Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean is a role-playing video game developed by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo, but cancelled and ported to the Sega Saturn. It is the first Albert Odyssey title to be released in English, as well as the first to feature traditional turn-based role-playing elements as opposed to tactical, strategy-based gameplay. Legend of Eldean was created as a "gaiden", or sidestory to the original titles, and contains back story, characters, and plot that are independent from earlier games in the series. The North American version received generally favorable reviews, with the game's translation invoking mixed criticism both for its overly-humorous tone and departure from the original Japanese dialogue.
Reviews View More
A very basic jrpg with good music and maybe one of Working Designs funniest translations. The story splits in two and it's a shame as the second part isn't bad but they pacing really changes at that point. Another odd problem I had with it was how slow everything felt, especially the battles. It seemed like some content must have been cut out or unfinished as there are places that seemed empty or of no use.
Overall I liked this game as it was pretty mellow but there is not much wow factor here and it's a very run of the mill jrpg.
Overall I liked this game as it was pretty mellow but there is not much wow factor here and it's a very run of the mill jrpg.
I enjoy a lot of what Albert Odyssey offers and revisit it every now and then when I want a classic JRPG. The artwork is really stunning throughout, with a high level of detail and great use of color. The quest is well written and structured, and I love that the mythological descendent of Albert is, well, not who we expect. The combat is very plain turn-based action but it gets the job done.
In the absence of other issues, I'd call this a better than average RPG from the era. But the encounter rate is too high for such simple battles, and they can grow tedious, especially since the load times going into and out of battle, despite Working Designs reducing them from the Japanese version, are still too long. There's a horrible bug that causes combat to fail to load now and then, forcing replayed sections. The last dungeon is the largest difficulty spike I've ever seen in an RPG. And boy, Working Designs "humor" is on full display here, and in particularly misogynistic form. I'm still grateful to them that I got to play this back when it came out, and for the love they put into their packaging and releases. But their humor was jarring at the time and wildly out of place now.
All that said, I still enjoy this one for the world, the story, and the music. It's a beautifully crafted game, with some rough edges and bog-standard combat.
In the absence of other issues, I'd call this a better than average RPG from the era. But the encounter rate is too high for such simple battles, and they can grow tedious, especially since the load times going into and out of battle, despite Working Designs reducing them from the Japanese version, are still too long. There's a horrible bug that causes combat to fail to load now and then, forcing replayed sections. The last dungeon is the largest difficulty spike I've ever seen in an RPG. And boy, Working Designs "humor" is on full display here, and in particularly misogynistic form. I'm still grateful to them that I got to play this back when it came out, and for the love they put into their packaging and releases. But their humor was jarring at the time and wildly out of place now.
All that said, I still enjoy this one for the world, the story, and the music. It's a beautifully crafted game, with some rough edges and bog-standard combat.
In modern times hearing that a Japanese game is getting a western release is pretty standard news. With this information is generally the assumption that in most cases that will mean it will get a release in North America and most countries in Europe at a bare minimum but that wasn't always the case. Back in the 90's and early 2000's if a game got a western release announcement you had to actually look what that meant. Being from Europe we missed a lot of games that were released only in North America back then. Titles like Parasite Eve, Xenogears, Chrono trigger / Cross, Final Fantasy Tactics, Xenosaga 1 & 3 (2 came out here in an odd twist) among a huge slew of others.
One of these titles was Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean for the Sega Saturn. It's the third game in the series, first to get a release outside of Japan and even then to North America only. (The original SNES Albert Odyssey does have an English patch to those interested, though it's sequel is still only in Japanese at this time). Legend of Eldean was localised into English by a company called Working Designs. They did a whole host of localisations for obscure JRPGs back then that would never have seen the light of day here without them. On the flipside however they are infamous for butchering dialogue and localising the games so that 'American audiences could understand them' which is both patronising and damaging to the integrity of the games.
The dialogue in Albert Odyssey is dreadful, there is just no other way to phrase it. At times it has pop culture references that aged terribly, mentions Sweden, Burritos as well as some extremely edgy sexism and phrasing that add nothing to the game. I have no idea how much of it was them taking liberties, and how much of it was just bad from the original game but either way I do wish there was an 'un-working' design patch to correct some of these issues when they appear. It isn't constant but it's jarring enough when it happens to be both hugely out of place and irritating when it does. The over arcing story of Albert Odyssey equally suffers though through no fault of Working Designs but the original vision. It feels like two different games merged together that don't have much in common leaving the plot feeling poorly paced.
