Gladius is a 2003 tactical role-playing video game for GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Developed and published by LucasArts, it was released for PlayStation 2 and Xbox in October 2003, and for GameCube in November. In December 2011, it was made available on the PlayStation Store, making it playable on the PlayStation 3, and in November 2021, it was added to Microsoft's backward compatibility program, making it playable on the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
The game tells two different, albeit similar, stories involving the same two protagonists; Valens (the son of one of the greatest gladiators the world has ever known) and Ursula (the adventure-craving, magic-infused daughter of the barbarian king). In each storyline, the protagonists form a school of gladiators to compete at regional games but soon find themselves facing a potentially world-ending event when an evil sorceress sets out to resurrect the Dark God Mortuus, who once brought the world to near-ruin.
Gladius was well received by critics, who praised the depth of the combat mechanics, the range of equipment, the extensive customization options, and, especially, the implementation of a hit meter mechanic during combat. Common points of criticism included an insubstantial storyline, inconsistent graphics, and the game's length, with some critics feeling it was unnecessarily long.
Gameplay Gladius is a turn-based tactical role-playing game. There are two main gameplay components — combat and a world map. The primary game mechanic tasks the player with building a school of gladiators and taking them into battle against opposing schools, winning regional tournaments so as to earn the right to compete in more prestigious tournaments. Upon beginning the game, the player must choose their player character from two options; Valens runs a school in the Roman-like Imperia, whilst Ursula is a member of a school run by her brother in the Nordic-like Nordagh. The storyline plays out differently depending on which character is used, but the overarching gameplay is the same across both characters.
Combat Combat in Gladius uses an interleaved turn-based system. The player issues an order to a gladiator (such as "move", "strike", or "defend") and the gladiator carries out that order. The player then either issues an order to another gladiator, or a computer controlled gladiator will perform an action, and so on. Each gladiator is free to move around the grid-pattern of the arena, but they can only move a certain distance per turn, determined by their character class, type of equipment, and status effects. This means that not every opponent is open to attack every turn. Different gladiators have different attacks and ranges, and an opponent must be within range for the attack option to be available to the player. Also important for attacking is the direction the opponent is facing and whether or not they are on elevated ground. When attacked from the side and from behind, Gladiators will take significantly more damage than when attacked from the front and will have no chance to block the attack. Gladiators on elevated ground receive less damage from those below them, whilst also causing more damage.
After issuing an attack order, the game presents the player with a "hit meter" that is used to determine the accuracy and effectiveness of the attack by having the player press a button or sequence of buttons at a particular time. All meters can be disabled in the options menu, with the game automatically and randomly determining the strength of attacks.
As well as a basic attack, each gladiator has access to certain skills. These skills are either active (the gladiator must be ordered to use them) or innate (they are activated automatically). As gladiators fight, they gain experience points, which eventually allows them to level up. When they do, they receive a number of "Job Points", which the player can use to purchase and/or upgrade skills. The available skills are different for each class of gladiator, and all skills are broken down into categories; attack, affinity (magic-infused attacks), combo, innate, and special (stat boosting, prompting crowd involvement, increasing initiative, etc.). To use active skills during combat, the gladiator must have sufficient skill points, which are built up at the rate of one per turn.
Affinity attacks are special attacks imbued with one of the game's six magic elements; earth, water, fire, wind, light, and dark. Each affinity attack requires a certain amount of affinity power before it can be used. The player can charge the gladiator's affinity power simply by attacking the enemy with a weapon imbued with that affinity. Once they have enough power, the player can then order an affinity attack. Armor and defensive equipment can also be imbued with an affinity. In this case, if a gladiator is attacked with a weapon imbued with the same affinity as their armor, they will receive very little damage.
There are several different types of combat in the game. The basic match type is to defeat all of the opponents. Other match types include timed combat where the team who scores the most hit points will win, timed combat where the team who break the most barrels will win, timed King of the Hill combat where the objective is to occupy the highest point in the arena and hold onto it for as long as possible, and combat where the first team to destroy the opposing team's statue will win. Different battles also have different restrictions; some battles will limit the player to using only gladiators of a particular class, affinity, or gender, meaning the player must build up a diverse school of different types of gladiators.
World map There are four regions in the game. Depending on whether the player character is Valens or Ursula, the game begins in either Imperia and then moves to Nordagh (Valens), or Nordagh and then moves to Imperia (Ursula). Upon completion of these two regions, the game moves onto the Windward Steppes (grasslands region), followed by the Southern Expanse (desert region), before then returning to Imperia.
