Tactical role-playing games. I cannot seem to escape them lately. Every time I turn around, another one has snuck up on and pounced me. Then BAM! I am drawn into a new world. I am not complaining — too much. I mean, I loved being stuck in Sega’s Shining Force world as I used to play it ad nauseum as a kid. Unfortunately, because I stopped playing it years ago, my tactical skills have atrophied a bit. Thus, I’m not really at the top of my game like I used to be. Regardless, I currently got my hands on a tactical RPG known as Eternal Poison. It is quite good. It also is difficult as heck. Read on to learn more about this game.

Eternal Poison describes itself as a “gothic fairy tale.” And the description could not be closer to the truth. The game takes place in a gothic medieval world in which the church as a great deal of authority — even going so far as to split from the rest of the world over religious beliefs. It is in this dark world that the King Valdus of Valdia’s daughter, Princess Lenarshe, is missing. And it is widely believed that the majin, which are fearsome demons, have kidnapped her and dragged her into the demonic part of the realm known as Besek. As such, the King has sent out a decree for adventurers to rescue his daughter. You’ll follow the story of various adventurers. Some have obvious and pure intents, such as Lenarshe’s fiancée Olifen. Others are mysterious, such as Thage (the “h” is silent), a witch who is searching for Eternal Poison, an artifact of unknown power. And others are sent to investigate, such as the priestess Ashley. Any one of the three can be the main character, though Thage is much more present than any other character (she is the person closest to the front on the box). And, like any good fairy tale, nothing is what it seems.

Graphically, the game is great to look at. It exudes mysteriousness — a necessary component of any good fairy tale. For example, Thage looks a little “doll-ish,” especially if you can imagine Nina Pearson from The Cardigans escaping from a gothic concert of some sort. This fits Thage perfectly because she truly is anything but a puppet. Characters, for the most part, move exceedingly smoothly around the map. And when characters and majin fight, the game “zooms in” on the two fighting. Also, I love the way Raki, a wolf majin who helps Thage, spins when he attacks with his bite attack. Storyline is told through 2D pictures. While I wish I could actually see the characters physically emote, the pictures work — especially since the pictures change to represent emotion. If there is anything to complain about, it is that the game is a bit on the slow side — so to speak. When watching the initial opening scene, it randomly paused during the movie for a few seconds. It even did it during the credits! Also, there is a brief pause when statuses of characters are being loaded on the battlefield. I would much rather have slightly longer loading times than have to wait a few extra seconds. But it isn’t game breaking.

Gameplay is pretty much a traditional tactical game. Characters with a high speed go first, while slower folks go last. Last group standing at the end wins the battle, and fulfilling that simple requirement falls into destroy all majin to taking down a boss. Defeat is always the death of the main character, though if any other character dies from your party, he (or she) will be in top condition for the next battle. The battle scene when a character attacks a majin (or vice versa) is entertaining. However, you can turn it off to have a silky smooth tactic experience. Though, I believe it cuts out some of the game’s charm. Also, it is important to note that skills are not MP-based. Instead, each skill or spell can be used a certain number of times. Equipment also can influence what skills are available. Furthermore, higher levels allow you to use skills more and gain access to stronger skills.

This leads us into the main lure of Eternal Poison, which is binding and capturing the demons. Each majin is weak against different elements and physical attacks. By exploiting those weaknesses, you can quickly defeat them. However, if you want to capture them, you have to remove a certain amount of health BEYOND zero. For example, early in the game, there are majin that only require a -15 or -20 HP to be bound. Later on, there are majin that require health to be in the low -100 or greater to be bound. Once you’ve bound a majin, you then have to capture a majin. Then you can sell them for cash, which allows an item to be added to the store. You can sacrifice them for PP (Poison points), which are used to keep majin of your party on the battlefield that you’ve summoned (that is another option, having them available for use during combat. Or you can sacrifice them for a skill to be attached to your weapons and armor. It is the latter that is the most intriguing You can customize your characters (to an extent because you‘re limited to the equipment worn) with different skills. Your mage taking too much damage? Find a majin that releases a skill that increases dodging, and add it to her robe. Fighting fire majin? Hopefully you have captured a water majin so you can use a water spell. Or you can take that fire majin so you can gain a skill that will increase a character’s fire resistance. Be warned: Not every type of majin will reward you with a skill you might be thinking of.

So this all sounds great, right? Well, it is. The only issue I have with the gameplay is that it can get difficult very quickly. Thus, a solid strategy is required at all times, though it isn’t completely inflexible. Also, there is no way to train. You only fight main battles, and you either win or die. So it can be tiresome trying to bring a few characters up to speed, even though they gain experience for almost every action performed (only movement and item use is not included in the experience count). Thus, a highly defensive strategy is required. And has the game went on, I found myself feeling drained after each battle.

Sound wise, the game is rather solid. The traditional sword hits, spear slices and fire explosions are heard. One thing is missing, though: When a majin is captured, a librum is slammed shut. Yet you never hear the requisite thud. So that means the music must be good, right? The back of the box says that the soundtrack is “beautiful.” These guys should pay us all money because it isn’t beautiful on any level. Nope, not all. The music is downright GORGEOUS! As soon as the CD is put into the PlayStation 2, moody pianos are heard along with a woman singing opera. Then there’s the adventurous music with horns and drums. Or the spooky music of when a majin is captured. There’s only two “odd ducks,” the techno-inspired boss battle that is heard halfway through a tale and the heavy metal sounds for another boss battle. But this is not to say those two are not bad because they are done well; it is just unusual to hear them in a soundtrack that is highly classically inspired. By the way, is it wrong that I keep thinking about loading the soundtrack into my iPod? Check out the official Web site because it plays a sampling of the music in the game. Then you’ll understand where I’m coming from.

Overall, Eternal Poison is one of those rare games that proves the old witch (PS2) has some tricks up her sleeve. It has an intriguing plot with some great characters, solid strategy and an incredible soundtrack. However, it seems that the old hag fell asleep at her cauldron and forgot to keep stirring to remove all the impurities. So instead of all the water evaporating, some of it has remained. In other words, this game is so close to perfect that it is maddening to me. I really wish that the developers took an extra month to smooth all those little bumps so the experience would be as silky smooth as the game looks.

I really wish I could say that all of those interested should check this out. Instead, this game is a dream for those who are experienced tacticians and patient gamers. This is not really for the novice, because some tactical experience is necessary. However, the game does do a great job educating you on how to play. If you are feeling brave, rent it to discover if this game is right for you. As previously written, its high difficulty might scare you away. And yet, this is a great game to sit down with when the weather starts to turn cold and Halloween is almost upon us. There is so much content in this game that if it sucks you in, you might find yourself poisoned to your chair. For eternity.