Time travel is fun.

I've been playing two games at the same time for about two months. Mediocre SNES games, man. I needed something different! I learned my phone is stronger than my (old) computer by playing some Nintendo DS games on it. Why I played this particular game instead of another Final Fantasy is beyond me, but I wanted something really different, I guess. Anyway, Radiant Historia was really fun! 

And the biggest reason why is the story. Or, rather, both stories. Radiant Hiatoria tells two interweaving stories about a war, mana, and human/beastkin relationships. It focuses on Stocke, a top ranking member of Alestiel's special ops division. Or you can leave and become a commander in the primary army. Regardless of your choice, though, you'll be experiencing both. Information and items obtained in one timeline helps propel the other forward. And each side is wildly different, taking you to different areas, meeting different people, and fighting different bosses. There are even bad endings along the way to keep you on your toes. 

And that's aided by the characters. Most of them have a reason to be there, grow along the way, and become their own person by the end. Their motivations are clear, they're well written, and they're easy to like. Each brings something slightly different to combat as well. They also get a pretty neat scene through side quests, too. Hell, even minor characters without a name have some vital side quests. In fact, some of those are the key to getting all the endings. You really need to explore everywhere and talk to everyone. Wanting to see what happens next was the whole reason I kept playing. 

Largely because the battle system is kinda hit or miss. The idea of it is amazing. There's a manipulatable turn order of Final Fantasy X, but there's also a grid, à la Lunar, for the enemies. You can move your opponents around the grid, with the back row lowering their attack strength. Certain boss groups also get formations that enhance their skills if they ever achieve this, so keep them out of that! You can also push your opponents into each other, letting subsequent combo attacks deal bonus damage to all mobs on that square. This is rad, but this also hamstrings the usable party composition. This also might just be a me problem, though. I focused heavily on moving around the mobs, which only a handful of player actions can do, and not every member gets access to. So I never used most of the group for that reason. Sorry, Aht. There's also the problem with availability. Only Marco and Raynie are stalwarts in Stocke's party, with everyone else showing up depending on the story path or event. Eruca may have just been an NPC. But the basics of moving, comboing, and turning single target spells into AoE is a lot of fun. 

The soundtrack is also up to snub. It's filled with tracks I wish were on streaming sites as they're so relaxing. City and field songs are fitting, battle themes get you focused, and story scenes hit great. However, there aren't a lot of tracks here. The OST was composed by Yoko Shimomura, so the quality is assured, but why are there only twenty five tracks? The game deserved more, which makes me want to check out the 3DS remaster. There are more tracks there, so maybe I'll give that a listen later. 

Graphics, though, are the biggest dropped ball. I'm pretty sure there are only seven mobs in the entire game, each with four or more pallet swaps. I don't know how limited the DS was, but I've seen more varied games on it. Ya know, like Pokémon... It's kinda inexcusable. The sprites are high quality, mind you, there are just so few of them. And spell animations don't help either. All fire attacks look the same, regardless of caster, usage, or level. 

But the charm tries to save it all with a wonderful wrapping. NPCs, even unnamed ones, are vital to the story, and the world feels like an ever changing entity. Exploration grants you strong gear, side quests, and even better (and more) endings. There isn't much replayability here, and the final boss kinda sucks. 

Radiant Historia takes you back and forth across two timelines, meeting six great characters, and inviting you to play a unique battle system. In fact, the characters have the highest score of any cast I've reviewed. And the story matches that. It really is a shame about the graphic reuse, as that's the only middling issue here that prevents the game from being an all timer. That's also a personal nitpick, so maybe you're less judgmental and can see RH for its true ranking. As for me, it might be the best 78% game I've experienced. There's a lot of competition for that, though. Definitely a must play for the NDS.