Jade Empire: Special Edition

This game has perfect potential for a remaster! (unlikely to happen, sadly) Overall it's like a worse Dragon Age Origins, with its own special flavour. I enjoyed myself, but I suspect that was heavily based on my knowledge and love of wuxia movies. (if only they went for some of the more gonzo aspects of Wuxia!) The story structure and companion design is typical Bioware, to a fault. I found the NPCs to be quite uninteresting and the romance very tacked on. If you've played any BioRPGs, you'll recognize the template immediately. DAO especially is exactly this, but far better. The story itself wasn't super surprising or deep, it worked fine for what it was meant to do. The visuals are "charming". I really enjoyed what they achieved with the limited technology, the game certainly delivers on "fake China" in spades. Unfortunately the level design is cramped and doesn't fit terribly well with this style of RPG, the backtracking somehow feels more tedious if it's from this camera angle and the restricted spaces can make combat quite frustrating. Speaking of combat, it's a mixed bag. At times it feels real nice, you're jumping around and dispatching hordes of enemies with swift punch and kick combos, or elemental waves and so on. Unfortunately the various styles, despite there being so many, don't feel as unique or useful. I hoped leveling up would change the combo structure, or add new abilities. But because there are so many styles, the higher levels just increase stats. They're also clearly unbalanced, I was very much overpowered in the second half of the game and the only challenge I faced were the various glitches and unintentionally frustrating obstacles and bad design. Speaking of frustration - the game uses a out-of-combat save system, but also saves at certain points. I wish there was a more frequent and consistent system of checkpoints instead. At some places the game saves when you expect it to and in many (super frustrating) places it doesn't - forcing you to fight long multi sequenced battles with many cutscenes inbetween over and over and over. The very first battle on the beach is incredibly frustrating - you're still learning the system and you have to finish all the stages in one go. The shmup sequences were interesting and unexpected, but also not quite polished and therefore not quite enjoyable by themselves. In summary: Jade Empire is still pretty interesting and worth playing - if only for the reason it's oneof its kind. 3/5, +1 if you're a Wuxia fan. Be prepared for occassional bad design, repetition and frustration. Fortunately it's not a long game, you can enjoy it in a few afternoons.

The entire game process takes about 20 hours The western kungfu game mixed with Chinoiserie is also an excellent early work of BioWare.(And there has been a migration of the mobile version) The disadvantage is that the default difficulty level is somewhat awkward due to its age, so some levels make me have to lower the difficulty level. At the beginning of the plot, there was a feeling of being afraid that you wouldn't understand, but as the story gradually unfolded, it also became interesting.

I can't help but to review this game knowing that it came out two years after KOTOR and in the middle of Mass Effect's development. BioWare was no strangers to deeper dialog and game mechanics, this game does not have that same level of magic the others have. RPG mechanics are shallow and the combat is buggy and still. You get access to many styles early on but will find yourself only using a few. It feels like a game BioWare did in their spare time in between projects. Some cool ideas but overall it's just an OK experience.

gameplay: + fast and fun for the most part + lots of different fighting stiles - shallow - camara can get in your way - ranged enemys (ghosts) are annoying to fight - some skills are broken (paralysing fists or that golem) characters: + you get a whole party + most of them got some sort of personality and a backstory + 3 romance options - romance is too forced at some points - sometimes they act silly story/plot: + interesting + nice twist + some funny quests - some chliches - at points implausible - the game tries to hardcore suck your d*** at the beginning (nonstop "wow you are so amazing" "wow you are so good locking" it is so annoying and stupid) - presentation was oafish at points (you will know what I mean if you played the game) in the end what sells the game is its setting (fantasy late medival china) if you like it you propably will like this game if not then stay away fromm it

Well, it's not perfect, but Jade Empire is definitely a memorable title. The combat is satisfying, with a focus on martial arts with a bit of shape-shifting, edged weapons and magic thrown into the mix. It may get a bit repetitive and have a few cheap encounters near the end. You'll also unlock new fighting styles up till the end of the game, and won't get many opportunities to upgrade them as much as you'd like... The writing is really great overall, the story and side quests are engaging, constantly inciting you to get deeper in this world. The fact that it is set in a rich Asian-inspired setting really makes it stand among other similar RPGs (yet, it can feel like a rather stereotypical representation of Chinese culture at times, which might upset some people). Keep in mind that it's a dialogue-heavy game: it is not uncommon to spend 10+ minutes to listen to what a single NPC has to say! The decisions you get to make often boil down to choosing between being a white knight or a giant douche, but it's okay. The follower characters are all well-written and likable in their own way. Some have tragic backstories and developed personalities, others are perky comic reliefs, and some are both at the same time; it's one of these games where you just end up really caring for your team. Unfortunately, since some of these guys are rather useless in combat (especially the fighters, whose abilities are really underwhelming compared to yours) it is more than likely than you'll never use some of the followers. In the end, the biggest problem of the game may be that it does not give you the occasion to visit as much of the titular "Jade Empire" as you'd like, with only three accessible cities and a few forests to visit, which is a shame. The last chapters also feel really rushed, even though they're still satisfying and take to time to properly close every story arc. Still, an awesome experience which I would recommend to pretty much anyone.