We're looking for new writers to join us!

Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel

Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel

Written by Charlie Sinhaseni on 11/9/2004 for PS2  
More On: Full Metal Alchemist and the Broken Angel
Square-Enix is well known for the work that it has put into the venerable Final Fantasy franchise but it's out to prove that it's not a one trick pony when it comes to video gaming. Believe it or not, the company actually produced a wide array of excellent titles that were out of the RPG realm. Names like Bushido Blade, Tobal No. 1 and Einhander might not be immediately recognizeable to gaming fans, but they no doubt hold a special place in the hearts of many. Square is trying to recapture that magic by bringing back a few of the old franchises while incorporating a few of the new ones. Along with Star Ocean and Brave Fencer the company has added Full Metal Alchemist to its repetoire and it looks like it might be one of the year's sleeper hits.

We had the chance to spend some time with the game at this year's E3 and it managed to impress us. It falls in line with the story from the popular Japanese manga of the same name. A pair of brothers try to raise their mother from the dead but the ploy goes horrible wrong. It costs one of them a leg while the other one loses his body entirely. After the accident, the brother who lost the arm sacrifices his other arm in order to save the soul of his brother so that he can transplant it into a piece of armor. Thus their quest begins to find the "Philosohper's Stone", the only artifact that can restore both of them to their previous states.

The storyline is a bit hokey but the action should hold up its end of the bargain. A new alchemist system allows you to fuse your body with more than 50 different objects which can be transformed into weapons and traps. From what little time we had with the game, it appeared to be running on a modified version of the Drakengard engine. In all, the game looks like it has a lot of promise and it's already a big hit overseas. It'll be interesting to see if it can make waves when it arrives 'Stateside in January of next year.

* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.


About Author

Gaming has been a part of my life for as long as I could remember. I can still recall many a lost nights spent playing Gyromite with that stupid robot contraption for the old NES. While I'm not as old as the rest of the crew around these parts, I still have a solid understanding of the heritage and the history of the video gaming industry.

It's funny, when I see other people reference games like Doom as "old-school" I almost begin to cringe. I bet that half of these supposed "old-school" gamers don't even remember classic games like Rise of the Triad and Commander Keen. How about Halloween Harry? Does anyone even remember the term "shareware" anymore? If you want to know "old-school" just talk to John. He'll tell you all about his favorite Atari game, Custer's Revenge.

It's okay though, ignorance is bliss and what the kids don't know won't hurt them. I'll just simply smile and nod the next time someone tells me that the best entry in the Final Fantasy franchise was Final Fantasy VII.

When I'm not playing games I'm usually busy sleeping through classes at a boring college in Southern Oregon. My current hobbies are: writing songs for punk rock bands that never quite make it, and teasing Bart about... well just teasing Bart in general. I swear the material writes itself when you're around this guy. He gives new meaning to the term "moving punching bag."

As for games, I enjoy all types except those long-winded turn-based strategy games. I send those games to my good pal Tyler, I hear he has a thing for those games that none of us actually have the time to play.

When I'm not busy plowing through a massive pile of video games I spend all of my time trying to keep my cute little girl fed. She eats a ton but damn she's so hot. Does anyone understand the Asian girl weight principal? Like they'll clean out your fridge yet still weigh less than 110 pounds.

Currently I'm playing: THUG, True Crime, Prince of Persia, Project Gotham 2 and Beyond Good & Evil. View Profile