Games to Own #7 - Folklore on PS3

Like the #3 of Games to own before it, Folklore is an excellent game which didn't take the world by storm, probably due to it being released early in the PS3's lifespan and being held back by some factors and some of them being flaws. But make no mistake, it is a game you should own in your collection and the reason I have the Korean cover of the game I will reveal to you shortly.

Let's start with the basics. Folklore is a third person RPG, you'll play the game with two characters with a different perspective as they attempt to unravel just what the hell is going on in the village where they find themselves in. You'll spend time talking to the locals as well as entering a fantasy world in which you capture and use Folk "creatures" to attack other Folk as well as defending yourself. This is done by weakening the enemy Folk until it's soul pops out and then you latch onto it and use the sixaxis to yank out the soul and absorb it for yourself. I guess you could say it's kind of like Pokemon meets Ghostbusters and boy is it fun, especially the boss battles.

On some of the more complex Folk, you'll need to capture a few of the same kind to be able to summon them to fight or defend for you. Capturing as many different Folk as possible is helpful in the boss battles and against some of the bigger Folk. That's because each Folk belongs to a certain element (fire, water, electriciy) or style of attack (slashing, piercing, spiky). Each Folk is immune and weak to certain types of other Folk and using the right combination leads to massive damage. Also, exploring the map will help you find pages from a book showing you which Folk you need to beat the boss without struggling.

I could go on and on about how cool it is to yank out souls with the sixaxis, but I won't, I'll just mention some of the other features. If you have a Dual Shock 3 (if not, why?), then you'll be happy to know that Folklore recieved a patch which enables rumble and makes it even more awesome. The graphics are fantastic and this was one of the early games that wowed me. The orchestral music is great too.

The story is told in bits and pieces in a cool comic book style fashion but lacks voice acting which is a bummer, the FMV on the other hand does contain voice acting. It's hard to understand what's going on until near the last chapter and then there are still many questions, it's all a bit convoluted and hard to follow really, but it is enjoyable nonetheless!

While you play the same levels with each charater, the paths are different and so are the Folk, so it doesn't get boring at all. I don't know what else to say, this game brings me some great memories and was the first game I played on the PS3 when I got mine. Oh yeah, the reason I have included the Korean version, is because the game is also in english, but is much cheaper than the US version. At $24.99, it's a bargain. The more people buy it, the better chance of a sequel and I want a sequel dammit!

9 out of 10