My favorite part was when the face on the cover said, "It's time to go beyond the oasis" and beyonded the oasis out of my life bar with his lasers.

In all seriousness, this is a super neat game; the puzzles are super clever; the summon system has a lot of depth to it; you can perform super crazy combos, and being able to jump makes all the difference (I'm looking at you, A Link to the Past). Also, the music by Yuzo Koshiro was really unique; I've heard nothing like it. 

That last boss battle is pure nightmare fuel, too. 

Pretty mixed feelings on this one where I’m not sure if an original controller would have made me like it better, to be honest. I think I decided I was done after I used up all my healing items and was tossed into a gauntlet with endlessly respawning enemies that had you trying to navigate flame jets while wind constantly blew you to the right. I kind of got the impression that it wouldn’t exactly get better from there, exactly, so I decided I was done.

I think the presentation here is really great, actually. While the plot itself isn’t anything groundbreaking it did its job to set me off on the adventure, and I was pretty struck by how nice the opening cutscene looked, and the soundtrack… is trying, even if the sound chip isn’t up to snuff for what this is trying to do. The sprites and animations are also really nice!

I’m not sure how I feel about the combat, though, as I’m not really used to beat ‘em ups. I think I had a little trouble figuring out what registered as quick taps and full presses, so pulling off some moves could be a little tough. The spirits were kind of a neat idea, but I found them a little unreliable both due to the genre unfamiliarity problems and the fact that they wouldn’t really keep up with Ali if you ran too fast. I only managed to get the first two, but I was kind of intrigued how differently they operated and was curious to see what the final two would be… but not enough to keep powering through. I also just kind of hated jumping, and the double tap run felt considerably weirder to control than other instances where it’s been the control scheme.

I think this game is definitely for someone, though, even if it’s not for me. I don’t know, I mostly wish there were a few more cute little towns and cities to break things up at a certain point… maybe that would’ve kept me going instead of just feeling like I was slogging through.

Back in the day I finished this game more than 25 times, really addictive.
The fight gameplay for a A-RPG was excellent, the story to be honest a bit basic but yet fun to follow.
The game is short, but exploring the land while advancing in all the chapters was really such a blast that I was never bored.

I know nostalgia talked a lot here, but I could re-do a run with pleasure even to this day. Excellent A-RPG of the 16bit era.

Even with a more robust combat system than many of its top-down action contemporaries, Beyond Oasis seems content to self-designate as basic. The ranking system bears this out, prioritizing increasingly skilled and speedy replays rather than a single substantial experience. Ancient's idea of mounting complexity amounts to little more than "throw tons of enemies on the screen at once," so unfortunately the gameplay remains pretty static over the course of any given run, but there's still some life to be found in the Zelda-style exploration puzzles and vibrant palette. It's also fun to hear Yuzo Koshiro approximate a prog fantasy soundtrack on the Genesis sound chip, even (especially) when he's totally out in the weeds.

I really really wanted to like this game more: it's one of the best looking games of its generation and, like many games in the Mega Drive library, just feels unique and has this "distinct" aura.

But, presentation aside, I ended up thinking that the execution of the ideas were a bit... clunky? Unpolished? Poorly realized?

For example, you can jump. Having a jump button in a top-down action game already sounds like a strange idea and sure enough, the occasional platforming you have here is janky as hell.

The game also features different heights/elevations for enemies, obstacles and stuff, and the perspective makes those very difficult to gauge.

This top-down, Zelda-ish action-adventure game also features a couple of instances of "gotcha" design, where enemies spawn right in front of you, with very little time to react. Why.

Bosses are janky as a whole, with many featuring some questionable hitboxes.

Combat in general sometimes requires a dexterity you don't have - Ali moves very slowly, and you can only dash by double-tapping a direction. It's not very graceful.

This one is bordering on nitpick and it's highly subjective, but I think that having a game of this style/genre with no notable progression is a mistake. Ali remains the same throughout the whole game, with the only "upgrades" being the spirits (highly situational for the most part, and mostly used to solve puzzles), and the occasional secondary weapon (that have limited uses, breaking after a while)

There are infinite variants of those weapons, but getting them requires going out of your way, some are fairly cryptic (using the Doppelganger ability somehow reveals hidden warp points?), with the best one (the infinite Omega sword) requiring clearing a 100 floor dungeon. Nope.

