OBSOLETED
June 12th, 2024 Note:
I'm not going to sugarcoat this: I'm not very fond of this review anymore. π I wouldn't normally announce this, as I had gotten to the point where I slowly removed my old reviews from my blog little by little with the plan to replace them with newer, thoroughly articulated, well thought-out, and focused reviews with a healthy vibe in the future, simply on account that I don't feel they were well-written, properly focused, I can't even look at them because the person I was when I wrote them is not the same as I am now, and simply have not aged well because I either mentioned I hadn't played a certain title only to play it in the future or some information might end up outdated with the unexpected arrival of a new game or new remake or whatever of a certain series that had not yet existed back when it was written. But with this review in particular, I wrote this at a time when I thought I had gotten better ... but I deluded myself. Of course, back when I wrote this I consistently played through this game with all seven apprentices in Elnard (and one in The 7th Saga at the time) in the span of over a month, so there was a feeling of a rush involved as I pushed myself to see it through and also to have it all fresh in my head (also, procuring the necessary screenshots as I played it... soooo many screenshots). That whole middle red section is the entire reason I don't look so fondly on this review, yes there are some localization changes that I don't agree with, but I could've expressed it in a way that did not come across like it was feeding into the negative reviewer stereotype; that's not who I am. I could have gone over it in a manner that was healthy, but I didn't (I didn't realize it back then, but that's no excuse). π My video game reviews from 2022 (okay, if I'm being generous, maybe mid-2021 onward) I've been trying so hard to improve myself, trying so hard to craft them in a manner that is informative, enlightening, well-researched, and more likely to hold up over time but in a healthy manner. I want my reviews to have a healthy vibe when reading them, which sadly this review doesn't have as a whole (even if the red section made up only a fraction). I do still believe Elnard is superior to The 7th Saga, but I'm not as mad at Enix of America as I was back then; the SNES version is still difficult, but these past few years I've grown to think it's a tad better than I made it out to be and some things are just not worth staying mad at for years on end (compared to real atrocities in real life, especially ones happening right now, this is by and large trivial). Could it have been handled differently? Perhaps. But there are healthier ways of going about how it could have been handled differently than devolving into needless shout fests. I've been wanting to say something for a long time because this has been bugging me for a few years, but I didn't know how until now. π₯Ί It would've been better had I not written the review the way I did. ... On second thought: it would've been better had I not written it at all, I'm so ashamed of it and I'm truly sorry. π I'm not sure I'll have the time and/or patience in the future (because of the high standards I've set for myself these past few years, and these kinds of games require a lot of time spent on them--I'm not getting any younger), but I want so badly to create a new review of this game just so I can replace this one effectively.
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Received: July 2nd, 2014 / Written: January 27th-February 16th, 2019
Year: 1992 | Developed by: Produce
Published by: Gameplan 21 | [ ⬤ ]
Disclaimer: Contains massive spoilers, some non-kosher imagery for contextual purposes only, and passionate anger
Hello everyone, StarBoy91 here; passionate about video games, big retrophile, and it's about time I cover another RPG in my blog, and this one is a special occasion! =D
Produce was a company that was founded by ex-Irem employees in 1990 and was led by Shinji Imada. They were certainly a journeyman company as their earliest venues pertained to different genres for different systems: Aldynes: The Mission Code for Rage Crisis (SuperGrafx shoot'em up), Takahashi Meijin no DaibΕken Jima/Super Adventure Island (Nintendo 16-bit platformer), and Edge (NEC PC-98 beat'em up).
The Gameplan 21 logo itself does not feature in-game, though
Now before I begin the review proper, you must be wondering why the familiar Enix logo is not on the cart. That's because in Japan it got distributed by Gameplan 21, a Japan-exclusive publishing firm devised by Enix.
Received: April 27th, 2011
Year: 1992, 1993 | Developed by: Produce
Published by: Enix
Oh, and Elnard also saw an American SNES release by Enix on September 1993 but as The 7th Saga. Spoiler: Enix of America ruined it, and damnably so, I might add. Don't worry, I'm not going to just leave it at that, for I will elaborate on how they ruined it when I get to it--and I will get to it! >=(
HA, I only just realized the seven apprentices are forming a smiley face~ X)
Five thousand years have passed as the one hundred year old King Shida had trained and recruited a diverse cast of seven apprentices for five years: Lux Tizer, a member of the endangered and seemingly immortal tetujin of which there are reportedly thirty in the world; Lejees Rimul, the demon who specializes in black magic; the human knight Kamll Dowonna; the human white mage Valsu Saizer; Esuna Busy, a she-elf who specializes in strong magic; the alien Willme Pelin who is so strong he does not require equipment of any kind in battle; and finally there's the aging but strong dwarf Olvan Jaess. The King tells his apprentices of seven Runes scattered around the planet and how they grant their bearers magical powers and instructs them to find them all and bring them to him.
Left: Walking around in Bonro | Right: Nomad country
When you start a (new) game of Elnard in one of three save files you have a choice to play as one of seven apprentices, and once you have selected one you can either input your name or retain the apprentice's actual name by confirming the name choice without inputting anything. Elnard is a turn-based RPG viewed from a bird's eye perspective for you can only move in a square pattern (i.e. four directions). While you're in the safe areas you can access the menu by pressing the A button or the left shoulder button (weird alternate button choice) that gives you five options: talk, magic, items, status, and search. To leave the menu to get back to the game simply press B (also used to cancel options in case you change your mind), and if you hold still you'll see how much health or magic you have in the bottom left corner.
Left: Traveling through earth | Right: Traveling through snow
When traversing the overworld and monster-infested territory your only options are to cast magic, select and/or use items, and check on your status. In the upper left corner is a big crystal ball that lets you know where the enemies are based on the white dot movement, an open circle which represents a nearby safe haven and dangerous setting, and you will know that a Rune is within vicinity if you see an open circle flashing red and white, but also when you're in a dungeon or cave there are treasure chests identified within the crystal ball by yellow dots.
Left: *jab* | Right: These red demons need to cool off
If the white dot comes into contact with you (the center dot of the crystal ball) then you'll be engaged in a battle viewed from an over the shoulder third-person perspective, at which point you have six options: attack, defend, magic, items, status, and escape (only applies to normal battles, if you're permitted). It might seem odd that you have the option to look at your status during battle at first, but there will be certain items (or magic spells depending on who you play as) that greatly augment your offense, defense, or agility until the battle in question is over. The most effective way of attacking with your might is by defending and then attacking, rinse and repeat if need be, and whenever a battle commences you will always get the first turn.
Left: Fighting... whatever that's supposed to be | Right: "LORD BRAIN, ARE YOU MY CREATOR?"
As the battles are random you will engage in combat with anywhere from one to three enemies, and upon winning the battle you will attain varying amounts of G (your currency) and experience points depending on the kind of enemy or enemies that you defeated, and if accrue a specific amount of experience points then your stats will increase for your health and magic capacity, offense, defense, magic power and resistance, and speed, and after that the process starts anew only you'll need to collect more than before. There's the standard attack, the double attack which occurs at random intervals, as does you backing out of the way of enemy attack; however, the opposition during battle will likely do the same to you (or occasionally they might flee from battle) and sometimes when you end up defeating them they may leave behind an item for your taking (you can only have up to nine of the same item).
Left: About to go face to face with Romus the... former dog? | Right: Infiltrating from the underground
You can replenish yourself completely by sleeping at an inn or by simply recording your progress there, and in each town and village is a place where you can purify your character afflicted by poison at a healing place or revive your character (if you choose to partner up with one other apprentice) for a fee if you don't have enough if any magic or items that accomplish either thing. Should you lose against an enemy or fall in battle you'll be brought back to the last inn you saved your progress; you won't lose anything you obtained after your last save, but the G you collected up to that point will be reduced by half.
