Sure, there aren't too many complex textures to be found, but Threads of Fate features some nice, lush visuals. The characters are all very well defined, and the world is quite vibrant. The graphical feel of the game is quite similar to the feel of the earlier Brave Fencer Musashi, which shouldn't be too surprising -- Threads is a spiritual successor to BFM, if not a literal sequel. The spell effects are usually pretty, although there aren't too many that'll really knock your socks off. The same goes for the character design -- interesting, but not absolutely captivating.

The sound in Threads of Fate isn't the worst music you'll ever hear, but it's merely mediocre by Square standards. If I hear the town theme one more time in the next few weeks, I think I'm going to have to break some heads open or something. The rest of the world sports music anywhere from merely passable to quite good -- as usual, the closer you get to the end of the game, the better the music becomes. Special effects are, well, nothing too special -- you've got grunts and flames and ka-chings, booms and bangs and things, but nothing that'll really catch your breath.

Fortunately, Threads of Fate has a good bit of gameplay to make up for the rather mediocre showing in the other departments. Yeah, you'll want to throw the controller out of the window once or twice when a stupid jumping puzzle has you missing the last jump five times in a row, but the ability to be new creatures in one storyline and to be entertained by the sheer humor of the other story will keep you playing the game.

In Threads of Fate, you take the role of either sombre Rue or maniacal Mint. Each character has their own storyline, even though they tend to take place in the same locations, and each character has their own unique style of play. Both are good, but I found that they are rather unequal in quality.

Rue's story is a good bit darker in tone than Mint's, but in doing so, it enters the rather generic fantasy realm. Rue is out to learn just what he is -- he can transform into different beasties, which often hold the key to solving various puzzles in the game. His caretaker died at the hands of a mad maniac, and he's looking for a mystical Relic (or, in Square-speak, [relic]) to bring her back to life. As you play the game with Rue, you'll find yourself switching bodies by transforming constantly, using the flaming abilities of one creature to off another and the swift running of a second to bypass annoying enemies. It's a very cool idea, and it generally works quite well. Unfortunately, at times it feels a little too gimmicky for its own good, much like the recent Fur Fighters. Creatures exist with special abilities for the sole purpose of getting past obstacles, to be discarded immediately afterwards.

Mint's story, on the other hand, just barely manages to be about a hero. She's out for revenge from the family that kicked her out of her royal seat -- as the save description says early on in the game, she's after "World domination, baby!" Mint's story managed to make me grin like a fool quite a few times, since she's a punk and she knows it. It's cool to play a good guy who's really not all that good, although it may turn some people off as you may not really -want- her to win. Ah, well. Her gameplay is based on spells, reminiscent of Secret of Mana. There are different schools of magic, and different methods in each school, and they combine to make different sorts of spells. For example, a wide Air shot makes a five-way gun, whereas a wide Water shot makes triple blades of water. You'll have to experiment to see which spells work best on which enemies.

The game itself is quite entertaining, even if the plot sometimes degenerates into a little too much silliness for its own good. The whole Pinto thing absolutely cracked me up, though, and it's that sort of irreverent humor that really flavors Mint's storyline. Rue has a little humor here and there, but it's usually brought in by Mint herself.

Although you may spend a little more time than you like leveling up your characters -- you gain more health by getting hit, and more magic by using spells -- the game itself isn't all that difficult. A hard boss is usually almost trivial the second time around, or after you gain another bit of armor and a better weapon. And since the game lets you continue near where you start as long as you have coins (and believe me, you'll have plenty of coins by the end of the game), you never really have to worry about getting kicked too far back into the game. I wish save-points were a touch more frequent, but you'll be able to beat each storyline in ten or so hours without too much difficulty.

Each character has its own set of unique mechanics -- Rue with his transformations, Mint with her spells. Both are cool; Rue's ability is more unique, but as I said before, it's often a touch too gimmicky for its own good; Mint's magic is a tried and true RPG staple. The camera stays at a perfect location as a general rule, but it has a bad habit of irritating you at inopportune times. I can't tell you how many times I got pissed at the jumping puzzle in the Underground, until I got it down pat. Since you can't move the camera except for in a few select spots (notably, in town), you're stuck with it as is mostly.

Threads of Fate is an entertaining little romp in an interesting little world. The graphics are nice enough, and the game isn't too short. But an irritating camera and weak storyline mar what could have been a fantastic little game. As such, it's still quite entertaining -- despite the lack of voiceovers, it lives up to its predecessor Brave Fencer Musashi in spunk and spirit. It's not going to rock your world much, but it's certainly an enjoyable little romp through the lives of two entirely different folk.