Soul Sacrifice Delta [REVIEW]

This updated version of the original heavily improves on what was flawed in an already great game. In then end, it’s all the new content that makes this update worthwhile.

For those who are big fans of the PlayStation Vita by Sony, there isn’t much that can be said about the quantity of games. Just this month, there are only about three major titles coming out for the system. Two of them are multi-port, while one is an improved version. Soul Sacrifice Delta is the one considered to be an “improved version.” However, it is still worth the purchase. For review purposes, Soul Sacrifice Delta will be recapped on what it has from the original, but will mainly focus on additions and improvements. So, without further ado, fellow sorcerer, welcome to the world of Soul Sacrifice Delta.

Presentation

In the original title prior to Soul Sacrifice Delta, the story centered around a lone soul who was imprisoned by the circumstances of the world’s ruler, Magusar, who is the most powerful sorcerer. This lone soul stumbles across a living book named Librom, and within Librom’s pages, the lost soul relives missions of the time a certain sorcerer before Magusar rose to power. Once the lost soul has relived enough missions, while gaining the use of powerful spells from them, he or she is able to challenge Magusar himself. Upon winning, he or she has a choice: rule the world as the new most powerful sorcerer or bring the world back to peace. The story seems simple, right? Well, with Soul Sacrifice Delta, incorporate Grimm’s Fairy Tales, and you have a new set of stories worth diving into.

The addition and interpretation of classic fairy tale characters by the Grimm Brothers makes for an amazing presentation. Re-imagined designs for the Big Bad Wolf, Three Little Pigs, Cinderella, and even Snow White bring players a chance to fight new bosses, known as Archfiends. They are all unique, with their own back-story and individual fighting styles. Not to mention, they do not come off as rehashes of previous Archfiends, something that was obvious with the DLC Archfiends from the original title. As for graphics and sound, they both seem improved in this upgrade too. The menu song, titled A Certain Magician’s Life, is a prime example of the remixing the entire OST went through. All in all, the entire presentation has been revamped.

Gameplay

The presentation in Soul Sacrifice Delta isn’t the only thing to get revamped with major improvements. The gameplay in general got a bunch of adjustments. This is most noticeable with the spells. First, sorcerers are only able to carry two of the same kind of spell now. This makes the game more challenging. Also, the activation of certain spells (such as homing magic) has now been adjusted so they wouldn’t be constantly abused. Besides the balancing, new spells were added, including three new Black Rites (ultimate spells). Honestly, the three new Black Rites are all the same. They just look different depending on the faction a sorcerer chooses.

The customization was also greatly improved. Along with colors and clothing, the top and bottom halves of costumes can now be mixed, and there is a new faction known as “Grim.” Prior to Soul Sacrifice Delta, the original game had only one faction; Avalon. They favored sacrificing Archfiends. Technically there was a second faction, known as Sanctuary, which favors saving, but players could not choose them. For me, I went with Grim since I believe in having an equal amount of offense and defense with my character. However, players are awarded differently for what they decide to do.

In conclusion, Soul Sacrifice Delta is a great game to buy if you enjoyed the original title on the PSV. The improvements garner a price point of $40 because the game itself is close enough to a sequel. However, if you did not enjoy the first game, this is definitely not for you. Those who enjoyed the titles Monster Hunter or Toukiden: Age of Demons will definitely find fun with this title. Everyone else may want to leave Soul Sacrifice Delta for all the hardcore PlayStation Vita enthusiasts.

[Image via Soul Sacrifice Delta Wallpaper]