'Bahamut Lagoon' es el perfecto ejemplo de que la presentación gráfica es capaz de esconder las carencias del videojuego en el imaginario colectivo. Un prodigio audiovisual de esos que sólo Square era capaz de producir por aquel entonces, mitificado por su exclusividad en Japón (y subsecuentes intentos de fan-traducirlo) y lanzamiento en los últimos años de Super Famicom. Con un planteamiento llamativo entorno a una colonia de reinos flotantes, suspendidos sobre un mar de nubes infinito, librando batallas contra un imperio que anhela el "mito de los Dragones Divinos" y lo utiliza como estratagema para reunificar el mundo como uno solo. 'Bahamut Lagoon' destaca también por su jugabilidad híbrida de estrategia por turnos manejando formaciones de 4 unidades, pudiendo atacar directamente a los enemigos a distancia o hacerles frente cuerpo a cuerpo, momento en el que transmuta a RPG tradicional durante un único turno. Es ambicioso en su propuesta y quiere que te encariñes con todo el elenco de luchadores que ha hecho el islote de Kahna su hogar. Por desgracia, cuanto más avanza el juego, más evidentes son las costuras que
A nivel jugable, el elemento más determinante del juego son los dragones que acompañan a tus unidades y que no puedes controlar directamente, con sólo tres señales (Come!, Go! y Wait!) para indicarles el nivel de proximidad que "deben" tener respecto a la formación a la que protegen. Eso no es algo malo en sí, si acaso le aporta un plus de personalidad al juego tener a un tanque en primera línea de combate, arrasando a los enemigos con sus llamaradas a bocajarro, o comiéndose los golpes mientras aprovechas para jugar tus cartas. El problema es que, como todos sabemos, los dragones no son criaturas que destaquen por su inteligencia: les encanta exprimir sus PM con magias de ataque incluso cuando la situación no lo requiere (frente un soldado languidecido) o conviene un ataque convencional para no sanar al oponente (al que suelen recurrir cuando se quedan sin PM). Son menos fiables para curarte que el pato Donald en 'Kingdom Hearts', y a menudo tienden a asediar al enemigo que no conviene, en el lugar y momento equivocado. Serían un fracaso inmenso si no fuesen las unidades más poderosas del pelotón (y con diferencia) y la dificultad del juego es dependiente a cómo los alimentas en la base del equipo. Un poco al estilo de FF8 (urgh), los dragones mejoran sus stats con cualquier cosa que se tragen, armas y armaduras inclusive, y según sus afinidades elementales pueden transformarse en versiones más chulas de ellos mismos (aunque sin grandes diferencias en su comportamiento). A poco que les des de comer bien, pueden hacer la aventura completamente banal, y sólo al final del juego, cuando se presupone una cantidad de grinding enorme a tus luchadores, el juego encuentra cierto equilibrio entre todo lo que propone.
Aun así, 'Bahamut Lagoon' tiene grandes problemas en su desarrollo, y buena parte de la culpa recae en el estilo narrativo tan familiar de Motomu Toriyama (FF8/10/13) y su asombrosa capacidad para decir muy poco con todas las palabras que aparecen en pantalla. Los personajes tienden al melodrama y un raciocinio de alcornoque anclado en la era medieval, con muchos cambios de comportamiento súbitos e injustificados, además de una visión del amor y la mujer un tanto perturbadora (con varias escenas de salido total). Es especialmente ruborizante todo referente a la princesa Yoyo y el ¿triángulo? amoroso que hay entorno a ella, ya que el juego trata de vincularlo a toda costa con el protagonista Byuu pero toma direcciones erráticas que no la dejan en buen lugar, ni tampoco resulta evidente qué le hace actuar de esta manera. Muchos otros personajes apenas gozan de unas pocas líneas de diálogo para expresarse entre misiones y son incapaces de distinguirse entre sí, pero no son pocas las veces que resultan desagradables y extraños en el más amplio sentido de la palabra. Varios hilos y desarrollos psicológicos se pierden por el camino, y el misterio detrás del "mito de los Dragones Divinos" se resuelve de una forma bastante simple y mucho menos sustancial de lo que pretendía el autor. Añado a nota personal que había acudido a este juego sin saber que M.Toriyama lo había escrito, y a medida que avanzaba fui recordando ese aroma tan familiar con el sinsentido que hacía gala, los sentimientos contradictorios y mal impostados por momentos, la sensación agridulce que deja algo tan engalanado y con un resultado tan básico. Y este sólo fue su primer trabajo, aún no se había desatado del todo...
