Rogue Galaxy Review

By Simon Parkin Published 7 September, 2007

Hunt it down and eat it.

Version tested: PlayStation 2

For a new and unknown universe populated by foreign characters and unfamiliar places, Rogue Galaxy has enjoyed a rare weight of anticipation. Likely one of the last major JRPGs to be released for a system that has celebrated the genre in the West more than any other, it's natural for players to hope somebody thought to save the best until last. That the game follows in the glorious slipstream of developer Level 5's previous RPG triumph, Dragon Quest VIII, has only added to the burden of expectation placed upon these newly birthed shoulders.

The points of interest don't end there either: for the setting the makers have opted neither for the medieval knights and castles of yore nor the steam punk post-apocalyptic desolation of more recent fashion. Rather, interplanetary space piracy with one keen eyeball on Star Wars and the other on Jack Sparrow aims to fill the galaxy-backdropped niche recently vacated by the Xenosaga series. And, finally, the game has the unenviable distinction of being the PS2 RPG that came out after Final Fantasy XII, and as such it's likely many players (even subconsciously) will be expecting that game's new lessons in design to have been absorbed and even evolved here.

So in a sense, that the game mostly fails to meet these expectations right from the beginning is wholly understandable - even if it's no less disappointing for it. The opening scenes draw back the curtain on Jaster Rogue, the 17-year-old orphaned protagonist who lives in a prettily cel-shaded desert town, eking out a living as a beast bounty hunter on the nearby dunes. Jaster's home planet Rosa is under occupation by the Longardia Commonwealth. Soldiers stand guard supposedly against the Draxian Empire, but actually to facilitate the mining of the planet's rich resources. As these details emerge it's immediately clear the game's mythology and political climate is well-developed and mapped out with detail and coherence.

The more micro plot elements also show themselves quickly and the first four hours of play seldom pause to draw narrative breath. Jaster is compelled by a passing mysterious bounty hunter to take on the huge monster attacking his town. No sooner is the monster broken and you're approached by the game's resident comic partnership, the staidly-monikered Simon - a kind of squat, lobotomised, bazooka-wielding Billy Connolly, and Steve, a super-camp downgrade to Star Wars' C3-PO. The pair persuade Jaster to leave his home and only family of 16 years - the kindly local priest - in order to join the crew of the notorious space pirate, Dorgengoa, and the Boy's Own-style adventure is begun.

'Rogue Galaxy' Screenshot 1

The formulaic, anime-dub voice acting is disappointingly weak compared to Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII.

What's apparent right from the off is that the game shares all of its cousin Dragon Quest VIII's good looks. Only the occasional low quality texture sullies the otherwise resplendent patchwork of polygons that makes up the game's environments. Characters, from robots to aliens to Amazons, are imaginatively designed and dressed and, save for Jaster's Luke Skywalker-esque poise, offer fresh and pleasing alternatives to most of the generic archetypes we're used to.

The game magically seems to eliminate the vast majority of loading - each environment streaming from area to area in what is initially an extremely impressive coding accomplishment. However it quickly becomes clear that the game achieves the effect by herding the player through corridors of environments and as such it offers none of the sprawling, seemingly limitless (and reachable) vistas of Dragon Quest VIII.

The battle system also seems initially fresh and compulsive only to reveal its true nature hours in. Battles are random but are generously segregated and, mercifully for many, they take the form of free-roaming action sequences in a kind of Devil May Cry-lite style. You take control of one character in your team (although you'll likely just play as Jaster throughout) running, jumping and switching on the fly between a close combat and ranged weapon to take down enemies. Certain quarry requires some thought and technique but, thanks to the very limited repertoire of moves, generally the game quickly settles into a repetitive grind.

Your team-mates mostly take care of themselves only pausing every now and again to offer a suggested action they might take (such a healing themselves with a potion or unleashing a special attack) which you can then trigger by hitting the L1 button. Using the standard attack and defence functions most enemies can be quickly defeated, but all items (there are no traditional healing spells as such) and any special abilities have to be triggered via a more orthodox RPG menu interruption.

