Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata

Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata (aka Magna Carta: Tears of Blood)
Developer(s)	Softmax
Publisher(s)	Banpresto Atlus 505 Games
Designer(s)	Hyung-tae Kim (Character)
Series	Magna Carta
Engine	Unreal Engine 2.0
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	JP November 11, 2004 NA November 15, 2005 PAL April 7, 2006
Genre(s)	RPG
Mode(s)	Single-player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen OFLC: PG PEGI: 12+

Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata is a PlayStation 2 RPG released in 2004 in South Korea by Softmax, and in Japan by Banpresto. It is the sequel to the 2001 CRPG, Magna Carta: The Phantom of Avalanche, and the second installment in the Magna Carta series. Sofdec was also associated with the game's development.

The game was released on November 15, 2005, in North America by Atlus, under the name Magna Carta: Tears of Blood, and in Europe April 7, 2006, simply named Magna Carta.

Battle system

The game uses a battle system that takes elements from Shadow Hearts and the Star Ocean series. Battle consists of up to 3 characters who may move around the battlefield in real time. The player can only control one character at a time and can only attack when the "leadership meter" (which will not fill as long as a character is moving) fills up to an appropriate amount. When that happens, a character initiates an attack by performing a series of 3 timed button presses (known as the Trinity Ring). If successful, the attack initiates, but if not the leadership meter empties and the player must wait for it to refill.

There are three modes of combat that are uniquely embedded in this game: Standard, Combo, and Counter. Standard is excellent for offensive and defensive attacks, by continuously perfecting the timing of buttons, characters will learn stronger attacks. Combo attacks lack defence, but generally used to create powerful offensive attacks by combining all attacks in one turn. Counter does what it name implies, not only is the user able to block but also attack by predicting their enemies attacks. Players are able to keep their leadership meter without exhausting it like Standard Mode. Characters may attack with various combat "styles" learned in the game, which use different chi (energy) types to increase their utility. There are eight different types of chi present in all area, but in different exhaustible quantities. Through the altering of chi lanterns the player can change which chi is most abundant in an area.

Plot

Story

The game takes place in the land of Efferia, where a seemingly endless war has raged between the continent's two species, humans and Yason, who in appearance are like humans only lighter in skin tone and with different shaped ears. The protagonist of the game, Calintz, is a high-ranking leader of the Tears of Blood, a mercenary squad hired out by the human Alliance to deal with problems they otherwise won't, or can't touch. Since they are not part of the official army they aren't well liked by the Alliance soldiers. The core group also consists of Azel, a youthful sword wielder who looks up to Calintz; Eonis, a powerful mage; and Haren, a martial artist. Save for Azel, they all have a heavy grudge against the Yason for the deaths of friends and family. On the other side is the Blast Worms, Yason elite soldiers. They are led by the Four Warriors, who wield great power and magic.

During a flawed battle plan, where the Alliance's use of the forbidden magic fails, Calintz stops an assault of one of the Four Warriors' summoned familiars, Roxy's "Steelheart." After destroying a bridge to prevent enemy advancement, he finds himself in a cavern being healed by an unfamiliar woman. Because of her amnesia, all she remembers is her name, Reith, and that she can use very powerful healing magic. Eventually, they find their way out of the cave, and as a show of thanks for saving him, Calintz offers to take her to Amabat, a city of high-ranking and powerful priestesses, thinking her to be one of them.

As the story progresses, Reith, as well as the Tears of Blood and Blast Worms, learns that she is a much more important piece of the puzzle than anyone had realized.

Critical reception

Reviews of Magna Carta: Tears of Blood were mixed, the game averaging a 67% on Gamerankings.com.^[1] Critics generally praised the game's story, musical score, and "beautiful environments and fantastic character designs."^[2] However, its core gameplay elements were less well received. Gamespot gave the game a 7.1 out of 10, claiming the "well-developed cast of characters keeps the story interesting" but its "extremely linear campaign feels restrictive at times."^[3] IGN's review stated that "the poorly-executed battle system ... runs into too many problems for its own good," scoring the game a 6.1/10.^[4] The game's voice acting in particular was heavily criticized, with negative comments ranging from "the performances are really uninspired"^[5] to "Ill-timed, badly-acted, and poorly cast."^[4]

References

1. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/921279.asp
2. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=644180
3. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=646911
4. ^ ^{a b} Magna Carta: Tears of Blood @ IGN
   • Dunham, Jeremy (November 22, 2005). "Magna Carta: Tears of Blood". IGN. p. 1. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/667/667819p1.html. Retrieved March 6, 2011.  Query Wayback Bibalex Wayback WebCite Wikiwix.
   • Dunham, Jeremy (November 22, 2005). "Magna Carta: Tears of Blood". IGN. p. 2. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/667/667819p2.html. Retrieved March 6, 2011.  Query Wayback Bibalex Wayback WebCite Wikiwix.
   • Dunham, Jeremy (November 22, 2005). "Magna Carta: Tears of Blood". IGN. p. 3. http://ps2.ign.com/articles/667/667819p3.html. Retrieved March 6, 2011.  Query Wayback Bibalex Wayback WebCite Wikiwix.
5. ^ http://www.gamerankings.com/itemrankings/launchreview.asp?reviewid=639725

External links

• Official Site - English
• Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata at MobyGames