Rogue Galaxy
Entry updated 19 December 2017. Tagged: Game.
Videogame (2005). Level 5. Designed by Akihiro Hino, Koji Hori, Takeshi Akasaka. Platforms: PS2 (2005); rev vt Rogue Galaxy: Director's Cut PS2 (2007).
Rogue Galaxy is a Console Role Playing Game (see Computer Role Playing Games), much influenced by Star Wars, but with the tone of a Young Adult Anime. The game's somewhat Cliché-ridden plot features Aliens, Robots, and a Spaceship whose first mate is a talking cat, all within an essentially linear structure to which various optional activities and peripheral missions have been added (see Interactive Narrative). The spine of this story takes the form of a galactic odyssey in which the primary character – the eponymous Jaster Rogue, a mysterious orphan from a desert world – is mistaken for a famous bounty hunter and recruited by a pirate captain who is looking for a legendary lost planet. Eventually, the player can rescue this world, which is trapped outside time, and bring about a state of universal peace, while discovering various characters' true identities as hidden royalty. There is a great deal of well crafted swordplay, which the player participates in using a fast paced combat system in which points must be expended to engage in actions in real-time, as well as sophisticated mechanics for creating new types of equipment and weapons, either from scratch or by combining existing items. Ultimately, the nature of Rogue Galaxy's milieu suggests not so much Science and Sorcery as epic fantasy in space (see Fantasy). Notably, the player's starship resembles a naval galleon which has been equipped with rocket engines and a Faster Than Light drive in addition to the more traditional sails and rigging. The overall effect is somewhat reminiscent of the Dungeons and Dragons setting of Spelljammer, in which magically empowered ships sail through Aristotelian crystal spheres, though the Role Playing Game's background seems better rationalized. [NT]
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