Threads of Fate traces the ever-intertwining paths of two magically potent adventurers -- Rue, a tortured, vengeance-seeking shapeshifter, and Mint, perhaps the snottiest princess ever to lust after world domination. Cleverly, the game features parallel playable storylines -- one for each character -- with a variety of specific levels and plot twists ably bolstering Threads' replayability.
With plucky protagonist chosen, the player sets out in dogged pursuit of a mysterious relic, one possessed of such immense power as to draw the attention of some particularly unpleasant villains. Although Threads' storyline initially appears to be headed straight for pure cliche, Square was wise enough to include enough unusual characters and unexpected plot twists to keep things fresh and exciting right to the very end.
Graphically, Threads of Fate once again shows Squaresoft to be pushing the limits of Sony's five-year-old PlayStation technology. Crisp, clear and beautifully designed, with nary a hint of texture warp or blockiness in sight, Threads may just be the game to show those Dreamcast poseurs that there's life in the old gray box yet. In terms of look, Threads unsurprisingly adheres to the slightly surreal classic fantasy look found in the more recent installments of Nintendo's venerable Zelda series; large, well defined anime characters, beautiful animation and a wide range of attractive indoor and outdoor environments, all rendered at a steady 30 fps.
In terms of gameplay, Threads of Fate sits somewhere between the arcade-platform action of Brave Fencer Mushashi and the slightly more thoughtful dungeon exploration of the Zelda series, with the parallel storylines taking the player on a relatively linear path through Threads' curious and colorful world. As you may have gleaned from the previous sentence, this is definitely not an RPG of the cerebral Vandal Hearts type; much of the gameplay involves high-intensity platform hopping and a hefty dollop of frantic realtime combat.
Fortunately, play control is as precise as it gets, especially when the dual shock is called into service, giving even the most twitch-impaired player a chance to get in on the action. While lacking the "lock on" combat feature found in many similar games, Threads' hand-to-hand combat system remains simple and easy to use, with characters effortlessly swinging at the nearest available opponent whenever the attack button is pressed. This, when combined with the blazingly fast attack animations and intuitive combo system, ensures that the player will never be wholly overwhelmed by the multitudinous swarms of enemies, even on the later, more action-intensive levels.
Perhaps the only downside to all this action-oriented gameplay is the almost total lack of camera control. Despite exceptionally well thought-out camera pathing and a pleasing lack of disorientation, occasionally the player will still be forced into a frustrating "leap of faith" scenario -- a flaw that could have been easily avoided by allowing more direct control over the camera's angle and rotation. On the other hand, despite these infrequent moments of irritation, it is extremely refreshing to be given a chance to explore complex three-dimensional environments without the constant hands-on camera jiggling required by many similar games.
These few minor flaws, and a surprisingly underwhelming soundtrack notwithstanding, we still unreservedly recommend Threads of Fate to RPG gamers and action fans alike.
The Bottom Line: With its awesome visuals, great control and variety-packed gameplay, Threads is nothing if not a quality gaming experience -- one that deserves to go down in history as one of the PlayStation's finest hours.