Left: Walking between mountains | Right: Goblin attack
Elnard is a good-looking game all throughout with a solid amount of detail, and overall I think the graphics director Jun Kusaka and his graphic designing team of Takayuki Hirai, Junko Oda, and Tomoko Sugou did a good job at crafting Ticondera's vast locations by giving them a distinct look and feel. During the journey you'll come across towns, villages replete with grassy plains, desert locales, and port cities among others (the last ones have got a neat floor pattern), and once you reach the Western continent you get to trek in complete snow. Most of the overworld is colored beige with the occasional green pasture on the ground with the solid mountains in specific places and blue rippling water as it crashes its waves by the edge to keep things fresh.
Left: Opening up the gates π΅ For the first time in forever π΅
Right: Ewww, don't let it kiss you, who knows where that thing's been! X{
The castle dungeon interiors and caves have got a distinctive design aesthetic--some of them are palette swapped, sure (like the brown caves followed later on by a red one and a blue one), but they do their job well (some of the castles have lit candles burning in the wall), then there's the caverns that are colored chartreuse with the rocky floors (the first one you enter, the Cave of Earth, has got ominous-looking icons on either side of the gate that you have to open which give off a creepy and foreboding sense of things to come). During the overworld there are nicely drawn small icons representing these respective places; there are two towers connected to each other from differing continents if you feel compelled to venture inside one, anyway.
Left: "OH. WOW. ANOTHER TETUJIN LIKE ME. WILL YOU BE MY FRIEND?"
Right: (What, is that finger giving me the finger?!? I'll cut it right off!!)
The seven apprentices all have got a good in-game design, and they animate to a solid degree when walking during the bird's eye segments, but what really helps is their distinctive design and color palette; the latter of which is a really smart thing of this RPG to do because it gives a real sense of variety in that regard plus by assigning them different colors it makes the characters easy to identify--Kamll is a knight decked in azure, Valsu is dressed in green, Willme's body is flaming orange, and Esuna is adorned in a white robe, et al. What I also love is how, depending on if you're playing as Kamll, Olvan, or Valsu, that their left and right sprites adhere to their designs and what they're holding in their hands (e.g. Valsu's staff will always be in his right hand no matter which way he faces); lazy spriteflipping is one of my pet peeves when it comes to early '90s video games, I don't mind so much if it's to make the character in question look ambidextrous, but if they have something on their person or their hand and they somehow magically switch places upon turning left or right then that kind of irks me, personally (I'm glad Elnard does not fall in that category).
Left: "'Ice' to meet you!" | Right: Charging airborne manta
Where the apprentices excel in terms of design, however, is during battle as you get to see them up close with more detail. There is a solid sense of motion to their attack animation, made even swifter with the double attack that happens at random intervals, plus their blocking and magic conjuring poses are drawn nicely with the latter coated in blue dithering as the spell begins to be put into effect. I do love how when an attack is being attempted at you and they miss it looks like your apprentice is sliding back until they slide back into place, and for every temporary boost upgrade in and healing process there is a different effect. But since gathering the seven Runes is kinda sorta like a competition, you may have to battle another apprentice or two in order to fulfill that goal; and seeing an apprentice in the monster position is fascinating and surreal for various reasons considering they're among the seven choices to play as.
Left: So just to be clear: that used to be a dog? o_O | Right: Gariso attempts to vacuum you
Speaking of monsters, the monster rogue gallery you have to contend with in Elnard all have a distinct design which at times look genuinely creepy and offputting and a lot of the time they have an otherworldly look and feel to them; Taeko Suzuki did a really good job with their designs. Most of them appear in place, but there's a good number who have their own entrances (there's one enemy type who appears from below the surface with his hands sprouting from the hole until its body appears in quick fashion). The final boss Gorsia practically towers over the entire screen once you use the Wizard Rune to reveal him, and while he may be an inanimate boss, he doesn't have to move to come across as genuinely imposing with the chains on him and his menacing grin looking down at you.
Left: Browsing a decimated town for Crystals for Peace | Right: A quaint little village
In terms of the monsters' animation, however, they're rather inconsistent: some of it is solid (like the knights swinging their sword at you, the mantas floating in the air waiting for their turn, and Romus/Goron raising its arms to strike lightning at you, and Python with his cape billowing in the wind when it's not his turn and attacking you with his whip), some of them have basic single-frame animation (like Doros attempting to attack you, same for the sages, and the weird-looking crabs near the end attacking you with their maws), but then there are certain animations that look choppy (namely for Serpent/Griffan with her waiting pose and when she attacks you with her bare hands her hair flows behind her in a choppy manner, so to speak, and when the ground enemy attempts to damage you by shaking the ground it looks as if for a half-second like its left half is deforming before reverting back to normal). Regardless, it's always satisfying to see them dissolve into nothing whenever they bite it (especially the more obnoxious enemies).
Left: Flaming fist | Right: The reddest segment in all of Elnard, and it's the only place to find the Sword of Fortune (equipped only by Valsu and Esuna)
If there's a complaint I have, though, it's that the shadow designs look off to me (they accurately reflect the poses, but they don't appear fully formed) and when you face off against a monster in the interior areas the battle background is always black, especially when you're forced to fight against an apprentice (even one who's standing outside). It's effective when it comes to the bosses that tower over you (such as Romus, Python, Doros, Gariso, Foma, and Gorsia, to name some), but for the smaller monsters (especially the apprentices who are about on par if not almost the size the apprentice you're taking control of) not so much. I know this was Produce's first RPG, but it would've been nice if the interior battle screens had interesting and varying designs instead of relying on the same black one. ... Wait a minute! Gariso? Gorsia? They must be the same character! Well,
Left: Magic-ing up against a... "Manrot"? | Right: Enter Gorfun Castle, Present Day
Being a Nintendo 16-bit game Elnard utilizes the console's trademark Mode 7 scaling and rotating capabilities to its fullest extent. Whenever a random battle occurs in the overworld the colors around you become slightly darker until the camera decides to zoom in swiftly, rotate counterclockwise, and then stop into place where the battle begins (maybe not the smoothest of Mode 7 transitions here, but for 1992 it is impressively handled); and in the event that you fight more than one monster the world beneath you rotates when you decide to attack a monster to your left and/or right and when said monsters' turns come up. And when a battle has been concluded (whether because you won or because the adversary ran away) the camera shifts back into the bird's eye view with the overworld colors restored to normal (same for if you successfully escaped from battle resulting in a complete 360 degree counterclockwise turn).
Left: Treasure chest-laden room | Right: Staring at the blue beady eyes of death... and denying it
Norihiko Yamanuki, whose prior audio credit was for Mutech's SuperGrafx action-platformer MadΕ King Granzort, provided the background music for Elnard and is among many of the best things this turn-based RPG has got to offer as it is almost purely instrumental for it manages to succinctly complement Ticondera's numerous locations while also fitting the present tone of the situation. After you're told the opening story there is a montage of King Shida finding and recruiting the seven apprentices, and it is accompanied by an engaging and riveting theme that gets really good later on--unfortunately in-game it fades out at the two minute mark as there is an additional twenty seconds that make this already good theme a more compelling listen (I hate it when music is made only for it to not be fully heard in the package if at all, since there's no in-game sound test that I'm aware of, it makes me feel sorry for the composer).
Left: "OH NO, A FALLEN TETUJIN!" | Right: "OH NO, ANOTHER FALLEN TETUJIN! THIS IS THE WORST DAY IN MY 5,000 YEAR EXISTENCE!"
