Vandal Hearts' tactical trappings pushed players to test their mettle in addition to managing a growing mix of units with much to offer, daring you to find the way forward through its many unique scenarios. A sprawling quest for heroes seeking to save a nation from a shadowy threat lurking within!
EGM's Review Crew in their April '97 issue were generally happy with Vandal Hearts. Though they criticized certain elements of it such as its linearity and the repetitiveness of some fights, they also praised aspects such as its RPG elements, class change feature, the graphics, sound, and the variety of units at your command to meet the challenges ahead.
Art Angel, writing for GamePro in their May '97 issue, praised the game's mechanics such as its class change feature, 3D graphics, spell effects, and the audio such as its voice acting. They finish their review by saying: "Vandal Hearts' original gameplay and strong graphics and sounds should satisfy even the most particular RPGers. It would be a scandal to miss Vandal."
Konami's RPG received a warm reception from outlets such as EGM in their April '97 issue who made it their Game of the Month, criticizing its linearity but praising aspects such as its story and gameplay. GamePro's May '97 review by Art Angel noted that it would be "a scandal to miss Vandal."
The layout of these areas also created unique conditions to battle through, such as being forced to cross over to an enemy ship with only two narrow (and contested!) gangplanks providing the way forward. Deciding how to tactically arrange your team to meet this challenge is all part of the fun!
Gold is earned after a successful battle (and sometimes determined by other factors!) which can be spent on new gear and important supplies. The creative twists found in each stage can take many forms such as having switches to lower bridges or special conditions to complete.
Vandal Hearts' turn-based combat took place on isometric, 3D battlegrounds that also came with their own challenges. Characters could move or take action (such as using a healing item or casting a spell) and each class had its own rock-scissors-paper strengths and weaknesses against enemies.
Vandal Hearts' story is told through several chapters both during and in-between the many battles players will face along the way. It's a bloody narrative filled with political scheming, ruthless villains, and an ancient secret from a forgotten corner of time lost to memory.
Vandal Hearts (1996) is a tactical RPG by Konami that debuted on the Sony PlayStation. Fifteen years after the revolution that created a new nation, enemies from within threaten to seize power as a traitor's son and his friends attempt to stand in their way! (a fight for freedom thread)
Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys (1993) | action RPG | PC Engine CD-ROM² | Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft's Ys IV was one of two iterations of the same chapter licensed by Nihon Falcom. Their take took full advantage of the CD medium, turning Adol's bump battling adventures into a voiced, multimedia tour de force!
Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony (1985) | action RPG | PC platforms | Origin Systems
In pursuit of the Orb of Celestial Harmony, players explore a top-down world of mystery and adventure where karma can haunt your actions and a mighty Overlord's legs can be his greatest weakness.
The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate (1988) | RPG | PC platforms | Interplay
The Bard's Tale III's musical intro slightly differed depending on the platform. Here, the Apple II version shows off a bit of what it could do with an animated balloon to go with the story. Watch out for that flying thing!
Cleopatra no Mahou (1987) is an adventure/RPG hybrid by Square for the Nintendo Famicom Disk System in Japan. While on a dig in Alexandria, Egypt, your archaeologist dad disappears. The only clue lies in the ruins pointing to the Tear of Isis and an unspeakable evil! (a belongs in a museum thread)
Roddick (or "Rati") is shown at the top alongside Millie, two of them members of their village's defense force that includes other friends of theirs. The page also briefly describes the background story of humanity's reach across the stars before taking the reader to a remote world where the main story begins with Roddick and Millie. But sickness is spreading there, and it is up to our friends to find a cure!
This page describes the "Private Actions" feature of the game that can increase affinity between characters through special interactions that can come up during play. Depending on what the player decides to do or react, they can increase (or even decrease) their affinity with certain characters. By affecting your relationships in the game this way, characters may have different reactions on other events and story-related scenes. The example shown on this page shows how to initiate a Private Action (what to look out for onscreen) as well as an example of one between Roddick and Millie when it comes to buying (or choosing NOT to buy something) that she's interested in. Choose wisely!
