Xak!

[termis]

Just started playing part I.  I can't believe how little talk this game has amongst the folks here, considering how it plays shockingly similar to the oft-talked about Ys.

Only about half an hour into it, but so far has really solid music and decent graphics, along with a great intro. 

I think I'm gonna really enjoy this series. 

[GUTS]

Part 3 is awesome, but I couldn't get very far in part 1 because of the language barrier.  I'd definitely play through 1 & 2 if someone did a patch for them, they seemed really awesome.

[rolins]

Glad you brought up this topic, I just finished Xak on the MSX2. I thought the gameplay was very hard, but still a cool adventure RPG. My biggest complaint is the tedious amount of time to farming EXP/GOLD, but I guess you can't escape that in a RPG.

I just posted on youtube about Xak.

[Tatsujin]

just played Fray CD - Xak Gaiden, since i'm not that much into real RPGs

[termis]

Part 3 is awesome, but I couldn't get very far in part 1 because of the language barrier. 

There's a (seemingly) comprehensive faq up on gamefaqs for part 1 & 2.  I dunno if you missed it, as it was put up somewhat recently (2006).

http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/turbocd/game/916166.html

[geepee16]

great RPG series! a translation patch was done for part 3, in case you don't know. not surprising though that few people talk about it since he console has SO many great rpgs.  between the cosmic fantasy, tengai makyou, babel, ys & xanadu series and other stand-alond greats such as anearth fantasies, gulliver boy, emerald dragon, and so many more, it's totally understandable that it got lost.  man, the PCE was just LOADED in the RPG genre. 

[Tatsujin]

1. shoot'em ups
2. RPGs
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.
.
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3. others

[termis]

Just a little mini-review now that I've finished part 1 & 2...

Man, along with Blood Gear, this is another great action RPG that doesn't get enough props in the PCE scene.  As mentioned above, it plays extremely similar to Ys -- an overhead, run & bump action RPG with enemies, puzzles, status screens, etc. the whole "feel" just emulates the earlier Ys games.  I don't know just yet if all this carries over to part 3, but I'll find out soon enough.

However, there are a few unique about Xak 1 & 2.  You actually need to press a button to draw your sword, and a jump action button changes the fighting strategy a tad at times.  Also the characters aren't little SD characters like many japanese RPGs. 

The puzzles you have to figure out aren't too difficult, and along with the faq that's up on the net, it's perfectly playable for the average import game player.  Of course, any Japanese you know will be of help, but I can easily see someone without a lick of Japanese knowledge playing through this game with just a tad bit o' help from the faq.

For the PCE version, I didn't find that I needed to spend tons of time raising exp or earning gold -- just little bits at a time, no more than 20-30 minutes in spots.  In fact, I maxed out my level about 3/4 into the game for both parts 1 and 2.  The difficulty curve also wasn't too high, as raising a few levels earlier in the game really made rest of the journey much easier.  I have a feeling that Telenet may have notched down the exp/gold raising time necessary to make your character competitive against surrounding foes, along with the whole difficulty curve, just like what some people say about the PCE version of Ys vs. the other ports.  Each part took me less than 5 hours to completely finish, with a combined hours being slightly over 9 hours.  Add in the times where you have to repeat certain sections, etc, and one can probably get 10+ hours of gameplay with this disc.

Graphics are decent for an action RPG, and the red-book audio is pretty darn good too.  If you like action RPGs, I'd wholeheartedly recommend this one.



My other PCE game reviews:
Ane-san
Babel
Blood Gear
Cosmic Fantasy 1
Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes
Dragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes II
Downtown Nekketsu Monogatari
KO Seiki: Beast Sanjuushi
Kuusoukagaku Sekai: Gulliver Boy
Nekketsu Legend Baseballer
Tengai Makyou: Itouryoudan & Iga Ninden Gaiou

[rolins]

Each part took me less than 5 hours to completely finish, with a combined hours being slightly over 9 hours.  Add in the times where you have to repeat certain sections, etc, and one can probably get 10+ hours of gameplay with this disc.

Wow, less than 5 hours to finish Xak 1. Telenet really did tone down the difficulty for the pc-engine. IIRC it took me over 10 hours of playtime to finish the Xak 1 for MSX2.

[Kitsunexus]

Yeah, what do you want?


Oh, you said XAK.... silly me.

[guyjin]

are you a lego maniac?  :-"