Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey review

Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey is a Japanese RPG (JRPG) that's sure to cause fans of the genre some conflicting feelings.

It's a beautiful-looking adventure that features imaginative character designs and a great battle system. Unfortunately, it's also buggy and tough to navigate.

You play through the game as a young soldier named Cael who finds himself wrapped up in some pretty sticky politics. The uneasy peace between the four races of Orcanon is on the brink of dissolving, and war seems imminent.

War is uncool, so this problem needs to be nipped in the bud.

You move through the world of Orcanon on the back of your "Flyon", a flying sabre-toothed tiger that's pretty awesome.

Many of the environments you navigate are maze-like and tedious to move through, as there's no mapping function and the game's save points are spread far apart.

Each maze is peppered with portals that pull you into enemy encounters, and this is where Zodiac's imagination shines.

You conduct fights by dragging action icons over enemies, or over your party for buffs and debuffs.

Some icons attack and offer a buff or debuff, lending an element of strategy to each fight. Battles can be slow, but there are enough options on-hand to keep them interesting.

Sadly, Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey needs to be dinged for more than its difficult-to-navigate environments. There are quite a few bugs present, including one that wipes out story text at intervals. Characters will stand around and discuss important story points through a series of blank text boxes.

It's kind of funny, but understandably frustrating if you want to know what's going on.

Zodiac: Orcanon Odyssey feels like it needs a bit more time in the oven before it's fully-cooked but it seems likely Kojobo will keep adding to the game as time goes on.

If you're not confident about buying the game just yet, check back after a couple of updates.