The RPG Consoler

Game 65

Title: Soul Blazer
Released: June 1991 (February 1988 JPN)
Platform: SNES
Developer: Quintet
Publisher: Enix
Genre: RPG
Exploration - Top-down
Combat - Action (top-down)
Series - Standalone (or The Quintet World)

The first game in what many fans consider a Trilogy, Soul Blazer actually seems to have more in common with ActRaiser than Illusion of Gaia (Time in PAL regions). Soul Blazer offers just a bit more character development than ActRaiser, which is why I considered it an RPG and ActRaiser was cut (though given an in-depth article). Instead of controlling the Master himself, we take on the role of his servant to save the world from a great evil.

Action-RPGs are always so much shorter than the standard fare

Trouble arose from the Freil Empire. King Magridd was obsessed with increasing his riches. One day he overheard of a great inventor named Dr. Leo. With Dr. Leo's help through indentured servitude, a machine that opened a portal to the world of evil was created. Magridd made a pact with the king of evil, Deathtoll. For every living thing sent to Deathtoll, he gave in return a bit of gold. Magridd accepted. Soon there was nothing left in the world.

*Plop*

I named the servant Opidius, and began his journey in Green Valley after a short tutorial section. The game consists of six areas. The general story is the same in each; all living things have been trapped away inside monster lairs connected to the world of evil located in hazardous fields. Each area has a town section that's rebuilt by destroying all enemies that spawn from a monster lair and sealing it away. Sealing a monster lair can also change the field to open new areas or reveal something hidden (treasure, jewels, or more lairs). The fields are accessible from town in some way, and to facilitate quick travel, each area has three teleporter pads.

Magic costs gold GEMs dropped by monsters and found in treasure chests

Releasing the town slowly unlocks NPCs and buildings that house them. NPCs can be people, plants, animals, or in one area, even animated objects like drawers, doors, and dolls. Speaking to those in town grant items that enable further progress in the field. A dream rod found in the first field is used throughout the game to enter the dreams of those sleeping. The dream world often reflects the real one, and can unlock sections in the field when revisited.

I opened the passage to the left in Lisa's dream, which allowed me to get the paintbrush in the living world

Levels increase HP, and while damage is derived from weapons, there's a minimum level to use each one. Armor isn't restricted in this way. Items can provide additional boosts, or healing from a medical herb, but items are passively used, which means having the medical herb at the ready to heal excludes the use of bracelets for attack or defense boosts. Magic is really powerful, but limited due to the GEM system. It's always cast from the glowing magician spirit circling the character throughout the game.

All bosses are immune to magic

Combat is fairly simplistic with only a basic sword swing plus an additional thrusting technique that holds the sword out dealing a minimum amount of damage. While the sword is held out, the character movement is changed to strafing, locking the character facing a single direction. This is helpful for both dealing damage with the sword and sending the fireball into the right direction. Dying is really only a threat during boss battles, but with losing all GEMs as the only drawback it's not much of a setback.

Once the first area is completed, the player is able to move between areas, and we see the floating palace used to teleport within the areas

After rebuilding Green Valley, I moved on to Green Wood. In this area we learn that not only have living things been trapped, but many have died in an effort to fight off the evil monsters. Turbo, once the faithful pet of Dr. Leo and his daughter Lisa, perished along with Monmo and another mole that went to save her. The field in this location is a swamp punctuated by three temples: water, fire, and light. To proceed, I had to find Turbo's grave to obtain proof I was a friend of the forest before the rafts in the swamp would ferry me to the boss. All the NPCs here are animals and trees that live in the forest.

I don't think I ever solved this hint, but I thought I tried to talk to all the rafts

Each area culminates in a boss battle. Green Wood had three statue heads representing the three temples. After a boss is defeated, sealing the boss enemy lair releases an important NPC. Speaking with them rewards a colored stone. Collecting all six unlocks the way to the world of evil where we face off against Deathtoll. The next area was a water palace called St. Elles with islands and underwater sections that required bubble armor to traverse. Each area has an NPC spirit (except the fourth area) that provide additional effects like increasing visibility or adding protection.

The game has a number items that have limited use over the game, like the thunder ring used in only one area to clear a single lair full of invulnerable monsters

The story has a big theme surrounding reincarnation. Many of the animals had past lives as humans that died in tragic accidents. The next area is called Laynole, and was home to gnomish NPCs that lived their entire life cycle within a year. For pets, and to ride, they tame snails. One of the items for the area is called mushroom shoes, which have snail goo to make them sticky for the icy areas. Some of these solutions seem rather forced, I have to admit. The boss here was a Naga or Merman with a trident.

