Beyond Oasis is an excellent action adventure game that is still tons of fun, even in 2004.
User Rating: 9.1 | The Story of Thor: Hikari o Tsugu Mono GEN
Beyond Oasis was one of the very first games that I played on the SEGA Channel, and it was probably the best. SEGA crafted a great action/adventure title, with excellent dungeon design, a bunch of hidden areas, and some solid, tight gameplay. The story revolves around Aladin, a young prince who finds that his parents have been slain by an evil, shadowy figure, who is in search of Aladin's gold armlet. So, as Aladin, you begin your quest to not only find the man who killed your parents, but to protect the gold armulet. For a Genesis action title, the game has a pretty decent story. But it's not the story that will keep you playing this game for hours on end, it's the gameplay, which is very good. Aladin has his typical array of action game moves, like the jumping kick, the running slash, the crouch, the quick poke, and powerful slash. He can also weild a couple different weapons, like a huge sword, a dagger, and a bow and arrow (with different types of arrows, like flaming arrows and ice arrows). Throughout the game, you will meet different elemental spirits. Their is Ifrit, the fire god, and using his abilities, he can light far away torches or punch out enemies, thus, cooking them in the process so you can eat them for health. There is also a water god who can cure you, a plant god who can eat gates that otherwise obstruct your progress, and a shadow god who can carry you across wide gaps. These gods really add a lot of variety to the already solid gameplay. Each dungeon in the game is ingeniously designed. You will have to blow up walls, hit switches, and do all the usual things you would expect from a 16 bit action game. But these tasks never feel like chores, and it's always fun to explore the dungeons. The design of these dungeons is top notch, and easily the best part of the game. Another great thing about Beyond Oasis is its graphics. The sprites look excellent, as do the landscapes and dungeons. There never seems to be any slowdown at all, which is great. Character designs are well done also. Obviously, in 2004, this game shows it's age. But for those of you who are hardcore classic gamers, go search on Ebay or at your local GameStop, and if you happen to find Beyond Oasis, you will be in for a fun action game that stands the test of time.
