿Nos topamos un callejón sin salida? Volvemos atrás, nos movemos por otro lado, tocamos las teclas necesarias y nos abrimos camino. Y la clave de todo: su intriga. Puede decepcionar un poco, a mí me pasó, cuando uno descubre y bien pronto que solo existen dos líneas temporales a efectos jugables, que no hay verdadero manejo del tiempo ni caminos alternativos (esto no es un videojuego occidental), pero es algo que enseguida se olvida, pues todo está al servicio de una narración impoluta, de gran ritmo y conseguida tensión dramática, sorprendente sobre todo por los pocos recursos técnicos de los que se vale para lograrlo. En cierta forma y desde esa óptica, Ghost Trick es lo más parecido que se me ocurre, una especie de primo segundo, quizá el videojuego que más se le asemeje en espíritu y logros pese a la infinidad de diferencias formales que los separan. Al menos hasta el capítulo 4 de la línea temporal estándar.

Ahí el juego se la pega, se cae y no se levanta. Es tan simple que da miedo: su historia pierde interés, c'est fini. La llegada al desierto es el instante en que la trama se va por las ramas, sin llegar a lo que llamaríamos episodios de relleno pero casi. El argumento se estira, no lo necesitaba y se nota, no debía ser tan largo o no supo cómo serlo. Y claro, quitada la directa, la intriga pierde su gancho. De pronto los clichés empiezan a aflorar. Todos esos deus ex machina, tropos de comportamiento, situaciones prototípicas. Todos de golpe. Ugh.

Y las originales melodías empiezan a cansar, y el interesante y veloz y dinámico sistema de combate pasa a dar igual, y los nuevos objetivos y quehaceres ya no importan. Todo funcionaba, y funcionaba bien, mientras operaba bajo una narrativa con punch, directa, que atrapaba. Hasta que dejó de hacerlo.

Le pongo una nota decente con buena fe por lo que su primera mitad consiguió, aunque rebajada por el estrepitoso traspiés de ese capítulo 4 (ruta estándar). Tal vez la puntuación menos "definitiva" de cuantas he puesto en esta plataforma. Por eso quizá toda esta explicación.

It gestures at the kind of "big serious fantasy" of past games but ultimately lacks the thematic consistency of a Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre.

It's "just" a solid fantasy story, but it's, if anything, elevated by some really strong character writing (Stocke is an incredibly likable protagonist) and the extremely compelling time travel conceit (There's something very satisfying, both mechanically and narratively, in the loop of "witness bad thing that could be avoided" > "continue the story while being on alert for the means to avoid it" > "acquire such means" > "go back to fix the thing").

All and all this is really good. Could have been like, 40% shorter tho.

Really good solid RPG with an interesting story nice characters and is overall not very long. Each member of the party has their own use which can be used to create numerous strategies with the game's satisfying combat system.

The highlight of the game is its time travel mechanic which is the game's biggest strength and disappointment. It was fun jumping between the two timelines, solving problems, and completing quests that require knowledge or items from different points in time. I only wish this mechanic went a little more in-depth and that there were more than just two timelines. Every critical choice in the game either continues the story or leads to a game-over type ending which is fine for some side content but would have been more interesting if it created another separate timeline. I know doing this would require a lot more time and effort on the developer's part but it would have been nice to see in a few parts. Where it stands now, time-traveling is still fun and satisfying to use in regards to the story.

Overall I had a really good time playing this game and would even consider playing the remake sometime in the future.

Radiant Historia is an excellent game with a great plot involving time travel. It feels like a good classic RPG, but at the same time it also features innovative concepts and interesting mechanics that make it pretty cool and totally worth playing.

The story takes place on a continent that is slowly turning into sand, wiping out everything, both flora and fauna, and this has resulted in a war between two nations fighting over the land that is still fertile. The mission of Stocke, our protagonist, is not only to end the war, but to discover why everything is turning to sand and to find out if there is a way to solve it.

The best part of the story is not the central conflict, but how it unfolds. Everything revolves around a very cool time travel mechanic. Making use of the white chronicle, we will make time travel to key events that we have lived after having received this gift. The first decision we make in the game is the one that creates two timelines, and to advance in the story we will need to travel between these two timelines to achieve in one what would not exist in the other. All other decisions do not create more ramifications, but a bad decision shows us a sudden end that would end the whole story. Me being a big fan of the concept of traveling between parallel worlds, this fascinates me, and more so considering that this game has some adventure game elements, such as unlocking secret areas or getting mobility options as we get skills in the main story, for example, there is a skill that allows us to become invisible and serves us to avoid combat.

It helps a lot that the story is good and interesting in both timelines, and it's also great that the side quests involve using the White Chronicle creatively, which speaking of side quests, there are some that are very hidden or it's not very clear how they are solved, so eventually you will have to resort to a guide to complete them all. The game is fine in terms of content and duration, perhaps the story progresses at a slightly slow pace, but I consider that rather than being a defect is something good to my taste, as it is used to build a better story and make it more impactful. It is a serious story, but still has very natural moments and interactions between characters that serve to reduce the tension generated by everything. Although I have to admit that the game could have had a couple of additional towns and dungeons, as I feel there are very few locations and it can get a bit monotonous at times, so I would have loved to have been given more variety.

