This game is incredibly long. I dropped it after 15 hours.
The art is beautiful, though a lot of the female characters are designed very similarly. The story is just not for me, its boring and I have to sit there and listen to the characters drone their lines instead of being able to click through text boxes once ive read them.
I loved the combat and it's one of the reasons I think I will come back to it eventually, but the fact that every character has to go through the same goddamn levels makes it mind-numbing.

Vanillaware games just resonate with me every time but now I'm a little sad there's no Odin Sphere-likes in the world. It's a fantasy RPG where every character has wildly different combos and gameplay like picking an FGC. They all feel great mostly (I have problems with Cornelious) while having unique movement options some of the times and others more arbitrarily difficult levelling difficulty (HP Scaling with food or Levels on certain characters felt punishing.) The story has a similar sort of progression to 13 Sentinels but is entirely linear - until the Book of Armageddon (pick any character any order final scenario.) The writing here isn't fantastic it has a lot of romance that feels right for the themes of mythology and gods and so on. You feel the weakness of the stories structure most when you face a boss after a sequence of events you've seen or heard of from another characters POV - you want to know where everyone fits in but this game, unlike 13 Sentinels, can't and won't provide that context, also everyone having access to the Pooka Village feels wrong but it is funny. This is the most gameplay heavy Vanillaware experience I've played so I understand other aspects like stories syncing up, like in 13S, can't be done at least not back in 2007 but then this game feels ambitious enough already with the complexity of the character roster and the systems and art etc. With certain boss fights and scenarios feeling like a fantasy Metal Slug game using various skills and combos in a 2D setting, Devil May Cry combo chains to keep a good score and grade it keeps hitting the right balance. This is an amazing game to play if I had any criticism it would be that character progression breaks take up too much time and the boss roster is great but a little thin. Eating food, growing food, and phozons are all good but more ways to speed up this stuff would've been very welcome and while the menuing isn't bad sometimes it feels a little awkward.

le cambiaron un par de cosas al juego original y lo hicieron 10 veces mejor porque el combate ahora es GOD (aunque si es un poquito repetitivo), pasa de ser una experiencia aburrida donde necesitas jugar a la defensiva todo el tiempo a un juego donde haces malabares con los enemigos y podes hacer combos larguisimos que se hacen mas largos conforme vas desbloqueando habilidades con los SEIS PERSONAJES!! que controlas. la historia se hace medio complicada de seguir porque cuando cambias de capitulos la linea temporal medio que se da vuelta sobre si misma y hay cosas que terminas no entendiendo si no prestas muchisima atencion durante las cinematicas y lees los documentos, tampoco ayuda que algunos personajes secundarios sean recolors de enemigos o directamente el mismo sprite.

la musica de sakimoto acompaña perfectamente a este juego que visualmente es un espectaculo, el mundo esta construido enteramente con escenarios y personajes 2d super coloridos dibujados a mano que tengo entendido que es la estetica que usa vanillaware para sus juegos asi que me dejo manija para probar otros titulos.

+An emotional Rashomon-styled narrative starring five distinctive and well-written protagonists
+Fast-paced battle system inspired by fighting games, with
a variety of playstyles based on the playable character
+Stunning visuals native to Vanillaware games
-A noticeable lack of variety in terms of stages and bosses progressively throughout the game

My first Vanillaware game! The artstyle and design are what initially drew me in to Odin Sphere, but the gameplay and story made it more than worth it. It now stands as one of the best games I've ever played, and stands high on the list of games that made me cry the most.
The environments are gorgeous, encompassing everywhere from an aurora-cast city in the clouds to a glowing fairy paradise deep in a forest. The enemy design and animations aid in making every location feel alive, and the respective characters you meet in every locale adds to the fantastic ambiance of Odin Sphere that never gets boring.
2D side-scroller action games are something many consider played out and stagnant, but Vanillaware has a way of standing out with Odin Sphere's combat. It's easy to get the hang of, highly customizable, fluid, fast, and fun. Getting to experiment with each character's abilities and upgrading those that fit your playstyle allows for extremely satisfying combat. Additionally, the animations for many actions are masterfully done and simply add to how gorgeous every aspect of this game is.
The dungeon style of Odin Sphere is extremely unique, and it keeps the game fresh and fun while also being extremely simple to navigate. Exploration aspects like finding all items in a room and the clues given to you about chests with hidden psyphers was a perfect compliment to the well-made combat.
Cooking is the third mechanic that stood out to me. Collecting ingredients throughout levels, growing fruits and vegetables right there on the battlefield, and using your own power (phosons) to help them grow and give you EXP was lots of fun, and using what you grew at Maury's travelling restaurant while discovering new recipes in every chapter added to an already rewarding experience.
The original PS2 Odin Sphere was criticized for its difficulty, and I understand why. Playing the game on Hard (which was Normal difficulty in the 2007 original) was a challenge, and the easier difficulties added in Leifthrasir makes the game as a whole much more accessible and enjoyable.
Content-wise, you can play through the main story in somewhere between 25-40 hours, which felt sufficient for the story being told. I found it really cool how there are multiple final bosses, and you can fight any one of them with any of the main characters. Postgame content is almost nonexistent, except for a boss rush "Churning Rift of the World" mode.
The story in Odin Sphere is one of the best in any RPG (or any game ever) that I've seen. A main premise of five interconnected stories initially seemed like there wouldn't be any room for good development, but by the end I was extremely attached to all the characters and even a few of the antagonists. Furthermore, I never felt the pacing was reset or lost with the start of a new storybook and the beginning of a new character's story. Mercedes' ending is genuinely one of the most emotional moments I've experienced from a video game, although every protagonist was extremely well written and voice acted. The design of the main protagonists and many of the side characters is also top-tier, creating a cast of unforgettable characters that stand out immensely.
The music in Odin Sphere, while good, is simply standard. It doesn't stand out like all the other aspects of the game - with one exception. The main theme/credits music is a beautiful piece that fits the vibe of the game and adds to its beauty.
Odin Sphere is a game I will not soon forget, and a game I will soon return to and replay. Vanillaware's magnum opus, a masterpiece of writing, gameplay, and art combined into one. Absolutely worth a playthrough, or two, or more!