First of all the game is good, REALLY good. But what makes it good for some might make it bad for others and also there are elements that most people won't find good at all.
What is so special about that game is the atmosphere, you really are plunged quickly into a bizarre world that does justice to it's title (Baroque) (check wikipedia for definition on the style). Alot of twisted emotion are felt right at the beginning as the main character is being used as a rat lab for some weird experiment on the mind.
After the cutscene you are plunged in the central "town" with a few npc, that only Charle Manson could dream of, start talking to you about things that don't really make any sense at that point.
Then you have an angel figure that introduce you to the dungeon that you have to explore and there the story starts.
A few things that I like about the game is that everything plays part in developing the story. Even dying (it's not a spoiler, you will die, triggers cut scenes). As you explore the dungeon which has a random created layout you get to entounter other npc that tell you more about the world you are in.
The general atmosphere of steam punk neo gothic is really what got me hooked to the game, also the graphical style well complemented with a industrial soundtrack that brings everything to life.
Now for the bad, I've only played for about 2 hours, but right from the start I had to try not to complain too much about the game engine, the fighting is not bad, it's just not good. I'm glad I picked up a copy for the PS2 instead of the Wii cause I can't really imagine playing this game with the wiimote (I think that's the main reason why nintendo power game a poor score.)
Also the game is a polished port of a Saturn game so it wasn't fully developped with the PS2 in mind and therefore has some limitation that are not expected of a PS2 game in the last few months of the console life.
Baroque cuts down the bullshit, you learn the story as you play, no lengthy cutscenes or bullshit. It's power, load the game, Hi I'm Baroque, BAMMM !! action.
Atlus is pretty much the only distriburtor that could've bring us Baroque and I'm really glad they did.
The game is made for those of us that dig random dungeons, hard fights, don't mind old game mechanics and gameplay, very focused genre. And to those that just want to spend a few hours playing a game that has a bit of similarity to Persona (the random dungeons)
As for playing the game with a Wiimote, your apparently able to use the classic controller as well. So waggle can easily be excluded from the wii version.
Waggle is only used to do stun attacks. Otherwise Wii Remote controls are still just button pressing, only you're allowed to rest your hands at your sides while you play. And Shalashaska is correct, you can use a Classic Controller too, which is basically a flat PS2 controller, so if you don't like waggling out heavy stun attacks, you can just set them to the Classic controls.
I do have to agree, that while the game is excellent it's really built for people who like roguelikes already. If you didn't like games like Shiren the Wanderer and Izuna: Legend of Unemployed Ninja this game probably isn't going to change your mind.
Looks good, the battle system reminds me of PSO, I'll probably pick up the Wii version if it has wide screen and support progressive scan. Even if the graphics aren't that good. I'll pick up the PS2 version otherwise.
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I do have to agree, that while the game is excellent it's really built for people who like roguelikes already. If you didn't like games like Shiren the Wanderer and Izuna: Legend of Unemployed Ninja this game probably isn't going to change your mind.