Plot. Our story begins in the Kingdom of Balandor, where the Princess Cisna is having a coming of age banquet. Leonard, the main protagonist; Yulie; his childhood friend; and the Avatar (a new employee at Rapacci Wines, for whom the three work), are tasked with delivering wine for the party. Once the delivery is completed, they decide to stay for the party, until it is raided by an evil organization known as "the Magi". In the midst of the incident, King Valtos, father of Cisna is killed by a knight in black armor, causing the princess to regain her voice (which was lost after the death of her mother at the hands of an assassin). Leonard then takes her to safety in the castle underground, where they find a giant suit of armor known as Incorruptus; and a strange gauntlet called the "Ark". Leonard merges with the armor becoming a "White Knight", and destroys a giant monster, but Cisna is captured by the Magi. And so our heroes, along with a "humble traveler" named Eldore go on a journey to rescue the princess.
Online Gameplay. This game features the Georama system, an online mode in which players can create their own town. It can function as a lobby and allows the player to set up a shop, which people can go in and take a look around. With this system, players can do sub-quests where they can play with their online friends, and it's not easy to obtain all trophies in this game. The online multiplayer can be played up to 4 players, but 12 people can visit a customized town.
Concept. In this game you start by creating your own avatar, and meet the main characters in the beginning of the game. Once you obtain the Ark, Leonard can transform into the White Knight when his ability meter is either halfway filled or completely. Most enemies can be smaller, but others can be incredibly large, which means that it takes a lot of hits to take them down. Plus, you can learn skills with the weapons you can equip, as well as magic abilities. You control either your avatar or one of the characters while the AI controls the others. If you want to take a break from "Story Mode", you can go online and play with your friends.
Design. Akihiro Hino is not only the director, producer, and writer of the game. He is the lead designer, and he did an amazing job with the graphics and the CGI movie sequences that creates a fascinating world that it is different from Final Fantasy. This game is presented in a third person perspective.
Music and Sound. Takeshi Inoue, Yumiko Hashizume, and Noriyasu Agematsu are the main composers of the game. The music in some parts of the game like the world map, boss battles, and some areas are pretty well composed, but some of the songs were not as epic and catchy at all. The sound effects though were packing a punch during fight sequences, scenarios and so on.
Rantings. There are some things I have to rant about this game, when venturing through areas, what bothers me is that characters are constantly saying the same crap over and over, which had my head spinning. Another thing I did not like about the story mode, is that it was rushed and barely had the same kind of spark that other RPGs had. The multiplayer was also disappointing as well, and it wasn't as good as I thought it would be when I purchased this game. The magic system wasn't as great either because, it does not improve the physical strength of a character.
Good Aspects. The story was very well thought and has average replay value. This game has it's epic, sad, and funny moments as well. Transforming into the White Knight was a great experience, in which after leveling up enough, Leonard as the White Knight can learn new and powerful techniques. Not the best RPG but I would say it is a decent game.
Overall. White Knight Chronicles gets a 7 out of 10.
God Bless and Play Hard Gamers!