I personally thought that the conveyance in the dungeons got poorer and poorer as the game progressed, they felt half-baked in their level design.

Half-baked, that's a good word. Beyond Oasis looks great, it "feels" special, but the end result is just sort of janky and unremarkable, and even annoying at times. A shame, I had some decent expectations for this one.

A solid RPG for the Genesis with satisfying (yet sometimes frustrating) combat and progression.

I did not expect to enjoy this game as much as I did. It was a solid experience overall. The overall story is simple enough where you are the good prince trying to overcome evil. The plot thickens as you get further into it. Gameplay is solid with progression, equipable weapons, equipment you gather to gain new abilities, and sommonable entities that help you in a meaningul way.

Combat was at times frustrating, but overall pretty satisfying. Feels a lot like a "Beat 'em up'", but you have a couple moves you can do which were to counter certain enemy types. Some encounters felt intentionally lopsided, but that wasnt the majority of the game.

I did not 100% it but did collect the majority of the gems to power up your sommons. Overall, I was very happy and impressed with this game.

Completed with all 'unlimited' weapons collected. This is in fact the first Genesis/Mega Drive game that I've ever beaten. An interesting and unusual combination of The Legend of Zelda's overhead-perspective adventure with combat styled after side-scrolling brawlers, Beyond Oasis (released outside the US as The Story of Thor) is a very impressive technical achievement for a Mega Drive/Genesis game, with stunningly detailed graphics and animation. Beyond Oasis isn't an especially long game - I beat it in about 7-8 hours - but feels about right. While there's a freely explorable overworld, the in-game map provides only very high-level detail, so it can be a little difficult to know where you're going if you have reason to backtrack, but fortunately on this front, it can be approached with a linear mindset, moving between clearly-indicated waypoint markers.

The game's take on puzzle design is largely reliant on the abilities of four magical spirits rather than equipment, but doesn't feel like there's quite as much variety as we typically see from the Zelda series; conversely, the combat abilities offer quite a lot of flexibility if you choose to use it, especially helpful when some of the fights can get somewhat overwhelming with enemy numbers (albeit I have to admit that I didn't, for the most part, use these combat abilities to their fullest). I'd have preferred not to have had to deal with the weapon durability system that the game uses throughout, but I can understand why it's there and there is, eventually, a way around it.

I used to listen to a games podcast called Insert Credit, and a while ago they did a Sega Genesis GOAT list that got me into the system in the first place, being a SNES kid as I was. Landstalker was way up on that list, and Beyond Oasis wasn't even on it! The hell was wrong with them? This game blows Landstalker out of the universe! A good Zelda-top down action adventure game that controls almost perfectly (platforming is a bit of a pain in my assholes, so one half-star off), with a neat mechanic where you have to use summon creatures with special abilities and you can only summon them in certain locations so you have to use your noodle, and a soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro! Every time I hear music from a classic game that kicks my ass, and I look up who composed it, it's always Yuzo Koshiro (though it would have only sounded better if it were an SNES game).

I think I would have been much happier overall if I never listened to that podcast, never played and ragequitted Landstalker, and meanwhile years ago someone just got me into this instead.

From the Streets of Rage developers, Beyond Oasis/The Story of Thor excels at combat. The amount of moves on offer is impressive. The game also looks pretty great considering the system it's on. That is where the praise ends.

Beyond Oasis alternates between boredom or frustration. Every adventure is a straight shot to the objective with little room for exploration. Since it's a linear adventure, you might expect their to be some stellar level design. But no, almost every environment is an unremarkable blob of terrain with some differences in elevation at most. Anytime the level design tries for something more cerebral, it's oft rigid platforming that the controls clearly weren't designed for. The same recoloured enemy designs are used over and over. The story barely exists. The music (by Yuzo Koshiro) is strangely a miss. The songs aim for atmosphere, but hardly do it well, nor are they memorable like many classic 16-bit tunes.

Despite only being about 5-hours long, Beyond Oasis is a snore. As fun as it is to report a forgotten, overlooked gem, this isn't one of them.

