Wednesday, December 16, 2015

Closing 1991; Opening 1992

Transitioning into another year is exciting. It's a time when I look back on the games I played, and those still ahead. The year 1991 saw the largest number of RPGs on console, and that number isn't matched again until 1998. While the numbers slowly decline, the quality is on the rise as we have yet to enter what was considered the golden age.

I was disappointed in a lot of the games I'd never played: Sword of Vermilion, Faria, Sword of Hope, Faery Tale Adventure, and Crystal Warriors. I enjoyed the exploration RPGs Starflight and Uncharted Waters more than I anticipated. Phantasy Star III, while not as bad as the second, continued to drag the series down. Final Fantasy II (IV), didn't quite shine as brightly as I remembered. Other childhood favorites like Magician and Lagoon were still just as good. However, my favorite games were those I'd never played before: Rings of Power had an amazing world, Warsong was a fun strategy title, Final Fantasy Legend II improved on the first title, but Dragon Warrior III takes the highest esteem and is my pick for game of the year. The takeaway here being while the unknown has its downside, there are many titles that make it worth the time.
Welcome to 1992, and we already get to see how Dragon Warrior continues in the fourth installment
1992, the US saw the release of the TurboDuo and SegaCD (although no RPG releases until 1993). Although the TurboGrafx-CD had been released in the US for a couple of years, there seems to be a flood of RPGs at the same time the TurboDuo came out. Ys: Book 1 & 2, which I played at the release date of Ys 1, was the only CD based RPG until Cosmic Fantasy 2. It's possible Dragon Slayer and Exile came out earlier in the year, but without accurate release dates it's hard to say. Given the gap, the release of the TurboDuo may have been the driving force behind releasing these CD based RPGs.

Original Titles
(Source: GameFAQs)
Arcana - Here began my fascination with card based games, or at least the first time I acknowledged it. During (or near) this same year I found out about Magic: The Gathering, and the lesser known Fantasy Adventures. Every time a game had a card game I'd get sucked into it far more than the rest of the story. So much so that I'd often forgot what I was doing, and play the card game instead. Arcana takes an elemental based approach to rock-paper-scissor mechanics, and presents nearly everything on playing cards. This one is a childhood favorite, which I haven't played for at least 20 years.
(Source: Wikipedia)

Cosmic Fantasy 2 - I debated putting this in the with the sequels, but technically this is the first (and last) release in the US for this series, despite its name. I can only imagine Working Designs intended to bring the rest over, but despite critical acclaim, that never happened. I know very little about the game, so I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes.

(Source: HardcoreGamer)
Defenders of Oasis -The last Game Gear game I'll be playing, and I know very little about it. It's interesting that this and Exile came out in the same year as they share a similar setting. I like to keep the few unknown games in the dark until I get to play them for the first time.


(Source: GameFAQs)
Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun - One of the first D&D licensed games made exclusively for home console. Unlike other D&D titles, this isn't based on an existing PC game, and it remained on the Genesis only released in the US and Europe. Yet another game I have no experience with, but have heard only good things about. 


(Source: MobyGames)
Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest - Here we have another childhood favorite. Seems it's either one way or another this year. I recall being amazed at the ability to jump in a Final Fantasy game. Now while this is technically in the Final Fantasy world, I don't consider it a sequel. It was originally created for the US market to encourage more people to get into RPGs. Instead, it alienated many fans of the main series with simpler mechanics.

(Source: GameFAQs)
Knight Quest - A Game Boy game I've never heard of before, and it's an RPG. I don't remember ever seeing anyone play through this, so I hope that's not an indicator for quality. I suppose at best I could hope for a mediocre experience, one possibly peppered with a terrible mechanic or steep difficulty curve. In any case, I'm warily looking forward to this one.

(Source: Giant Bomb)
Legend of Ghost Lion - A strange NES game that takes a different approach to character development. Instead of experience based levels, or direct combat, the main character collects specific items to increase strength, and summons spirits to aid her in battle. Searching for her missing parents she follows the legend of a white lion.

(Source: MobyGames)
Order of the Griffon - The other one of the first D&D licensed games exclusive to home console. We'll see a few of these over the years, but from what I can tell, only this and Warriors of the Eternal Sun stand out. This title has more in common with the gold box games, and I'm looking forward experiencing it firsthand. The cover taken straight from the Spellfire novel has me curious, even though I suspect it's completely unrelated.