En el sentido más estricto, 'Bahamut Lagoon' sigue un juego bastante competente, pero este tipo de asperezas son las que convierten una aventura épica en algo rutinario y falto de ilusión. El mundo de Orelus se sabe particularmente flojo, falto de carisma y distinción entre sus principales reinos, y a eso contribuye la escasa variedad de mapeado en sus 27 misiones principales. La estructura rígida -con fases de preparación antes de cada combate- está bien para hacer camaradería con tus soldados pero se hace pesada, sobre todo en los últimos compases de la partida. La jugabilidad tampoco es muy compleja e introduce nuevos elementos muy de tanto en tanto, de forma que en perspectiva, no hay mucha diferencia entre una fase del principio con otra más cerca del final. No hay tanto componente estratégico, a decir verdad. Pero al menos es funcional, cosa que no todo juego de Square puede decir, y quizá resulte menos monótona porque la dificultad global es bastante baja.
Al final, 'Bahamut Lagoon' es un juego que reluce en su infinito parallax de claros y nubes, pero que no tiene la profundidad que su puesta en escena hacía prever. Pero ha sido bonito descubrirlo gracias gracias a la fan-traducción al inglés que Near hizo posible tras décadas de research y pulido hasta el más mínimo detalle. También décadas de transfobia y acoso que le llevaron tristemente a arrebatar su propia vida hará tres años. Quizá esto último sea más importante que recordar que el juego en cuestión (siempre lo es).
A nivel jugable, el elemento más determinante del juego son los dragones que acompañan a tus unidades y que no puedes controlar directamente, con sólo tres señales (Come!, Go! y Wait!) para indicarles el nivel de proximidad que "deben" tener respecto a la formación a la que protegen. Eso no es algo malo en sí, si acaso le aporta un plus de personalidad al juego tener a un tanque en primera línea de combate, arrasando a los enemigos con sus llamaradas a bocajarro, o comiéndose los golpes mientras aprovechas para jugar tus cartas. El problema es que, como todos sabemos, los dragones no son criaturas que destaquen por su inteligencia: les encanta exprimir sus PM con magias de ataque incluso cuando la situación no lo requiere (frente un soldado languidecido) o conviene un ataque convencional para no sanar al oponente (al que suelen recurrir cuando se quedan sin PM). Son menos fiables para curarte que el pato Donald en 'Kingdom Hearts', y a menudo tienden a asediar al enemigo que no conviene, en el lugar y momento equivocado. Serían un fracaso inmenso si no fuesen las unidades más poderosas del pelotón (y con diferencia) y la dificultad del juego es dependiente a cómo los alimentas en la base del equipo. Un poco al estilo de FF8 (urgh), los dragones mejoran sus stats con cualquier cosa que se tragen, armas y armaduras inclusive, y según sus afinidades elementales pueden transformarse en versiones más chulas de ellos mismos (aunque sin grandes diferencias en su comportamiento). A poco que les des de comer bien, pueden hacer la aventura completamente banal, y sólo al final del juego, cuando se presupone una cantidad de grinding enorme a tus luchadores, el juego encuentra cierto equilibrio entre todo lo que propone.
