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showing 13 games

name	publisher(developer)	year	description
ActRaiser	Enix (Quintet)	1990	[100]* [22]* [64]* [37]* [32]* [32]European version [29] [27]Generations ago, the world fell into deep Chaos. The Master had maintained the world in a state of peace and harmony. However, an evil one called Tanzra began to threaten its very existence. People spent their lives manifesting their love to their Master while fearing The Evil One. The Master and The Evil One were eternal enemies. In strength and power they were almost equals. Even though the world has fallen into Chaos, somehow the earth continued on its revolving course.ActRaiser is a single player mix of alternating overhead city-building simulation and side-scrolling platform action. The protagonist in the English version is 'The Master'. A deity who's been away for a while and returns to find his people have been lead astray and their civilization destroyed by the demon Tanzra, "The Evil One". The player is controls things as the Master descends from heaven on a cloud to observer the people and causes a stone statue to be possessed with his spirit. Using this this living statue armed with a sword, demons are slain and souls are freed. The sim mode begins with the creation of a male and female to tend a population center as the Master eliminates more demons and miraculously prepares the way for the people to build and multiply in their little corner of the world. In this view, and angel armed with a bow and arrow is directed against demons emerging from their layers to attack the people. Meanwhile, the people are directed to seal the layers and build where the master directs. At a certain point, the local demons and their leader will regroup to stop the progress. At this point the Master inhabits a statue to finish the job in action mode. This continues for 6 regions until one final standalone action stage completed. The game's story is in fact a Judeo-Christian allegory; confirmed by the Japanese story of ActRaiser 2 where the protagonist and antagonist characters are revealed to be named God and Satan. No religion/faith tag yet applies to this game entry, however, because the religion of the game's creators is currently unknown to the uvl community (stay tuned). Even without the revelation of the true names of these characters, the allegory is pretty blatant. The Master descends and ascends to heaven, is accompanied by angel(s), creates life (beginning with a male and female), frees souls, performs miracles, destroys demons, creates order and peace out of chaos and strife, he cannot lose (though the player can), defeats the evil one, listens to and answers prayers, accepts offerings (which in turn benefit the people), casts false gods out of his temple, and is totally ignored by the people as soon as they perceive their problems have been eliminated and he loves them anyway. Hint: Preforming better in the action mode will actually cause more demos to inhabit the lairs in the sim mode. This in turns leads to a higher population potential for the region. The world map resembles North America The English version was much easier than the original. But, upon beating the game, the Japanese difficulty level for the action mode is unlocked. ActRaiser was provided for Wii's Virtual Console in 2007. [Zerothis]A masterpiece of game design originally released in the early days of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System , ActRaiser's enduring popularity stems from its revolutionary combination of action- and simulation-based game play. The user plays the role of the Master, a dethroned deity whose once-idyllic world has fallen under the control of the Evil One. Stripped of godly power, the Master must somehow put an end to the Evil One's reign and rebuild his desolate realm. Game play alternates between two modes: Action and Simulation. In Action mode, the Master must battle against impossible odds to pacify six lands. Pacifying a land unlocks Simulation mode. In this mode, the Master must oversee the development and re population of the territory he has reclaimed. In doing so, he will gain followers who gradually restore his godly might, empowering him to take back the next land and, ultimately, defeat the Evil One.**Shame on you if you've never played Actraiser before! This version, other than having an amazingly badass logo, is actually a lot harder than the US release of the game. Even in Fillmore 1, there are more brambles, more monsters, more everything. It's crazy great. Ian Kelley wanted to retranslate the game, so here it is! Far be it from me to deprive one of my star translators from an awesome request or two! Unofficial English translation available at Aeon Genesis (romhack.net) [cjlee001]
