The Top Shelf: The Second Round 041: Gladius

Welcome to The Top Shelf, a weekly feature wherein I sort through my extensive PS2 collection for the diamonds in the rough. My goal here is to narrow down a library of 185 games to a svelte 44: the number of spaces on my bookshelf set aside for my PS2 collection. That means a whole lot of vetting and a whole lot of science that needs to be done - and here in the second round, that means narrowing our laser focus to one game per week (at least). Be sure to check out the Case File Repository for more details and a full list of games/links!

Extra Note: We've entered Shelftember! In this much-vaunted month, we will be processing one of the second round entries every day. I'll be spending one hour apiece with each game - inspired by DanielKempster's backlog-clearing series "An Hour With..." - and determining its fate from there.

Gladius might still be one of the finest tactical RPGs ever made, in part because of the rare degree of freedom it offers. The entire premise of the game is to build one's own gladiator school, filling it with worthwhile recruits from a huge range of potential unit types - from classic staples of the setting like Myrmidons and Secutors, to slightly more outlandish options like giant scorpions and yetis - and move from town to town, competing in the arenas for fame and fortune. There's a range of options available, from single matches with specific rules - female gladiators only, for example - to larger multi-stage championships in order to establish dominance over the area and be one step closer to competing in the grand regional tournament. The money you earn is spent towards procuring new talent and equipping those you already have with incrementally better gear, and you end up getting attached to the no-name units under your employ as you continue to expand your reputation and school.

There's a plot too, of course, though it's largely secondary. As either the Nordagh Amazon Ursula (voiced by Freaks and Geeks's Linda Cardellini!) or the Imperia aristocrat Valens (voiced by Smallville's Michael Rosenbaum!), there's some set-up for why they became leaders of their respective schools and eventually take the fight to other regions outside of Nordagh (which represents Nordic and pagan tribes outside of Rome) and Imperia (which is a little more overtly Roman), including a grasslands area to the east that represents the Mongolian Steppes and a desert to the south which is populated by a bug-worshipping Egyptian equivalent. The distinct units of these regions open up new hiring opportunities and new special unit quests, as well as new enemy tactics to pay heed to.

The highlight of the game is in the strategy RPG gameplay itself, however. Unlike many of its peers, Gladius employs timing-based mini-games for most of its diverse attacks, usually of the sort where you have to hit a button to stop a moving gauge at an ideal point. It works a lot like a golf game, or Shadow Hearts's judgement ring, where the red sweet spot is usually a small zone between the larger green "OK" and blue "completely screw up" zones. Stronger and more elaborate attacks involve more difficult timing to land them, and there's also unit placement and movement to keep tabs on, whether you're flanking the enemy or they're flanking you. Throw in elemental affinities, a rock-paper-scissor system for light, medium and heavy units (heavy overpowers medium, medium outlasts light, and light outmaneuvers heavy), the wildcards that are animal, magic-using and undead units, and all the special arena-specific rules you may encounter, and the game is never short of surprises. The level of customization is pretty ridiculous also, as you acquire new abilities for your units after levelling them up, and can even change their appearance and color scheme if you're looking for a uniform tint for your gladiator school to adhere to.

It only took an hour to remind myself of how great Gladius is, and how easy it must've been for me to burn out on its open-world format considering I was conquering every match type in every arena in every city. The game would prefer you make a beeline for the big important regional tournaments, as these are the key to lifting level caps and increasing the maximum number of units under your command - though, like other games with large collections of playable characters to micromanage, you're often better off making sure everyone receives the proper training and experience in the field. It's an expansive and sophisticated game, even by today's standards, and I'm not sure I'll find the time to complete it for this project - especially with the mechanically similar Makai Kingdom and Stella Deus jostling for attention. I'm nigh-certain it'll find a place on my shelf regardless, however.

Result: Progresses to the Final Round.

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