Falling Stars

Rating Everyone Genre role-playing Publisher AgeTec

One part dress-up, one part mini-game collection, one part monster trainer, one part quest-driven RPG.  Wrap that up in a mild-mannered, Barbie-esque atmosphere and what do you get?  AgeTec’s Falling Stars for the PlayStation 2.  Unfortunately, and I really hate to admit it, but this is a signal of the beginning of the end for the PlayStation 2.  AgeTec is known for production of budget titles, but once again, I am incredibly curious as to where the pressure is coming from.  The game is far from complete, which is evident by an unnecessary set of load times and early-generation PS2 graphics capability.  If I didn’t know better, it’s as if this idea was put on the shelf and revitalized specifically because the focus has shifted almost entirely to next-gen consoles.

Whenever an ancient spirit smells something rotten in the city of Dazzleon, he sends one of his followers to temporarily replace the soul of a young girl named Luna.  Luna discovers her uncle Matt has transformed into a monster of Shrek-like proportions while working on some “scientific experiments” in a nearby underground mine.  What Matt is doing is mutating animals for seemingly little purpose.  One of his pets, a blue fuzz ball namedKomi, escapes.  Luna finds Komi, but refuses to surrender him back to Matt when she learns what is really happening.  As a response, Matt releases tons of his monsters into Dazzleon.  In order for Luna to learn what’s happening, she must train Komi to engage Matt’s monsters in several challenges.

Success, no.  Potential, yes.  The one thing that has kept me from enjoying this title a whole lot more is the load times.  Almost everything, including fights, requires a load time of at least twenty seconds.  It’s almost impossible to get anything productive done.  Speaking of battles, they have undertaken a variation of the “rock, paper, scissors” theme.  Your pet and your opponent each have a charge bar.  Once that’s full, they get three action points.  Fast attacks cost one, Strong will cost two, and Mega costs at least 4, but will use all of them.  Once a monster attacks, the other monster chooses a defense.  If they match, damage is reduced.  Players can rotate the right analog stick to allow Luna to assist by healing Komi, using items, or eventually using magic to help Komi cheat.

Falling Stars is loaded with mini-games, which are a principal source of in-game currency.  For starters, the color and type of Luna’s outfit will have an effect on each island resident.  The better the reaction, the more likely you are able to obtain quests, trade items, and unlock mini-games from each neighbor in Dazzleon.  The mini-games are rather standard fare, prove to be a pleasant set of distractions, and are an easy way to make enough cash to assist you in your quest.  And, believe it or not, some of them require some serious skill, which is adjusted based on the overall difficulty level of the game.

Like it or not, Falling Stars is going to earn one of many slots of infamy during the denouement of the PlayStation 2’s life cycle.  The sad part about it is the incredible potential.  Load times alone killed the game.  Imagine how much better this would have been if you had more mini-games, a bigger world, even a greater choice of playable pets.  I hope that AgeTec development teams will learn to be less timid in the future.  Since no one is really looking at the PlayStation 2 at this time, one would think that they have enough room to sneak around unnoticed and come out with a superb title out of nowhere, and not have to worry about when the next GTA or Halo title gets released.