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	Nintendo	1991	[30]* [66]Japanese version [32] [64]Also reviewed in Nintendo Player #7 without score. [46] [37]European version [29]Japanese version [29]* [27]**A Link to the Past (LTP throughout) was a ground-breaking game for the Zelda series. Besides being the first Zelda for the SNES, it was the first to have a semi fleshed-out plot. By semi fleshed-out, I mean something more than collect crystals and kill Ganon. Instead, it had a retrieve 3 pendants, collect the 'Master Sword,' kill Agahnim, _then_ collect crystals and [spoiler]kill Ganon (revealed to be Agahnim's alter-ego).[/spoiler] Despite my sarcasm, I actually enjoyed (and continue to enjoy) this game having beaten it at least 15 times and I still keep coming back for more. The wonderfully engaging plot (mentioned above) actually takes place before* the first 2 Zeldas, and so is technically a prequel. The game-play departs from the Zelda 2 RPG style, and returns to it's roots as a top-view adventure game with RPG elements. Unlike the first Zelda, communication plays a fairly important role in this installment. There are friendly, non-cavedwelling NPC's that you can, indeed are required, to get information from. Some play an important role, some are there just to annoy the living shnike out of you. Fighting is still basicly the same as in the original, as is the heart and money system. However, the overworld/dungeon system has changed drastically with the addition of an in-game map that actually shows important locations. i.e. Where you are, where you need to go, and enough detail to make getting there possible.***The Zelda Link to the Past [[link:http://www.romhacking.net/hacks/170/ Master Quest]] hack has brand new dungeons, overworlds, music, etc. [cjlee001]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles in Time	Konami;Mirage (Konami)	1992	[media=youtube]https://youtu.be/3qdf6Va05fU[/media]* [62]* [171]* [64]* [37]* [32]* [29]*** [27]
Secret of Mana	Square	1993	[media=youtube]https://youtu.be/IhkrKmANoik[/media]*[b]Development History:[/b] Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur was planned to be a massive 5 disk, 4 player RPG for Nintendo's Disk System that reached a stage of development that had Square confident enough to accept payments for pre-orders. But it never quite came together before financial troubles threaten to bankrupt Square in 1987. As a last magnus opus, Square published Final Fantasy before closure. Surprise, FF rescued the company from financial demise. Square was reluctant to give up Seiken Densetsu because they had spent resources setting up the intellectual property rights associated with it (and taken pre-orders). The Seiken Densetsu project was reopened, this time as an cartridge based game, due to the waning popularity of the Disk System. But other projects kept occupying their people, such as Final Fantasy II, and Final Fantasy III. At one point, the title was referred to as ファイナルファンタジーIV (Final Fantasy IV) in the press; but internally, the massive project seemed doomed, so much so, that Square slapped the name on a Final Fantasy spin-off for Gameboy, 聖剣伝説～ファイナルファンタジー外伝～ (Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden/Final Fantasy Adventure/Mystic Quest) that was originally named Gemma Knights. This is where the NES version of the game ends. Then came the announcement of the Super Nintendo CD-ROM add-on. Final Fantasy Gaiden did well enough for a sequel, so Seiken Densetsu: The Emergence of Excalibur was reinvigorated as a CD-ROM project. Some elements of Final Fantasy Gaiden were added to the design. Finally, the project was finished, then Super Nintendo CD-ROM venture collapsed, Seiken Densetsu was over, sort of. The game was speedily chopped down to cartridge size and published as Seiken Densetsu 2/Secret of Mana. DOG was a cooperative venture between 7 videogame companies that developed games then published them under the Square brand. During the "ファイナルファンタジーIV" stage, all materials used the DOG Square label.* [100]* [32]Once upon a time, the power of Mana was used by all people and helped their civilization grow. But as evil forces took control of Mana Fortress, there was no way out but a war which destroyed the Mana-based civilization but eventually brought peace to people. The events of the past became but legends to the new generation of humans. But history repeats itself... One day, a young village boy finds a rusty sword stuck at the bottom of a river. He doesn't know this sword is the famous Mana sword, the one that won so many battles before. By drawing the sword out of the river bottom, the boy unwillingly summons hordes of monsters, and is expelled from his village. A mysterious knight Jema is the only man who helps him and gives him instructions for the future. First, he must repair the sword, and then, with its help, take control of Mana seeds which can be found in eight great castles. [45]European version [29]Japanese version [29]* [27]*[b]Tags[/b] While developed as the first game in the Seiken Densetsu series, it ended