Hmm... maybe another thing I would have liked would have been more freedom as well, as it is a fairly linear game, but I guess that was a sacrifice that had to be made in order to get the time travel mechanic to work well, so its linearity is very well justified. Also the top screen of the DS could have been used to display a map.

Speaking of the combat system, it is good and quite original despite maintaining the basics of a JRPG with turn-based combat system (similar to FFX), this game presents an additional layer of depth, since the enemies are located in a 3x3 grid where their position matters. We learn moves and skills to be able to move enemies from their position and thus take advantage of this mechanic, as we can gather several enemies in a single cell and attack them all at the same time, thus chaining combos to cause greater damage. It's great to experiment a bit here and try out different combinations of characters, since each one has abilities that distinguish them from the rest. One good thing is that there are many consumable items, some of which can be used to either improve our stats during combat or worsen the enemy's stats, which I liked, since we don't necessarily have to have the character with support skills in our party all the time. In general, I like the battles in this mode, as they are quite satisfying, and it avoids the combats to just select "Attack" and that's it. Most of the time it's an easy game if you know what you're doing, though by the end it can get difficult if you get overconfident. I won't deny that the difficulty and some characters could have been better balanced, since sometimes it's quite easy (as I mentioned before) or some characters can have a very low level at certain points, which makes it difficult. Something I would have liked would have been to have had the option to swap between characters or change equipment during a battle. Despite what I said before and as contradictory as it may sound, I think this game could even be ideal for RPG newcomers, so if you are not very experienced in this genre do not hesitate to try it.

Stocke, the protagonist, is something I also loved about this game. He's someone cunning and aloof, a protagonist who is actually capable and takes his responsibility and role in the game seriously, who develops very well in this story while still being who he is. Without him and his companions, I don't think this game would have been the same, and I personally identify with this type of protagonist, so that adds up to points for me. To make a quick comparison, he's similar to Cloud, only (debatably) better, although don't get me wrong, I love Cloud as a character and he's also and will remain one of my favorites. I guess this already depends on taste, but I'm sure that at the very least most of the characters in this game will leave a good impression on you. It's great that they aren't flat characters in terms of personality and motivations, and the time travel helps to see how their reactions would be if "x" or "y" event happened. The antagonist was also a great character, but I won't talk more about that, as finding out who he is comes as quite a surprise.

Conclusion
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, Radiant Historia is an exceptional game in its genre, it's not perfect, but it makes up for it by being a very memorable and unique game, and somehow it also feels very traditional in a good way. With a story worth seeing for yourself without any spoilers.

It's a shame that this game is over, as I really liked it a lot, I'd like to see another game with all these mechanics someday, maybe a spiritual sequel or something. Although well, in some future I plan to play the 3DS version, so I have that for consolation.

the combat, enemy encounters and boss encounters carry this game for me. the positional elements and combo system in general is really satisfying. the character kits are balanced well, and are functionally varied between each of the party members. normal encounters are rote as they are in most RPGs. but I felt they were balanced enough to where making smart decisions i.e. killing enemies off with certain combos and moves and saving MP did feel rewarding area-by-area. mini bosses and bosses definitely fared pretty well for a turn-based RPG, I did feel I had to put some effort into figuring a handful of them out. I'm very glad I played on Hard because I could see myself falling asleep a lot of the time if I played on a lower difficulty. like even Hard wasn't really Megaten Hard or anything, and I kinda wish it was. if Atlus didn't put the effort they did into all this, and the combat system and enemy encounters were just another boring "throw the same moves/strategy at the enemy till you win" fanfare most turn-based RPGs come off to me as, I would've thought far less of this game honestly.

the weakest link in RH's gameplay sadly is just how absurdly slow it is for underlevelled party members to catch up. one on hand it is rather cool how much exp you get is based on your ability to perform long, satisfying combos; however the balancing and numbers behind this system feels so utterly unsatisfying. while I was grinding a bit in the final dungeon I was pulling off 25+ hit combos and party members in the lvl.40s were levelling up so slow (for reference endgame range is ~lvl.55-60). there could've been some really satisfying gameplay loop of getting HUGE amounts of rewards/money/exp/something for performing difficulty and long combos but sadly that just isn't there. I really just focused on mainly using Stocke/Raynie/Marco and got by the whole game. though I did use Gafka and Aht now and then. Rosch and Eruca I barely touched. also none of the side quests or optional objectives really push you that hard with the combo system either unfortunately.

