Before I can begin my review of this obscure RPG called Angelique: Tenkuu no Chikonka (Requiem of the Heavens), I feel I should supply some background. Angelique is a big franchise in Japan - big enough to include 7 games on every system from Game Boy to Playstation, a serial manga that has been running since '94, an anime OVA and a bi-monthly magazine. Angelique is a big thing, but a virtual unknown this side of the Pacific most likely because it is the premiere series of the shoujo game genre. Angelique was the first to cater to the game lovin' girls of Japan, and it hit a jackpot that has proved virtually inaccessible in the west. The focus of most of the games in the series is split between simple cultivation gameplay and dating.

Angelique: Requiem is the 6th game in the series, originally released on PC-FX (one of the last games for the system). Ruby Party, the developer, most likely was prompted to make a departure from their usual formula because of competition from more interactive, RPG-styled games within the girls market. The RPG they put together was solid but extremely simple. The game is 2D with barely a polygon to be seen. Everything you think of when you think of the typical RPG is here, no frills. Fight random monsters, get money, buy equipment, wash, rinse, repeat. The turn-based combat is a no-brainer and bosses are practically nonexistent. The random encounter rate is just about perfect but I think I'd like it a tad lower.

The fight interface is comparable to about Final Fantasy 4 - combat animation is bare minimum. There are some nice special effects on a few spells late in the game but overall there is little to look forward to in the visual department. If there are any sort of combat gimmicks they would be the combination attack system and the protect system. Both are dependent heavily on how well any given pair of characters get along with each other. The combos are pre-set, but if the two characters involved don't get along, they are inaccessible.

The protect system will randomly kick in automatically for two characters who get along, and normal use improves characters dispositions to each other. Lastly, every enemy in the game yields one heart when defeated, a form of currency used only for buying gifts. It's a carryover from earlier Angelique games in which the heart was the main currency.

Like the gameplay, the majority of the plot is simple, but it does warm up about halfway through. The plot is heavily reliant on character recognition from previous Angelique titles and the attract sequence gives a crash-course on the Angelique universe, which goes like this: the heroine, Angelique Colette, was recently appointed Queen of a cosmos, but she is called back to her home universe to stop an unexpected and powerful evil force. The Queen there has been sealed in her own castle and her subordinates, the 9 Holy Guardians, were kidnapped. It's up to Angelique to rescue them and save the Queen.

The first 10 hours or so is dedicated to party building and rescuing, and once complete, yields 17 player characters, all male except Angelique. Once the party is full, the real fun begins. Any time you rest for the night there is the possibility of a date event usually involving a short puzzle or a battle and lots of response choices that effect the given character's fondness to Angelique, and ultimately, the ending you get. Usually the reward for a successful date is a lovely anime still. There is a great deal of character interaction throughout the game, and though it slows the game's pace down immensely to read it all, especially in Japanese, it adds a lots of depth to the characters.

I must admit that going off into a text-heavy mini-adventure in the middle of a monster infested dungeon is a little bizarre, but the conversations are fun. Though the plot is simple overall, it throws in enough interesting events and twists to keep you from boredom. I found that the best parts dealt with the villain's backstory, which ends up being very pivotal.

My comment on the battle graphics applies to the whole game, except for the conservative sprinkling of cinemas. The movie quality is high, and though the frame rate isn't, I think the quality of the art within more than compensates for it. The character designs for this series have always been excellent, and the FMV does a great job of showing them off. As for the rest of the game, don't expect eye-candy, do expect 16-bit-ish 2D with a decent level of detail and plenty of SD character sprites. The graphics get the job done.

The music is very noteworthy, however. The game employs a good sound engine that dishes out emotive, orchestral-sounding pieces. Contrary to what you may expect of a girl's game Tenkuu has a good balance of dark and cheery songs. I liked the more subdued, creepy songs best. There is a serious flaw in the music department, however - the battle song. It's dull, depressing and repetitive. Perhaps the creators intended to give the players an image that fighting is sorrowful, but it also makes the already dull battles that much worse.

Most of the sound effects are standard fare, nothing remarkable, but a few are remarkable in their plain weirdness - I could swear I heard them on "The Smurfs" when I was younger. These are usually associated with battles and are at odds with the somber mood the game tries to establish.

Tenkuu is not particularly long, about 20 hours when this community prefers twice that. It's got good replay value, though. There are over 100 special events and 17 very individual endings, each with it's own movie sequence. The problem is that the first half of the game isn't nearly as fun as the end. If you can make it through the first half more than once, you can take advantage of the replay value. And if you're a girl, you can probably find a few attractive reasons to slog though. (wink)

While writing this review, I've tried to pin down exactly what makes me play this simple little game over and over. One is the characters. This game has a large and interesting (and cute) cast of main characters for me to gawk at. They all have distinct personalities and they all talk to each other. Character interaction is something I think is very important in RPGs, but I seldom find a game with enough of it. Also, having played several times, I feel like there are many possibilities still unexplored. Lots of minor characters seem like they could have complex histories that couldn't have been explored in the space of the game. There are so many other planets in the universe that couldn't have been added within the space limitations. The game is no less complete without them, but it gives me room to speculate, and I love to speculate. It's a simple game in a complex fantasy world and that, along with the chance to fall in simulation love, draws me into this game despite it's shortcomings.