Sudeki Review
Kristophe, 2005-03-01

Mohandas Gandhi once said that "Imitation is the sincerest flattery". Just take a look at the ancient Roman culture, with its beautiful artwork, poetry, epic sagas, and theatrical works - all dealing with Roman Gods, Goddesses, and heroes of the day - and his point is made manifest (seeing as how the major Roman Gods, Goddesses, and even heroes were all shamelessly stolen from the ancient Greeks and given Roman names). Of course, the flattery is only truly complimentary when the imitation is done well - such as the Romans did with the Greek mythology…or such as a UK game developer by the name of Climax Group Ltd. did with the sacred Japanese art of "anime" in electronic gaming (which, for the purely aesthetic reader - Webster's New World College Dictionary, fourth edition - defines anime as "any of various resins, obtained from certain tropical trees and used in the making of varnish" - not that the Japanese ever paid any attention to Webster) when they developed a very successful imitation of what I would call a "hack-n-slash anime RPG" by the name of Sudeki. Look out Konami, Namco, Square Enix, and the rest - Climax is on a roll.

Sudeki opens up to the never ending battle between light and darkness, where the evil Aklorians have ravaged the Illumina countryside of Haskilia, and the embittered Queen Lusica has turned all of her power and attention to defending her kingdom - no matter what the cost. Paramount to her defense is a mystical machine that can nullify the Aklorian's power and shield the inhabitants of Haskilia - unfortunately, time is running out, and the machine is far from being completed...

"Four friends have joined together to aid their queen. Though destined to encounter ancient gods, primordial wonders, and marvelous inventions, foes and betrayal haunt their every step. A keen eye could prove vital, exposing essential clues. And as the companions make their way through darkness and light, they'll discover that those two extremes have more in common than they once imagined..."

You begin game play in Sudeki with the first of these four friends - a young member of the Queen's elite guards, Tal - the only remaining son of General Arlo, commander of the guards. As such, Tal is the strongest of the two melee fighters your party will soon consist of. As the game progresses, you'll soon pick up your remaining three basic party members; Ailish - royal princess and the party's premier magic user (and it must take magic to keep her various, gravity-defying outfits from dropping to the ground); Elco - Chief Science Officer at Castle Illumina and the party's trusty "shooter" ; and Buki - the enigmatic anthropomorph (half human/half animal) melee fighter, wall climber, and model for the other half of Sudeki's sensual female wardrobe.

Your party's goal in game is to seek out the mystical crystals for Queen Lusica - or, should I say, that's your starting motivation. Along the way, your characters will mature with both experience and capabilities - gaining experience points by killing monsters, solving puzzles, and finishing quests that can be applied in the Advancements screen on individual character attributes and skills. As briefly touched upon previously, each of the four party members has a unique character trait that serves the party well - Tal's strength enables him to move large, heavy objects; Ailish's magical capabilities enables her to see unseen objects and make them visible with her "dispel" magic; Buki can climb walls; and Elco can use his jet pack to fly for brief periods of time. Additionally, ancient gods and the "primordial wonders and marvelous inventions" will also bestow helpful characteristics and/or capabilities on your various party members - while various merchants will sell you equipment and potions and such; innkeepers will offer your party a place to rest and recuperate; and blacksmiths will enchant your equipment and armor.

I should make mention that Sudeki is strictly a single player game - there is no co-op, or multi-player aspect to it at all. However, its gaming control is excellent - and it is very easy to switch from party members in an instant. You can also set the other party members' AI - making managing your party in battle much easier. Game control screens (i.e. in-game mapping, character stats, attribute sheet, inventory, etc. are all there, and likewise - very easy to use. Sudeki's game world consists of actually two worlds (Haskilia and Akloria) - both which are broken down even further into regions and towns. Miscellaneous potions, money, and supplies abound in game for your party - so be sure to check out everything, and don't forget to smash every box or barrel or storage container that you can lay your hands on - most of them contain some useful item or another. Game play in Sudeki is challenging on your party, without being impossible - so while the old RPG stratagem of "save, and save often" holds true for Sudeki - you should still maneuver your party throughout the game without too much trouble at all. In game puzzles aren't impossible to figure out either - pay close attention to NPC's, and engage everyone that you possibly can in conversation whenever opportunity arises - this is where you will not only get many of your quests and side quests, but also some in game background history, solutions to puzzles, etc.

