Soul Nomad and the World Eaters is a strategy role-playing game (strat-RPG) for the Sony PlayStation 2. It was developed by Nippon Ichi Software (NIS), which is the same company that was responsible colorful and addictive strat-RPGs such as Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, La Pucelle Tactics, Phantom Brave, and Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories. "Soul Nomad" continues to put NIS's spin on the strat-RPG genre by offering a unique game play experience, as well as an engaging storyline with vibrant and lively characters.

The story behind "Soul Nomad" is about a young man/woman (depends on the sex of the main character selected at the beginning) that is set on a journey to save mankind from the uber-evil known as the World Eaters. In ages past, the continent of Prodesto only knew war -- nation states waged war with each other. A man named Lord Median brought Prodesto under a united rule. Unfortunately, with his and his son's untimely death, there was no one in clear succession to his rule. The united Prodesto reverted back to nation states and peace was gone. Eventually, Median's daughter Layna was able to bring peace back to the land by convincing nation states to form treaties.

Fifty years later, the peace ended. The Master of Death known as Gig came to Prodesto with evil beings known as World Eaters. Gig and his evil cadre used their awesome powers to destroy nation states in short periods of time. Layna responded to the threat with her strongest warriors and was able to stop Gig. She sacrificed her life and sealed his soul inside of a sword. In the aftermath, Gig's World Eaters disappeared.

Two hundred years later. The hero/heroine receives his/her commission as a protector of a secret village. Oddly enough, the person in charge is no other than Layna. She is well over two-hundred years old and while the world thought she perished, she has lived in secrecy since stopping Gig. Her role has been to prepare for the second coming of evil and train a new hero to stop the World Eaters. The hero/heroine is that individual.

Layna gives the hero/heroine a special sword -- one that has Gig's soul sealed within. Upon receiving the weapon, the hero/heroine is bound to Gig and able to use his powers. The catch is that if he/she uses Gig's powers too much, Gig will be able to take control of his/her body. And that's what Gig wants. He wants to be alive again so he can rule the world. It's up to you to train an army strong enough to fend off the World Eaters and resist from relying on Gig's awesome powers.

In terms of game play, "Soul Nomad" is an addictive and fun game. If you have enjoyed past NIS strat-RPGs, then "Soul Nomad" will be a refreshing change of pace. What makes it so different than its predecessors in the genre is the combat system and use of user-creatable combat squadrons. In order to go into battle, you will need to create squads. A squad consists of a leader and a variable number of troops. If the leader falls in combat, the entire squadron falls.

Building squads follows several different steps that begin with the creation of a room. Rooms are randomly generated and have different attributes and specials associated with them. Rooms can also be upgraded with decorations (analogous to equipping an accessory to a character). Each room can hold up to nine units. The lines are divided into three sections: front, middle, and rear. Rooms with a max capacity less than nine will have a random number of unit placements across the three lines. It is important to consider line placement when building a squad, as the placement defines what kind of attack the character/unit conducts. Some units will do nothing in the rear, while others (like magic users) will perform stronger actions from the back.

In addition, placing the leader in the rear can dramatically impact the squad's chances to survive. An enemy squad cannot attack (unless using a special attack) the rear line unless the front and middle lines have been wiped out. The flipside is that placing the leader in the rear can restrict their capabilities (as mentioned the attack varies per line placement). The other key aspect to room creation is the cost. They aren't free. The player must pay a fee to summon them into battle. The cost is defined by the room type and units. However, the room with the hero/heroine is free (as it appears by default in battle).

There are a few other key aspects to this unique battle system. Players have the capability to make their rooms stronger. Similar to Disgaea's Item World, you can go into rooms, defeat some bad guys and increase the room's stats. Another key consideration of rooms is the combination of different units and room types. Specific combinations of units/characters will produce different special abilities and moves.

The special abilities are similar to magic spells that can be used to temporary increase speed or attack, heal a squad's lost hit points, attack an enemy squad from a safe distance with a magic spell, or summon a super force (such as Gig) to slam your enemies. Special moves are set by special combination and placement of units in a room. Gig edicts are additional abilities to allow you to merge squads, steal items, attack villagers, and kick (move) squads around the battle field.

Once squads have been created and the player has gone into battle, the field navigation system is similar to other strat-RPGs. The character units are on a map that is divided into tiles. There are different terrain types that have different effects and specials for squads. Each squad can move a finite number of spaces. The hero/heroine can summon other squads into combat (for a price). Generally, the goal is to clear the map of all enemies and if the hero/heroine falls, the game is over.

In general, the squad creation with rooms and unit selection provides a unique approach to the strat-RPG genre. It ties in well with the tactical nature and adds an additional layer of complexity that helps separate the game from generic releases in the genre. The customization factor is also pretty cool, because it offers a lot of different options to test out. All in all, it is an addictive change of pace that works quite well.

"Soul Nomad" also benefits from its storyline. Like other NIS games, the characters are colorful, the story is funny, and offers a solid experience. The technical aspects are similar to past NIS games, except the 3D elements are gone. The cut scenes are made up of detailed 2D graphics with lively voiceovers that give the characters personality. The game play graphics have changed from a 3D isometric battlefield to a 2D top-down approach. The change doesn't greatly impact the game, as for what the combat system is, it works.

In the end, Soul Nomad and the World Eaters is a lively, addictive, and entertaining strat-RPG with a twist. The game's unique combat system provides a refreshing change to the genre with a colorful storyline. If you like strat-RPGs, then "Soul Nomad" is a must. The game comes recommended.