These special abilities are unlocked for each player in a similar way to Final Fantasy XII's licence board. Each character is given a pre-determined grid (dubbed here the 'Revelation Flow'), which must have collected rare items inserted into its slots to unlock the abilities. Some abilities require multiple items (which can be found on the game's various planets) while others require just one to unlock. However, by limiting the bonuses to just special move abilities rather than also incorporating stat bonuses and more general iterative character upgrades, the game fails to compel players to drill its depths in the same way that Final Fantasy XII's superior system does. As abilities have to be accessed through menus rather than, for example, being mapped to unused buttons, their use breaks the fast flow of skirmishes giving them an awkward staccato rhythm that will see you often ignoring those abilities you've worked so hard to reveal.

'Rogue Galaxy' Screenshot 2

Characters call out random snippets of dialogue as you explore areas - sadly these soon start to repeat and are sometimes irrelevant.

These small design annoyances are sprinkled throughout the game - but are nearly always balanced by a positive opposite that keeps the game from tearing. Invisible walls and barriers in almost every environment smack your face through the plate glass of disbelief while imaginative character designs and backgrounds bandage it up again. Likewise you'll curse the cumbersome equipping menu, which offers no direct statistical comparison between currently equipped items to those collected in your inventory while simultaneously praising the excellent item fusion mechanic that allows you to create new undiscovered weapons and items. Quick wipe-outs that fell your team in unavoidable seconds cause a frustration that is soaked up by the frequent save points and ubiquitous teleports.

Similarly the dialogue oftentimes seems childish, wafer thin and dumbed down in a way that fails to simultaneously appeal to youngsters and a more mature audience in the way Level 5's earlier games did. However, the bug fighting tournaments, bounty hunter missions, assembly line mini-game and host of optional side quests provide a width not previously seen in the company's work. The story arcs in an impressive and straining curve but its conclusions are all foreseeable and, besides, only the most immature gamers confuse size and scope for depth and quality.

But these are minor niggles and the generous and tolerant audience that Rogue Galaxy is vying for will take these on the chin. Many used to excusing the genre's lazy shortfalls may not even notice the unnecessary hoops they're being made to jump through in order to manage their team and the game's flow in Rogue Galaxy. But viewed objectively and set against the newest highpoints of the genre, aside from its gorgeous aesthetics and removal of load times, Rogue Galaxy just isn't the marvel it's been set up to be.

That the game tries its hand so many ideas that Final Fantasy XII does better (the licence board, the bounty hunting, the political wrangling, the real-time battle mechanics) is unfortunate - after all, the games were both developed over the same period of time in Japan. But that is the risk any multi-year development project undertakes and, ultimately, the one game systematically bests the other in each area. That said, the games are not directly comparable in many other ways and, even where they are, this is undeniably still a good, enjoyable and very pretty game. Nevertheless, at this time, from this developer, Eurogamer won't be alone in mourning the fact it's not nearer a perfect, staggering and beautiful one instead.

7 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Simon.

About Simon Parkin

Simon Parkin is an author and journalist on video games. A regular contributor to Eurogamer since 2005, his work has also appeared in Edge, The Telegraph, Gamasutra and Boing Boing.

Read more articles from Simon by visiting the Simon Parkin archive page.

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Comments (52) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rambaldi #1 5 years ago

    /is overwhelmed with the originality of the plot and character design. Picks up gun and blasts more stroggs ;)

  • Darren #2 5 years ago

    Wooh, looks amazing for a PS2 game... looks like another game I'll be picking up once I get a PS3 (I no longer own a PS2 ya see!).

  • kissthestick #3 5 years ago

    i neeeeeeeeeeeeed this

  • HiddenAway #4 5 years ago

    Err, I asked for Okami, not RG :-)

    So... overhype? It sounds like it from all the comments in the forum and here. Don't care though, the score is good and I loved Dark Chronicle so I'll get it (as soon as L5 stop teasing us with release dates in Europe).

