Mystaria, once a land of peace and serenity, is now embroiled in turmoil. The evil Lord Bane and his ruthless band of marauders have overtaken the four kingdoms that rule this land. Now you must rely on the special powers of a Prince, a Ninja, a Lion man and others to reclaim your kingdoms and regain control of this beautiful land you once called your own! Breathtaking 3D graphics plus changing views and perspectives pull you into the action. Characters learn special attacks with each battle - over 250 attacks in all! Use a vast array of spells in your quest to conquer the evil Lord Bane and over 50 monsters and enemies.
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Mystaria is one of the ugliest genuinely great games I've ever played. It's a 3D SRPG with superb battlefield, combat and character ability designs and truly dire visuals.
The story is basic, the overworld small. There's only a couple of towns and they're all narrow first person corridors with a few doors to enter. The polygon graphics are atrocious, with a low frame rate, short draw distance and muddy textures. The character designs sum up everything that went wrong when CG character design suddenly became a thing at the tail end of the prior generation.
But none of that matters, because as an SRPG, it's brilliant. The battlefields make smart use of the 3D terrain and obstacles, and often present several valid ways to approach a conflict. Each layout is unique and takes very good strategy to overcome what are frequently daunting odds. The character abilities are all unique and you can cobble together several different combinations of effective parties that have a pronounced impact on the strategies that should be used. Abilities and stats are surprisingly nuanced and well thought out. Protip: have an effective archer!
And the soundtrack, to put it scientifically, rules. The intro video is a good summation of the game itself: bad visuals and character designs, but the music is ludicrously good and makes up for it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQdQXGLHJRM
Loved this when it first came out, and, assuming you can get over the simple plot and bad visuals, Mystaria still holds up very well, as my recent replay confirmed. A very muddy gem on the Saturn.
The story is basic, the overworld small. There's only a couple of towns and they're all narrow first person corridors with a few doors to enter. The polygon graphics are atrocious, with a low frame rate, short draw distance and muddy textures. The character designs sum up everything that went wrong when CG character design suddenly became a thing at the tail end of the prior generation.
But none of that matters, because as an SRPG, it's brilliant. The battlefields make smart use of the 3D terrain and obstacles, and often present several valid ways to approach a conflict. Each layout is unique and takes very good strategy to overcome what are frequently daunting odds. The character abilities are all unique and you can cobble together several different combinations of effective parties that have a pronounced impact on the strategies that should be used. Abilities and stats are surprisingly nuanced and well thought out. Protip: have an effective archer!
And the soundtrack, to put it scientifically, rules. The intro video is a good summation of the game itself: bad visuals and character designs, but the music is ludicrously good and makes up for it all. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQdQXGLHJRM
Loved this when it first came out, and, assuming you can get over the simple plot and bad visuals, Mystaria still holds up very well, as my recent replay confirmed. A very muddy gem on the Saturn.
Distinct pre-rendered graphical style with the characters complete with 3D map locations. Battles are the most satisfying unlocking new abilities and party members. Primary focus on the strategy aspect with a linear story-line and small world map. Role-playing elements come in second by talking to town locals, shops, having a natural story progression. Some optional side-quest are available but not necessary to complete the game.