Introduction
It's not outside the norm to see bizarre re-imaginings of classic works. Whether it's a retelling of Othello based around basketball or a somber Korean dark comedy being turned into a claymation, musical, sometimes great things can be remade with a little imagination. Now it's questionable if this is always a good idea, especially when a re-imagining happens in the form of either video games or anime. Which brings up to the topic of this LP, Sword of Etheria (or it's original Japanese title OZ, which is just a shortening of Over Zenith).
Released in 2005 by Konami, the game takes place in a magical fantasy world where gods rule the planet with an iron fist and an army of super powerful beings. What caused the gods to turn on humanity and just why are they pillaging the countrysides is a mystery lost to some forgotten event hundreds of years ago. Caught in the middle of all this is a young boy and his friends who are having to fight for survival and each other against overwhelming odds, but things are not as bleak as it seems because it's not long before the boy finds some help in the oddest of places.
The members of OZ, the god's crack team of top tier soldiers called in for only the most dangerous of jobs. The team consists of their level headed leader Cain, the cold and calculating Almira, and the hot tempered hunk Leon. They start the game called off to some top secret mission for the gods....but something goes terribly wrong.
Our protagonist, Fiel (or Feel in Japanese) is your standard amnesiac hero with a dark past and a hidden power. He's protector and life long companion of the innocent Dorothy who always seems to be stumbling into trouble. Also they have a flying, talking, sassy cat named Toto. He's kind of an asshole.
With the original OZ team disbanded due to their failings in the past, the gods saw it fit to find an even more dangerous group of Katenas to replace them. The new OZ consists of the cruel insectoid, Vitis, the bratty, ranged weapons mistress, Juju, and the grizzled old wolfman, Galumn.