You are Nigel, an elf and treasure hunter extraordinaire. Assisted by his new partner Friday, Nigel will travel to a distant island in a search of a legendary treasure.
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Game 700!
Kind of weird that a game with so much emphasis in platforming has no shadow when a similarly isometric game like Light Crusader on the same system didn't have that much emphasis in jumping around yet it did have shadows, it makes difficult to judge perspectives gameplay-wise and graphically wise it can make things look odd, like an amateurish landscape painting with no shading.
While it can become a little reiterative compared to Light Crusader because of its large lenght, the game features a charming script and more thought out locales, so I think it balances out with the short but sweet adventure of Treasure's posterior game
Thanks Gsar for the recommendation!
Kind of weird that a game with so much emphasis in platforming has no shadow when a similarly isometric game like Light Crusader on the same system didn't have that much emphasis in jumping around yet it did have shadows, it makes difficult to judge perspectives gameplay-wise and graphically wise it can make things look odd, like an amateurish landscape painting with no shading.
While it can become a little reiterative compared to Light Crusader because of its large lenght, the game features a charming script and more thought out locales, so I think it balances out with the short but sweet adventure of Treasure's posterior game
Thanks Gsar for the recommendation!
This was the first isometric action game I'd played back when it came out. It was a brilliantly designed game then, and revisiting it with a new perspective only made it shine brighter.
Landstalker is an isometric action-RPG that strikes a perfect balance of exploration, action, platforming and puzzle solving, with a great story and set of characters. It's not afraid to be quite difficult at times, and to use its isometric viewpoint to up the challenge: hidden paths, difficulty aligning platforms, many a secret right at your feet if only you could see them. It's also unafraid to punish missteps with backtracking, sending you past a missed platform an onto the level below for the hajillionth time. But a zippy pace mean another shot at that jump is just a few moments away, and the tight controls with full air control are never at fault. Patience and perseverance are required, and this type of challenge may frustrate some.
The only notable flaw is in the sound: I do wish the enemies had at least a few more sound effects for getting hurt and defeated; the same few over and over is unfortunate. But repetitive yelps aside, the other effects are solid and the OST is very strong and catchy.
Landstalker's dungeons are a good illustration of how to leverage a handful of tools in an array of creative ways. Nigel can jump, swing his sword, carry objects and chuck them across a room. The steadily increasing complexity and creativity in how you have to deploy these abilities ramps up throughout the game in ways that constantly surprise and challenge, in dungeons that are sprawling and varied.
This is a masterclass of an isometric action-RPG.
Played on Genesis Mini.
Landstalker is an isometric action-RPG that strikes a perfect balance of exploration, action, platforming and puzzle solving, with a great story and set of characters. It's not afraid to be quite difficult at times, and to use its isometric viewpoint to up the challenge: hidden paths, difficulty aligning platforms, many a secret right at your feet if only you could see them. It's also unafraid to punish missteps with backtracking, sending you past a missed platform an onto the level below for the hajillionth time. But a zippy pace mean another shot at that jump is just a few moments away, and the tight controls with full air control are never at fault. Patience and perseverance are required, and this type of challenge may frustrate some.
The only notable flaw is in the sound: I do wish the enemies had at least a few more sound effects for getting hurt and defeated; the same few over and over is unfortunate. But repetitive yelps aside, the other effects are solid and the OST is very strong and catchy.
Landstalker's dungeons are a good illustration of how to leverage a handful of tools in an array of creative ways. Nigel can jump, swing his sword, carry objects and chuck them across a room. The steadily increasing complexity and creativity in how you have to deploy these abilities ramps up throughout the game in ways that constantly surprise and challenge, in dungeons that are sprawling and varied.
This is a masterclass of an isometric action-RPG.
Played on Genesis Mini.
i turn the game on and immediately get ptsd upon seeing it is an isometric sega genesis game
Neat lil game fo sho. It's like an isometric action platformer with RPG elements thrown in occasionally. Movement is locked into diagonals so a controller with comfortable diagonals is absolutely recommended. Game felt very shining-adjacent in tone, with adventurous music, charming characters, and a fun lighthearted plot. The game is absolutely huge with a large overworld and tons of dungeons. Some of the platforming in the dungeons can be a little difficult due to the control but the layouts are always forgiving enough in not hurting you too much if you mess up. The combat however, I felt was a bit annoying. It was rather basic with enemies that took just a few too many hits to kill in most times so you just kinda push em up against a corner and mash away to kill em. Dying is pretty punishing, so sometimes getting ass blasted by an enemy feels like a cheap death and can be frustrating. I would def rec this to anyone who wants a big fun adventure on the mega drive, but i'd also suggest using an emulator or something to mitigate the various BS that the game throws at ya.
The isometric perspective, strange controls (you basically can only walk forward or backward and have to stop and turn if you want to move east/west instead of north/south) and focus on platforming hold the game back, but it's still worth checking out.
(sega mega drive & genesis classics 57/58)
I liked this a lot more than I expected to. It's not really fun, like, at all, but it's carried pretty hard by just being charming and engaging (much unlike what I was expecting from a game called "Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole").
From a gameplay perspective I think Light Crusader nailed just about everything better (plus it's only half as long as this), but that game is admittedly shockingly lacking in personality for a Treasure game, meanwhile this game has it in spades. This gives it an advantage because it makes me much more likely to reminisce on it than Light Crusader, despite being a more frustrating experience overall.
A lot of the time I found this one really confusing to navigate because of the isometric perspective. A lot of puzzles rely solely on that, and more than anything it's just tedious and annoying. This is mainly in the second half though, while the first half is generally more sober.
Of particular mention is the fucking awful two-hour labyrinth towards the end. Nothing will prepare you for that. It is a pure hellscape of ugly blues and greens. I probably would have this a point higher if not for that section alone.
Between this and Light Crusader, I'm not sure which I would recommend. Probably neither, despite not being bad games. If you can stomach the perspective bullshit, though, then maybe both. Maybe to see which one is more to your liking.
I liked this a lot more than I expected to. It's not really fun, like, at all, but it's carried pretty hard by just being charming and engaging (much unlike what I was expecting from a game called "Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole").
From a gameplay perspective I think Light Crusader nailed just about everything better (plus it's only half as long as this), but that game is admittedly shockingly lacking in personality for a Treasure game, meanwhile this game has it in spades. This gives it an advantage because it makes me much more likely to reminisce on it than Light Crusader, despite being a more frustrating experience overall.
A lot of the time I found this one really confusing to navigate because of the isometric perspective. A lot of puzzles rely solely on that, and more than anything it's just tedious and annoying. This is mainly in the second half though, while the first half is generally more sober.
Of particular mention is the fucking awful two-hour labyrinth towards the end. Nothing will prepare you for that. It is a pure hellscape of ugly blues and greens. I probably would have this a point higher if not for that section alone.
Between this and Light Crusader, I'm not sure which I would recommend. Probably neither, despite not being bad games. If you can stomach the perspective bullshit, though, then maybe both. Maybe to see which one is more to your liking.