the story has its powerful moments but ultimately the overall thing came off as a very standard fantasy trope-ridden RPG story to me. the worldbuilding, politics and tackling of human themes are pretty surface level. the clear winner of this game's writing, and the main selling point for most people probably is Stocke. he has a very satisfying, well-paced journey correcting the many varied accidents and disastrous climaxes throughout the narrative. the true ending conclusion was pretty well done as well, it hit hard and wrapped up Stocke's journey pretty satisfyingly. Stocke is very likeable as a whole and while I wish the game explored more of his flaws more, I would easily consider him to be one of my favourite RPG MCs. The cast otherwise is just solid but nothing amazing. Rosch has some powerful scenes in the first half, and Eruca in the second half, but overall everyone other than Stocke wasn't that compelling or entertaining to me. none of the antagonists either, even if the final one was well developed for what they were going for, I just wasn't that impressed by them sadly. they were just okay.

the music is consistently solid but frankly few songs knocked me on my ass that much. Mechanical Kingdom is easily my favourite song but otherwise the OST is sadly some of Shimomura's safest work honestly. there's a lot more breadth and depth to her output in Kingdom Hearts and Mario RPG OSTs. there's also unfortunately not many songs for a 30-40hr journey - you'll be hearing several of the same themes a LOT. it's a similar problem older lengthy RPGs like Xenogears and Xenosaga ep.1 had, but it really stings more because this game is from like 2010. if Square developed this they'd probably be more willing to pay Shimomura to do at least a few more area themes which would've gone a long way; and I guess Atlus and/or Shimomura thought it was just fine enough as is. idk I don't want to think too hard on it. I just really didn't want to hear that boring desert town theme so much in the 2nd half at least.

the other element of the game's presentation that underwhelmed me is every town, field and area/dungeon just looks really stock. as good as the colour usage and art style is, I was really hoping for some gorgeous floating islands and the like but yeah - dooon't expect any of that here. perhaps the typical grounded environments are a boon to the game's overall consistency and classic feel, but I can't get rid of the part of me that really wanted some more crazy environments and more in-depth worldbuilding, so I'll just say it doesn't work for me. the areas and dungeon design themselves are also small, basic and there's basically only one type of puzzle with the barrel bombs - but I mean I expect most turn-based RPGs to barely put much effort in that department as is. you also repeat some areas and dungeons a few times but that's a given with the time travelling structure of the game.

cool Atlus take on a medieval time travel story, I ultimately liked it.

This game really delivers in all regards. The combat is well designed. All characters have their particular uses and they always gelled with each other. I never found myself tired of it and even consistently sought out battles on the field throughout the whole game. The only time it doesn't really work is for the bosses that take up the whole grid. It's antithetical to the whole system.

The story, and arguably the draw to the whole game, is very engaging. Once the core component of the split timeline was introduced I really got invested. I do wish there was more variation but that ultimately doesn't affect the narrative provided. What does affect it is how jumping between timelines when a requirement is met doesn't stop you from just skipping over the new stuff while trying to find it. There are games that do this perfectly so when I don't see it utilized it kinda bums me out.

The characters are all good. This might be an odd complaint but it irked me just enough to bare mentioning. All major characters have character portraits in game, but it seems like some just weren't given one. I don't know if it was a time or budget constraint or they just omitted them intentionally but it seemed odd to me.

The music is another stand out. There aren't a ton of tracks in the game, but much like the combat I never found myself tiring of hearing them. The battle music in particular is incredibly catchy. I do wish there was a bit more diversity. Towns having unique tracks would help.

In summary, this game never blows anything out of the water, but for what it is trying to deliver, I'd say it's a great experience.

Pra um JRPG não tanto conhecido, devo dizer que me surpreendi com ele, e como uma pessoa que adora todo o conceito de tempo e viagem dentro dele foi completamente instigante pra mim, adorei como a mecanica se conecta com a gameplay tendo repercussões dentro de uma história para determinar o futuro do mundo onde os próprias pessoas foram as responsaveis por terem colocado em direção ao seu iminente fim

O funcionamento da mecanica da viagem no tempo é bem simples, mas criativo, você intercala entre duas linhas do tempo para impactar na outra, onde você deve usar sua intuição como jogador e pensar em que ponto do tempo deve pular para encontrar o que deve para resolver impasses que dificultam seu caminho e assim, culminando num único destino final no jogo

Gosto da mensagem sobre como o tempo é formado por experiencias e decisões, decisões essas que, senão pensadas direito podem te colocar em uma grande enrascadas, e como essas experiencias durante o tempo vão nos moldar, fazendo tomarmos decisões de sacrificarmos algo maior e mais importante que a gente e como o tempo existe para fazermos historia

There is something remarkably unique about jRPGs on the Nintendo DS. They transport me to the chillest state of mind ever, as if I was a kid again, playing games without any worry in the world.

Do you feel that way as well?

Anyways, this era of gaming is really interesting to me, because we were transitioning from niche-hobby thing to bigger-than-cinema kind of deal, so we could afford games that were created with true passion, while experimentation was the rule of the game (no pun intended), instead of mindless generic games for the masses or triple As that tried to be revolutionary, but were just dumbed-down.

Radiant Historia shows an interesting take on the time-traveling trope, portraying more adult characters involved in a very political plot. The character design, music, and graphics scream 2000s bliss and it is a definitive time capsule of that era.

If you like some twist and strategy in your jRPG combat, a good story with some exploring to do, but with little to no grinding to be able to progress through the story, look no further.