Wise words are sprinkled about the game, or maybe this is just an excuse not to get the player stuck in a dream loop

The next area is Dr. Leo's lab, or an old residence of his, probably both. All of the animals there remember him fondly, and speak of a time when his whole family lived there. Early on I found the Zentatsu sword that finally allowed me to defeated metal and heavily armored enemies. There were a few lairs with those sorts of monsters in the first three areas, so I took a short trip back for them. My sword still whiffed through the light spirits in the light temple. I'd have to wait for the spirit sword located in Magridd's castle.

Two of the fields are miniature towns with some invisible enemies

The other fields are in the basements filled with Dr. Leo's mechanic inventions gone rogue. There are some hot areas that I needed to cross with the ice armor. Often I'd forget to switch back to a more recent armor and die as a result of taking extreme damage. Weapons and armor often have additional effects, like cutting magic cost in half or the luck sword that increases the chance of getting large GEMs. Defeating the boss here released Lisa's doll, Marie.

The boss was one of the hardest with random movements and attack patterns coupled with an elusive hit box

I haven't talked about a lot of solutions for progressing in the game because most are covered elsewhere in greater detail, and actually aren't too difficult. One of the most annoying ones I experienced as a kid was in this final area though. Once you clear the dungeon field, a guard blocks access to the west tower, the next area. There's a guard standing on a pass card while attending a concert, but the harpist there has a broken string. The only related clue is another bard on the other side of town who makes reference to a friend he had that always talked about his lucky string. The last time the bard saw his friend, he was being taken to a torture room for trying to free Dr. Leo.

I just happened to walk over this skeleton for really no reason, but this is easily missed

There are a lot of little lock and key solutions like this, but none where the key was so secretly hidden. I pressed on, reviving the town that brought about the world's imprisonment. Finally, I unlocked Dr. Leo next to the airship that brought him; however, the queen had other ideas for Dr. Leo, and wouldn't let him leave. They had already retrieved Lisa from Green Valley as a bargaining chip. Dr. Leo saw no other way out, and went back to the queen.

No one quite knows where he got the explosives

Another RNG based boss made for an annoying battle, but his attacks are easy to dodge and there were safe attack spots. King Magridd was released by sealing the boss lair. He regretted his actions deeply, apologized for the way the queen acted, and provided the final stone. With all six stones I gained access to the world of evil. Deathtoll was sealed away within though, and I needed the magic of the phoenix to gain access. To get it I had to find the red-hot stick (3rd area), mirror (2nd area), and ball (world of evil). Returning these to the king of Leynole awarded the phoenix magic and revealed the castle where Deathtoll resided.

Compared to other bosses, Deathtoll is epic without a health bar showing, but a bit easier than most

After Deathtoll fell, the spirits of the sky that accompanied our hero decided to stay behind to seal the portal from within the world of evil to make it harder to open. Upon my return, the master proclaimed I had saved all creatures. He then entreated me to return to the people I had rescued to say my farewells. King Magridd suggested that he'd build statues of the hero and Dr. Leo in a new town using his ill-gotten gains. Marie, the doll, spoke of how tools want to be useful, but when used in the wrong way they feel the pain inflicted. The snail Nome missed Dr. Leo.

Lue the dolphin had some good news

Turbo's spirit told us that he and Dr. Leo would rest well after the honest life they lived. Finally, Lisa was sleeping. In her dream she asked us to return to her some day. She didn't care if I was an angel or a human, even though I clearly chose to tell her I wasn't human when she asked during the game. In any case, I have to promise her.

What's the purpose of even waiting for this input?

The hero returned to heaven, but couldn't get over his feelings. A year passed by, and he still yearned for Lisa. Giving up his memories, he returned to Earth as a human. Lisa found him, but without his memories he didn't recognize her. Even though I told her I remembered, she either didn't believe me, or the question was worded in a way that I gave an unintentional truthful answer. I'm actually not even sure why the hero and Lisa grew so close, they barely interacted.