Aun así, 'Bahamut Lagoon' tiene grandes problemas en su desarrollo, y buena parte de la culpa recae en el estilo narrativo tan familiar de Motomu Toriyama (FF8/10/13) y su asombrosa capacidad para decir muy poco con todas las palabras que aparecen en pantalla. Los personajes tienden al melodrama y un raciocinio de alcornoque anclado en la era medieval, con muchos cambios de comportamiento súbitos e injustificados, además de una visión del amor y la mujer un tanto perturbadora (con varias escenas de salido total). Es especialmente ruborizante todo referente a la princesa Yoyo y el ¿triángulo? amoroso que hay entorno a ella, ya que el juego trata de vincularlo a toda costa con el protagonista Byuu pero toma direcciones erráticas que no la dejan en buen lugar, ni tampoco resulta evidente qué le hace actuar de esta manera. Muchos otros personajes apenas gozan de unas pocas líneas de diálogo para expresarse entre misiones y son incapaces de distinguirse entre sí, pero no son pocas las veces que resultan desagradables y extraños en el más amplio sentido de la palabra. Varios hilos y desarrollos psicológicos se pierden por el camino, y el misterio detrás del "mito de los Dragones Divinos" se resuelve de una forma bastante simple y mucho menos sustancial de lo que pretendía el autor. Añado a nota personal que había acudido a este juego sin saber que M.Toriyama lo había escrito, y a medida que avanzaba fui recordando ese aroma tan familiar con el sinsentido que hacía gala, los sentimientos contradictorios y mal impostados por momentos, la sensación agridulce que deja algo tan engalanado y con un resultado tan básico. Y este sólo fue su primer trabajo, aún no se había desatado del todo...
En el sentido más estricto, 'Bahamut Lagoon' sigue un juego bastante competente, pero este tipo de asperezas son las que convierten una aventura épica en algo rutinario y falto de ilusión. El mundo de Orelus se sabe particularmente flojo, falto de carisma y distinción entre sus principales reinos, y a eso contribuye la escasa variedad de mapeado en sus 27 misiones principales. La estructura rígida -con fases de preparación antes de cada combate- está bien para hacer camaradería con tus soldados pero se hace pesada, sobre todo en los últimos compases de la partida. La jugabilidad tampoco es muy compleja e introduce nuevos elementos muy de tanto en tanto, de forma que en perspectiva, no hay mucha diferencia entre una fase del principio con otra más cerca del final. No hay tanto componente estratégico, a decir verdad. Pero al menos es funcional, cosa que no todo juego de Square puede decir, y quizá resulte menos monótona porque la dificultad global es bastante baja.
Al final, 'Bahamut Lagoon' es un juego que reluce en su infinito parallax de claros y nubes, pero que no tiene la profundidad que su puesta en escena hacía prever. Pero ha sido bonito descubrirlo gracias gracias a la fan-traducción al inglés que Near hizo posible tras décadas de research y pulido hasta el más mínimo detalle. También décadas de transfobia y acoso que le llevaron tristemente a arrebatar su propia vida hará tres años. Quizá esto último sea más importante que recordar que el juego en cuestión (siempre lo es).
Game Review - originally written by Spinner 8
You know, if I actually liked strategy RPGs, I think I would really like Bahamut Lagoon. This is one of those rare occasions where the Square whores are right, and this really is an “underrated gem,” etc etc., unlike all the other Square RPGs that were never released here. Now don’t get me wrong, Square is all right, I don’t loathe them deep down inside or anything… I just hate all the Square fans that automatically proclaim anything Squaresoft as a gaming masterpiece, and any other RPGs can suck it. I mean, have these people even played Parasite Eve II? And don’t get me started on Kingdom Hearts. Seriously.
Anyways, the first thing you will likely say once you start up the game will be “God damn, those are some pretty graphics.” And they are. While most games are content to take Final Fantasy VI’s graphics and run with them… well, Bahamut Lagoon does this too, but the graphics are updated and refined, and look really good. A lot of people nowadays will throw about the phrase “almost Playstation quality”, but I don’t know if I’d go that far. Definitely though, this is one of the best-looking games on the SNES. SFC, whatever. The soundtrack, by Noriko Matsueda, is pretty unimpressive. With the exception of a few nice songs, everything just kind of sounds the same. Throwing a few new instrument samples into the mix would’ve helped.
