GhaleonQ
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JRPG Spotlight Vol 2: Radia Wars Chronicle
Title: Radia Senki: Reimeihen
Platform: Famicom
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo
Release Date: 15th November 1991
What's this game?
Radia Wars Chronicle/Radia Senki: Reimeihen/ラディア戦記 黎明編 is a Japan-only Nintendo Entertainment System game developed and published by Tecmo. Uh, let's see.
It's fine, I suppose. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HI1BD9_FKU That's a pretty cutscene for 1991. Speaking of that, it was released in a post-Super Nintendo Entertainment System world and a world in which Crystalis demonstrated how huge an action RPG could be. The story's about an amnesia-addled hero who needs to stop an evil emperor. Each character has 4 techs. *sigh* For what reason was I writing about this, again?
What's so interesting about this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldz9-Cw-emQ#t=3m12s
Oh, because it's FINAL FANTASY XII ON THE NES.
Feel free to substitute your favorite Tri-Ace or Tales Studio game. I think Final Fantasy XII's the most apt. You control a hero who himself fights, who sets tactics and strategies for his clan both in and out of battle, who is rewarded for using multiple weapon and spell types in relation to enemies, who earns loot that he can sell or heal with instead of money, who eschews random battles for tile-based (read: Chrono Trigger) ones, and who has a bunny lady in his party. *checks Hardcore Gaming 101* Scratch that last part.
Their base innovation should be enough to make this a landmark title. For God's sake, this is an NES game with 4-player, action-based number crunching. What makes it a personal favorite is its - say it with me! - CHARM! Your "escape" option is called "trick," in which you play dead to get monsters to flee from you. The inn's always free to stay in because, you know, you're saving the world. Your party rearranges constantly to get you to experiment, which brings fond memories of Final Fantasy IX to me. The
story's sweet in an NES-era way, too.
The soundtrack's adequate, but I don't think they placed their best sound team on it. Final Fantasy III's absolutely decimated it a year earlier, for instance, but it sets a tone not unlike those of Quintet's games. Surprisingly, I don't think it's very Tecmo-like. The main issue is that the memory kept tracks to 1-minute loops in nearly all cases. On world maps and in long battles, tracks can get tedious. I can upload my gamerip if that's allowed. Try 05 - Salvo, 12 - Loneliness, But Not Despair, 18 - Great Castle, 21 - Draft, 32 - Radiate, and 36 - In Dreams And In My Heart. The graphics, writing, and characterization aren't much to celebrate, but they're hardly mediocre. Still, this is a gameplay-driven experience.
There's an English patch, there are multiple English walkthroughs, and it's 1 of my favorite games on the system. Try it!
Who made this?
I can't say much about the developers, since this was in Japan's lovely "anonymous developers" period. It appears that the Ninja Gaiden team did most of the work, though, and that's an incredibly small team.
References
Strangely, this game's been written about a lot, yet its name hasn't spread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radia_Senki
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/radia/radia.htm
http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/nes/radia/index.shtml
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/data/575930.html
http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/11513428
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAiJmIn9ZdM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29P-0I1da6g
JRPG Spotlight Archives
JRPG Spotlight Vol 1: Dark Half (SFC)
Title: Radia Senki: Reimeihen
Platform: Famicom
Publisher: Tecmo
Developer: Tecmo
Release Date: 15th November 1991
What's this game?
Radia Wars Chronicle/Radia Senki: Reimeihen/ラディア戦記 黎明編 is a Japan-only Nintendo Entertainment System game developed and published by Tecmo. Uh, let's see.
It's fine, I suppose. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7HI1BD9_FKU That's a pretty cutscene for 1991. Speaking of that, it was released in a post-Super Nintendo Entertainment System world and a world in which Crystalis demonstrated how huge an action RPG could be. The story's about an amnesia-addled hero who needs to stop an evil emperor. Each character has 4 techs. *sigh* For what reason was I writing about this, again?
What's so interesting about this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldz9-Cw-emQ#t=3m12s
Oh, because it's FINAL FANTASY XII ON THE NES.
Feel free to substitute your favorite Tri-Ace or Tales Studio game. I think Final Fantasy XII's the most apt. You control a hero who himself fights, who sets tactics and strategies for his clan both in and out of battle, who is rewarded for using multiple weapon and spell types in relation to enemies, who earns loot that he can sell or heal with instead of money, who eschews random battles for tile-based (read: Chrono Trigger) ones, and who has a bunny lady in his party. *checks Hardcore Gaming 101* Scratch that last part.
Their base innovation should be enough to make this a landmark title. For God's sake, this is an NES game with 4-player, action-based number crunching. What makes it a personal favorite is its - say it with me! - CHARM! Your "escape" option is called "trick," in which you play dead to get monsters to flee from you. The inn's always free to stay in because, you know, you're saving the world. Your party rearranges constantly to get you to experiment, which brings fond memories of Final Fantasy IX to me. The
The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The soundtrack's adequate, but I don't think they placed their best sound team on it. Final Fantasy III's absolutely decimated it a year earlier, for instance, but it sets a tone not unlike those of Quintet's games. Surprisingly, I don't think it's very Tecmo-like. The main issue is that the memory kept tracks to 1-minute loops in nearly all cases. On world maps and in long battles, tracks can get tedious. I can upload my gamerip if that's allowed. Try 05 - Salvo, 12 - Loneliness, But Not Despair, 18 - Great Castle, 21 - Draft, 32 - Radiate, and 36 - In Dreams And In My Heart. The graphics, writing, and characterization aren't much to celebrate, but they're hardly mediocre. Still, this is a gameplay-driven experience.
There's an English patch, there are multiple English walkthroughs, and it's 1 of my favorite games on the system. Try it!
Who made this?
I can't say much about the developers, since this was in Japan's lovely "anonymous developers" period. It appears that the Ninja Gaiden team did most of the work, though, and that's an incredibly small team.
References
Strangely, this game's been written about a lot, yet its name hasn't spread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radia_Senki
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/radia/radia.htm
http://shrines.rpgclassics.com/nes/radia/index.shtml
http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/nes/data/575930.html
http://www.nicovideo.jp/mylist/11513428
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAiJmIn9ZdM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29P-0I1da6g
JRPG Spotlight Archives
JRPG Spotlight Vol 1: Dark Half (SFC)