Speaking of apprentices, each and every one of them has a theme dedicated to them (if the track listing I found on YouTube is anything to go by); maybe not heard quite in a conventional manner like in most RPGs but they are heard during these specific moments regardless of who you decide to play as. Kamll's theme is deeply reflective and transpires during the overworld of certain segments of Ticondera; Olvan's theme is somber-sounding with its pensive melody as it plays in certain towns or villages (might have to do with his old age); Esuna's theme is pan flute-driven which gradually builds up to a brass note and is heard during certain towns (namely those residing next to castles and fortresses); Willme's theme is a tragic-sounding organ and flute-driven number that's befit for a funeral, which is apropos given there's a lot of death in Elnard as that's usually when it's heard;
Left: Trekking the desert | Right: (Look at him: he can withstand frostbite temperatures without wearing a thing, I am filled with envy)
Lux's theme has a hollow composition, which might be by design since he wishes to know his origin, and is another overworld theme you hear on occasion; Valsu's theme is a lite organ melody that is actually a rather soothing listen the longer you hear it for it plays in the house of healing (the longest you hear it in the game is when you go speak with the elder in Valenca and later on in Ligena); and finally Lejees' theme is action-driven storming music that plays inside monster-infested castles and in certain caves. There is one other overworld theme that has got an impending yet scorching nature to its sound which is appropriate as sometimes you venture in the desolate regions of Ticondera, and there is one other theme that's heard in certain caves that sounds very ominous throughout and refuses to let up.
Left: Ice fall | Right: Soooo,... that's a crab, is it?
There are some villages that have got a happy-sounding and uplifting theme accompanying them that is very pleasant to listen to; the inside of the castles in Belaine, Telaine, and Tiffana share a theme that attempts to sound classy and sophisticated in terms of composition; a handful of times in the game there is a playful cue that brings to mind show and tell but is endearing in its own right; and Gorsia's theme, which is heard a couple of times (during a twist reveal and immediately after defeating him), is darkly menacing and foreboding. The theme for the nomadic village Guntz is a unique-sounding primordial village theme in terms of instrumentation as it's incredibly relaxing, the Mecha-Glider theme is thrilling and jovial and empowering to listen to and coupled with the aerial Mode 7 scenery gives you the sensation that you're flying, there is a theme that's really bittersweet as it gives the adventure a sense of finality that is played when you witness Melenam sinking into the ocean five-thousand years in the past and during the brief ending sequence, finally the credits theme is wonderful and really rewarding to hear when all is said and done.
Left: "YOU ARE NOT A TETUJIN, PRETENDER, I SHALL DESTROY YOU!"
Right: Dodging dragon fire
Just like the master video game composer Kohei Tanaka did with Copya System's Lennus: Kodai Kikai no Kioku before Elnard (but after The 7th Saga came out in America as Paladin's Quest which Enix published), Norihiko Yamanuki composed normal battle music dedicated to the outdoor and interior segments and they're not shabbily written for normal battle music--they might not sound like much at first but if you stick with it then you'll realize it's one of those kinds of themes that are longer than the actual battle. But whereas the aforementioned surreal turn-based RPG had two normal battle themes, Elnard does one further as the overworld battle theme gets replaced with something different when the apprentice of your choosing gets sent back five-thousand years and is really the best normal battle theme to listen to in my opinion.
Left: *swipe* | Right: Silver brain drain
But the theme that most people will no doubt associate with this turn-based RPG isn't any of those themes that I brought up, some of them not by a long shot; the first theme that people will think of when thinking of Elnard is the boss theme, and for good reason. For starters, it's intensely and overwhelmingly composed with marching drums and aggressive brass instrumentation which makes it riveting from the get go, but then it segues to a nightmarish slew of notes in the middle which builds up to a darkly epic-sounding conclusion before it loops. When heard within context of the game the theme carries so much power that the battle itself, regardless of how tough it is, genuinely feels intense because of that. Unusual for an RPG is the fact that this is the only boss battle theme in the entire game, even when battling against the opposing apprentices and against Gorsia in the end, but on the other hand I would not have it any other way. Shinji Imada and his staff at Produce must've been impressed with it that they assured Yamanuki that it was sufficient across the board; though, I imagine coming up with that theme had to have been a stressful process due to its intensity. It even doubles as epic rant music, heheheehhhhhhh, can you tell that this is leading up to something? >=(
Left: *slash* | Right: "WHAT AN UNUSUAL FORM OF TETUJIN."
It's a shame that Norihiko Yamanuki didn't compose any more video game music after this, because I do think that based on the quality of work here that he would've been a great composer; regardless, Elnard has got a wonderfully versatile score. There is one audio credit that people who love the RPG genre will recognize, and it's one of the two "sound creators" Yasunori Mitsuda (Tsutomo Kukino didn't do anything else other than this game)--yes, that Yasunori Mitsuda! Just knowing that he was involved in an RPG that was not by SquareSoft since that's where his roots emanate from is amazing, especially since he somehow managed to find the time to create sounds for Produce's Elnard in-between creating sound effects for SquareSoft's Final Fantasy V and Seiken Densetsu 2/Secret of Mana. =) That's impressive considering he was in his early twenties at the time.
The inner eight to nine year old in me is floored by the realization that Yasunori Mitsuda provided music for the Hudson Soft-developed Mario Party franchise
After creating sound effects for SquareSoft's Romancing SaGa 2 and providing the very vital contribution of "Voices" in Live A Live, Mitsuda would become a full-fledged video game composer in his own right (and a fantastic one at that) who's still in the music-making business today, and I gotta say that he's come a long way. =)
Left: Castle of Baran | Right: Fighting against the embodiment of decay and death
As for the sound effects themselves they are interestingly chosen; I like the sound for when you're replenishing your health or magic in battle (it's like a sound I could easily imitate with my mouth, for it's one of my favorite sounds), I like the crescendo that plays when you're doubling your defense and how it plays in reverse order when an enemy tries to decrease it, depending on who you play as or who you attack there are different damaging sounds (the metallic clang sound is also heard any time Lux makes a step on account that he's a tetujin), the differing magic spells have their own sound effects, there's a notable quality to the sound when it comes to defeating most monsters and when using boss-hindering items against them, and the sounds attributed to Gorsia when you finally face off against and reveal him are unique when it comes to him using his might to strike down at you physically, to name some examples.
Left: *block* | Right: *phase*
In Elnard's in-game credits Yasunori Mitsuda is listed as "Yasunori Mituda"; I thought at first it was a spelling error, but I've looked up other names that have "tsu" in their name and apparently in Japan they are interchangeable with "tu" (so by that logic "tetujin" could also be interpreted as "tetsujin"). What is a spelling mistake is "sound creater" instead of "sound creator", which is understandable since English is not Japan's native language--Enix of America could not be bothered to correct that in the ending credits for The 7th Saga as it appears exactly as it did in the original Super Famicom version. "So what if that word is not spelled right? It's not like anyone is going to finish the game and watch its credits! Durr hurr hurr hurr hurr" Hhrrrrrrmmm!!!!! >X( I'm getting ahead of myself...
Left: Freeze | Right: Doros, the Sun God the temporary ruler of Bilthem
Each of the seven Runes you find have different magical properties that will aid you as long as you have them in your possession: the Wind Rune can transport you to any town and/or village you've been to before in an instant, the Star Rune doubles your defense power in battle, the Moon Rune doubles your offense in battle, et al. In Elnard your might is stronger than your magic, the latter of which you'll have to reserve for when you really need it, and with the Runes you can use them without having to worry about using magic. Up until you fly to Ticondera's Western Continent there is one stumbling block you have to be mindful of: the other apprentices, two of which have what you need in order to progress. If you lose against an apprentice, you'll lose half your G and still retain everything you got up to that point, but the worst thing that will happen is that they'll take whatever Rune you had in your possession which they'll keep until you reclaim them by defeating the same one that defeated you before.
