Rondo of Swords
Encyclopedia
Rondo of Swords, known in Japan as , is a strategy role-playing video game developed by Success
and published by Atlus
for the Nintendo DS
video game console
. The game was released in Japan
on August 9, 2007, and in North America on April 15, 2008.
Rondo of Swords received average to positive reviews.
called Rondo "A simple, challenging, entertaining turn-based strategy that dares to be different, and succeeds despite its flaws." 1UP.com
criticised and praised the game's difficulty level
, stating "When the game's at its best, a hard-fought victory feels like a tremendous accomplishment...and at worst, it feels arbitrary and unfair." Games Radar
criticised the presentation, saying "The biggest problem with Rondo of Swords is that it isn't as polished as its peers..." Nintendo Power
also criticised the difficulty level, "The triumphs may be sweet, but the aggravations have them outnumbered." Nintendo World Report
said of the game "The intense difficulty of the new battle system combined with more traditional RPG traits turns out to be great fun, but tricky." Play praised the battles as the best part of the game, stating "it is here that the true potential of this title shines brightest."
Rondo has an average of 69% on Metacritic
and 73% on Game Rankings
, review aggregator sites.
Success (company)
Success Corporation is a Japanese game developer and publisher, based in Tokyo, and founded in: June 1976. They are best known for their Cotton series of shooter games , Zoo Keeper and others...
and published by Atlus
Atlus
is a Japanese computer and video game developer, publisher, and distributor based in Tokyo, Japan, best known for developing the console role-playing game franchise Megami Tensei. The first Megami Tensei was a Nintendo Entertainment System video game published by Namco based on a trilogy of...
for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
video game console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
. The game was released in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on August 9, 2007, and in North America on April 15, 2008.
Rondo of Swords received average to positive reviews.
Errand system
Throughout the course of the game players recruit a variety of characters, some of whom may not be able to participate in battle. The player can send inactive party members do various chores. These activities range from buying supplies to entering the player into various quests.Battle system
Rondo uses a battle system known as the "Route Maneuver System." Players set a character's course through an area. If enemies counterattack, or block an attack, that character's advance will be stopped. Players can also attack multiple in one move. However, the character's path cannot double back.OverBreak
Each person has a unique special ability called an OverBreak or OB. These OBs may be one of several types such as attack or supportive. Some characters have abilities that do not fall into either of these categories. OBs also have three ranks. As the player directs characters to attack enemies, the ranks will continue to increase. At the third ranking (or level), each character can unleash the OB's most powerful effect.Skill points
Players will earn Skill points throughout the game, which in turn lets them purchase various skills. These include Magic and Supportive skills that are unique to each character. However, not only will characters will be able to purchase new skills, but also they will get to strengthen the ones they already have. They earn skill points by leveling up.Journey of Trials
Players will endure various trials to show their strength and overall prowess. They will be awarded various items necessary to change their job class plus increase their overall potential.Reception
IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
called Rondo "A simple, challenging, entertaining turn-based strategy that dares to be different, and succeeds despite its flaws." 1UP.com
1UP.com
1UP.com is a video game website owned by IGN Entertainment, a division of News Corporation. Previously, the site was owned by Ziff Davis before being sold to UGO Entertainment in 2009....
criticised and praised the game's difficulty level
Difficulty level
In general usage, difficulty level refers to the relative difficulty of completing a task or objective.In computer and video games, the term specifically delineates the ease or difficulty with which an average user may complete a game or a part of a game. Arcade games as well as many early console...
, stating "When the game's at its best, a hard-fought victory feels like a tremendous accomplishment...and at worst, it feels arbitrary and unfair." Games Radar
criticised the presentation, saying "The biggest problem with Rondo of Swords is that it isn't as polished as its peers..." Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
also criticised the difficulty level, "The triumphs may be sweet, but the aggravations have them outnumbered." Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report
Nintendo World Report is a Nintendo-specific video game website that covers Nintendo's current consoles, the Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi, and Wii.-History:...
said of the game "The intense difficulty of the new battle system combined with more traditional RPG traits turns out to be great fun, but tricky." Play praised the battles as the best part of the game, stating "it is here that the true potential of this title shines brightest."
Rondo has an average of 69% on Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and 73% on Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
, review aggregator sites.