The Good, The Bad, and The Mediocre...

Beyond the fact that I was very pleasantly surprised to discover that this highly enjoyable "hack-n-slash" anime console RPG wasn't developed in Japan, nor was it developed by a Japanese game developer - the three elements of Sudeki that were highly predominate were (1) Sudeki's graphics, (2) Sudeki's storyline, and (3) Sudeki's soundtrack and voice acting. Given that I experienced no noticeable "glitches" or problems with game play whatsoever, and combined with these three elements, made my personal Sudeki game play as enjoyable for my third time play as it did for the first.

The graphics in Sudeki were, in my humble opinion, some of the finest I have ever seen in a console game - the common term of "eye candy" would most certainly be a most appropriate description - though I much prefer to use the term "eyeball liberty". Colors certainly were alive and vivid; shades were appropriately dark and morbid; and the characters and backgrounds definitely crisp, clear, and unique to the overall Sudeki storyline. Couple such delightful (and detailed) graphics with excellent in game animations throughout (Ailish, and especially Buki, score their sensuality beautifully through the excellent combinations of color, character drawing, fantastic and individual animations, and magical costume designs that you know are magical because that is the only explanation as to how they defy gravity). With all of this graphic uniqueness and detail, Sudeki still maintains its anime appearance faithfully throughout the game.

Sudeki's voice acting is very good - making it obvious that Climax Group Ltd. did not scrimp on the voice acting budget, and I would have to concur that they (obviously) got their money's worth. And while Sudeki Lead Sound Designer, Tom Colvin, is no Jeremy Soule or Kirill Pokrovsky - he certainly put together a delightful soundtrack that was both unique, and more than appropriate, to Sudeki (and thus adding greatly to the overall gaming pleasure). Needless to say, ambient sounds throughout the game were also of a degree that - when your party ran on stone, you knew it. When they ran on dirt paths, or waded into water, you knew it. Ambient sound was (simply) very natural and very expected - as opposed to some games where the ambient sound is neither. I won't go into any detail re Sudeki's storyline here - as I have already done so previously in as much detail as I dared to go without revealing any surprise game plots and/or story elements.

As mentioned earlier - in game control was very easy to comprehend, complete in all detail, and most certainly more than just adequate for Sudeki game play - making this one of the more enjoyable games for one as physically challenged as I with an S-Controller, mouse, and (most especially) computer keyboard. And while Sudeki hardly has the "open ended game play" of, say, Morrowind to justify a high "replayability" rating - I've replayed it simply because of the sheer joy in game play. In fact, if I had a major complaint about any element of Sudeki - it would be that, given the high degree of fun in playing Sudeki, it should have been a longer adventure. Perhaps when the PC version becomes available...

Upon Leaving Haskilia...

What more can I say? Sudeki has it all - an intriguing storyline, outstanding graphics, great soundtrack & voice acting, excellent animation, easy and "simple-to-use" game controls, some really character-unique combination moves for combat, memorable characters and NPC's - and it is an absolute delight to play. Technical gaming problems were nonexistent (which I suspect means the Sudeki support team has to struggle to find ways of keeping busy), and I couldn't even find a problem with the either way the game's manual was put together, nor with its content. Granted Sudeki has a Mature ESRB rating (at least here in North America) for violence/blood and gore only - neither the in game flirting, nor the character dress code and/or sensuality was of such a nature as to confine Sudeki game play to late night hours after the kids (and your spouse[?], G/f or B/f, Aunt, Parent, or other in-house relation) has long been asleep (and certainly my Guinea Pig had no complaints about it either). To sum up Sudeki in a few words is surprisingly easy - it is a fun game to play - end of story.