Both Elnard and Brain Lord do also share a similar visual aesthetic in areas
There is an elderly NPC in Pell that tells you how when he was a young boy the king had saved him; Brain Lord has a sidequest that reflects this exactly as there's a moment when Remeer saves Arcs' resident children Vince and Katabanch when they get themselves in trouble in monster-ridden territory. No specifics or circumstances are given to you by the NPC elder per se, but it is a nice attempt to tie the two games together if that was the intention. But considering that both games involve the same planner (Shinji Imada), main programmer (Takeo Sumita), sub programmers (Makoto Sakai and Toshiyuki Suzuki, the latter of whom also worked as scenario writer in that game), graphics director (Jun Kusaka), and two of its designers (Takeo Suzuki who designed the map for Brain Lord and graphic designer Takayuki Hirai), it may very well have been.
Images from GameFAQs
On July 1995 Enix released Produce's follow-up turn-based RPG Mystic Ark for the Super Famicom, where you could take control as either Remeer or Ferris (who in Brain Lord was the Fairy Queen) where they would meet up with several characters who would aid them in their quest, including a tetsujin named Lux (no relation, I'm sure); then in March 1999 it would receive a sequel to its name as Mystic Ark: Maboroshi Gekijo for the PlayStation One. Neither RPG left Japan, but Enix of America did consider localizing the former for NTSC SNES format as 7th Saga II, but it got cancelled on account that they temporarily closed down their doors because they were being threatened by the brink of bankruptcy due to financial problems they were facing. That is unfortunate, but given the track record of localization from Japan to the West gone awry in the past, maybe it's a good thing it stayed there--one less Produce RPG to muck up for the American audience.
HaHaHaaaa, how MILDLY prophetic! -_-
*siiigh* All right, I've held off on it long enough. Let's talk The 7th Saga, or as I tend to refer to it: Elnard: The Bastardized Edition. If you knew the extent to which Enix of America changed things up simply for the sake of changing things in this case compared to how it was originally in Elnard, then believe me when I say that that descriptor is completely justified.
Okay, it was mostly painful, but still painful
And yes, I actually forced myself to play through as one character (one of my top favorites in Elnard, Valsu) in The 7th Saga simply for the sake of this review and I did it. It was painful! XO But before I get to the reason why that felt to be the case, I'll start with the changes that offended me the least; think of it as the calm before the storm. Get ready for spoilers aplenty!
Now let's talk about the more bizarre changes The 7th Saga made compared to Elnard... ={
Another similar instance of this is in the town of Palsu where a little girl NPC was outside in Elnard, but in The 7th Saga got relocated to being inside the upper left house
There were two moments in the game that I could find where an NPC had been relocated within the same town between versions. The first time is in the two-story house in Lemele where in Elnard there were two characters in the bottom floor, but in The 7th Saga Enix of America felt the need to have the same pink bandana-wearing NPC in the upper floor instead for... some reason. o_O The secret shortcut inside the building in Ligena that takes you to the airship is behind the wardrobe in one of the rooms of the first floor in Elnard but in The 7th Saga got relocated to the above floor. Any time you entered a building by opening the door, the sound effect was close to that of a door in Elnard, not so much in The 7th Saga... and there's a reason for that.
And while I bring up the dialogue, let's cover the English translation for a bit. The 7th Saga's translation was done by none other than Robert L. Jerauld, who had previously worked on the translation for the English language version of Quintet's SoulBlader, SoulBlazer. At best it's adequate (unlike his last translation job there are no blatant grammar, spelling, or sentence structuring errors), at worst there were points where I could not help but feel it to be disingenuous (as imperfect as SoulBlazer's translation was, it at least felt genuine) especially when compared to how the dialogue by Toshiyuki Suzuki and Mieko Fukui played out in Elnard.
There is one other palette swap equivalent
Produce's first RPG also received its share of censorship when it came to its localized counterpart in regards to five of its monsters. I'm not offended by it either way for I understand the necessity behind the censorship;
There are two more palette swaps of these monsters
but by the same token I could not help but feel that the way in which they had been censored looked... off. As non-kosher as they may have appeared the first time around, at least their original designs had a natural and organic look and sense to them...
Changed because the original is shaped exactly like a cross, which is a clear no-no to Nintendo of America's no reference to religion ruling back then
than the covered up or slightly altered versions did in The 7th Saga.
Chida also executive produced the Japanese version of Core Design's Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft as it was published by Enix there... weird
Now because Elnard was a Gameplan 21 publication in Japan, that meant it was published by Yukinobu Chida who I earlier mentioned had a long list of producing credits (mostly for Enix releases): he would also go on to executive produce games such as Produce's Brain Lord and Mystic Ark, Daft's 1995 Super Famicom video game adaptation of Michiaki Watanabe's 1991-2001 dark fantasy manga Hameln no Violin Hiki, and arguably Quintet's best game Tenchi SΕzΕ/Terranigma among others. Why is that important? Heheheehhh, just another one of those things contributing even further to The 7th Saga's frustration factor as it had a different publisher--you might be just as if not more frustrated than I am when you know his name, which I'll tell you shortly. -_-
Phelan "Phelous" Porteous's deep facepalm from his Extreme Ghostbusters video on YouTube accurately reflects my thoughts on this
Seriously, someone with a brain and head on their shoulders actually thought that this was a good idea; if there was ever a reason to fear for humanity, this would be among them. <={ Someone at localization had to have known that this was very ill-advised, someone had to, but they went through with it anyway!
π …………………………... π
(epic rant incoming, click here for fitting music; it's going to get ugly)
How do I even BEGIN to describe how poorly thought out that decision was? How can I possibly hope to convey the awful ramifications that afflicted this game because of it?First off, by reducing your initial stats and your stat growth per level gain, not only does that threaten to make The 7th Saga longer than Elnard was to begin with, but it also threatens to augment an obscene amount of difficulty that wasn't there at the start! You know it's a bad sign when it can be felt the moment you engage in your first battle outside Lemele Town, where in the original Japanese version that monster took two to three hits at best to defeat it at Level 1 whereas in the American version it took four or five; it's also bad when you have less defense at first than you did in the Super Famicom original!
Another consequence from this dangerously stupid decision is that because it's hard from the get go that means you have to level grind enough times just to be sufficient enough to progress, when in Elnard that wasn't such a big concern (well, for most apprentices anyway); and whereas in the Japanese original the main concern was for money farming because the equipment later on becomes very expensive (especially near the end), now in the American version you have to couple that with hours upon HOURS of level grinding--JUST TO GET BY!