up becoming the sequel to [game=#8669]Final Fantasy Adventure[/game]. Each player (up to 3) controls a member of a cooperative group. Uncontrolled characters are played by computer AI according to strategy set by the lead player. There are sprite like characters in the game. A good portion of the game takes place in forest areas. androgynouscharacter? There are rooted and unrooted plants that move rapidly to attack the player. There are unrooted plant based creatures that move freely as if they were an animal. Ther are sprite like beings in the game. Killing enemies gains personal experience points for a player but a strike gains points for the skill level of the weapon that are holding during deed. [Zerothis]Good and evil battle for a young warrior's heart. There is one force in the universe that keeps good and evil in perfect balance. It is called the tree of Mana. But a magic sword has tricked a young warrior into upsetting this balance, spreading evil throughout the land. Thus, the warrior must undertake a dangerous journey to find the seeds of the Mana tree, which have been hidden for centuries. Only then can perfect harmony be restored. In this incredible adventure, things are not as they seem. Magic swords release evil as well as fight it. Treasure chests hold booby traps. Monsters are friends and friends are enemies. Potions give power, black magic takes it away. Dragons fly, weapons change. It's a world turned upside down that you must help the warrior make right. And the only way to succeed is to solve the Secret of Mana.Ahhh, old school SNES RPGs... aren't they great? And Secret of Mana (henceforth SoM) was, and indeed still is one of the best. An action-orientated RPG along the same lines as the equally wonderful Zelda games, SoM is one of those games that I can keep playing through without getting bored. The plot is good, if a little unoriginal, and it has a great multiplayer option, a rarity in SNES RPGs.One of the greatest RPG's ever made for SNES. It comes in English and a few other languages, like French, German and Spanish. [DjOuL]**I likeit.It's the best!! ... thats all [WOODY]
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tournament Fighters	Konami;Mirage (Konami)	1993	[67]* [32]* [29]*** [27]
ActRaiser 2	Enix (Quintet)	1993	Gameplay consists of the normal jumping and slashing, with two major additions: Your character now sports a pair of wings on his back, allowing him to glide short distances (funny how game characters with wings can never seem to actually fly), and there's an entirely new magic system. This time around, you have several spells that you can use in battle (as opposed to having to choose only one at the beginning of the level in Actraiser), and they are cast by holding down the action button, which "charges" you. Once charged, pressing one of the direction buttons and letting go of the action button results in a different spell; for instance, holding up and releasing the action button throws three energy balls at the enemy, while holding down creates a force field around you.* [45]* [32]* [27]*The Japanese subtitle reads approximately [i]Silencing Holy War[/i], but that could be reworded to sound better :)
Equinox	Sony (Software Creations)	1993
J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Volume One	Interplay	1994	[b]J.R.R. Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings - The most enduring epic fantasy adventure around[/b] The ring that has the power to decimate Middle Earth must be destroyed. Fate has chosen you to undertake this epic quest. Legend tells of a game up to 5 players that can be controlled by mouse or joypad. Is it fact? Or is it fantasy...?***Nope this isn't a misprint. It is not a new game for an old console. This game was for the old LOTR cartoon movie (anyone actually WATCH that??) which was fated to have no sequel. This is NO Neverwinter Nights. It has a very simple interface (TOO simple sometimes) and NO you CAN'T walk around invincible wearing the ring like in some other games. [Garrett]
The Pirates of Dark Water	Hanna-Barbera;Sunsoft (SunSoft)	1994	[media=youtube]https://youtu.be/qdPTIJXazD0[/media]*Go on quest to save the world in THE PIRATES OF DARK WATER. Take control of one of three characters, each with unique abilities. You will have to fight bands of pirates that attack from every direction. However, you will need to stay alert to avoid the earthquakes and pools of dark water that can end your adventure. If the journey becomes too tough, have a friend help you out. While you're playing, huge character designs bring all of the action to life. Save the planet from THE PIRATES OF DARK WATER.* [32]*** [27]
Eye of the Beholder	Capcom Entertainment;SSI;TSR (Capcom Entertainment)	1994
