Apart from Oblivion and Genji, not much in the RPG genre has appeared on the PlayStation 3 since launch. Sony’s Japan studios are changing that with the introduction of Folklore – a murder mystery story tied in with a dense RPG set half in the town of Doolin, and half in the ‘Netherworlds’, the mysterious world where you can make contact with the dead.
Firstly, apologies to those who have played the demo and already know some of the things I’m about to go over. The game starts with a very long string of cinematic videos, setting the scene. The CG clips are very impressive both graphics-wise and story-wise, and do a very good job of starting off the game. We hear of Keats – a writer for paranormal magazine ‘Unknown Realm’ who gets a mysterious call asking him to come to the spooky town of Doolin. We also hear of Ellen, a girl who is desperately seeking her mother. Things take a turn for the worse when a woman is apparently murdered, which sets you on the trail for clues.
In Folklore, you can choose to play as either Keats or Ellen at the start of each chapter. Once the chapter is done, you go back to the selection screen. You have to play both characters for each chapter – so both have a Chapter 1 etc. At first, this system can be quite tedious as your first visit into the Netherworld is virtually the same for both characters, however as the story progresses it changes so that a part of the story that is a mystery when playing as one character is explained when playing as the other. It works quite well actually.
To get into the Netherworld you need a memento of the dead (i.e. a picture) which you then offer at the local henge. Once you’re inside, the game transforms into a fully fledged RPG. Your enemies are Folk, mysterious creatures in different shapes and forms. Here’s the killer: you absorb their IDs (the energy of its soul) by flicking up the controller (once they glow red) and after that you store them and can be used as an attack – sort of similar to Pokèmon. For the bigger Folk, the absorption process can be a bit more complicated – you may have to flick the controller at a certain time, or do it a number of times before it is absorbed. I thought the Sixaxis controls were implemented really well and didn’t have any trouble using them – contrary to what you might have heard elsewhere. There are no shortage of Folk either – with over 100 in the game. Inside the Netherworld, there are different parts – for example the Faery Realm and ruins of Undersea City; however you cannot choose which part to visit, as the entrance changes each time.
The combat system is relatively simple in Folklore. You have four Folk hot keyed to Triangle, Square, X and Circle (which four it is you can change in the menus). Some enemies aren’t effected by certain Folk, and to find out you’ve got to try. Visual clues are given to show which ones work and which don’t. If it doesn’t do anything the attack will sort of bounce off the enemy giving the impression that it did nothing. You can even get a little Folk called Killmoulis which acts as a shield when equipped.
The story in Folklore is told in two different ways. One, through the standardised cinematic, complete with voices and animation, while the second is a unique comic style layout with text speech bubbles and pictures to narrate the story. The small parts and conversations are done with the comic style, whereas the big parts to the story warrant rich cinematic sequences. I thought it was a little weird at first but now I’m used to it, it’s a different and unique way to progress the story. Folklore’s graphics are extremely realistic in Doolin – and then switch to colourful and bright scenes in the Netherworld (similar to Ratchet & Clank which is a nice contrast and helps to separate the two areas).
My first impressions weren’t very good when playing Folklore, it seemed confusing and relatively boring. Further into the story though it changed into an addictive thriller and dense RPG at the same time. A couple of things could do with improvement, the game seems to cut to a loading screen too often and the camera can be hard to control. Play on a bit longer though and the storyline really kicks off resulting in a really fun and strange game experience.
Tom Eccles
www.absoluteblog.co.uk
My only real gripe with this game after playing with the demo - the combat system, when it came to battling the “folklore” tentacle demon whilst being “ellen” - i got terribly confused as to how to kill/attack the boss - and those pictures didn’t help.
Just my opinion but otherwise it seems “interesting”
Comment by JohnSketch — Aug 29, 2007 @ 2:55 pm
Nice write-up. I can’t say I was too grabbed by the demo, not least because the Sixaxis implementation has been much reduced since the original previews. Videos taken earlier in the year and indeed from last year showed players having to “reign in” spirits using left/right tilts of varying degrees, as well as the flick control. It seems from the demo that all that remains is the flick itself, which seems it could be a lot less immersive than those original previews suggested.
That said, I will be trying this, thanks to Amazon’s promise that they’ll be honouring the pre-order mis-price of £15 they posted on Monday \o/
Comment by Rhythm — Aug 29, 2007 @ 3:05 pm
JohnSketch:
You have to attack in order with certain folks. If I recall you have to get the spiky folk sucked into the arms, cut off the arms, and then alternate shield / wind on the blossom.
You should try the warcadia folklore for more fun.
Comment by MongooseKun — Aug 29, 2007 @ 3:34 pm
@2 : Actually, I think you should play the demo a bit further
There are some different sixaxis pulls, like the ‘wiggle’ and the ‘timed-pull’ if I can call it that. These are more reserved for the bigger beasties near the end with Ellen. Or just play with Keats, and you’ll encounter a ‘wiggler’ (a Patriot) after 3 or 4 rooms.
(nice to see 2 different worlds in the demo, not just the same level with a different player)
Comment by Xtc — Aug 29, 2007 @ 3:36 pm
@2 (Rhythm): Have you played as Keats in the demo? The left/right tilt is still there: that’s how Keats captures the stronger Ids (as opposed to Ellen’s flick-when-it-turns-red mechanic).
That said, I think Folklore is going to be one of those games that some people (and I suspect I’ll be one of ‘em) will love for reasons not entirely clear even to themselves. Not sure if I’m making much sense… ^_^
Comment by hana_fubuki — Aug 29, 2007 @ 3:39 pm
Folklore is NOT an RPG! It is an Action Adventure. Stop calling it an RPG will ya?
Comment by lain — Aug 29, 2007 @ 4:21 pm
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Pingback by University Update - Daniel Radcliffe - FOLKLORE: HANDS ON PREVIEW — Aug 29, 2007 @ 4:31 pm
4 & 5, cheers, will take another look. I admit I gave up after playing Ellen’s chapter
Comment by Rhythm — Aug 29, 2007 @ 5:52 pm
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Pingback by University Update - Video Games - FOLKLORE: HANDS ON PREVIEW — Aug 29, 2007 @ 6:22 pm
I enjoyed the demo, but surprised to hear it referred to as an RPG. Does bits where you’re not being attacked by anything, and get to talk to people constitute being an RPG nowadays? Suddenly I’m not so interested in Final Fantasy XIII! Kidding. It doesn’t seem to be much further developed than Devil May Cry or Dirge Of Cerberus, but it still seemed like good fun nonetheless. Which is a good thing, being the only playable demo on the network last week!
Comment by Mugsy Balone — Aug 29, 2007 @ 11:45 pm
I didnt like it to be honest, not my thing at all!
Comment by Terry — Aug 30, 2007 @ 10:47 am
Nice review. What about the music though. I thought the music in the demo is excellent. Is there different music throughout the game? Is it any good?
Comment by reakt — Aug 30, 2007 @ 12:41 pm
Looks all right…….
Comment by sycodude — Aug 30, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
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