There is another one in the same floor of the Patrof Cave in the upper left region
Enix of America also felt the need to play mean by replacing a handful of what originally were normal chests in the earlier portions before with mimic chests this time around in the Cave of Earth and the first segment of the underground cave of Patrof, which you wouldn't know until you tried searching its contents. YES. PLEASE! Give me MORE cause for frustration for The 7th Saga; NOT LIKE I HAD ENOUGH TO BEGIN WITH ALREADY!!! >O<
Not aided by the fact that monsters have a higher defense, and certain monsters were given additional different abilities (i.e. the Black Knight will occasionally summon a spell that will try to wipe you out with the white screen of death which it could never do in Elnard)
In Elnard your might was stronger than your magic, and now in the localized version it's the exact opposite for the majority of the proceedings; which MEANS that unless you're up at that level where your strength is durable enough, you'll either be running away from monsters where the slightest bit of damage takes away the majority of your HP (if you're allowed to) or use up magic attacks against them until you run out and/or they're defeated--that makes conservation of MP highly difficult. And while the double attacks felt like double attacks before, in the American edition they seem as potent as triple attacks (which in The 7th Saga is the equivalent of a double attack in Elnard)--the one thing that Enix of America overlooks and it's something that occurs only once in a great while??Oh, but what of the NPC apprentices? What about them?? So you'd think that because your stats and growth was reduced in the localized version that it would be the same scenario for the other six, right? WRONG!!! In The 7th Saga the apprentices that you're not taking control of have equal stats and growth to what they have in Elnard; which means if you engage in battle with them then they will overpower you! No matter HOW leveled up you are!! Why not have ALL seven apprentices be of equal level like the first time around? Sure, it may not resolve the difficulty issue but at least there would be a sense of balance in terms of apprenticeship. But, oh, those purple Enixholes have a way of disappointing and infuriating us by refusing to adhere to "silly things" like logic and foresight and common sense--especially since you HAVE to defeat the one that's got the Sky Rune in order to go to the Western Continent, otherwise you're stuck.
It's because of their fearful preconception of the genre's high difficulty, combined with not having as much experience with the genre as Japan, that drove some away. Good to know Enix of America contributed to this issue with The 7th Saga! >=( You would think people would appreciate SquareSoft's starter kit turn-based RPG Final Fantasy Mystic Quest for easing them into the genre at the time (given that one was made specifically for the American audience by Japan in response to concerns about difficulty), but no, let's keep treating it like it's the worst the genre has to offer because some people are that bitter and hateful towards that which doesn't deserve so much apathy! -_-
And you know how in The 7th Saga if you selected the search option in certain inconspicuous spots that you would find an invisible item? Well, the majority of them you won't find (the five pieces of equipment you won't find in armor shops are present in both versions: Lux's brown coat in the center of Dr. Fail's lab in present-day Melenam, the Fire Cloak behind the right side of Dowaine's armory, the Ice Cloak behind one of the columns in the Castle of Baran, the Ring in the bottom left corner of Pandam's inn, and the Amulet behind the rightmost portion of the line of columns leading up to Doros' throne room in Bilthem) when looking in the same spots in Elnard, as they were exclusively placed there in the American version (including a chest in the basement of Bone). Did Enix of America think they were compensating for their fudgeup...? o_O
THEY STILL TAMPERED WITH ITS STRUCTURE AND DIFFICULTY! Nothing they DO is going to ABSOLVE them of this!!!
There was no justification for any of this to happen, NONE! You can NOT tell me they had the best intentions when doing this; you can NOT tell me they meant well, and you CAN NOT tell me this was done in good faith! Because frankly, it does not feel like ANY of that. These are not the actions of people who are proud to be involved in the genre, these are the actions of people who are ashamed to be associated with it as it feels (in the case of The 7th Saga, anyway) like they did so out of pure spite and contempt for their audience!
And if you think it cannot possibly get any more infuriating than this: oh boy, it's not even close!
Images from GameFAQs; HAAA, silly-looking chibified Kamll in the back XD
Elnard's original cover art was illustrated by Haruhiko Masuda which does a good job at catching your attention with its busy composition comprising of Kamll, Esuna, Lejees, and Lux with their planet Ticondera in the backdrop; and while it gives off the impression that they're all in this together (they're not), it's striking to look at.
Image from GameFAQs; gotta love that Ye Olde English text font the title uses, though... only three of those warnings are accurate
Now look at The 7th Saga's cover art by Yasuhiro Kagami, who was also a member of the trio of Elnard's manual illustrators. While it might be simple by comparison, it's enough to evoke anyone who looks at it with its hot magenta aura permeating the whole room with the character standing in front of a light with his shadow looming behind him with shaded monsters hiding in darkness. It's a really good cover art, it's just unfortunate that it's one of those cases of the cover being more compelling than the game it's supposed to represent. But the problems in the American cover aren't from the front, but from the back!
Image from GameFAQs; excerpt cropped by me
Was that first one a jab at Link from Nintendo's Zelda franchise? It's not even turn-based!
Among the text in the back is a lot of balderdash about being proud to use your own name (is Enix seriously insinuating that people would be embarrassed to input their own names in SquareSoft's Final Fantasy franchise? Well, they were competitors before their merger) and what not as if the marketing team was in adamant showoff mode, segueing to the expected exaggeration--in this case, "It's that simple, that easy".
Screenshot of The Last Airbender from my Region 1 Widescreen DVD, courtesy of Paramount, taken from my TV; you know it's serious when I'm resorting to using footage from The Last Airbender movie
There's deceptive marketing, and then there's straight up lying to your face. Guess which of these categories The 7th Saga falls under. Oh, but how dare I impugn on what Enix of America touts as "the future of turn-based RPGs"? …
Image from GameFAQs; cropped by me
And just when you think things couldn't get any more underhanded, the same back cover hurls one final insult at the American audience, as one of the four screenshots is a late game spoiler shot with the sage priests at Haven in their "let's give the hero the seven Runes to defeat Gorsia in the name of Saro" formation--by which point the game is almost over. You have to try to be this incompetent! It's one thing if a website showcases (spoiler) screenshots of games that had been around for more than two decades versus a spoiler shot presented in the back cover of a game that had just come out, C'MON!! And since the American version was rendered unreasonably hard, not many people are going to have any patience and/or endurance to arrive at that point. Oh, but you want to know what the real kicker here is?
Look at these screenshots I took, now look at the above screenshot, and after that look at them again; pay attention to the color of the stained glass windows and carpet
THEY DIDN'T EVEN TAKE THE SCREENSHOT FROM THE LOCALIZED VERSION!!! >O< Even the team at Enix who compiled the box and marketed The 7th Saga couldn't be bothered playing through the American version,THAT'S HOW SHAMEFUL THIS IS,
I CANNOT BELIEVE ENIX OF AMERICA WOULD STOOP THIS LOW!!!
…… Know what? I take it back! I CAN believe they would do this. No amount of thought or consideration for any consequences that would stem from their actions was given in the slightest. Like they thought, "Who cares if it adversely affects the game, they're just games, no gamers in the West are going to give a crap, LA-DEE-DAH". I take offense at the notion that Western distributors in the '90s thought Western gamers, their audience, would be stupid or would not care about this. We can tell when something is wrong, and when we catch up with the Japanese version eventually it just confirms our earlier suspicion that we were first exposed to the inferior version (but we don't know to what extent at that point). If a game was made like it was the first time around in Japan, it's safe to say that it was done for a good reason, as it makes up a part of the identity of that game in particular. There's a reason Japanese versions of games are often considered to be superior, and that's because they always are; that's why, as far as I'm concerned, there's no such thing as a game that was released in both regions where the American version wound up superior.
