Joh
BACKER
Do NOT buy the NA copy of the game, it is missing content. My actual review/rating of the game is not affected by this and I go on about it further below.
This localized version has removed content from the original at this time of purchase on release date. Specifically, it is missing the Molcar Soccer minigame.
I suspect this is because this minigame had online features in a later update and they were lazy, but it was playable singleplayer against AI on release, so there is ultimately no excuse.
Import a copy of the SEA version of the game, it has the same English, it is slightly more expensive to import ($10 more on Amazon at the time of writing), but it's a better product and worth supporting as a consumer. Don't support lazy localization!
Also, the NA version had some weird stutters during the minigames and upon exiting the games and going back to the town it would freeze for a few seconds, this does not seem to be present in overseas copies of the game.
But, on to the actual game, it's really fun! It's a very short game, and certainly not worth full price given the small amount of content, but if you're a fan of the series eh why not. A lot of the minigames feel pretty fun and enjoyable to play at least, I look forward to playing them with some friends soon.
I imagine this a game I won't really pick up again after I play it with some friends, have a few good chuckles playing the minigames, and move on. But that's okay, playing as the cute molcar and goofing off on some minigames is still a worthwhile experience.
This localized version has removed content from the original at this time of purchase on release date. Specifically, it is missing the Molcar Soccer minigame.
I suspect this is because this minigame had online features in a later update and they were lazy, but it was playable singleplayer against AI on release, so there is ultimately no excuse.
Import a copy of the SEA version of the game, it has the same English, it is slightly more expensive to import ($10 more on Amazon at the time of writing), but it's a better product and worth supporting as a consumer. Don't support lazy localization!
Also, the NA version had some weird stutters during the minigames and upon exiting the games and going back to the town it would freeze for a few seconds, this does not seem to be present in overseas copies of the game.
But, on to the actual game, it's really fun! It's a very short game, and certainly not worth full price given the small amount of content, but if you're a fan of the series eh why not. A lot of the minigames feel pretty fun and enjoyable to play at least, I look forward to playing them with some friends soon.
I imagine this a game I won't really pick up again after I play it with some friends, have a few good chuckles playing the minigames, and move on. But that's okay, playing as the cute molcar and goofing off on some minigames is still a worthwhile experience.
2022
This review contains spoilers
It's a fun game, but it's too easy to trivialize it and kind of ruin it for yourself. Use a melee build if you want it to feel more satisfying. Definitely does not compare to King's Field/Shadow Tower/etc games.
The levels are all relatively enjoyable to explore for me, the music is very hit and miss, some things sound pretty okay, others sound pretty dire, I guess that's subjective, but some of it just sounds so ill-fitting and amateurish relative to other tracks. The ballroom track made me laugh because it sounds so dire.
I actually don't really get why people cite King's Field and Shadow Tower so much when talking about this game, it plays nothing like either game, this just plays like a unity game feeling like a cheap imitation at best, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it still plays fine and feels fun, but it's not as rewarding as either of those games and many things like the combat feel far less impactful or tense. I think if you played King's Field/Shadow Tower for like 2 hours, or watched a YouTube video/generic video essays, you'd feel it's more strongly related to these games. It's just too watered down in many aspects to feel close to those games. This game feels like its own thing, so it's unfortunate it's bogged down in this comparisons.
I just don't feel like I am going through a giant interconnected world like I do with a King's Field game, where I can often end up lost, the areas here are easy to memorize and navigate through effortlessly. But, like I said above, they are still enjoyable to go through.
The enemy designs are really varied and interesting as well, though, none are really all that interesting to fight. Oftentimes when you backtrack for secrets (the secrets are usually pretty cool!) they just feel like tiresome cannon fodder.
Some of the secrets feel a little dumb though, like standing in 1 spot and staring at a specific thing for X amount of time. What's the point other than to have it be a secret club thing/something you have to look up? Just pointless and dissatisfying to me. Specifically on the wiki at the current time, it reads,
"The player must stand near the corner of the nearest bookshelf and stare through the loop for a solid 15 seconds or so, and then a message will appear at the bottom left of the screen saying "UWU", giving the player the weapon."
I get it's intended to be a fun, cute thing, but it just feels corny/childish. Maybe I am too old and bitter in all fairness? It's hard for me to say...
Overall, it's a fun game, but compared to other games that the game is supposedly imitating, I think it does a bad job at imitation and misses the mark on what makes those games special and why they possess passionate fans nearly 3 decades later.
I could ramble about minor gripes too like how I think it's dissatisfying the pool of weapons that can be upgraded at the smith is pretty small, but these are just minor nitpicks that probably don't bother a lot of people. I could also be extra petty and say how certain things feel like they're trying to appeal to a tumblr/internet-addicted teen audience, but it's never shoehorned in enough to detract from the game much.
Really this just feel like a solid, fun, adventure bogged down by some mediocre elements and trivial challenge. It doesn't really hold up to the classics, but there's nothing wrong with that. Great, accessible entry point for people that might be curious if they'd like these kinds of games and to see what they're all about, or people that struggle with older style games.
The levels are all relatively enjoyable to explore for me, the music is very hit and miss, some things sound pretty okay, others sound pretty dire, I guess that's subjective, but some of it just sounds so ill-fitting and amateurish relative to other tracks. The ballroom track made me laugh because it sounds so dire.
