There is an old adage that the sum is greater than the parts. Said adage, we can only surmise, assumes that the parts are actually well crafted. White Knight Chronicles may be a highly anticipated Japanese RPG from veteran development studio Level 5, but when you throw all of its parts into the cauldron, what you get is far weaker than you'd expect.
This is surprising, given the grand nature of the game's distinctive elements: giant monsters (and a hero who can transform to match their grandiose size), online side missions, character creation, town building and generally terrific graphics, yet none of these elements were designed well enough, nor integrated seamlessly, to create a cohesive and fun experience.
The ho-hum nature of the game becomes evident at the onset with the story: beloved Princess Cisna has been captured by the forces of evil and must be returned to safety, a job which only you and your companions can accomplish. Seriously, it doesn't get more in-depth than this.
With such a contrived plot, surely the ambiance of the game can be rejuvenated in a protagonist that we truly care about, right? Unfortunately, no. You have the opportunity to craft a character with all the usual trappings (gender, attributes and the like), but this character isn't the protagonist. That's Leonard, and you're his sidekick. And while your band of merry men defend the countryside against giant beasties, you remain as quiet as Princess Cisna who lost her voice. Not that any of the banter between the other characters is interesting enough to warrant your participation.
Beyond the ability to turn into a giant white knight in combat, battling is standard turn-based drudgery. Changing your position on the field may yield offensive advantages, but it does little defensively, which makes it tactically pointless unless you need to target a specific part of the enemy. Granted, no enemies in the game are difficult to topple, which makes plowing through its 30 or so hours of battles and dialogue particularly compelling.
Aside from the normal tour of duty, there are two other areas in the game vying for your attention. As you progress, you'll pick up side quests. Level 5 apparently takes that name quite literally, as these missions are played outside the normal game. You'll revisit familiar lands and enemies with only a few surprises to gain new loot and further level your character. In fact, given that these are your rewards, it's best to play these alongside the main quest and not after you've finished the main story.
You can tackle these missions with three friends online (if you're lucky enough to find people wanting to do this) or by your lonesome. These missions lack the replay value found in something like Phantasy Star Online, though, and feel like filler, which is tragic given that we're still waiting for a solid online RPG experience in the current hardware generation.
Town building is also unimpressive. This is nothing new to Level 5, as the Dark Cloud series on the PS2 had these elements. It's certainly more refined in White Knight Chronicles, but it still lacks the depth to make the towns feel alive and useful. Your town, with all its structures and recruited denizens, allows you to create better weapons and armor; it doesn't affect the story in a meaningful way.
So when Level 5 takes these cumbersome elements and drops them into a single game, we end up playing something that feels half-hearted. There is nothing unique and nothing executed with the expertise we've come to expect from the developer. Looking past the pretty facade, we can't help but leave the game disappointed.
Final Score: 5 (out of 10)
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