(Source: GameFAQs)
Soul Blazer - A classic, and childhood favorite. I can't wait to play through this one again. Alas, it comes at the end of the year. At the same time, it's so well known that I don't think I really have anything more to add. Borrowing a bit of the world building idea from ActRaiser, Soul Blazer produces a much more cohesive world with a large cast of characters with whom to interact. Character building is mostly fixed, but the depth of the world and story pulls it above the mark.
(Source: MobyGames)

Traysia - Having grown up on Nintendo consoles, I was mostly in the dark on Genesis games, especially the more obscure ones such as Traysia. I've heard it's rather run-of-the-mill, but we'll see how it stands with its peers. It can't be worse than Sword of Vermilion, right?








Sequels
(Source: GameFAQs)
Dragon Warrior IV - By far my most anticipated game this year, I'm hoping it doesn't fail to improve on the greatness of the previous installment. Done with the Erdrick trilogy, we'll be entering a completely new story, and I've heard this is the best of the Dragon Warrior games on NES. I'm not sure why we never even rented this game. Possibly we'd already moved on to the SNES, and never looked back. Often when moving on from one system to the next we'd miss the later titles, and since we didn't buy the third, I suspect we gave up on the series for other games (i.e. Final Fantasy).








Ports
(Source: GameFAQs)
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes - A port from the Japanese exclusive PC-98, the Dragon Slayer series enjoyed a great success. Although we did see a few of these titles already, the Legend of Heroes is really its own sub-series. Legacy of the Wizard and Faxanadu don't compare with this title. I somehow overlooked this title when I first made the list, but luckily a stream viewer alerted me to the missing title (thanks Morricane). It's obviously an RPG, so it's now added after Cosmic Fantasy as it lacks a definitive release month.

(Source: Hardcore Gaming 101)
Exile - Originally known as XZR, this is a port of the second title in the series. It picks up after the events of the first XZR, so I'm curious about how the localization team accounted for the lack of that game in the US market. This was released on Genesis and TG-CD, but due to some censorship, and picking up the game with the system, I'll be playing on the TurboGrafx-CD version.

(Source: Hardcore Gaming 101)
Might & Magic: Book 1 - There's probably an interesting bit of history to explain why the first game was ported a year later than the second one, but I can't find anything on the topic. Sammy, not EA, was the publisher on the NES. I expect a brutally hard game where I'll struggle for hours just trying to get a foothold in the game. Anything less will be disappointing to the Might & Magic name.

(Source: Escapist)
Pool of Radiance - My favorite gold box title, and the only one ported to the NES; I'm hoping it does well with the game. I have never touched the console version, so it'll be a new experience. Much of the same challenge probably exists, although it's strange to note the party only has five characters. Let's see how much of it I can remember.

(Source: GameFAQs)
Wizardry II: Knight of Diamonds - There's a part of me dreading this game. The first wouldn't have been so bad except that I basically had to play through it twice. Losing my party at the final boss meant playing through the game twice. I'm hoping it's smoother; at least I don't have to worry about playing through all of Wizardry just to get characters to import into this game.

(Source: GameFAQs)
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys - Although a sequel of Ys II, this version is another port from the PC-98. One of the few games released on multiple consoles, I had to make another decision on which version to play. Having owned the SNES version since childhood, I decided to forgo buying another copy. From what I can tell, the Genesis version has much more detailed graphics, and the TG version has CD quality sound. Overall, the game differences are very minor.





Expected Cuts
Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe - A strange side story in the Golden Axe series, the player controls Ax Battler as he attempts to retrieve the Golden Axe from evil. A mix of top-down over worlds and towns are paired with a side view for random combat and cave exploration. There's little character development (new skills are gained, but no stats change), and combat is simplistic.

Cowboy Kid - An RPG? No, definitely not. Although not listed as an RPG on MobyGames at this time, it was at one point, so it could be listed as one somewhere else. There's no character development, some NPCs, but not a lot of story or world exploration.

Gemfire - A strategy game limited to a single map. Released on Genesis, NES, and SNES, it was one of the first to offer generals that had specialized units. With more in common with Romance of the Three Kingdoms than Warsong, it's hard to say why someone would consider this an RPG rather than a simulation-strategy game.

Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past - This was a great game, and I enjoyed discovering every bit of it as a kid. However, I never felt it had very much in common with games I considered RPGs. Maybe that had to do with my experience in Bard's Tale and Wizardry before this time. I enjoy these games a lot, but to compare them to Final Fantasy, Arcana, or even Ys seems a bit off.

Ninja Taro - I'm not sure how this was ever considered an RPG, but someone made a terrible mistake. In fact, I think the mistake was even making this game. The game seems to use the same engine as Rolan's Curse, but somehow manages to have even less features.

Rolan's Curse II - The second in the series doesn't do anything to add to the score for the RPG scale. There are a couple more sub-weapons, but the world is built in the same way.

Spiritual Warfare - An action adventure similar to Zelda once again gets confused as an RPG. This wasn't even technically a licensed title, but I thought I'd cover it. There's no character advancement, and the story is minimal.

Tecmo Cup: Soccer Game - Probably the closest for consideration, I don't think this quite meets all the criteria. This is a turn-based soccer game where the characters gain strength after a game. Using special moves to get past the other team and score goals is the only strategy I see. I believe the game lacks an economy, NPCs, or a world to explore.

Ultima: Runes of Virtue - This appears to be yet another Zelda-like action-adventure. Like others character advancement is minimal, and is reliant more on player reflexes to settle combat. The departure from the standard Ultima model seems strange, and I'm curious to know more about it, but not enough to give it full coverage.




And with that, we're off to another exciting year of RPGs. There's a good mix of games I've played through before, and new ones that I'm excited to try for the first time. I'm not dreading any of the games, and am eager to get back to playing RPGs after this extended break. Look forward to a post on Ys III near the beginning of 2016. Happy holidays all, and have a good New Year.

20 comments:

  1. Looking forward to 1992! A few spoiler-free thoughts on games I'm familiar with...

    Arcana - I enjoyed this long ago, but I thought the card aspect was mostly story flavor/window dressing. It's not really a card battle RPG like Baten Kaitos or the Phantasy Star C.A.R.D. game; it's more of a dungeon crawler RPG.

    Defenders of Oasis - this one can be purchased on the 3DS eShop for the modest price of $3.99. It's worth it if you're into simple, retro RPGs.

    FF Mystic Quest - I think it was pretty expensive upon release. When we were kids saving up our allowances for weeks to buy that one special game, well, something as short and easy as FFMQ would have been a wallet-crushing disappointment.

    Ghost Lion - one of the few "girl-friendly" RPGs of the time, featuring a female protagonist. Something of a hidden gem; it's not on the 3DS eShop but deserves to be.

    Traysia - um, well, it's short and pretty easy if you figure out how to cheese the game (which I heartily recommend doing). That's something, right?

    Dragon Warrior IV - I'm predicting it now, GOTY 1992.

    Might & Magic Book 1 - from what I hear this PC port is horrifically riddled with bugs. Still finishable, but good grief. I played the PC version, which was a relatively bug-free and amazingly open-world game (incredible for 1987).

    Wizardry II - Schadenfreude. :)



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    1. Arcana - very fun

      Defenders of Oasis - I've bought all the GG RPGs available on the 3DS

      Mystic Quest - iirc this was only $40, but I can understand the disappointed even for half that

      Ghost Lion - looks like a girl to me

      Traysia - cheesing the game is an option, will report how it goes

      DW4 - quite possibly

      M&M1 & Wizardry 2 - I'm expecting long, hard fought victories

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  2. I've played a couple of these recently.

    I found Dragon Warrior IV to be a bit of a drag to be honest. It started off well enough but the last chapter seemed to go on forever and the random combats became really tiresome. Then again I found Dragon Warrior III too long for me as well.

    I really enjoyed Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes. The voice acting was cheesy but it had some memorable characters and was just about the right length.

    I'll be interested to read your thoughts on Pools of Radiance - the original was classic.

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    1. In addition to upgraded graphics, I believe the GameBoy Color remakes of DW 1-3 all drastically increased the amount of gold and experience you get from random battles, making the games much less of a tedious grind.

      I believe the the Nintendo DS remake of DW4 gave it similar treatment, as well as adding the postgame bonus content that was not in the original NES version. But DS DW4 excised all of the new "party chat" dialogue that the player could see at virtually any point in the game. (In other words, press a button to read what your team thinks of the current situation.)