Back to Enix of America and why I believe they would stoop this low, let's recap:
- They heavily reduce the difficulty from Quintet's Actraiser for the American version ActRaiser simply 'cause the Super Famicom original was "toooo haaaard", and yet somehow increase difficulty for the simulation acts as well
- Their culture bias caused them to alter Lisa's face from the anime one she had during the ending sequence of Quintet's SoulBlader to have a real-life feminine face in SoulBlazer
- They allow Nintendo to have their way with the American version of Quintet's Gaia GensΕki, Illusoin of Gaia, simply because they wanted another action-adventure game under their name which resulted in (try not to be surprised here) an inferior game than what was before, including a newly redone translation by Robert L. Jerauld (which I'll take as karmic retribution for what he and Enix of America did to this game) after rejecting his first one (available only in the beta ROM SoulBlazer: Illusion of Gaia) which now included a needlessly meanspirited line from the hero to his distraught cousin and a cringeworthy and tone deaf pun that was poorly timed (I refuse to laugh at that one)
- And because the limited resources meant Jerauld took a long time to create a second translation, that meant not enough time was accorded to polish up the translation for subsequent Enix of America releases Produce's Brain Lord and Quintet and Ancient's Robotrek,
- the latter of which was among the worst officially translated games on the NTSC SNES console up until Capcom said "Hold my beer" as they attempted to translate Breath of Fire II over a year later without outside help like they had with its predecessor (courtesy of SquareSoft's Ted Woolsey) where its translation turned out even worse
- As for the one game published by them that wasn't originally by Japan, they rush Manley & Associates' video game adaptation of the 1992-1993 animated series King Arthur & the Knights of Justice to stores which rendered the final product a buggy mess (with a crapton of unused content)
Screenshot of Atlantis: The Lost Empire from my Region 1 DVD in preferable Widescreen mode, courtesy of Disney, taken from my TV
No wonder Enix of America ended up struggling financially which forced them to close down their doors in 1995; they brought it to themselves with their hubris as a company (and the more I think about what they did to today's game, the less I feel sorry for them as this marked the beginning of their downfall, in my opinion). And because they closed down their doors in America, that meant any Nintendo 16-bit game to be published by Enix that was slated for an American release like Produce's aforementioned Mystic Ark and Copya System's second in the two-game Lennus RPG franchise among numerous others were cancelled indefinitely and officially* remained in Japan.
* Repro carts would be made with fan-made translations, but they're technically unofficial
* Repro carts would be made with fan-made translations, but they're technically unofficial
I bet this moment must've caused some slight confusion among the English-speaking European and Australian gaming audience the first time around in 1996 that weren't in the know ("Illusion of Gaia, not Illusion of Time?") and that subtle nod to Robotrek's Rococo Town with the Rococo Apartments in Loire flew over PAL gamers' heads because that turn-based RPG was never given a PAL conversion
Well, except Quintet's Tenchi SΕzΕ which was released in Europe and Australia as Terranigma, as Nintendo (the PAL version's publisher) was doing Enix a favor--also, obligation from having localized the previous game in the spiritual Gaia trilogy, but mostly they were doing Enix a favor (unlike Gaia, it didn't feel like Nintendo meddled or interfered at all). Good thing the English language translation by Colin Palmer, Dan Owsen, and Hiro Nakamura intended for the American release was complete before the American version got cancelled much to everyone's disappointment... =( All things considered, I'm surprised Terranigma turned out as well as it did, equaling in quality to the original Japanese version (equally spaced lettering plus eliding an optional Magirock in the Quintet building notwithstanding)--by which I mean, it's excellent! π
But do you know how bad the difficulty in The 7th Saga got?
Screencap of the ROM-hacking website, linked to by The Cutting Room Floor
YES,...… a ROM HACK! >_< That's how dour its difficulty was! Because I'm sure that's what Shinji Imada envisioned when he created his baby Elnard: that it would be broken to the point of ruination in the American conversion to the point where twenty years later a ROM hack was made with amenities to make it more reasonable than the officially released NTSC SNES version. It's all well and good, but what does it DO to help the gaming circles who DO NOT emulate ROMs online? Unless that hack got converted to a reproduction cart, nothing! Absodamnlutely nothing! Enix of America, you failed!
No, you did worse than fail, you LIED! >=( You lied to the public, you lied to the press, and if I didn't know any better, I'd say you lied to Imada and his staff at Produce as well! Here's a crazy idea: ACTUALLY TRUST YOUR AUDIENCE!! Not only did Enix of America's stunt show that they didn't trust their audience, but how they don't deserve one. It would've been better had Elnard remained in Japan, that way its reputation would not have been permanently scarred and tarnished by the forcibly hard American version. Shame on you, Robert L. Jerauld, and shame on YOU, Yasuhiro Fukushima!!
π ………...... π …………... π
But do you know what the saddest thing about The 7th Saga is, above all else? <=( It could have been good, I mean really good. It would've still been censored, but had they left everything else the way it was before in Elnard, including the balance and difficulty, I think this would've had the potential to be one of the better SNES turn-based RPGs released in America at that point in time that was not done by SquareSoft. It could've given American audiences a reason to play games from the genre outside of SquareSoft's Final Fantasy II (bad first attempt at translating Final Fantasy IV aside). The possibilities could've been infinite. *sadly shakes head and sighs* Some things just weren't meant to be.
I don't want to make it seem like all localization jobs of the '90s were done to this deplorable extent, they weren't all like this. I realize I came across as frustrated, but it's not necessarily because I had to put up with it this decade (though trust me, that doesn't help); people who played games at the time had to put up with shortchanged versions such as this with no awareness of the matter, that's the reason I'm frustrated. I am frustrated for them. But any time I catch up with these games that I didn't play during the '90s and learn about the unnecessary changes they underwent just because they could change things up,... it's just something that genuinely pisses me off because I strongly believe that everyone deserves better, not just Western gaming audiences but also the companies that developed these games from the beginning. =(
Lesser versions during the '90s come up by people in charge of video games who either don't understand or care about the medium and/or failed to see what made the original Japanese edition work best just ended up painting the Western audience in a bad light, and said audience did nothing to deserve it. We've all come a long way, and now American video game distributors take video games seriously which I wish was the case decades earlier (it seems to me like in the '90s mainly Japanese companies genuinely cared about video games and their gaming audience whereas American distributors didn't share the same affinity).
I don't wish to lash out at Yasuhiro Fukushima, but the fact that he published The 7th Saga like this was disappointing, especially given his credentials suggest that he's better than this. I can't change what happened in the past, but I can raise awareness of what happened back then.
I don't wish to lash out at Yasuhiro Fukushima, but the fact that he published The 7th Saga like this was disappointing, especially given his credentials suggest that he's better than this. I can't change what happened in the past, but I can raise awareness of what happened back then.
Left: Snow trip too big | Right: "I HAVE QUESTIONS, SUCH AS: HOW CAN YOU MOVE WITH A BODY LIKE THAT?"
I had heard of The 7th Saga about a decade ago, but the most I heard about it was its high difficulty level, and on April 2011 I decided to order it on eBay to see for myself if that was truly the case. Sadly, it didn't turn out to be an exaggeration; I liked the premise behind it with you having to play as one of seven apprentices and its music, but I tried a few times several years ago and I just could not get into it because it demanded way too much level grinding and I could never defeat the second apprentice because they were OP compared to you because Enix of America tampered with the difficulty. Three years later I remember one user on a website saying that the original version Elnard was more reasonable which had me curious, so I imported it from Japan in the Summer of 2014 and from what I played I could see a difference right away: less hits were required to defeat monsters and you had more defense. I knew then I played the superior version, but I didn't play through it all the way until I decided to sit down and give it a true go this December of 2018 (as Valsu), and let me just say:
That said, I'd sooner play Takahashi Meijin/Master Higgins' 16-bit foray than subject myself through The 7th Saga again; it may be tedious fare, but at least it's a half hour of tedium
if Elnard was Produce's way of apologizing for their average attempt at crafting a platformer, then apology accepted; it's superior to their unremarkably blasΓ© contribution to Hudson Soft's Takahashi Meijin/Adventure Island franchise Takahashi Meijin no DaibΕken Jima/Super Adventure Island! =)
My most recent playthrough, the first time I played in over two and a half years, was the first time I started a game of Brain Lord and finished it on the same day
Many years ago, before (and after) I began importing physical Super Famicarts from Japan, the only Produce RPG I was comfortable revisiting was Brain Lord which for the first several years I had it since 2009 (eventually I imported the original Super Famicom version of that one in 2016) I enjoyed playing on a yearly basis--it was accessible, fully action-oriented, you could jump and move in all eight directions (my favorite), it was filled to the brim with a myriad of puzzles, and it's enjoyable to play while it lasted. But it also had problems of its own: it lacked an in-depth narrative, could've benefited with a bit of polish in areas, there were random moments of slowdown for seemingly inexplicable reasons, it was short and very easy (a handful of annoying bits notwithstanding) once you have the solutions to each puzzle down pat (it's one of those A-RPGs I can beat in one life), and it doesn't have much replay value as the solutions are always the same,
The beauty about Brain Lord is that it works even as its own self-contained game
and what replay value it does have going for it is minimal at best.