  • Blerk #5 5 years ago

    A shame that they didn't sort out more of the niggles during the extension work they did for the Western release, but I'm still looking forward to it immensely. Whenever they get around to releasing it over here. :-)

  • dirigiblebill #6 5 years ago

    Bah. I was hoping this would be an 8 at least (doesn't seem to be any worse than Dark Chronicle...?).

    Where oh where is the lovely lovely Okami review, eurogamer?

  • Cappy #7 5 years ago

    He strikes again.

    I'm disappointed the 4/10 stick wasn't hauled out to give another game a thrashing. I'm a great fan of the 'I think game 'X' is a better than game 'y', therefore game 'y' isn't really that great.' school of reviewing.

  • ZuluHero #8 5 years ago

    @dirigiblebill

    i'll give you an Okami reveiw - 10/10, go buy it already, its wonderful :)
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/07 @ 12:07

  • Steroyd #9 5 years ago

    Okay i only read the last two paragraphs but the sound of is that Rogue Galaxy is good it just gets bitch slapped in every area by FFXII.

    Well isn't that just lovely, we get FFXII first then. :/

    /is still getting it at day one... eventually.

  • Xerx3s #10 5 years ago

    Well isn't that just lovely, we get FFXII first then. :/

    Wouldn't it be more logical to buy this first, completely enjoy it and then get the better FFXII game? If you do it the other way around, it might spoil it a bit.

  • ZuluHero #11 5 years ago

    we probably would if this was out here first ;)

  • mankell #12 5 years ago

    Good review. Got most of the niggles spot on. The 'can't compare weapon stats' is a right pain.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/07 @ 12:11

  • ilmaestro #13 5 years ago

    Even if the 'I think game 'X' is a better than game 'y', therefore game 'y' isn't really that great' (to borrow from Cappy) school of reviewing wasn't completely retarded, you would do better than to apply it in a situation where you are reviewing a game that came out THREE MONTHS BEFORE the game you are comparing it to.

    Your review boils down to bemoaning the vagaries of Western release schedules and localization priorities, which I thought we were done discussing in 1997, not a decade later.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/07 @ 12:14

  • Steroyd #14 5 years ago

    Wouldn't it be more logical to buy this first, completely enjoy it and then get the better FFXII game? If you do it the other way around, it might spoil it a bit.

    That was sarcasm we're basically saying the same thing.

    It would be ideal, i actually prefer it that way except Rogue Galaxy ain't coming to Europe till summer-ish. :(

    /reminds self to put sarcasm tags.

    So by then... there might be a slight chance that I'll forget how FFXII played by then... I hope.

  • goz #15 5 years ago

    "Your review boils down to bemoaning the vagaries of Western release schedules and localization priorities."

    It really doesn't. Even if there had been no Final Fantasy XII this would still be an easy seven for all of the reasons that gone into explicit detail in the bulk of the review. That FFXII is out on import (and this is also an import review - and that chronology of release will be repeated in Europe) only heightens the flaws.

  • Horse #16 5 years ago

    Wait. What's the problem with comparing games to each other? It's one of the basic tools in any critic's arsenal. Compare and contrast FTW, I say.

    I was definitely looking forward to this but now I'll stick to FFXII instead, I reckon (if this had scored better I would've bought both). Good review.

  • haowan #17 5 years ago

    I know next to nothing about this game after reading this review. What about items, weapons, etc? How does that work? Are there any neat ways to level stuff up like in Dark Chronicle? Any neat variations in gameplay or nice side-quests or mini-games? The review tells me very little except that the menus can get in the way of an otherwise good-looking experience.

    In fact the most information-rich part of the review is the conclusion where it's mentioned that there is bounty-hunting in the game (not confirmed in the main body of the review even though it states that the Jaster is a bounty hunter).

  • HiddenAway #18 5 years ago

    Bounty hunting does exist. Other reviews have praised it as something to do after the main game that adds to it. I think...

  • haowan #19 5 years ago

    My point exactly.

  • Steroyd #20 5 years ago

    can't you ...merge any two weapons together with a frog.

    come on EG give brownie points for that, and i heard of some factory or something like that in the game.

    Maybe i skimmed the whole review too fast.