      "Party Chat" dialogue exists in the Nintendo DS remakes of DQ5 and DQ6. I assume it will exist in the forthcoming 3DS remakes of DQ7 and DQ8. But if you want to experience the DQ4 remake in its complete glory, you need to play the mobile version, which includes "party chat".

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    2. @Wingnut I think I'll enjoy DW4 based on how much I liked DW3. Glad to hear about Dragon Slayer; it's hard to gauge games like this that don't get a lot of coverage. Pool of Radiance is highly anticipated for the setting, but I'm not sure how it'll live up to the DOS version I played many years ago.

      @Victar: I've heard the grind is a bit easier on those versions of DW. The NES versions are the ones I had already collected, so those are the ones I'm playing, and playing a handheld over a home console just seems wrong. If I really enjoy the game maybe I'll pick up one of the modern remakes.

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  3. Some good stuff coming up.

    Cosmic Fantasy 2 is playable but really really poorly designed in a multitude of ways. Well, I won't spoil it for you but the devs certainly messed up or something got mucked in the localization. I also have the first game in the series but haven't played it.

    Exile rules. One of my favorite games ever.

    Soul Blazer is cool. I'm actually in the midst of playing Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, and Terranigma back-to-back. Great "series."

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    1. Yes, Cosmic Fantasy 2 has some stuff going on that just makes you wonder why. I assume it's just because they didn't know any better. But regardless, I never could bother to finish the game. I wish better luck for the Consoler.

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    2. Cosmic Fantasy 2 is going to be a strange one, got it. Even on a system as underrated as TurboGrafx, this is one of those titles I've heard very little about and I'll keep it that way until I play it.

      For Exile, did you play the TG-CD version or Genesis?

      Soul Blazer is another game I had as a kid, and should go by rather quickly (sadly). Terranigma is one I never got to play since it never made it stateside. I think I'll have to give it a try one day, but it's not going to be covered on the blog (except maybe mentioned in passing).

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    3. I have Exile on Genesis, though I plan to get the Turbo version as well.

      Definitely play Terranigma. It's insanely good. Plus if you skip it completely you'll be missing out on part 3 of the 4-part Heaven and Earth saga. Oh, shameless plug - but I just (as in, 5 minutes ago) wrote about Terranigma on my own RPG blog ("JRPG Densetsu").

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    4. Well, I hope you enjoy the coverage for the TG version.

      I'll keep Terranigma in mind.

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  4. Hmm, I must have moved on to PC RPGs by this point since I don't remember playing most of these games as a kid (though I did have a NES, Game Boy, Genesis and I think at some point that year the SNES). Interesting to see how these games developed the genre, and especially the comparison again existing PC games (Pool of Radiance is still one of my all time favourites). Can't wait and thanks again for the blog!

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    1. Glad you enjoy the blog. It helps motivate me to keep it up.

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  5. Incidentally, the newest Langrisser (Warsong) game for 3DS is releasing next year.

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    1. Glad to see Langrisser still going strong, but 3D seems like the wrong perspective for this game.

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  6. Gemfire is one of my all time favorites on the Super Nintendo, but alas it really is a strategy game and not a RPG. The game is a great deal more complex than it lets on, though only in very specific and rare circumstances is that complexity actually noticeable.

    I believe there is a ROM hack somewhere that modifies the game so that each province is owned by a different family, but I've never gotten it to work correctly.

    Oh well, that's enough for a cut game, looking forward to 1992!

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    1. It's definitely one of the more intriguing cuts of the year. Strategy games are definite contender for second or third favorite genre.

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  7. Ys 3 was the first CD I ever bought. Yes, even before any music CD. The TurboCD was the first CD player I ever had. Anyway, yes, the music on the Turbo version is mighty fine, even if you're set on playing the Super Nintendo version, hopefully you can find a way to listen to the tracks (I'd bet they're up on youtube like 90% of all music ever) before finishing your article on the game. The voice acting is, unsurprisingly, atrocious, typical of most early CD games.

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    1. I can appreciate the CD quality music, but something about the SNES music oozes nostalgia.

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  8. It's been awhile. Nice seeing your progress however.

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    1. Yep, back now. Thanks for continuing to stop by. Aiming for a post a week once again; we'll see how I do.

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