Left: Cave exploring before magic loss | Right: Village exploring post-Gariso battle
Elnard is a largely linear turn-based RPG, but once you obtain the Star Rune and before you fly with the Mecha-Glider to the Western Continent it suddenly becomes more open-ended in nature. The moment you get to this point, depending how you got there, you could either work your way up to Brush all the way from Dowaine or you could work all to the way back to the Telaine and Belaine kingdoms from Pandam. Not only that, but you could get the Moon Rune from Prosa after defeating Serpent, the Sun Rune after defeating Doros, and the Sky Rune from defeating the apprentice who has it in any order you want. In speaking of the Moon Rune, there are four possible scenarios I looked up (I got to do two scenarios personally) depending on whether you spoke with Prosa and whether you showed the king of Telaine the Crystals of Peace you found scattered in Luze prior to defeating Serpent in the Castle of Baran (I usually do both before facing off against her).
Left: Everything's coming together
Right: "I AM ELATED TO BE AMONG MANY TETUJIN IN THE SAME ROOM."
You're not required to defeat all six apprentices, only two, but it's there if you want the additional experience points beforehand; and before getting the Wind Rune in the cave that takes you to Melenam you can recruit one of the apprentices to join you if you'd like; there are two towers that link to each other from different segments of Ticondera, but they are entirely optional and have no bearing on the plot. I personally don't as I prefer going solo, but I'll explain why that is shortly, though after getting a Rune or two its best not to talk to them unless you want them to battle you for it or if they have the Rune you need to progress forward. There are unique perks depending on who you play as, there is an inner sanctum in the Cave of Laosu which can only be accessed by Olvan for what I presume to be due to his stature, and if you play as Lux you can obtain an extra stat boost when you talk with the tetujin fixer in the past version of Melenam (there is apparently a trick which enables him to boost his stats indefinitely), Willme's stats increase so much with each level (apart from magic) that you don't need to money farm for equipment because he's powerful enough as it is (with the temporarily amplified stats I managed to defeat Lux in one blow), and so on.
Left: "I HAD NO IDEA TETUJIN COULD BE CREATED IN SUCH A LARGE SIZE..."
Right: "YOU ARE NAMED 'DR. FAIL'? THIS DOES NOT INSTILL CONFIDENCE IN ME..."
But in order to get to Melenam you must fly on the airship from Ligena; and when entering the building it's in you have a choice to either talk with its owner who'll allow you to ride it (for a fee of 7,000 G if you're playing as Kamll, Olvan, Lux, and Valsu, or for free when playing as Esuna) or to avoid having to pay that hefty fee you can sneak in there by taking a hidden path and talking with the pilot who'll take you there (don't talk to anyone else in the airship if you do this, though, or they'll kick you out), the latter of which you'll have no choice but to do if you play as Lejees or Willme as the owner will deny you access because of their inhuman appearance and nature (well, if that attitude's not prejudicial... in a world comprised largely of humans).
Left: Awwwwww~ <=) | Right: Awwwwww <='(
There is a surreal essence about Elnard in terms of replay value too: one time you're playing as a certain apprentice who's mute throughout and the next time you play but as a different apprentice that one you took control of previously is now an NPC apprentice with dialogue. I do also like how equipping is done in a simple manner here, whether it be by trading the one you currently have with the next powerful one in shops or by finding one and selecting it to equip it which you'll know fits the current character you're playing as when you hear the equipped sound effect, but always be sure that it increases your given equipment's potency in the status screen; and to make identifying which equipment is suited for whom easy, in these shops when you browse there'll be an "X" to let you know if it's not fit for you.
Left: Combating a staff wielder | Right: "Would you like your fortune told?"
And considering this was Produce's first go at making an RPG it was incredibly ballsy of them to kill off the chosen apprentice after finishing Gorsia off out of retaliation for his second defeat (turn-based RPGs made by 1993 wouldn't even dare to cap things off on that note) but the moment you see the apprentice become reincarnated as a baby forty-nine hundred years later in Saro's flesh it does make for a bittersweet (albeit brief) ending; major props for that level of risk taking, and you can't help but respect them for having the courage to go through with that direction. Though if you actually stop to think long and hard about it there are a lot of metaphysical implications the ending imbues, especially if you controlled Esuna or Lux up to this point.
Left: *CLANG* | Right: "Your qu-est-ion-a-ble e-quip-ment de-sign is gi-vi-ng me a huge miiii-graiiine"
But for all the good qualities going for Elnard, I don't think it's perfect as I do have some personal problems with it--some of them story-based, a few of them minor nitpicks, and some pertains to gameplay--most of which either got amplified or made worse for The 7th Saga. During the montage when King Shida finds and recruits his apprentices their names are in wafer-thin font (all capitalized in the Japanese version, has lowercasing in the American version) and anytime it faded to Valsu I always had a hard time making out his last name because it clashed with the stained glass window behind it (I thought the first time it said "Valsu Kaizer", it wasn't until years later that I realized it said "Valsu Saizer"). And like most Nintendo 16-bit turn-based RPGs not made by SquareSoft post-Final Fantasy Mystic Quest whenever you get out of battle one way or another the overworld or dungeon theme starts from the beginning instead of resuming where it left off, which is always annoying as a video game music lover.
Left: Olvan is so proud to have saved the kidnapped children from Serpent that he wishes he were one once again | Right: Preparing a flaming physical attack
When you reach Bonro you're give a map of Ticondera by Gain for opening up the Gate of Earth, but before you even get it you have to go on a wild goose chase just to find him! Why was this deemed necessary? The idea to use defense before proceeding to attack to have more effective results is a well-founded idea, though I must admit that when it comes to fighting more than one monster at a time it does tend to make the battle slower as you have to wait until their turns are spent in order to get back to you, though if it's a really underpowered monster you can just attack directly without using defense before as much. With your apprentice it's easy to tell when the randomized double attack went into effect when you suddenly move swiftly, but when it comes to the monsters doing it you won't know until you see how much damage you sustained.
Left: Grand and elegant locale | Right: Meeting Gariso
There is a reason I choose to fly solo rather than partner up with anyone: I tried in the past in The 7th Saga, and it wasn't until late in the proceedings when I paid attention to the experience points I got in battle and then I looked at my character stats--I realized that the total experience points you gain were being divided by half, which is a huge no-no as it ends up padding out the adventure which is something I won't tolerate as I would rather all characters accrue the same high amount rather than have it be divided by the current number of people in your party (Capcom's Breath of Fire II is very guilty of this, and is among a plethora of reasons I'm not too big on that turn-based RPG).When you reach the exit of the cave leading to Bugask your apprentice will become incapable of doing magic, and when you venture to Guanta you find out that you've been cursed because the elder had a vision of you causing destruction when he realizes he made a mistake but says he can't undo the curse; but when you retrieve the Moonstone in the nearby Cave of Silence and show it to him he can suddenly reverse the curse now? What a conman! Immediately he tells you the story of how Gariso was defeated by King Shida one hundred years prior and now he's suddenly back; that implies that the monarch you serve is more than a century old when he's only a hundred (or so we think, we haven't arrived at the twist at that point). So did Shida's birth result in Gariso's death?