  • Triggerhappytel #21 5 years ago

    Hmmm. I was hoping this would score a little higher, but I will probably still get it. I am getting FFXII when it's released, but I might even not play that straight away, and play this first when it comes out in 3 - 5 months. I've got more than enough games to keep me busy in the mean time, anyway (inc. Zelda: TP & Okami), plus I've just got my PS2 online :)

    I still love Level5 though. Best development house in the world at the moment, probably. I'm looking forward to White Knight Story.

  • Kiigan #22 5 years ago

    I predict at least one commenter here will call it "Rouge" Galaxy. You wait and see!

  • Shinji #23 5 years ago

    Rouge Galaxy is the special edition where all the characters are trannies, and you play as a space pirate version of Old Widow Twankey (voiced by Sir Ian McKellen).

    Actually, I'd definitely buy that.

  • tiddles #24 5 years ago

    This is not the Okami review you are looking for...

  • FabricatedLunatic #25 5 years ago

    Rogue Galaxy is saved from mediocrity by the battle system and weapon/item synthesis. Yes, the graphics are nice in places, but the copy and paste dungeon design is depressing.

    It should also be noted that Jaster is the blandest, most one-dimensional lead in the history of the JRPG - and that includes all those player avatars who don't talk.

  • Kiigan #26 5 years ago

    Shinji, that sounds much better than Rogue Galaxy.

  • TheJanitor #27 5 years ago

    this game is pretty good, definitely a 9 in my book.

  • lambtron #28 5 years ago

    I bought Okami and played it on my lunch break. It is awesom-0!

  • JediMasterMalik #29 5 years ago

    DVD.co.uk are pissing me off, they haven't shipped my Okami yet. :(

    Bastards!

  • Goodfella #30 5 years ago

    Each to their own, horses for courses etc etc. I've played both FFXII and Rogue Galaxy and to be completely honest I found FFXII a very disappointing experience, so much so I packed in playing it after 25 hours and haven't touched it since (3 months).

    Although RG does suffer from the afformentioned cut and paste dungeons I've found the gameplay/characters/story and so on a considerably more entertaining 15 hours so far.

    As for Okami, played and completed (got US version on release) and it is truly one of the best games I've ever played. No exaggeration.
    Edited by 1 at 09/02/07 @ 15:02

  • Blerk #31 5 years ago

    It should also be noted that Jaster is the blandest, most one-dimensional lead in the history of the JRPG - and that includes all those player avatars who don't talk.

    Worse than Link? Oh no! :-(

  • All_the_girly_men #32 5 years ago

    Its a good send off from From Software

  • bendy_steve #33 5 years ago

    ooooh pretty!!

    While this may not be the Okami review we are looking for, there is one on eurogamer.de , though you probably knew that.

  • otto #34 5 years ago

    Wait, this isn't turn-based? Yet another sodding twitch-fest?

    /loses interest

  • Irien #35 5 years ago

    Like Goodfella, I'm enjoying RG over FF12. I purchased FF12 and Tales of the Abyss for Christmas, alongside Zelda etc. and found Tales + Zelda to be the ones that I keep returning to. No doubt FF12 will get played in due course, but it certainly didn't have the pull I expected. Having started Rogue Galaxy last weekend, that's the game that's living in the PS2 now, replacing Tales. I guess the good thing is the sheer amount of quality RPGs the PS2 is churning out. With so much playtime there, PS3 seems underwhelming.

  • Biggles #36 5 years ago

    Ok, what kinda score would people give this for someone who's never really got into jrpgs (and is usually rather critical of them) but finds the setting and the art style rather appealing? Less than 7? More?

  • FabricatedLunatic #37 5 years ago

    Depends what aspect of JRPGs that you're critical of. If it's turn-based battles, you might want to give it a shot. If it's cliché characters and a plot designed to appeal to teenage boys, give it a miss.

  • ilmaestro #38 5 years ago

    goz: "'Your review boils down to bemoaning the vagaries of Western release schedules and localization priorities.'

    It really doesn't. Even if there had been no Final Fantasy XII this would still be an easy seven for all of the reasons that gone into explicit detail in the bulk of the review."