Game is a fun action adventure game with a (as one would expect) masterclass soundtrack by Yuzo Koshiro, wierdly the sound effects were from pacman though? Goofy shit there. I generally had fun with the combat and story. The movement I felt was alittle wierd generally and the moving platform sequences were definitely not my favorite. To me, I think part of the thing I was missing (and it probably partially was because of just finishing Minish Cap before hand) was the boss fights using the spells i just acquired, I literally just took a broad, then death sword and swiped at all of the bosses (including the final Boss) until it died.

Beyond Oasis is the answer to the question, what if the developers of Streets of Rage 2 made a top-down action-RGP? Ancient's vibrant, decidedly unique adventure as clever as it is unusual, and it's those aspects that make it hold up so well decades later.

Wielding spirits as companions, weapons, puzzle keys and as tools to progress through the world and gain resources is a remarkable feat of game design. As with the early Zelda games, there are secrets packed into every inch of the game, and he solutions are often very clever, requiring keen observation, experimentation or both.

The combat design is very Streets of Rage 2, as would be expected from Ancient. Combos, power moves, an abundance of weapons and the freedom to deal with your enemies with the tools of your preference make each encounter a lot of fun. On the downside, movement can be clunky at times when it needs to be precise. Bosses are tough and unique, capping dungeons that range from the humble water shrine to sprawling mazes.

The music is divisive, and is the aspect that has probably aged the worst, but it's a unique use of the Genesis synth and one that suits the tone of the game well. All in all this is a gem and one I love revisiting.

Played on Genesis Mini.

Cleared on April 28th, 2023 (SEGA Genesis Challenge: 8/160)

I know this game isn't really regarded as complex as games like A Link to the Past as far as top down adventure games go, but I think as somebody put it, it's not really meant to be and is more of an Arcade style game even down to showing your results like clear time and collectibles. This explains why this game feels shorter and the story is well... basic.

All that aside, though, this is among my favorite games in the Sega Genesis so far. The visuals are some of the best in the Sega Genesis with the spritework being just as good as the Sonic games, the boss design being on par with Wings of Wor, and just having detailed and intriguing environment taking place in an oasis as the name of the game suggests.

I also really loved the music in this game because of how much it reminded me of Warcraft 1 likely using the same instruments. I don't have any nostalgic feelings for it, but something about the songs in that game just rang with me, and the soundtrack in Beyond Oasis gave me that same feeling. I just love the pixelated trumpets, I guess.

The game itself is also really fun too. You have a few attacks, some of which are harder to pull off than others, but nothing you can't down with some practice. The combat is similar to The Legend of Zelda except with a little more variety I'd say.
The highlight of the game are the spirits and you are going to need their help for not just puzzles, but for combat as well.
The Water Spirit will create a watery tornado that deals damage to enemies at random and heals you.
The Fire Spirit will automatically attack nearby enemies with a punch, surge forward against enemies, and unleash a barrage of fireballs in an area.
The Shadow Spirit will protect you from damage in exchange for mana.
The Plant Spirit will attack enemies near it and explode into a poisonous cloud to deal massive damage.
Each of them will have their own means of letting you overcome obstacles and the main objective is to reunite these spirits to take on the evil that holds the silver armlet. In the meantime, you'll have weapons to support you like the knife which is unlimited in use, but other weapons like the sword and crossbow among others can help speed along the damage while keeping a safe distance against the enemies. You will venture across dungeons with puzzles that might get you confused to the point of having to look some of them up, and often having bosses accompany them which may sometimes be difficult.

I could see myself replaying this game some time in the future to beat my old scores and maybe I'll be able to collect everything in the game while at it because it's just that fun to me.

I've been seated at my desk for an hour, fingers pressed to my lips as I examine the reem of paper half pulled from the typewriter. Righteously punched onto the parchment in jet black permanence is a single phrase: "Beyond Oasis is beyond suck."

Frightened by the beauty of what I have written, I rip the sheet from the platen and toss it into a nearby bin followed shortly by a lit match. To publish such a work of art would mean condemning myself to living in its shadow for the rest of my days. No, this must not be seen by human eyes...

Ok. Let's try again.

Pfff... uhhh... Beyond Oasis is b... buhhh... it's bad?

