Sep 3, 2010 at 2:39 PM
Join Date: Aug 20, 2006
Location:
Posts: 2851
Age: 34
Okay I don't know how many of you are familiar with The 7th Saga (outside of carrotlord), but it was an RPG for the SNES with some really nice music that is known mostly for being incredibly difficult. The original Japanese release (called Elnard) wasn't nearly as hard, but when it was released in America it was 'rebalanced' to the point that it's only possible to beat with hours upon hours of grinding. As such it's not very popular, although it's not like that's ever dented the popularity of Dragon Quest >_>
Anyway, the same company that made Elnard released a spiritual sequel a short while after. It was called Mystic Ark. It wasn't released outside Japan but there's a translation patch floating around. I was intrigued, so I decided to check it out.
THIS GAM IS AMZING.
The game starts in a central hub type area, from which all the other worlds in the game are reached. The world themselves are based on the item they were entered from, and the results are usually amusing and unexpected. In each world, the inhabitants are facing various difficulties, which gradually get pieced together as the story progresses. Like 7th Saga, the interface is oldskool "you have to choose to search everything" style, but it's more streamlined, and for important items there are these nice little screens that pop up with a picture of what you're interacting with. The battle system is basic attack/magic, but as the game progresses characters will gain multiple attacking options. There's also a way to set up auto-battles but I haven't fiddled with it yet.
What I really love is how much depth the game has. Nearly every dungeon has a trick/puzzle to it, most of which are very clever, and the game rewards you for paying attention and interacting with everything. E.g. you find a lot of empty bottles, which can be filled with various found substances and sometimes even be re-used. There are supplementary items for every attack ability, and different characters can equip the same type of weapon/armour with differing proficiency. After the second world, you gain access to an arena where you can pit captured monsters against one another, as well as a casino-type place. It's hard to describe a lot of things in the game without making them sound generic, but the thing is that they're all really well-done.
The game looks great for the time, and the soundtrack is on-par with 7th Saga's at the same time as having a lot more variety. The basic story is that important people or items from each world have had their essence removed, and been transformed into the wooden dolls that are sitting around the main area. In order to free everyone and restore each world, you have to recover the various Arks (hence the game name), each one of which is a source of great power. After the first world is completed the other characters become available, and they're all completely usable and well-balanced (and well-designed, imo).
Most of the story comes from the various worlds and the people in them. The translation is really good too, a few in-jokes here and there but nothing stupid (unlike the pile of complete and utter wank that is the Breath of Fire II retranslation) and more importantly it doesn't skimp on the description or depth. I've just completed the third world now, and the only consistent gripe I think I might end up having is that the difficulty could peter off too much towards the end, but I've completed the first three worlds and it hasn't been too bad yet. Otherwise I am incredibly impressed so far, and I think it's extra-amazing that I have never ever seen or heard this game talked about anywhere before. It is quickly becoming one of the best games I have ever played and I could very well end up enjoying it as much as my beloved Breath of Fire III. It's certainly the most underrated game I've ever encountered.
Now, I'm not saying this game will be for everyone, but if you like oldschool SNES JRPGs you will like this game. I can't wait to see what happens as I continue playing (although I might have to put off doing so for a few days) and when I'm done I'm probably going to go around recommending it to as many people as I can.
Peace out
Anyway, the same company that made Elnard released a spiritual sequel a short while after. It was called Mystic Ark. It wasn't released outside Japan but there's a translation patch floating around. I was intrigued, so I decided to check it out.
THIS GAM IS AMZING.
The game starts in a central hub type area, from which all the other worlds in the game are reached. The world themselves are based on the item they were entered from, and the results are usually amusing and unexpected. In each world, the inhabitants are facing various difficulties, which gradually get pieced together as the story progresses. Like 7th Saga, the interface is oldskool "you have to choose to search everything" style, but it's more streamlined, and for important items there are these nice little screens that pop up with a picture of what you're interacting with. The battle system is basic attack/magic, but as the game progresses characters will gain multiple attacking options. There's also a way to set up auto-battles but I haven't fiddled with it yet.
What I really love is how much depth the game has. Nearly every dungeon has a trick/puzzle to it, most of which are very clever, and the game rewards you for paying attention and interacting with everything. E.g. you find a lot of empty bottles, which can be filled with various found substances and sometimes even be re-used. There are supplementary items for every attack ability, and different characters can equip the same type of weapon/armour with differing proficiency. After the second world, you gain access to an arena where you can pit captured monsters against one another, as well as a casino-type place. It's hard to describe a lot of things in the game without making them sound generic, but the thing is that they're all really well-done.
The game looks great for the time, and the soundtrack is on-par with 7th Saga's at the same time as having a lot more variety. The basic story is that important people or items from each world have had their essence removed, and been transformed into the wooden dolls that are sitting around the main area. In order to free everyone and restore each world, you have to recover the various Arks (hence the game name), each one of which is a source of great power. After the first world is completed the other characters become available, and they're all completely usable and well-balanced (and well-designed, imo).
Most of the story comes from the various worlds and the people in them. The translation is really good too, a few in-jokes here and there but nothing stupid (unlike the pile of complete and utter wank that is the Breath of Fire II retranslation) and more importantly it doesn't skimp on the description or depth. I've just completed the third world now, and the only consistent gripe I think I might end up having is that the difficulty could peter off too much towards the end, but I've completed the first three worlds and it hasn't been too bad yet. Otherwise I am incredibly impressed so far, and I think it's extra-amazing that I have never ever seen or heard this game talked about anywhere before. It is quickly becoming one of the best games I have ever played and I could very well end up enjoying it as much as my beloved Breath of Fire III. It's certainly the most underrated game I've ever encountered.
Now, I'm not saying this game will be for everyone, but if you like oldschool SNES JRPGs you will like this game. I can't wait to see what happens as I continue playing (although I might have to put off doing so for a few days) and when I'm done I'm probably going to go around recommending it to as many people as I can.
Peace out
The translator's site (for the patch that I used) is 
