Since I discovered the Square (Enix) music channel on YOutube, I found a renewed interest in retro games that never got released in North America, like Romancin Sa Ga (yes, the words are separate). But for a Square product, I’m sad to say that I was disappointed
Graphics 6/10
Overall, the graphics are barely average, with characters being very small and without much details – similar to Final Fantasy : Mystic Quest. And just like that game, there isn’t (except toward the VERY end) a single attempt at doing 3D, which Final Fantasy IV did well at the time.
Also, like modern tactical RPGs, there isn’t really an overworld; you just « warp » from place to place. However, these places can be very vast like a plain or steppe. And in these places occur the worst graphical problem : collision detection. Anywhere you go and you can fight, you see the enemy’s strongest foe (fairies, skeletons, plants, etc.). However, even with an emulator, you will often be thrown in a battle caught from the side or behind because 17 frames ahead, the monster will turn your way. It’s extremely frustrating; hell, sometimes you go through the monster’s pixels without a scratch. Their speed varies widely too; zombies are usually pretty slow but they move at twice the speed on the Evil Island. And in the last dungeon, enemies are surprisingly sparse and easy to avoid – there are floor elements that can help you avoid them.
Finally, battles graphics are nicely designed and, in many respects, better than even Final Fantasy V. For example, each and every weapon has a different animation, and they ALL only slash once. Unless you use a technique like Double Slash or One-Two punch (if you have the Punch weapon); then the double slash is visible. Speaking of techniques, each weapon has four of them, ranging from tripping enemies to instantly killing them to extra damage to a row / column of enemies.
As for magic, the little that I used was not much out of the ordinary, especially healing.
But on a positive note : you do leave traces in snow and sand. The latter is very useful in the desert, where sand « currents » can make you lose your orientation quickly. A nice touch I think
Music 6/10
It pains me to give this game such a low rating – it was one of my main incentives to try the game after listening to the soundtrack online.
Most of the tracks are quite catchy, especially if you like bass (RE : the main battle theme and the boss battle theme). South Estamir sounds very joyful and welcoming, whereas the ship theme really sounds like you are sailing the open seas. The various dungeon themes ranges in mystery and epicness – the final dungeon sounds like you are actually traversing hell (however, there IS such a dungeon, with a different theme).
Each of the 8 heroes has their own theme… and that’s why I gave it such a low rating. At least with Albert, his theme is heard for AT LEAST 75% of the places you visit – dungeons, cities, you name it. Even Final Fantasy ONE did dungeons and overworld themes better.
And a 16-bit Square RPG without a « major boss » track is inexcusable. Also, the boss theme track is way too sparse – you don’t even hear it for mini bosses (usually) when they become regular enemies later.
Addictiveness 6/10
There is a lot to do in this game… if you know where to look (see difficulty)
For starters, who have the choice between 8 different heroes (4 men, 4 women), each with their own theme. You get to know a little about their stories when you play them, and you get to meet all the others (eventually) as the game progresses. But then, they are merely recruitable characters that just stand there – except maybe Hawk, who holds on to the Ancient Scrolls.
Trying to get the six (from the SNES – the WonderSwan version has two more stones) gemstones will prove challenging, sometimes requiring chained quests. Some will come to you while sleeping, and with specific people in your party, which you can change at will (and you can recruit these same people if you want, later).
Finally, probably the most interesting feature, there is a « pre final » dungeon you need to access in order to get weapons in hopes to defeat the final boss. All three are possible to get at the same time (see difficulty again), boosting your chances to get better weapons, exclusive spells AND getting more experience points.
Story 8/10
Long ago, gods fought among themselves. While 2 of them were defeated, one (Saruin) was defeated only after a lenghthy battle, and even then he never accepted defeat. He was sealed away with 8 gemstones. And now, he wants to break free…
While not ground-breaking, the story thread is good enough to keep you invested in Saruin’s defeat. As mentioned about, you play the game as one of 8 warriors, each with their unique intro stories (Albert’s is the longest, and I find the most captivating). You roam the world trying to find all the gemstones your console allows you to – although in the end, they don’t seem to influence the story that much. You get involved in many NPC stories, especially around Mirsaburg and Melville.
Depth 7/10
Just like Final Fantasy IV, this game took me around 25 hours to complete.
While you always end up meeting all the characters, notwithstanding who your starting character is, I can’t think of any other (16-bit) game with such a diversity of starting points. Be it Jameel the thief trying to infiltrate a brothel, Albert the prince investigating a surge in monsters or Hawke the pirate rescuing gecklings, you will find the usual depth you expect from a Square game.
As mentioned above, there are 3 « pre-final » dungeons that will give you special weapons, if you can defeat its bosses – many of which will require either a specific weapon to go around their high evasion or high-level weapons to attack twice or paralyze them. This may require holding on to (at first) weak weapons. Fortunately, whenever you have a higher level weapon in your inventory, a stronger weapon of the same ilk (sword, axe, foil) will gain levels faster.
Difficulty 6/10
The difficulty in this game is all over the place, so 6 is really just an average.
On the one hand, this game seems impossible to complete without a guide since NPCs aren’t that helpful. After your character’s intro, the game basically become a huge sidequest to eventually reach the final dungeon. Most of the progress is done through getting inside a battle (fleeing counts), which will make some quests available are others not. Sadly, unless you count every single one of them, there is no way to know your progress, i.e. which quest you can and can not complete. Just know that Albert’s battle count resets after his ship crashes, so it’s ideal for some level grinding. But be ready for many, many, many battles.
Also, the difficulty is very badly spread out. Since monsters « level up » as you do, entering new areas (especially west of South Estamir) mean the enemies will be far stronger and they can easily decimate your party. Collision detection doesn’t help that problem, especially in dungeons with tight corridors.
Oh, and you can never have more than 9999 gold on hand. However, you can sell anything when you reach that amount to get a jewel (= 10k gold), and start over again. It gets annoying in later dungeons with lots of gold like the Kahili (?) desert. Once you open a chest and it puts you above 9999, that gold is lost forever.
Still about money, you never have your own transportation; you mostly have to rely on boats and they charge per PASSENGER. So for a full team, it can cost between 300 and 1200 gold. It can really break you in the early game.
Finally, while there can be "obvious" actions on morality (stealing, killing rescuing), there's no way to know it accurately, so which pre final dungeon you will get can be a VERY wild card
But on the other hand, EVERY SINGLE status (except curse, i.e. stone) is cured after EVERY battle, resting at an inn is always free and you can save EVERYWHERE, at ANY time. And thanks to a glitch, you can kill the final boss without ANY efforts. In the ice castle, just give the obsidian sword to the red priest, and Saruin will mimic whatever your 6th party member does. Just have them NOT attack (change position, defend, flee), and Saruing will simply defend.
In short, I’m not sure I can recommend this game. Despite a respectable soundtrack, navigating through the game is challenging without a guide, collision detection makes battles frustration even with an emulator and getting just enough battles to get you through is a « hair pullingly » frustrating (to adapt a French saying).
|
User Notice -1.png){kind=spacer}
-2-full.png){kind=spacer}
-3.png){kind=spacer}
