I'm burning out on games these days. There's so much to play and so little time to play them...but my constant curiosity has me looking for overlooked gems. One such game is Odin Sphere for the PS2.Odin Sphere had a limited US release last year for the PS2. It's done by a small Japanese game developer called Vanillaware, the game developers responsible for the Japan-only Sega Saturn/PSP classic Princess Crown.Like Princess Crown, Odin Sphere is a nice mix of 2D side-scrolling action and RPG-inspired item management and experience accumulation. The spine of the game is an action game...but with so much EXP and item management it's easy to see why many reviewers prefer placing Odin Sphere into the RPG genre category.Thus far, I've played about 2.5 hours of the game and I like what I see. The 2D graphics are really nice. Sprites are huge and nicely designed. Animation is pretty weird but interesting. Everything is super clean...but the occasional awkward movements remind me of shadow puppets.The item and Exp manipulation is pretty complicated but fun. You can harvest souls for experience, grow fruit, create potions...all in a manner that balances experience point increases against energy replenishment. I'm usually not a big RPG guy. But the focus on a decent action-based gameplay mechanic allowed me to appreciate and tolerate the EXP and item stuff.Of course, I've played 3 hours of a 40 hour game. So, opinions and patience can change dramatically over that time. I'm not very optimistic that I'll be able to find the time to play through all 40 hours of the game. But I'm sure to pick it up when I have some free time to appreciate the artistry and passion that can be seen.