I selected Yes for "yes, I remember you," but she sure didn't take it that way

Elapsed Time: 6h17m (Final Time: 6h17m)


Combatant - For being so simplistic, combat is a blast. Taking out enemies with some quick magic is satisfying, and the sword has a wide damaging arc that still hits even when it may not look like it should connect. It's a very satisfying experience, although not a very strategic one.
Rating: 5

Lisa stares into the sunset, blinding herself for life

Admirer - It is possible to grind levels for additional health, but not really necessary. There's no customization. I think they missed a big chance to have equipment represented on the player's sprite. At least the controls are on point.
Rating: 3

All these different pieces of equipment, and the hero always looks the same

Puzzler - There are main and side quests that offer some variety. The rewards for the side quests aren't exceptional, but they're there. In fact one collection quest to find all 8 emblems of the master was so obscure that I only managed the three most obvious. The puzzles are built well into the world, but only single solution exists to progress, which can lead to some frustrating situations.
Rating: 4

That sounds like a nice reward, until I realized that it wouldn't be possible until nearly the end of the game

Instigator - I think I've gone over the lack of influence enough. I question the reveal that the character isn't human as the response from Lisa was quite muted. The story touches upon various aspects of life and moral living without being preachy. All pieces of equipment and items have a bit of description to go along with them as well. I grew up with this game though, so I'm a bit biased, but I thoroughly enjoyed the story.
Rating: 4

This blank space is unusual, and makes me wonder if someone was removed from the credits

Collector - There are a good number of unique items to find, but nothing worthwhile to collect, except the master's emblems. This gives the treasure seeker something to dig into. Everything else (all armor, swords, and magic) is found through clearing all monster lairs. There's no economy to speak of and no stores. Medical herbs are given away. The item menu has a nice layout, but some key items are used and leave blank spaces.
Rating: 4

My inventory at the end; unlike the equipment menu, the gaps here are not nearly as nice

Explorer - At this point I'm not sure I'll find a musical score or graphics that aren't at least endearing to the game. I'm not really a good judge for that kind of thing. The music here is fantastic, and I adore this kind of sprite work. The world is a bit limiting, but there are secrets to find everywhere. The whole feel just works.
Rating: 5

Final Rating: 25 [42%]

I'd have included more of the credits, but the spacing makes it so they span 25 screenshots

Overall I can't sing the praises of this game enough. It's just brilliant. Although it didn't rate the best as an RPG, it's the highest rated action-RPG so far. I know I didn't go into a lot of detail about the dialogue, or how the story progresses, but that was partially intentional. Go play it if you haven't. It's easily completed over a weekend. Once again, highly recommended for everyone.

Oh, and this guy, great job

Next up is Ultima: Warriors of Destiny for the NES. I've heard it's a terrible port, but hopefully the underlying game is still well preserved. But first, we need to review the year ahead. That's right, we've passed another year of gaming, and are embarking on the year 1993. The number of games continues to grow, and I'm currently looking at including 20 full games to play, with 5 cuts.

Expect more great games from this publisher

(Source: Game Abyss)

ActRaiser - Rating(8 RPP)
1) 1 - Character Advancement: practice/experience based advancement, stat or level increases, multiple classes or characters, customize characters
2) 1 - Combat: character stats used for combat, additional combat options, turn based
3) 1 - Items and Equipment: store to buy and sell, equipment decisions, item decisions
4) 2 - Story: main story at the forefront; world full of hints and lore; descriptions for objects, people, and places
5) 2 - Exploration: open world from the beginning, visited locations remain open
6) 1 - Quests and Puzzles: side quests not related to the main quest, puzzles and riddles to solve


This was a childhood favorite from the very beginning. Even so, it's not an RPG. In a recent conversation on RPGs, someone said (partially joking I'm sure), "isn't every game an RPG since you play a role?" Certainly you have a role to play in every game, and for a game like ActRaiser, where you name and take on the role of deity, it sure seems like a role-playing game to a casual observer. At their heart, RPGs focus on the character's ability to carry out tasks while the player takes on the role of guide for thoughts and decisions. I've tried to capture this and other principles in the scale above. I'm going to go a bit deeper this time because I have a soft spot for this game, and having been just over three years I want a good reference point for the scale. For those that don't know, ActRaiser is a unique mix of simulation scenarios where the deity grows a town to praise him with the help of a small cherub and action sequences where the deity inhabits the body of a statue to vanquish evil demons.