Published in Famitsu Bros., a youth-focused spinoff of Japan's Famitsu, this 1996 feature talks up Star Ocean, tri-Ace's debut RPG on the Super Famicom
Roddick and Millie, two of its stars, are featured along with "Private Actions": special interactions that can affect affinity between characters!
The two-page ad for Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (1992) Sharpen thy sword. Raise thy shield. Cast thy mightiest spell. For the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game hath joined forces with Sega Genesis. Daybreak, the darkest hour of the final day. Furious goblins massing for a decisive attack surround your characters and their liege lord, the Duke. But before they can strike, an immortal force intervenes - transporting the Duke's castle and its occupants to a mystical valley. Where a redsun flares eternally at high noon. And your characters are surrounded by mutant Beastmen. Locals who are anything but friendly. Welcome to WARRIORS OF THE ETERNAL SUN, the first official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS" role playing game for Sega Genesis. It has all the classic spells, weapons, experience points and levels of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game. And characters each player can create themselves. Descend into a world with dungeon levels so real your characters can scope them out, and fight it out in real time, first person 3-D. While automatically mapping their subterranean progress. And on the surface, make sure your characters are extra vigilant. For at every turn, their battle tactics will determine success. The question is, can your characters live long enough in this mysterious new world to forge strong, new alliances before the castle is attacked? And can they unravel the dark, buried secret of the entire valley before it drives the Duke hopelessly insane? Throw in your favorite D&D spells, weapons, tunnels, powers, good guys and bad guys, and one thing is certain. On your own, your characters might make it through WARRIORS OF THE ETERNAL SUN. Or perhaps you'll have to consult the hint book for survival tips. But either way, it's going to be a very long day.
It did get a two-page ad at the time that was pretty fancy (all that treasure...). At the same time, it also had to contend with a wild news cycle in '92 that involved heavy hitters like Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and existing RPGs that could have affected its visibility.
Dungeons & Dragons: Warriors of the Eternal Sun (1992) | RPG | Sega Genesis | Westwood Associates
A mysterious force pulls a castle and its people into a strange place lit by an undying sun where a mix of tactical battles and first-person dungeons bring TSR's Hollow World setting to life!
Suikoden II (1998) is an RPG by Konami that debuted on the Sony PlayStation. It has been three years since the events of the first game. A ruthless betrayal once again sets nations aflame catching two childhood friends in separate destinies that will decide the land's fate. (a starry destiny thread)
Alan Craddock's illustration (which was used on the cover for the packaging) fills the page with a generous collection of screenshots. It also relates the backdrop of the game as four demonic princes are summoned forth with only the druids to stand in their way. Players quest to become the powerful Light Master with the aid of a golem (or a co-op partner!) to end their evil and save the land! Retail price: ¥6,800
Electralyte's dungeon crawling adventure, Druid, debuted in 1986 bringing Gauntlet-like action to PCs like the Commodore 64
It made its way to other platforms since including the MSX2 which this 1988 ad from Japan celebrated as Alan Craddock's cover art beckons players to become the Light Master!
The Forest of Doom (1984) | RPG | ZX Spectrum and C64 | Puffin Books
When Ian Livingstone's book was brought over to PCs like the Commodore 64, the developers had a chance to illustrate the mechanics with music, sound effects, and graphics showing how lucky...or painfully unlucky...you were.
This photo shows the laser and plate assembly it rides in along with the disc motor, all of which are part of the blu-ray drive inside the Xbox Series X. The round white thing is the motor that spins the disc and the little rectacle next to it in the giant, open groove is the laser unit.
Replaced the laser in my Xbox Series X. It stopped reading blu-rays but was fine with everything else like OG Xbox discs. Also replaced the plate assembly, too, and surgery was a success.
Once again, the Black Cube's energies can read the Blue Scrolls. And all screws accounted for, too!