Within each region, there are multiple towns, each of which has an arena. Each arena hosts several leagues, and each league hosts several battles. The player must win enough battles to win the league, and enough leagues to compete in the town's tournament. Once all the town tournaments have been completed, a regional tournament becomes available. The player must win the regional tournament to be able to move on to the next region.
Travel between the towns takes place on the world map, with the player free to visit any town in the region. As well as facilitating travel, the world map also features merchants who sell items not available in the regular shops, and NPCs to whom the player can speak, possibly getting side quests, hints, or local history. As in traditional RPGs, the world map features random combat encounters. Unlike in the arenas, however, if a gladiator is killed in a random encounter, they are permanently removed from the player's school. If the player character is defeated, it is game over and the player must reload from the last save.
The menu system is available within each town and is where the player selects the league in which to compete, accesses the shop, recruits gladiators to their school, and learns the background of the town. Players can also examine their gladiatorial school via submenus that allow them to read journals, equip their gladiators, customise each gladiator's appearance, examine their gladiators' stats, access a "rogues gallery" of defeated enemies, check to see what leagues the school has won, access a Q&A about the game, expel gladiators from their school, and spend job points to upgrade their gladiators' skills.
Multiplayer There are two multiplayer modes. Co-op allows up to four players (two on PlayStation 2) to play side-by-side in story mode. The first player controls the movement on the world map and the menu screens. Once that player has entered a battle, the other player(s) can control the gladiators of their choice. The other multiplayer mode is Versus, where up to four players (two on PlayStation 2) can compete in exhibition battles. This mode only becomes available when the player has reached Chapter II in the single-player game.
Plot Gladius features two separate storylines, one each for the two available player characters; Valens and Ursula. Unlike in many games with multiple player characters, the two campaigns in Gladius do not present different perspectives on the same story. Although some of the plot points are the same in each storyline, they are, in fact, two entirely independent plots, the details of which do not coalesce.
Background The game takes place in the fictional lands of Gladius where, decades earlier, only the barbarians of Nordagh stood against the marauding Empire of Imperia. The ensuing conflict, known as the Great War, was vicious and bitter, and although it quickly reached a military stalemate, the slaughter senselessly continued. So pronounced was the violence that it led to the rebirth of the Dark God, Mortuus, a dragon-like entity who began to lay waste to both armies. In response, the benevolent Affinity Gods lent their strength to Galltyr, Queen of the Valkyrie, and with her Warriors of Light, she attacked Mortuus. Although the Valkyrie were all but wiped out, they succeeded in defeating him.
The few human survivors vowed never to allow something like this to happen again, and Imperia withdrew from Nordagh, with a temple built over the body of Mortuus, sealing in his evil. The two kingdoms then negotiated a return of the non-lethal gladiator games of old, hoping that this would be where society's lust for violence could be channeled. Schools of gladiators from all over Gladius were soon vying to win regional tournaments in the hope of competing in the High Tournament in Imperia.
Valens As the game begins, Valens and his father, Munio (regarded as the greatest living gladiator), are returning from the amphitheatre when they are attacked by a group of men. Munio is killed, but Valens survives. Several weeks later, Valens takes over Munio's gladiatorial school, joined by his closest friend, Ludo, whom Munio had raised alongside Valens after the death of Ludo's father. Valens is also accompanied by Munio's most trusted advisor, Usus, who gives Valens Munio's amulet, telling him it is a symbol of Munio's love for the games.
Upon winning their first battle, Valens and Ludo are approached by two Channelers of the High Sept, who speak of their respect for Munio. As they depart, one notes, "he was wearing the amulet. I hope he understands the responsibility that comes with it." Shortly thereafter, they encounter the belligerent Imperial general, Mutuus. He offers Valens and Ludo a place in his school, but they reject him, with Usus explaining that he fought alongside Mutuus in the Great War, but after the defeat of Mortuus, Mutuus wanted Imperia to attack the weakened Nordagh, but Munio refused.
Upon winning the Imperial regional championship, the school heads to Roanor in Nordagh, the location of Mortuus's body, where they learn the temple has been broken into and Mortuus's heart stolen. They then encounter Ursula and Urlan, children of Nordagh's King Orin II. Helping the siblings escape an ambush, Ursula invites them to meet Orin. In Orin's court, Valens suggests that Ursula and Urlan join the school, and Orin agrees, much to Ursula's delight, and Ludo's chagrin. Thereafter, Ludo starts to become increasingly xenophobic, resentful of any non-Imperials who join the school.
Eventually, the increasingly antagonistic Ludo leaves the school, accusing Valens of lacking ambition and disgracing Munio's legacy. Meanwhile, the heart of the Dark God is brought by the thieves, led by Mutuus, to the summoner Nyphelia, who imbues Mutuus and his men with the power of darkness, creating the Dark Legion.