It even has a pure action mode unlocked once you beat the game

Practice or experience based advancement isn't present in this game because the action taken to level up is unrelated to what levels up. Once overall population across all towns reaches a certain point, the HP of the avatar the player controls increases for the action stages. Given there is some kind of stat increase, it gains a point for that. Looking back, I'm not sure why I included multiple characters, but the idea behind multiple classes is to have different options for how to approach the game. This leads into customizing the characters, which is any sort of customization that happens after character creation (i.e. during the game, and not including equipment). Neither of these occur in ActRaiser as there are no inherent customizable character options, and I don't consider the cherub and avatar as multiple characters as their tasks are separate.

Completed towns in the simulation mode

RPGs share their roots with tabletop war games, so it makes sense when translated to video games they had a crib sheet of stats, multiple strategic options, and turn based combat. Now, granted, most video games use values for combat: weapon damage, health, etc. For the first point it's important to remember that the character is the focus, so the his stats should contribute to combat. Which stats? The stats that grow. What if they never grow? Well, as in the case of ActRaiser, it doesn't count; however, I might consider it if it's displayed in some way. Additional combat options is a category for options outside the standard attack routine (attack, defend, heal, dodge). At times I'll be lenient, as in this case, and give the point for a variety of attacks (magic). Turn based this is not, but this category is to give preference to games that are less twitchy than arcade action games.

In Professional mode you get full health, but take more damage and get no magic

The idea of an economy is something I picked up from the CRPGAddict. The most common use for money is to have a store where items and equipment can be bought and sold. Now some games have stores, but only have the option to purchase items, not sell. I don't consider this an active economy, as the things bought immediately lose their value. Equipment decisions are beyond just having an assortment of swords, axes, armors, and shields. It's another level of strategy where the player must choose between different nearly equally relevant choices, not just an upgrade to the next best thing. I didn't include magic in this case because I gave the point for combat options based on the assortment of magic. In the same vein, item decisions are more than using the correct item at the right time. Unless I'm mulling over whether I should use something now or save it for later, then I'm not satisfied. In ActRaiser the angel has a collection of items such as bombs and arrow strength, so it deserves a small credit.

I'm partial to Magical Aura

Now to the points that are a harder to nail down. A main story at the forefront is one that develops throughout the game, not just a prologue and epilogue. The main narrative needs to progress from an initial state and evolve before the end. For ActRaiser, the story progresses from one location to the next, and culminates in a battle against a hidden final showdown against the demons. Not a lot of twists, but it's enough to get a point here. A world full of hints and lore means there are hints for what to do next as well as some history to the world. There's some hint of a past to this world as we progress through the simulation and restore people to the land. They'll communicate to the player and give offerings, sometimes even pray for rain, wind, or sun. Descriptions are rarer, and when I came up with it I had Oblivion or Baldur's Gate in mind with the level of detail given to equipment, people, and places. Most early games are going to be limited by space, so I don't expect this point to score very often until we get to CD based games.

The town view; when first developing there are monster lairs to seal up and monster attacks to defend against

Open world should be obvious. As soon as the game starts, or near the beginning, the entire world is open for exploration. ActRaiser doesn't line up the stages in a certain order, although the difficulty does ramp up a nice curve. I discount games that use a stage or level model, where the game is segmented into areas that are never seen again. The idea is a role-playing game should not arbitrarily limit options for exploration. There may be times where the player is forever cutoff from an area, so this will take my best guess when it feels right.

What's an RPG without a quest? Well, every game has a goal, which is like a quest. This is why I only consider side quests, optional goals that enrich either the world, story, or character(s), but are not actually required to complete the game. ActRaiser has a number of those. Many of the towns face a plight that's not necessary to resolve before the end of the game. Puzzles and riddles get their own point as I thought they were important to include. At times it's difficult to know where to draw the line, but figuring out that a bird symbol drawn into the sand relates to an island of the same shape doesn't really count for me. This point is one for games that integrate puzzles and riddles into the main quest, and there are none in ActRaiser.

I think I'll start using the game over screen to end cut posts... was I doing that at one point?

In closing, I want to point out this is a 19 point scale because the first point in combat and character advancement are worth 2. This is to emphasize those points. Reaching a score 10 means I'll play through the game and give it a full review. I considered adding branching paths in the story as another point. They're considered when I review a game, but not in this scale. However, I don't think it'd make a difference in most games to include that extra point for the purpose of scoring it on this scale. Even though it's not an RPG, ActRaiser is a unique experience that I'd suggest to anyone, and it's only a 3 - 4 hour game. Enjoy.