Suikoden (1995) is an RPG by Konami for the Sony PlayStation. Loosely inspired by the 16th century Chinese novel, Water Margin, you are the son of a famous general soon caught between dark forces behind the empire that is his home and a promise to a desperate friend. (an unbreakable bonds thread)
Asking players to experience a legend, Super Hydlide's ad in Japan hyped its features as a pinnacle of action RPG greatness set against a massive map, beautiful graphics, moving story, and dangerous monsters. Super Hydlide was actually Hydlide 3: The Space Memories when T&E first released it for PCs like the MSX in 1987. When it was ported to the Sega Mega Drive (and would eventually come to North America a year later in 1990), it was retitled Super Hydlide. Retail price: ¥7,900
Day and night cycles, encumbrance (even money had weight to it!), and a kind of morality system were a few of the features helping to make Super Hydlide stand out
This 1989 ad from Japan celebrated the arrival of T&E's action RPG on the Mega Drive after its earlier debut as Hydlide 3 on PCs!
Tower of Myraglen (1987) was an action RPG for the Apple IIGS by Richard L. Seaborne. The land of Myraglen suffocates beneath a rising tide of evil, but an amulet hidden within an ancient tower that can steal souls may be the key to victory if a lone knight can find it! (a soul stealing thread)
And as for Richard L. Seaborne, his name shows up again a few years later alongside Alan J. Murphy's for EA's Escape from Hell taking players on a tongue-in-cheek adventure through the underworld in search of escape. No amulet of soul stealing here. Just souls for your party!
Tower of Myraglen was a neat dungeon crawler exclusive to the Apple IIGS with a surprising sound library and plenty of reasons to dare its many dangers in a brave effort to play the hero. It even had multiple endings (if you wanted to, you can leave the Tower at the start and end the world).
Better gear is found within the Tower and your HP, starting at 1000, chips away in every fight (and encountering traps) mitigated only by armor. Fortunately, you can save anywhere! Dying gives you a choice: you can either start fresh, or start from the beginning with the gear you've found so far.
The dungeon crawler used "bump combat" that fans of Nihon Falcom's Ys series may fondly recognize. Bumping your heroic knight into enemies "fought" monsters until only one of you was left standing. You also had a ring that could fire infinite arrows for ranged (if weak) attacks.
Thanks to the MDIdeas Supersonic Card, it made notable use of digitized sounds and voices with a clip from Nino Rota's The Charge of the Cavalry and the Wounded as performed by Franco Ferrara and his orchestra for the 1956 film adaptation of Tolstoy's War and Peace (Skeleton guy was from the game).
Tower of Myraglen (1987) was an action RPG for the Apple IIGS by Richard L. Seaborne. The land of Myraglen suffocates beneath a rising tide of evil, but an amulet hidden within an ancient tower that can steal souls may be the key to victory if a lone knight can find it! (a soul stealing thread)
Dragon Slayer (1984) | action RPG | PC platforms | Nihon Falcom
This iconic title helped foster Japan's budding action RPG scene, pitting players against a treasure-filled maze and an angry dragon. Over the years, it also received ports to other platforms including a glow-up on the Sega Saturn!
Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes (1989) | RPG | Various platforms | Nihon Falcom
Originally released on the PC-88, it was also ported to platforms such as the PC Engine CD in 1991 (and localized for NA) with an enhanced score and additional voice acting. Not seen: my head bobbing to the music.
This screenshot is from the introduction teaser. Many enemies and dangers await the player in the land of Khantun!
The title screen for the game.
This is the play screen displaying my stats in the lower left hand corner, the status of my karma and dexterity with icons in the lower right, and a top down view of the land with me in the center. NPCs and other figures like enemy guards and tigers were represented by portraits like mine above.
When facing an enemy, the screen switches to a side view like this screen. You are on the left and the enemy is on the right. Players can utilize high, medium, and low punches and kicks to fight their enemy. They can also use a sword if they had it drawn before combat began.
Moebius: The Orb of Celestial Harmony (1985) was an action RPG by Greg Malone for Origin Systems that debuted on the Apple II. As a trained disciple of Moebius the Windwalker, you must utilize your martial arts skills to recover the Orb from a traitor and save the land of Khantun! (a punchy thread)
