• ID = PS0230
• STYLE = Third-Person 3D RPG
• DEV. = Konami Japan Co., Ltd.
• PUB. = Konami of America, Inc.
• R-DATE = Jul-11-2001
• ESRB = T / For Teen
• PLAYERS = 1 player
• LIST PRICE = $29.99
  

The eccentric title is only one of the crazy ideas that grace this German-inspired RPG. You play as Mouse, a poet-songwriter with a talking guitar named Pachimo. You’ve received an invitation to write and play an original song at the wedding of a princess on a distant island, but you have only five days to complete the tune. Once you arrive on the Island of Pandureu, you discover that the land has been placed under a time-loop spell that causes the same day to repeat continuously.

What’s worse is that the hex has been cast by the princess’ fiancé, Zerphapolis. You try to defeat the evil Zerphapolis at the wedding, but you fail. Luckily, the time loop allows you to repeat the wedding day repeatedly making allies and collecting valuable items for the next time around. All of the battles take place in real time, giving the game a perfect balance of intriguing story, tough puzzles, and fast-paced action. With such original gameplay, REISELIED: Ephemeral Fantasia is a one-of-a-kind.

Features:
• Excellent characters.
• Original gameplay.
• Massive worlds.
• Fast-paced battles.
• One-player action.

Amazon.com Review
Konami made a very strange decision when it chose to release this game in the U.S. While the selection of role-playing games for the PS2 is currently limited, Konami could have selected from a number of strong RPGs it has published in Japan. Instead, the company serves up a mediocre offering in Ephemeral Fantasia, a game that's originality is negated by frustrating and difficult gameplay, making it appealing only to hard-core RPG fans.

Unlike most RPGs, you won't be controlling a warrior. Instead you follow the adventures of a bard named Mouse. Some of Mouse's occupation-related tasks include composing songs and playing rhythm games similar to Konami's Guitar Freaks. Most of the game has Mouse reliving the same day over and over (think Groundhog Day). Although he's stuck in a time loop, he retains the items and allies acquired each time he relives the day. It's an interesting twist, but the plot eventually devolves into the usual saving-the-world drivel.

The game's graphics aren't going to impress anyone--there are several PS One games that look better. Further hampering playability are several lulls in the game where you have to wait until a certain time before you can progress. This wouldn't be so bad if there were engaging side quests for you to take, but there aren't, so you're often stuck standing around town. When the action does pick up, it's often brought to a halt by extremely long load times. These frustrating aspects combined with the game's difficulty make it a poor choice for casual gamers. --Raymond M. Padilla

Pros:
Innovative combat system
Several attempts at originality
Cool minigames

Cons:
Poor graphics
Excruciating load times
Very difficult