Naturally, for most fanboys the graphics would be more than enough to hail Bahamut Lagoon as an instant classic. Fortunately for the rest of us, the actual gameplay holds up well. Like I said, it’s a strategy RPG. I only played up to the second battle and stopped cause, well, I’m not too big on the genre. You have your groups of fighters, represented by the lead character on the map, and when you attack, the game shifts into your typical RPG mode, where you can give Attack, Magic, Defend commands and such. Each group also has its own dragon, which it can control with three basic commands. The dragons will pretty much do their own thing, until you tell them to fall back, or stay close, or whatever. Sometimes when your group’s in battle, the dragon will attack first, giving you a nice little advantage over the enemy. Did that make sense?
Also, the game uses terrain in a very unique way in combat. Terrain isn’t just for attack modifiers or obstacles anymore: worried about the enemy crossing the bridge and taking your castle? Just use your magic and destroy the bridge. Then you just have to watch out for any ice magic they may use to freeze the river and make it crossable. Of course, you can always use your fire magic and melt the ice. See a cluster of enemies in the forest? Burn the forest down with your magic! Sure, it’s not environmentally sound, but this isn’t fucking Rudra, you can do whatever you want.
In between battles is your typical RPG-style walking around. Talk to your gigantic cast of characters, check out the shops, sit through the story, stuff like that. The story doesn’t seem that amazing at first (join the rebellion, save the princess, and take down the evil empire… Monomyth at its finest!), but maybe later on it’ll get more interesting. Like I said, I didn’t play too much of it. It’s not that I dislike strategy RPGs, it’s that they dislike me. I suck at those things. I’m shocked if I can get to the fifth battle in any strategy RPG. So maybe I’m not really qualified to do this here review, but there really isn’t any other choice. It’s not like anyone comes to The Whirlpool for reviews anyways. Right?
(editor's note: lol at that last line considering the premise behind this Backloggd account, anyway, I want to tell you the greatest emulator dev who ever lived named themself after a character from this game and was inspired to get into the profession because of it, as written about by Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxezw/a-23-year-perfectionist-journey-to-localize-the-obscure-bahamut-lagoon)
You know, if I actually liked strategy RPGs, I think I would really like Bahamut Lagoon. This is one of those rare occasions where the Square whores are right, and this really is an “underrated gem,” etc etc., unlike all the other Square RPGs that were never released here. Now don’t get me wrong, Square is all right, I don’t loathe them deep down inside or anything… I just hate all the Square fans that automatically proclaim anything Squaresoft as a gaming masterpiece, and any other RPGs can suck it. I mean, have these people even played Parasite Eve II? And don’t get me started on Kingdom Hearts. Seriously.
Anyways, the first thing you will likely say once you start up the game will be “God damn, those are some pretty graphics.” And they are. While most games are content to take Final Fantasy VI’s graphics and run with them… well, Bahamut Lagoon does this too, but the graphics are updated and refined, and look really good. A lot of people nowadays will throw about the phrase “almost Playstation quality”, but I don’t know if I’d go that far. Definitely though, this is one of the best-looking games on the SNES. SFC, whatever. The soundtrack, by Noriko Matsueda, is pretty unimpressive. With the exception of a few nice songs, everything just kind of sounds the same. Throwing a few new instrument samples into the mix would’ve helped.
Naturally, for most fanboys the graphics would be more than enough to hail Bahamut Lagoon as an instant classic. Fortunately for the rest of us, the actual gameplay holds up well. Like I said, it’s a strategy RPG. I only played up to the second battle and stopped cause, well, I’m not too big on the genre. You have your groups of fighters, represented by the lead character on the map, and when you attack, the game shifts into your typical RPG mode, where you can give Attack, Magic, Defend commands and such. Each group also has its own dragon, which it can control with three basic commands. The dragons will pretty much do their own thing, until you tell them to fall back, or stay close, or whatever. Sometimes when your group’s in battle, the dragon will attack first, giving you a nice little advantage over the enemy. Did that make sense?
