Kogado's Miracle Warriors - one of the first JRPGs released in the west, stood apart with their battle quirks (e.g. only one character attacks per turn) and their juxtaposition of third-person & birds-eye viewpoints, with the former view focused on interactions and the latter on navigation. Its main drawbacks are simply the drawbacks of its generation: 3rd-gen combat was almost always slow and monotonous - bestowing challenge mainly through RNG (tough sporadic encounters, misses, escape chance, etc.), and this is no exception. Lofty grind-driven goals (for both equipment & progression) as well as hints, uneven fights and punishing setbacks are also effective time-killers built to mask its limited cart space. There are - however, some creative and perhaps visionary ideas at work. Popularity, a karma point value raised and lowered during battle, is the typical somewhat harsh system (plunging badly after defeating certain troops, and denying access to town services at low levels) that nevertheless feeds into its Talk command, a battle function that awards bonuses (tips, healing) or penalties (stolen gold, missed turns) from human encounters.

Reviewed on Apr 18, 2024


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