    Thank you for the reply, Simon.

    Bearing that comment in mind I feel a bit easier about the review, there just seemed to be too much emphasis on how the game compares in light of FFXII's release and that was the over-riding impression I was left with after reading it.

    And I'll never be able to work out the arbitrary decision to call him 'Jaster' instead of 'Jester'.

  • Scimarad #39 5 years ago

    I was so looking forward to this but to be honest I've found it pretty damned disapointing so far.

    I can see why people love it, however, and I definitely think it would appeal to big fans of Dark Cloud 2/Dark Chronicle.

  • Hughes. #40 5 years ago

    I wanted this game, 7/10 = still very much want it.

  • Strifer #41 5 years ago

    I guess I'll pick it up when I have no other games to buy. I kinda expected much from it.

  • NegativeZero #42 5 years ago

    So if you found FFXII to be kind of bland and not very fun to play outside of the plot, are you going to find this more or less enjoyable?


    It doesn't seem to even enter into a lot of people's minds that some people didn't think FFXII was the ZOMG BEST RPG EVAR.

  • wabawov #43 4 years ago

    Nice review all the points raised are spot on.

    I'm a few hours into the game and really enjoying it.
    I'm just hoping the ideas and design decisions I've seen so far can hold up for the rest of the game. So often RPG's have ideas that would be great for a game half their length and leave you with nothing new to explore for the last 20-odd hours.
    I like the way so many of the items in the game have so many different uses. Whenever you find something new or rare you get to agonize over which character's revelation board should get it, and where, or if you should use it in the factory, it if you should save it for an emergency in battle.

    IMPORTANT NOTE to finish on:

    If you want to compare item stats, go to the Allies menu.
    Select a character with X.
    Select "Equipment" from the menu that appears.
    Select the weapon you want to change with X.
    Select "Change Equipment"
    Behold the mighty weapon stat comparison screen!

    Intuitive NO.
    Cumbersome YES.
    But present none the less :)
    Edited by 1 at 07/09/07 @ 19:11

  • Pulsar_t #44 4 years ago

    umm??

  • Nikanoru #45 4 years ago

    Yes, the graphics are nice in places, but the copy and paste dungeon design is depressing.

    Much like FFXII then?


    It should also be noted that Jaster is the blandest, most one-dimensional lead in the history of the JRPG - and that includes all those player avatars who don't talk.

    Much like Vaan then? ;)


    But seriously, if this game is not like FFXII, I might consider getting it, since I thought FFXII was a huge pile of shit. Definitely the single biggest disappointment of all the games I've played in my life.

    I've heard RG being compared to Skies of Arcadia. Does that mean you get to fly a spaceship and explore to find planets and all sorts of little asteroids and stuff? If it does, this is an instant purchase for me. Though I'm not getting my hopes up for that. :\

  • FabricatedLunatic #46 4 years ago

    You are, at a certain point in the game, able to revisit planets. But it's all done via a menu screen; there's no Skies of Arcadia-style world map to explore. The levels are all rather linear and restrictive.

  • Nikanoru #47 4 years ago

    F*ck. :( Yet another FFX-style restricted on-rails snoozefest then? Better not waste my time, in that case. Why even bother with a joypad input for walking anymore if you can't actually go anywhere anyway.

  • spookyzombie #48 4 years ago

    I find the combat in this game much more fun than in FFXII.

    A must purchase if you liked Dark Cloud or Dark Chronicle.

  • afray #49 4 years ago

    Rouge Squadron was by Factor 5.
    Rogue Galaxy was by Level 5.
    Rogue Traders was by the BBC.

    The BBC, always bucking the trend. The little scamps.

  • dryden555 #50 4 years ago

    Real-time team-based battles in these japanese RPG's are no fun. Less strategy than I would like. I'd want to control my party thank you very much.

  • darkbhudda #51 4 years ago

    FFXII was unplayable due to the stupid camera.

    Can you change the camera behaviour in this game, so it rotates normally rather than for weirdos?

  • timberwolf #52 4 years ago

    how about you don't compare it to ff xii the best jrpg ever made.