Also, the game uses terrain in a very unique way in combat. Terrain isn’t just for attack modifiers or obstacles anymore: worried about the enemy crossing the bridge and taking your castle? Just use your magic and destroy the bridge. Then you just have to watch out for any ice magic they may use to freeze the river and make it crossable. Of course, you can always use your fire magic and melt the ice. See a cluster of enemies in the forest? Burn the forest down with your magic! Sure, it’s not environmentally sound, but this isn’t fucking Rudra, you can do whatever you want.
In between battles is your typical RPG-style walking around. Talk to your gigantic cast of characters, check out the shops, sit through the story, stuff like that. The story doesn’t seem that amazing at first (join the rebellion, save the princess, and take down the evil empire… Monomyth at its finest!), but maybe later on it’ll get more interesting. Like I said, I didn’t play too much of it. It’s not that I dislike strategy RPGs, it’s that they dislike me. I suck at those things. I’m shocked if I can get to the fifth battle in any strategy RPG. So maybe I’m not really qualified to do this here review, but there really isn’t any other choice. It’s not like anyone comes to The Whirlpool for reviews anyways. Right?
(editor's note: lol at that last line considering the premise behind this Backloggd account, anyway, I want to tell you the greatest emulator dev who ever lived named themself after a character from this game and was inspired to get into the profession because of it, as written about by Vice: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvxezw/a-23-year-perfectionist-journey-to-localize-the-obscure-bahamut-lagoon)
En la superficie es un RPG táctico, pero si escarbas un poco es la historia de un cuck
The gameplay is standard SRPG/TRPG stuff.
The story, as you might have heard already, is relatively mature.
Still, that doesn't mean it's great. It's a product of its time where every character just says 1-2 lines every chapter and there's not much characterization.
I dropped the game in 1-2 hours, so feel free to discard this review. But there is so little story sprinkled throughout all the gameplay that unless you are a TRPG fanatic you may want to skip this one.
There's some heartcrushing stuff ahead, I heard, but whatever... it's not my first foray into degeneracy so I doubt this game can profoundly affect me.
The story, as you might have heard already, is relatively mature.
Still, that doesn't mean it's great. It's a product of its time where every character just says 1-2 lines every chapter and there's not much characterization.
I dropped the game in 1-2 hours, so feel free to discard this review. But there is so little story sprinkled throughout all the gameplay that unless you are a TRPG fanatic you may want to skip this one.
There's some heartcrushing stuff ahead, I heard, but whatever... it's not my first foray into degeneracy so I doubt this game can profoundly affect me.
I do not remember completing it but I had a lot of a great time with it. Mixing dragons, tactical combat. It is something I could play again in the future :)
What a game. It's a shame that it never came overseas.
Princess Yoyo reminds me of my mom. This is not a positive comparison at the slightest.
Jamais été fan des rpg tactics et ça n'a pas changé avec lui par contre on ne peut que admirer la qualité graphique, les excellents chara designs et la BO incroyable
It's hard to believe that it's been almost 3 months since my last entry on here, especially given how busy I've previously been on this site. I'm no stranger to adulting, but this year finally seems to be the one where real life has started imposing itself far more - a busier work schedule, a self-imposed exercise routine, a major illness in my extended family, and a routine visit to the doctor somehow ending in emergency surgery and weeks of recovery.
It almost feels like fate - I've been slowly but steadily inching my way through a replay of this game, whose central theme is how messy life can get and how you can't turn back time and how growing up sometimes unfortunately means shedding things that bring you joy. Could this game be trying to tell me something?
...NO!
This game is a joy to play. It has some of the best graphics of its generation. The soundtrack isn't 100% bangers, but tracks such as the opening, the Farnheit theme, the battle theme (which gives me Breath of Fire 3 vibes),and the Liberation Army theme are strong enough IMO to stand with the best music Square was turning out during this period. Mechanically, this game has so much to offer - each party is made up of four characters and a dragon, so feeding dragons to raise their stats and evolve them into more powerful forms unlocks new abilities for the party tied to them, which in turn can be used to get better item drops from enemies which can then be fed to the dragons to make them stronger again. It's a really great gameplay loop with so much potential for synergy and exploration, whose weakness is perhaps the upside-down difficulty curve where the game becomes extremely easy after unlocking certain dragon forms (including one that is completely invincible!)
