Modern Gamers' Guide to 8-Bit RPGs #1 - Lagrange Point
Barring one dramatically shocking pre-rendered cutscene, only die-hard old school RPG will enjoy travelling back in time to the Lagrange Point.
There are also 4 "overworld" areas to explore which, while impressively sized for the time, quickly become a chore to explore and constantly backtrack through thanks to the 2-10 step encounter rate.
Battles are a turn-based affair revolving primarily around basic attacks and buffs/debuffs. Each party member has a a signature special move they can use, but these moves cost 1/2 of that character's Maximum HP value. Thanks to the high encounter rate and all basic attacks pulling from the same BP (read: MP) pool as your healing abilities, special abilities are rarely worth the cost outside of boss battles. Speaking of boss battles, they almost all come in the form of invisible encounters that you're likely to walk into without warning. If you're caught off-guard while low on resources, expect to watch your party fall.
Luckily death won't completely set you back. If you die you lose your temporary money, but your character growth and items are retained. (Temporary money is money earned after a battle. To keep your cash you have to bank it in a town. If you die before doing so you lose every cent of your battle earnings since your last visit to town.)
Before I wrap the review there are a few cool features I want to breeze through. There's a basic weapon fusion system that manages to feel ahead of its time thanks to a consistent upgrade tree with no RNG involved. There are 10 playable characters than can be swapped in and out of your 4 person battle party at your home base. They're totally undeveloped and have less than five lines of dialogue each, but at least there's some variety to break up the slew of random encounters. The OST is definitely worth a listen on YouTube or something if you dig chiptune tracks, too.
My Enjoyment - 4.5/8 Bits. I played this with 3x fast-forward, online maps and a guide, and it still felt too long. The setting and music are pretty cool though, and at least Konami tried some new things instead of cloning Dragon Quest.
Difficulty - 5/8 Bits. Difficulty mainly comes from inevitably running out of HP+BP healing items thanks to limited inventory space.
Modern Accessibility - 2/8 Bits. Modern gamers need not apply. Lagrange Point will bore you, piss you off, or both.
Final Verdict - Not worth the Bits for the modern audience at large, but old-school JRPG fanatics might be able to enjoy what Konami was trying to do here.
Barring one dramatically shocking pre-rendered cutscene, only die-hard old school RPG will enjoy travelling back in time to the Lagrange Point.
There are also 4 "overworld" areas to explore which, while impressively sized for the time, quickly become a chore to explore and constantly backtrack through thanks to the 2-10 step encounter rate.
Battles are a turn-based affair revolving primarily around basic attacks and buffs/debuffs. Each party member has a a signature special move they can use, but these moves cost 1/2 of that character's Maximum HP value. Thanks to the high encounter rate and all basic attacks pulling from the same BP (read: MP) pool as your healing abilities, special abilities are rarely worth the cost outside of boss battles. Speaking of boss battles, they almost all come in the form of invisible encounters that you're likely to walk into without warning. If you're caught off-guard while low on resources, expect to watch your party fall.
Luckily death won't completely set you back. If you die you lose your temporary money, but your character growth and items are retained. (Temporary money is money earned after a battle. To keep your cash you have to bank it in a town. If you die before doing so you lose every cent of your battle earnings since your last visit to town.)
Before I wrap the review there are a few cool features I want to breeze through. There's a basic weapon fusion system that manages to feel ahead of its time thanks to a consistent upgrade tree with no RNG involved. There are 10 playable characters than can be swapped in and out of your 4 person battle party at your home base. They're totally undeveloped and have less than five lines of dialogue each, but at least there's some variety to break up the slew of random encounters. The OST is definitely worth a listen on YouTube or something if you dig chiptune tracks, too.
My Enjoyment - 4.5/8 Bits. I played this with 3x fast-forward, online maps and a guide, and it still felt too long. The setting and music are pretty cool though, and at least Konami tried some new things instead of cloning Dragon Quest.
Difficulty - 5/8 Bits. Difficulty mainly comes from inevitably running out of HP+BP healing items thanks to limited inventory space.
Modern Accessibility - 2/8 Bits. Modern gamers need not apply. Lagrange Point will bore you, piss you off, or both.
Final Verdict - Not worth the Bits for the modern audience at large, but old-school JRPG fanatics might be able to enjoy what Konami was trying to do here.