Whenever you get the Runes in your adventure there comes a point when you begin using them so much that it starts to become a habit, and once Gorsia sends you back five-thousand years in the past and you engage in battle you're like, "Oh, yeah, they were all destroyed, now it's back to using items and magic conservatively..." Elnard has only got one ending regardless of who you played as, and I do wish there was an alternative one; I suppose since you're stuck in the past it would not have mattered one way or another what you did up to that point, but a slight variation to show that you made a change would've been appreciated at least.
The inventory is disorganized; with the exception of the map and the individual Runes, the items you obtain will be in the order that you find them as there's no way to clean up and organize them with the only options being to use or discard (say you found a new piece of equipment inside a chest and you had a long list of items, you would have to scroll all the way down to select and equip it). And while I liked the game on the whole and largely thought it was a good turn-based RPG, I'd be remiss if I didn't get the sense that it felt like it was being drowned out by its own ambition at points. According to The Cutting Room Floor there were plenty of places and monsters planned to be put in the game but got excised because they were unfinished--Shinji Imada must've had a lot on his mind when he planned and directed this game, which was the first time he played either role.
Left: Fighting against despair | Right: That finger face just tried to take a bite out of me, but I backed up in time
The battle against Gorsia can be difficult if you don't know what order to use the seven Runes, but it becomes manageable when you got the order right (be sure to also double up your defense and offense as well as increase your agility, otherwise you might not last long), and I always choose to trade the current equipment for the next powerful one (but different strokes, you know). All that said, take away the negative qualities beset by The 7th Saga compared to how Elnard originally was, and you still have a great-sounding game, you still have a good premise, you still have a thorough narrative, and there's still enough incentive to come back and play it... I just wish Enix of America hadn't arrived at the smallminded conclusion to alter Produce's RPG foray simply because they could. =( I can't imagine anyone trying to justify and defend their actions here, I can't even fathom it; only Lord knows what they were thinking because Enix's American division didn't help the game, they hurt it, and that's unforgivable.
Left: Go VGMaps Pasanda, you might be amused by its design layout
Right: π΅ Meldorado! The magnificent, and golden, five-thousand years ago π΅
If there's one thing that makes me sad, aside from not playing Elnard all the way through when I imported it from Japan years ago, it's that it's presently the turn-based RPG I clocked the most hours into by far. Don't believe me? As Valsu I beat the game at Level 51 at roughly 18 and a half nonconsecutive hours, then I beat it as Olvan at Level 57 at over 16 and half hours, as Esuna I beat it at Level 47 at less than 14 and half hours, followed by Kamll at Level 50 in over 13 hours, less than 12 hours as Lux and Lejees at Level 47 and 48 respectively, and finally I beat it as Willme at Level 46 in 10 and a half hours. That's 97 hours total, give or take, but if I were to include the over 28 hours (!!!) it took me to beat The 7th Saga as Valsu at Level 58, that adds up to 125 hours! That's more time than I clocked in on Chrono Trigger on the Nintendo DS over a decade ago, and that's frightening! ={ But I'm glad I played Elnard, and for Produce's first RPG I found it to be good. =) I said to myself I would play through it one these days, and I'm glad I finally did; and while playing as Olvan and Esuna I had a such a coughing cold to the point that it rendered me hoarse, but I pressed on and pulled through.
Eyyyup, I was on that big of a high from playing through Elnard seven times that I decided to name the first robot in the latter game after Lux
As for The 7th Saga, though, I personally found it to be the weakest of the turn-based RPGs released in America for the SNES by Enix because of all the reasons I had stated here. As hampered by the inconsistent soundtrack quality and as poorly translated Quintet and Ancient's Robotrek was, it was cute and charming lighthearted entertainment and didn't ask too much out of you in terms of difficulty, and I might be in the minority but I honestly preferred Copya System's Paladin Quest (in Japan Lennus was Asmik property, RIP Hidenori Shibao) out of the three mostly because it was such a surreal experience in terms of atmosphere and because I was engrossed in its world I was largely forgiving of its shortcomings than most who played it, but to each their own--plus it was scored by the legend that is Kohei Tanaka, and you can never go wrong with Kohei Tanaka's brand of music (his musical contribution to Matrix Software's forgotten inaugural title Alundra is the best, he even cameos in it).
There is a part of me that really wants to recommend Elnard to everyone who's curious about Produce's first RPG effort in its originally intended state, but because it's all in kanji it means a lot of people will have apprehension to import it because it's a story-driven game in a language they don't understand. If kanji is your biggest concern, I understand, but it is manageable if you give it a chance and stick with it. Do a little trial and error; experiment; take notes (mental ones even); don't rely on magic unless you absolutely have to as might is stronger in the Japanese version; trade the equipment you currently have as opposed to buying as that would entail more money farming than is necessary (unless you partner up with someone, in which case, you do you); always be sure the new equipment you find and don on increases your defense or offense; stock up on items if you have to (only up to nine per item); amplify your strength, defense, and agility during boss battles; and always save and rest up at an inn whenever a new development occurs. If you wish to play it despite not being in a language you comprehend, then my series of advice may just save your life when playing it.
My Personal The 7th Saga Score: 5.5/10
My Personal Elnard Score: 8.0/10
d(^-^)bTO EACH THEIR OWNd(^-^)b
P.S. Because I figured it might not happen again, here:
Equal-numbered G, current experience points, and required experience points to reach the next level. Awesome!
P.S. 2 So what exactly does "The 7th Saga" mean, hmm? I know the number seven plays a pivotal role (seven apprentices, seven magic-endowed Runes), but what is the title implying: that each apprentice has their own saga despite taking place in the same timeline (more or less)? And what of the preceding six sagas, what were they like? In fact, I don't believe sagas were even mentioned in the story… Was Enix of America just grasping for a title that would catch peoples' attention regardless of whether it made sense within context of the game and story? Because that's what it feels like.
P.S. 3 Last Saturday (2/9/19) I saw The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part, and I really liked it; not quite up there with the first one, but in my opinion it's close in quality to it because it was also highly endearing. Also, π΅ Guess what movie song is stuck inside my, guess what movie song is stuck inside my, guess what movie song is stuck inside my heeee-eeeead. π΅ XD
Thank you for reading my review, please leave me a comment (don't worry, I don't bite) and let me know what you think (neither spam nor NSFW is allowed); hope you have a great day, take care! =)
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RIP Produce - 1990-2002(?)
RIP Shinji Imada's vision outside Japan
RIP Patience and Endurance (American version only)
Thanks for all the content StarBoy. Enjoying your very thorough take on these games and still reading through this. I beat 7th Saga for the first time and have now fired up Mystic Ark. So far it hasn't hooked me..
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you kindly, that really means a lot and makes me feel like it was all worthwhile~ π
DeleteHi there! I'm a big time 7th Saga/Elnard fan, and have had your review bookmarked for a really long time as a great source of information about the game.
ReplyDeleteI saw your update today (June 2024), and I won't tell you that you're wrong about your feelings looking back at this review, but I did want to tell you that regardless of the tone I have really appreciated this thorough write up about the game many times. I never thought twice about the tone/vibe just because it feels very typical of the time that it was written.
Anyway, thanks again!