Okay, so I finished the game today, so on with the review.
There isn’t much info on this game in English other than runin’s review, so I had a tough time getting started on the game. Luckily, I found some info on a number of Korean sites, mostly on the MSX version, as the MSX had a decent following in Korea.
From what I gather, it seems Burai tried accomplishing what Final Fantasy VII would do years later when it first came out for the MSX, as in being this grand, high-production storytelling RPG. For example, the original MSX version came out on a 15-disk package, with a 40-minute(!) intro scene. The game is definitely tries to be an epic, as it involves things like the fight between light and darkness, intertwined stories amongst all the characters, huge plot twists, with lots and lots of text. And there are 7 different quests, each lasting perhaps 2-3 hours each, before all the main characters come together for the second half of the game.
Now, this all sounds pretty cool, but when you first start the game, the crummy in-game graphics will take you straight back to the early years of computer RPGs, complete with the super crunched up play-area. This limited play area is frustrating to say the least (BTW, this limited-field thing seems to be very common in Japanese PC-derived RPGS). The sprites are also tiny, battle fights have no background, is static, and there’s zero nice factor at all.
The music is also irritating, as many pieces loop way too often, and it gets super repetitive FAST (I think the overworld music looped every 20 seconds or so – with a short fade every single time, too). Vast majority of pieces sound very bland, as I can only recall a few good pieces throughout the game.
The gameplay is all about character development, hence, expect a lot of grinding. There are some extremely annoying thing about simple things like navigating through the menu. For example, a common heal spell only heals about 20% of your health, so you have to cast it multiple times to completely heal one character. Not a huge deal in itself, but you have to cycle through your spell list every single time you cast it as the cursor will flips back to the beginning of the menu -- certainly annoying when you have to cast it 5 times to completely heal one character. I’m not sure if this game just wasn’t designed for the gamepad in that sense; maybe Riverhill didn’t bother optimizing the gameplay for a gamepad. Also, simple things like just talking to villagers can be annoying as they constantly bump right back into you after your initial chat, forcing you to read the same thing like 3 times before you get away from them.
Now, even with all these annoyances, the game does grow on you. One of the primary enjoyment factors of an old-school RPG is watching your character grow from a super wimp to an ass-kicking character, and you get to see this multiple times for a big cast of characters in chapter 1, and once more after they regroup in chapter 2. And you have some control in how your character develops as well, as you can focus their growth areas such as magic, strength, search skills, etc. Because of this “development”, there’s some grinding involved in the game.
Going along with the grand storyline, the developers put some real effort into the storytelling presentation, with character designs by Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno (who have been involved in some big-time animes of that era). Very, very cool 70-80s Japanese manga style artwork, which I don’t see much of in PCE titles. Many drawings seems to be hand-drawn as well.
Now, because Burai isn’t a cookie-cutter console JRPG, I’d say the gaijin-protection is higher than most PCE RPGs. The gameplay itself isn’t so difficult once you figure it out, but figuring it out will take longer most other JRPGs, especially if you're doing everything by trial and error. I was fortunate enough to find a pretty extensive faq in a language I can read (Korean), and the faq had a lot of good info which I definitely wouldn't have figured out for myself. I’ll see if I can whip up something in English for those who are interested in trying out the game for themselves.
PCE was the only console to receive the sequel this game, so I'll have a go at it sometime...
Compilation of my other reviews:
Aurora Quest: Otaku no Seiza in Another WorldAne-sanBabelBakushō Yoshimoto ShinkigekiBlood GearCosmic Fantasy 1Cosmic Fantasy 3Dragon Knight IIIDragon Slayer: Legend of HeroesDragon Slayer: Legend of Heroes IIDowntown Nekketsu MonogatariKO Seiki: Beast SanjūshiKūsōkagaku Sekai: Gulliver BoyNekketsu Legend BaseballerTengai Makyō: ItōryōdanValis I~IVXak I & IIXak III