Breath of Fire II	Capcom	1994	Incorporating the same adventuring viewpoint and battle interface that made the original Breath of Fire so popular, Breath of Fire II became an instant favorite among RPG fans when it was released for the Super NES back in 1995. Breath of Fire II features four new fighting formations, which allows for greater control and strategy in battle. Adding even more depth to the series, players can combine their party members with Shamans to create enhanced characters.*Featuring a wide range of characters and personalities and a vast, endless world to explore, Breath of Fire II is the sequel to the original smash-hit role-playing game. In a world set 500 years after the previous installment, in a frontier village known as Gate, the father and sister of a young boy known as Ryu are suddenly abducted. Strangely, all the villagers appear to have completely forgotten everything about the incident, and Ryu has instantly become an orphan. At a church, Ryu meets Bow, another orphan in a similar predicament, and they slip away from town together to begin their adventure. Take advantage of the multiple game-play viewpoints found in the game (such as the quarter-view perspective during battles that made the original game so popular) to use exciting abilities like shaman fusing and dragon transformations and help these two heroes complete their mission.This is a traditional RPG, and doesn't really do anything drastically different from other games in the genre with the battles. Enemy encounters occur at random while you are walking on the overworld, or when you're going through an area such as a tower or a cave. By looking at your menu, you are able to get a rough idea about how many random battles there are likely to be in the particular area you are in. Though they occur more at some areas than others, there will be many enemies to fight. This can become frustrating, particularly when you are in a confusing area or maze.**Another classic RPG that was butchered by Nintendo during translation. An unofficial translation with improved graphics and cosmetic modifications is being worked on here (they also have a completed German translation): [[link:http://bof2.blogspot.com/]] [cjlee001]
Secret of Evermore	Square	1995	Late in the game the hero fights a boss named Coleoptera which is a palette swap of the first boss Thraxx (see the package shot for a drawing of that boss). Thraxx is probably a corruption of the word thorax, whereas Coleoptera is the scientific name of the order of beetles. The boss that goes by that name bears however no resemblance to a beetle at all. The literal meaning of the word Coleoptera does not make much sense either, as "coleo" comes from ancient greek [i]κολεός[/i] (koleos) which means sheath and "ptera" from [i]πτερόν[/i] (pteron) which means wing, referring to the chitinized front wings (elytra) which are characteristic for beetles and serve as a protection ("sheath") for the hind wings. Coleoptera from Secret of Evermore has no wings however.*When waiting a long time on the "The End" screen another screen appears which credits Brian Fehdrau for Dolly Grip. In movie production the Dolly Grip is responsible for operating the camera dolly. Brian Fehdrau revealed that he added that message for his wife Dolly.In Dr. Sidney Ruttleberg's old, decaying mansion, a boy and his dog stumble upon a mysterious machine. By sheer accident they are propelled into Evermore, a one-time utopia that now has become a confounding and deadly world. A world of prehistoric jungles, ancient civilizations, medieval kingdoms and futuristic cities. During his odyssey, the boy must master a variety of weapons, learn to harness the forces of alchemy, and make powerful allies to battle Evermore's diabolical monsters. What's more, his dog masters shape-changing to aid the quest. But even if they can muster enough skill and courage, even if they can uncover the mysterious clues, they can only find their way home by discovering the Secret of Evermore. [46]* [27]*[b]video games[/b] — the world of Evermore was originally a "video game" itself, but something apparently went wrong and became a reality of its own (based on the description in Wikipedia)Secret of Evermore has a really involving story but is definitely directed towards a younger audience. The gameplay is almost completely the same as the Secret of Mana series, but the one thing that truly stands out about this game is the Alchemy system in which the spells you learn take ingredients for you to cast them, making the challenge level a lot better than games like FF3, where your characters basically become gods(at least in my opinion).Decent RPG. If you want to play this game with your buddy in 2 player mode like Secret of Mana, you can do so by getting FuSoYa's patch: [[link:http://fusoya.panicus.org/ http://fusoya.panicus.org/]] [cjlee001]*Watch out for extremely cheesy humour within. [Haoie]
Prince of Persia 2: The Shadow and the Flame	Titus	1996	[quote=Wikipedia]has some missing features and lacks several stages, including the last one.[/quote]

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