Orphen: Scion of Sorcery

 PlayStation 2
Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 15 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 10 out of 15
  3. Negative: 4 out of 15
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  1. GamePro
    80
    While some who prefer more traditional gameplay might not like Orphen's action adventure twist, it still has a compelling storyline, interesting characters, and a good dose of fun.
  2. Antagonist
    70
    The story that drives everything along comes across splotchy and haphazard.
    All this publication's reviews
  3. GameSpot
    67
    The disjointed nature of Orphen is unfortunate, because it's easy to envision great gameplay experiences being the product of its game system.
  5. Gamezilla!
    65
    Lack of character development, consistency, good voice acting, and any sort of entertainment makes Orphen an abysmal experience. It has decent graphics and is nice to look at, but it certainly isn't any fun to play.
  6. Da Gameboyz
    61
    There are some phenomenal graphics here, but unfortunately a lot of the game's visuals can be repetitive and the experience becomes hampered with clipping problems.
    All this publication's reviews
  7. TotalGames.net
    61
    Unfortunately this battle system doesn''t help the fact that Orphen has average written all over it.
    All this publication's reviews
  8. GamerWeb Sony
    55
    There is more bad than good here. Just when the game starts to become tolerable, something poor comes along to rain on the parade.
  9. Hot Games
    50
    The story is un-engaging, in no small part due to the unsympathetic characters, the nail in the coffin for any second-rate adventure/RPG.
  10. PSX Nation
    50
    It's got minimal replayability, awful voices and a mixed bag of goodies, but it's strangely addictive and not too hard on the nugget when it comes to planning and strategy.
  11. Core Magazine
    50
    While including enough varied modes of gameplay to set it apart from most RPGs on the market, Orphen's inconsistent presentation and oftentimes stale gameplay make it one of the Playstation 2's more forgettable launch titles.
  12. Daily Radar
    50
    Those who enjoy lackluster game values, cliched dialog and a motley collection of sophomoric characters will find this a competently produced title that won't be hard to get through.
    All this publication's reviews
  13. IGN
    45
    The fun of the occasional epic battle is crippled by the dozen mind-meltingly dull conversations you have to sit through to get to it.
  14. All Game Guide
    40
    The storyline for this game is dull.
  15. Happy Puppy
    40
    Worst of all is the voice of Volcan, an anime reject who unfortunately happens to be everywhere. Imagine Spritle from "Speed Racer" with a limitless supply of sugar and caffeine--and a bad cold--and you get the idea.
  16. Gaming Age
    33
    A poorly translated, and obvious first generation RPG. It doesn't stand out at all, and will be buried by plenty of other RPG's on the system.

Awards & Rankings

40
#40 Best PS2 Game of 2000
18
#18 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2000
23
#23 Most Shared PS2 Game of 2000

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 17 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 17
  3. Negative: 4 out of 17
  1. Toxin_MMA
    Sep 25, 2019
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. While nostalgia does factor in heavily for me. I remember being a kid and being enthralled by the models of the characters and hope awesome the enemies were. The game had such a dark undertone and scared the hell out of me and I loved it! One of the most solid games I ever played in ps2.… Full Review »
  2. KyleS.
    Dec 10, 2002
    10
    This game is is a great action/adventure game with about 8.5 graphics, gameplay 9.5, and sound 8,a nd so all in all i would defientally giveThis game is is a great action/adventure game with about 8.5 graphics, gameplay 9.5, and sound 8,a nd so all in all i would defientally give this game 10/10. Its a gotta get game.… Full Review »
  3. Gustavo_Doria
    Jul 4, 2020
    7
    Game with great wasted potential.

    Ok, so you're Orphen, the moneylender sorcerer who was tricked by Volcan and Dortin into Chaos Island.    Game with great wasted potential.

    Ok, so you're Orphen, the moneylender sorcerer who was tricked by Volcan and Dortin into Chaos Island. Once in the ship, you are attacked by monsters, the ship wrecks and you have to choose 1 of 3 characters to help in their questline.

    You can choose which of them to help first but that doesn't affect the story, only the spells you have can be of some advantage. The story is ok and has a nice plot twist at the very ending.

    The best thing is surely the combat and graphics, considering a 2000 game. The combat is unique, being some mix of turn based and real time:you attack but then return to your original position. There are no damage count, you can only see the life bar in red(enemies) and blue(you and team mates).

    The worst part of this game is the gameplay outside battles. The camera doesn't help, hitbox sometimes SUCKS bad(hello Mars segments) and the traps are way too punitive. You just want to get done with some parts.    … Full Review »
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