Reviewed by Eva Cekanska
When I first heard of Steambot Chronicles, the newly released RPG from Atlus, I was immediately reminded of every other by-the-books J-RPGs already on the market and decided to approach it with caution; preparing myself for disappointment. I am pleased to say that Steambot Chronicles is much more than simply another RPG. It combines elements of nearly every genre and puts them in a neatly wrapped, uplifting package with giant robots to boot.
The game begins with the main character, named interestingly enough Vanilla Bean, awaking on a beach with amnesia. In the distance there is a shipwreck and Vanilla is approached by a female companion (named Corriander). After a quick encounter with a presumably evil character, Vanilla and Corrie (that being her short name) begin adventuring in the Overworld presented by Atlus’ game. To say that Steambot is any one kind of game would be selling it short. It is in essence an action RPG filled with strange mini-games (like snooker, or cooking) and interesting side quests, giving the player plenty of opportunity for diversion.
It also differs from the traditional type of RPG it appears to be by giving the player options during dialogue, all of which will add up to change the NPC’s view of Vanilla, resulting often in nicknames (pertaining to a wide variety of things, not excluding cowboys) as well as differing dispositions. On top of that, the player may choose to follow two very differing paths towards reaching the game’s conclusion. They can choose to stay with Corrie and her troupe of performing artists, having adventures and playing games, or the player can choose to abandon Corrie entirely and join a gang concerned more with reaching the moon by any means necessary.
The mini-games mentioned earlier can be rather enjoyable, but they can also be tricky and tend to get annoying after a time. Playing instruments, among them a harmonica and tambourine, is at first fun and even rewarding, but can become somewhat repetitive. It is entirely possible to have to replay several of these sections because of the spotty controls, leading to more frustration and taking away from the game’s enjoyability.
The fighting in Steambot Chronicles is done entirely through the Mech-like Trotmobiles. These can be upgraded, changed and scrapped entirely. The alterations can affect the mech’s speed, strength and weaponry, as well as its outward appearance. Furthermore, some of the upgrades can be used during side quests to aid the player’s endeavors. The control scheme for the Trotmobile will instantly feel familiar to anybody who’s played Katamari Damacy, mostly because it is identical. However, this is at once a blessing and a curse. The controls are intuitive and fun, but because they are not very precise can also end in the player missing objects or going off road. This is usually not a big problem, but occasionally going over a thin ledge or on a narrow road it can lead to disaster. This, in turn, leads to the player having to replay a part of the mission, which is rarely if ever fun enough to be considered a good thing.
The graphics in Steambot Chronicles are nice most of the time, but unfortunately not quite always. The cel-shaded look the game has been given proves to be very uplifting and engaging, fitting with the game’s general theme, but the backgrounds and some of the characters have a tendency to look very flat and washed out. This would perhaps have been acceptable during the PS2s first generation way back when in the early 21st century, but now that the Xbox 360 is pumping out next-generation graphics and the Playstation 3 is soon to follow suit, these kinds of flaws are that much more apparent and that much more distracting.
Overall, Steambot Chronicles is a good game, definitely worth playing, even if only for its many very engaging mini games. The story itself tends to be rather strange, but due to the variety in dialogue and the two branching storylines it may be rewarding for the dedicated player to go through the game twice, choosing to do things differently the second time and experiencing those differences. Though the game has a few small flaws, they are remedied by how much fun parts of the game are. If you are on the fence with this game, I strongly suggest you give it a rent at the very least and see for yourself if you can resist its charming characters and locales.