Sure, whatever. That works. I mean, with how often it shows up on lists of "classic" Genesis games, it's at the very least overrated. I don't know whether it was beloved at the time (I don't recall even hearing about it), or if this is another case of YouTubers and other retro-heads plumbing the depths of old console libraries for something to talk about. Either way, I feel like I've been sold a bill of goods.

It would be reductive and frankly derogatory to refer to Beyond Oasis as a "Zelda clone," but even as far as other 16-bit action-RPGs go, Beyond Oasis is a bit south of average. There is no satisfying sense of progression outside of checking a few "important" items off a list, and Ali is so lacking in character growth as to feel like a static element, every bit as powerful at the end game as he was at the start. You want fun tools that open up exploration, puzzles that are consistently engaging, or a compelling world to run around in? Play a different video game.

Beyond Oasis plays like Zelda stripped down to its combat, except that is also an uncharitable comparison because Zelda's combat is better than this. Ali is stiff, he's slow, and the arc of his sword swings and resulting feedback is limp and soggy. The dude runs around like his pants are constantly falling off, and you can feel that in-hand. There's really nothing going for this game outside of its art style, which is very good and vibrant and kind of just wasted here on something that is so otherwise underwhelming.

Maybe I just don't like 16-bit action-RPGs. Totally possible given what I think of Secret of Mana, but I also can't deny how bored I was playing this, and how much I thought it drags.

Every time someone calls Crusader of Centy "sega's answer to the legend of zelda" I feel my chest get tight. Beyond Oasis is a fantastic and brutal adventure with fighting game inputs in place of special tools. Plus, it has a lot more mobility options and dungeons designed around that. It's just in general an adventure game with real mechanical intensity, and I'm always going to prefer Doing Things to Having Things.

Now if we're calling Crusader of Centy "Sega's answer to Link to the Past" that's funny cuz both of those games kinda suck in really similar ways.

Second GOTM finished for January 2023. I'm not sure how I really feel about this game. There were parts that were astounding, like the artwork and the combat abilities. There were parts that were odd, like movement and character progression. Then there were parts that were frustrating, like the platforming and hitboxes. Felt like a combination of a top-down ARPG like Terranigma, with a side-scrolling brawler like Streets of Rage (intentional, so they nailed it). This is a unique game that didn't take too much time to beat, but also didn't stir anything within me.

"Beyond Oasis: The Story of Thor" is Ancient and SEGA's answer to "Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past", from the same developers who brought us the excellent "Streets of Rage 2" and "Streets of Rage 3". You can see some of the beat 'em up influence in its gameplay, but beyond the surface, it remains another Zelda clone. Weirdly enough, the game has no mention of Thor anywhere in the game, except it's title, ironically, the main character is named "Prince Ali" and has an appearance reminiscent of the Prince of Persia protagonist. The game's story resolves around two amulets, the gold amulet and the silver amulet, Prince Ali finds the gold amulet and is sent on a quest to stop the bearer of the silver amulet, bent on destruction. What follows is a Zelda clone with great graphics, the sprites and environments are rich in detail and smoothly animated. Most of the game is spent navigating through dungeons, defeating each bosses and collecting special items, throughout the game, the player frees four genies, gaining unique summoning abilites.

After an absurd struggle to get my controls set up properly in retroarch, I dug into this much lauded Genesis classic. Fantastic pixel art in the opening cinematics, really gets you excited. The main character has some serious swagger going on, remarked upon by multiple observers independent of one another. The combat is a bit janky but I was having a good time with it. That is, until I got to the first boss, which was a very frustrating encounter. There was the tiniest little zone that you could actually stand in and hit the boss. Move a millimeter closer and you would fall down, a millimeter farther away and your attack would fall short. I still managed to take it out on the second try, which opened up several new mechanics, which I didn't get much of a chance to check out. The only thing that makes me not want to play more is the fear that subsequent boss fights might be as frustrating as the first.

(sonic's ultimate genesis collection 20/40)
halfway done with the compilation BAYBEE

this took a lot of getting used to tbh, but once you do it's a very solid game. not too long nor complicated, in fact rather short compared to what i was expecting. i did not like pressing a+b+c to cancel a summon however, never quite got the hang of it and took multiple tries every time, but that's my only big problem really.

i love the enemy sfx in this game, by the way. they're much funnier than they have any right to be. alongside all the goofy screams, sometimes an enemy will deadass moan if you kill them??