But Bahamut Lagoon's biggest strength - like a certain other game about a summoner princess who falls in love with one of her captors and opens the door to another world - lies in its narrative and characters. While few of the 31 characters you recruit over the course of the game are particularly deep, I always loved walking around the airship talking to them in between battles - from the gossip who updates you on the latest goings-on to the three knights who are nothing like each other but stay fast friends to the unlikely tank/wizard pairing who go from frenemies to a couple, the crewmembers interact not only with you but with each other in a very believable way, making them really feel like a close-knit group made of real people. The fact that you also realize that these people who are all fighting for a worthy cause have their foibles (and occasionally do some Really Shitty Things) does add a sense of depth to the narrative - which I'll refrain from spoiling for anyone who hasn't played it yet, but subverts some very foundational expectations about the genre and takes you to places which very few games of the era would think of going.
Pretty ironic then that this game about leaving the past behind is the one that cements my determination to keep this medium as a core part of my life. I might not be able to play as often as I did before, but I'll keep coming back. On to the next one!
It almost feels like fate - I've been slowly but steadily inching my way through a replay of this game, whose central theme is how messy life can get and how you can't turn back time and how growing up sometimes unfortunately means shedding things that bring you joy. Could this game be trying to tell me something?
...NO!
This game is a joy to play. It has some of the best graphics of its generation. The soundtrack isn't 100% bangers, but tracks such as the opening, the Farnheit theme, the battle theme (which gives me Breath of Fire 3 vibes),and the Liberation Army theme are strong enough IMO to stand with the best music Square was turning out during this period. Mechanically, this game has so much to offer - each party is made up of four characters and a dragon, so feeding dragons to raise their stats and evolve them into more powerful forms unlocks new abilities for the party tied to them, which in turn can be used to get better item drops from enemies which can then be fed to the dragons to make them stronger again. It's a really great gameplay loop with so much potential for synergy and exploration, whose weakness is perhaps the upside-down difficulty curve where the game becomes extremely easy after unlocking certain dragon forms (including one that is completely invincible!)
But Bahamut Lagoon's biggest strength - like a certain other game about a summoner princess who falls in love with one of her captors and opens the door to another world - lies in its narrative and characters. While few of the 31 characters you recruit over the course of the game are particularly deep, I always loved walking around the airship talking to them in between battles - from the gossip who updates you on the latest goings-on to the three knights who are nothing like each other but stay fast friends to the unlikely tank/wizard pairing who go from frenemies to a couple, the crewmembers interact not only with you but with each other in a very believable way, making them really feel like a close-knit group made of real people. The fact that you also realize that these people who are all fighting for a worthy cause have their foibles (and occasionally do some Really Shitty Things) does add a sense of depth to the narrative - which I'll refrain from spoiling for anyone who hasn't played it yet, but subverts some very foundational expectations about the genre and takes you to places which very few games of the era would think of going.
Pretty ironic then that this game about leaving the past behind is the one that cements my determination to keep this medium as a core part of my life. I might not be able to play as often as I did before, but I'll keep coming back. On to the next one!
Pretty standard srpg BUT the characters are incredible, you feel like they aren't just your pawns, because all of them are unique and interacting with them on your airship between battles is a bliss
amazing game that I've never actually finished, probably should someday
">hurr hurr NTR
This is only an issue if you live vicariously through your games. Stop that, you fucking losers. You are not the star of Bahumut Lagoon."
-someone on /vr/
jokes aside this game is mainly known for the NTR plot but it's still a great game with a lot of cool ideas. the combat can get slow and braindead easy in the later maps once you raise your dragons to absurd levels though
This is only an issue if you live vicariously through your games. Stop that, you fucking losers. You are not the star of Bahumut Lagoon."
-someone on /vr/
jokes aside this game is mainly known for the NTR plot but it's still a great game with a lot of cool ideas. the combat can get slow and braindead easy in the later maps once you raise your dragons to absurd levels though