I actually don't really get why people cite King's Field and Shadow Tower so much when talking about this game, it plays nothing like either game, this just plays like a unity game feeling like a cheap imitation at best, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, it still plays fine and feels fun, but it's not as rewarding as either of those games and many things like the combat feel far less impactful or tense. I think if you played King's Field/Shadow Tower for like 2 hours, or watched a YouTube video/generic video essays, you'd feel it's more strongly related to these games. It's just too watered down in many aspects to feel close to those games. This game feels like its own thing, so it's unfortunate it's bogged down in this comparisons.
I just don't feel like I am going through a giant interconnected world like I do with a King's Field game, where I can often end up lost, the areas here are easy to memorize and navigate through effortlessly. But, like I said above, they are still enjoyable to go through.
The enemy designs are really varied and interesting as well, though, none are really all that interesting to fight. Oftentimes when you backtrack for secrets (the secrets are usually pretty cool!) they just feel like tiresome cannon fodder.
Some of the secrets feel a little dumb though, like standing in 1 spot and staring at a specific thing for X amount of time. What's the point other than to have it be a secret club thing/something you have to look up? Just pointless and dissatisfying to me. Specifically on the wiki at the current time, it reads,
"The player must stand near the corner of the nearest bookshelf and stare through the loop for a solid 15 seconds or so, and then a message will appear at the bottom left of the screen saying "UWU", giving the player the weapon."
I get it's intended to be a fun, cute thing, but it just feels corny/childish. Maybe I am too old and bitter in all fairness? It's hard for me to say...
Overall, it's a fun game, but compared to other games that the game is supposedly imitating, I think it does a bad job at imitation and misses the mark on what makes those games special and why they possess passionate fans nearly 3 decades later.
I could ramble about minor gripes too like how I think it's dissatisfying the pool of weapons that can be upgraded at the smith is pretty small, but these are just minor nitpicks that probably don't bother a lot of people. I could also be extra petty and say how certain things feel like they're trying to appeal to a tumblr/internet-addicted teen audience, but it's never shoehorned in enough to detract from the game much.
Really this just feel like a solid, fun, adventure bogged down by some mediocre elements and trivial challenge. It doesn't really hold up to the classics, but there's nothing wrong with that. Great, accessible entry point for people that might be curious if they'd like these kinds of games and to see what they're all about, or people that struggle with older style games.
2022
Thank you, Keizo. It's such an exceptional tale, I have never played a game of such immense scope. It truly deserves to be called a god game in every sense, it is one of a kind.
I will likely never play a game equal to this in my lifetime, so I feel very happy to have lived long enough to experience such a game.
I will likely never play a game equal to this in my lifetime, so I feel very happy to have lived long enough to experience such a game.
1998
Great Christmas game! I think most people should play with a guide, but it's a unique experience on the PS1 regardless, and I have not found another game like it on the system. Play without a guide if you are just simply on another level.
PS1 Translated Version:
So, a few issues are that your character's stats are randomized on creation. You really want to have more than 20 strength. You'll find yourself struggling juggling items and not being able to equip/wield gear, it sucks. It sucks because there's a bug where if there's too many items on the ground the game struggles keeping track of everything and can end up corrupting the items in memory causing essential items to get lost, ruining your save file. 30 is the max strength, so aim for a high strength value and throw lots of junk into the water to avoid this. I have a 17 strength paladin, it is not fun finding new armor and ending up unable to equip stuff and having to throw so many items away.
I tried editing my save file in a hex editor since I have a memcard pro so that I could raise my strength value, but there's a checksum I am too lazy to try and reverse engineer
Save times are also brutal, and with certain things being randomized like your chants to the ankhs, it can be kind of tedious trying to get good rolls to raise the skills you actually want to raise.
Outside of this though, really awesome and worthwhile experience. The overall game is a lot of fun, and the framerate is really impressive given other options on the system like King's Field struggle. Sometimes the way your character moves in this version can be kind of awkward though, you'll want to go straight and the game will kind of move you diagonally awkwardly.
Also specific to the PS1 translation itself, there's definitely some silly bugs and issues, maybe further patches will come someday that iron out some of these. I experienced glitchy text quite a few times.
The DOS game manual can explain a lot of important mechanics and is still worth reading for the PS1 version, good luck!
So, a few issues are that your character's stats are randomized on creation. You really want to have more than 20 strength. You'll find yourself struggling juggling items and not being able to equip/wield gear, it sucks. It sucks because there's a bug where if there's too many items on the ground the game struggles keeping track of everything and can end up corrupting the items in memory causing essential items to get lost, ruining your save file. 30 is the max strength, so aim for a high strength value and throw lots of junk into the water to avoid this. I have a 17 strength paladin, it is not fun finding new armor and ending up unable to equip stuff and having to throw so many items away.
I tried editing my save file in a hex editor since I have a memcard pro so that I could raise my strength value, but there's a checksum I am too lazy to try and reverse engineer
Save times are also brutal, and with certain things being randomized like your chants to the ankhs, it can be kind of tedious trying to get good rolls to raise the skills you actually want to raise.
Outside of this though, really awesome and worthwhile experience. The overall game is a lot of fun, and the framerate is really impressive given other options on the system like King's Field struggle. Sometimes the way your character moves in this version can be kind of awkward though, you'll want to go straight and the game will kind of move you diagonally awkwardly.
Also specific to the PS1 translation itself, there's definitely some silly bugs and issues, maybe further patches will come someday that iron out some of these. I experienced glitchy text quite a few times.
The DOS game manual can explain a lot of important mechanics and is still worth reading for the PS1 version, good luck!
2024
This is the one
2003
Was the coffee hot or cold bros?...We'll never know...