The premise is that the world is coming to an end, and you have been selected to make a record of everything worth keeping in the Book of Prophecy. Almost everything you encounter in the game can be recorded, including people, monsters, items, weapons, and flowers. The idea is your journal will be used as a reference when the new world is created. Sure, it's a little morbid, but if the world is going to end anyway you might as well have a say in what the next one is going to look like.
This is a pretty linear action RPG where you split your time between conversing with people in town and venturing out to battle monsters in the countryside. Most of the time, the game tells you exactly where you need to go next, and you just need to fight your way there. Dungeons are included, but instead of being open areas they are divided into rooms, each of which has a specific objective in order to pass. You may have to defeat all monsters, light all torches, or flip all switches within a certain time limit. It's an interesting design, and a welcome change from your typical action RPG.
Guiding you along your journey are four elemental spirits who will explain how the book works and provide hints as to what you should do next. Not only can you record people and items in your book, you can mess with their attributes. This is the meat of what Avalon Code is all about. Everything in this world is governed by "codes," which are characteristics the book can add or remove to its entries. For instance, you might encounter a really tough monster. Once you've copied its data into the book you can add an illness code that will drastically reduce its health. Or if you need to light a torch in order to open a secret door, you can add a fire code to your sword and give it a swipe.
There are limits to what you can do with codes, though. You can only hold four in reserve, so you'll often need to do some rearranging with the various characters and items in your Book of Prophecy. Each entry can also only hold a certain amount of codes, although this will be increased over time. Finally, codes come in different shapes and sizes, and getting them to fit on an entry is a puzzle game in itself. So this is a deep mechanic that requires a lot of your time but also offers customization options.
While the spirits are here to help, the user interface still isn't as friendly as it should be. I like using the Book of Prophecy a lot, but it can be clumsy. Navigating the tome is slow, finding a particular entry or code can take a while, and it doesn't always provide enough information. For instance, the effect of some codes is obvious: the ice code imbues a character or item with the ice element. But others, like "freedom" or "dog" or "pride," are less apparent and you'll only discover their meaning if a scripted event explains it to you.
The Book can display a map of your current area, but there isn't an overall world map for reference. This means it's easy to get lost in the first half of the game before you have the ability to warp to locations you've previously visited.
Controlling your character is done with the D-pad and face buttons, but you'll need to keep your stylus in hand in order to peruse the Book of Prophecy. There are a couple irksome control issues. Sometimes it's too difficult to make contact with an enemy. If you try to scan objects that are close together the game may choose the wrong one. These aren't deal-breaking issues, but they are noticeable.
Thankfully, frustration is kept to a minimum because if you perish you can always continue from the screen you were on. Enemies and objects will be reset and you won't have full life (a la Zelda), but at least it doesn't throw you all the way back to whenever you last saved the game. Saving can be done at anytime, by the way.
Our hero has the bizarre but glorious ability to launch enemies into outer space. If you can catch them off guard, you can initiate a "Judgement Link," which is a timed mini-game where you see how many times you can bounce them into the air. With each hit they will soar higher and higher, until they evaporate in space. True story. It's really weird and totally grinds the pace of the game to a halt, but it's definitely fun. Reaching the maximum height will replenish your magic points, so there is a point to it all.
Avalon Code is a very good looking DS game. The world is rendered in 3D and presented very cinematically. I was humming along with the orchestral soundtrack, and there is a good amount of voice acting. This is a technically impressive portable effort.
Verdict
Avalon Code offers a unique experience among action RPGs. Capturing people and objects in the Book of Prophecy and playing with their attributes is a compelling mechanic you won't find anywhere else. The interface isn't perfect, but it's definitely engaging. Avalon Code is also paced very well, and doles out new abilities to the player at regular intervals over its 20+ hours. Players looking for a cinematic DS experience will find it here. Now that the groundwork has been laid, let's hope for a sequel that refines the interface.