The thing is though, this isn't a bad game, I actually enjoyed my time with it despite my issues above. Visually it's gorgeous using lovely pixel art as it started as a SNES game and the Saturn was always a 2D powerhouse. I love the artwork and character portraits. Sounding like an old man here but 80's and 90's anime designs were at their height back then. The game is extremely vibrant and colourful and has a neat little soundtrack to match it. The combat is a simple affair taking a departure from the first two games which were SRPGs to a basic turn based system with, attack, defend, magic and item. Nothing special here but kind of quaint in an old school way as someone who grew up with this as fairly standard.
It's got it's charm and it's easy and fun to play through. I appreciate it when you get non human cast members in games and Albert Odyssey leans into that. The last dungeon is a bit of a headache and the writing and pacing are questionable but overall it is an enjoyable little game that is worth the time to play.
+ Gorgeous art and colour.
+ Nice music.
+ Has a lot of charm and an almost nostalgic feeling to it.
- Localisation liberties at times make the writing insufferable.
- The over arching story is a little all over the place.
One of these titles was Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean for the Sega Saturn. It's the third game in the series, first to get a release outside of Japan and even then to North America only. (The original SNES Albert Odyssey does have an English patch to those interested, though it's sequel is still only in Japanese at this time). Legend of Eldean was localised into English by a company called Working Designs. They did a whole host of localisations for obscure JRPGs back then that would never have seen the light of day here without them. On the flipside however they are infamous for butchering dialogue and localising the games so that 'American audiences could understand them' which is both patronising and damaging to the integrity of the games.
The dialogue in Albert Odyssey is dreadful, there is just no other way to phrase it. At times it has pop culture references that aged terribly, mentions Sweden, Burritos as well as some extremely edgy sexism and phrasing that add nothing to the game. I have no idea how much of it was them taking liberties, and how much of it was just bad from the original game but either way I do wish there was an 'un-working' design patch to correct some of these issues when they appear. It isn't constant but it's jarring enough when it happens to be both hugely out of place and irritating when it does. The over arcing story of Albert Odyssey equally suffers though through no fault of Working Designs but the original vision. It feels like two different games merged together that don't have much in common leaving the plot feeling poorly paced.
The thing is though, this isn't a bad game, I actually enjoyed my time with it despite my issues above. Visually it's gorgeous using lovely pixel art as it started as a SNES game and the Saturn was always a 2D powerhouse. I love the artwork and character portraits. Sounding like an old man here but 80's and 90's anime designs were at their height back then. The game is extremely vibrant and colourful and has a neat little soundtrack to match it. The combat is a simple affair taking a departure from the first two games which were SRPGs to a basic turn based system with, attack, defend, magic and item. Nothing special here but kind of quaint in an old school way as someone who grew up with this as fairly standard.
It's got it's charm and it's easy and fun to play through. I appreciate it when you get non human cast members in games and Albert Odyssey leans into that. The last dungeon is a bit of a headache and the writing and pacing are questionable but overall it is an enjoyable little game that is worth the time to play.
+ Gorgeous art and colour.
+ Nice music.
+ Has a lot of charm and an almost nostalgic feeling to it.
- Localisation liberties at times make the writing insufferable.
- The over arching story is a little all over the place.
Hands down one of the funniest RPGs I've ever played, Working Designs went bonkers with the translation. Music & presentation are outstanding too
I would have beaten it sooner, but the last few battles and dungeons take up way too much time. Some bosses can take up to 20+ mins, and the last dungeon is so confusing, Working Designs had to put a guide on their website on how to get through it (which is still up today). I also wished the game had more content.
But ya, pretty alright game.
I would have beaten it sooner, but the last few battles and dungeons take up way too much time. Some bosses can take up to 20+ mins, and the last dungeon is so confusing, Working Designs had to put a guide on their website on how to get through it (which is still up today). I also wished the game had more content.
But ya, pretty alright game.
The translation makes it worth, because without it, it would be just a run-of-the-mill JRPG that no one would remember months after its release.
It's weird the game has two separated and unrelated storylines, and by the time you get to the second part, you're already invested on the first part that the second one isn't interesting enough.
I managed to beat it, but I don't think it's worth other people's attention.
It's weird the game has two separated and unrelated storylines, and by the time you get to the second part, you're already invested on the first part that the second one isn't interesting enough.
I managed to beat it, but I don't think it's worth other people's attention.
This game is bizarre. It's a by-the-numbers JRPG for the most part. The music's pretty good, also. However, Working Designs has once again provided a highly questionable localization, creating one of the most bizarrely sexist dialogue choices I have ever seen in a commercial product. The rest of the localization is pretty rough, also. It's playable, but you'll be groaning a lot throughout your playthrough. If you can stomach some questionable writing, you might have an okay time with this one.