SHEATH013's forum posts
I can't wait to try this out.
I have posted movie files, a music sample, and emulation shots to the link above, along with a pre-review text of the game up through the third dungeon as quoted below. As Beggar Prince is sold out now, I'm not sure this will help anything, but I thought those who haven't seen it yet might like a review.
Graphics
Beggar Prince runs at standard Genesis resolution of 320x240 and fairly standard scroll speed and animation for an RPG. With no more than 32 colors on screen at once, this game technically only displays half of the Genesis' maximum simultaneous color count of 61 colors on screen. However, skilled art design causes each screen to be packed full of details and color gradients not seen in most other RPGs on the system. The main character has a variety of animations, such as cocky expressions to the player, falling asleep, waving his arms when falling, etc.
The title screen (see movie or Gif file) utilizes palette swapping to create time of day changes to a greater effect than I have ever seen done on a 16-bit system. The second dungeon uses dithering to create a pseudo transparency for the darkness very similar to the flashlight scenes in Zelda A link to the Past. It is a shame, however, that the Genesis' hardware shadowing capability wasn't used rather than dithering, but even with A/V outputs coming out of a 32X the dithering doesn't really show up. I had to take emulation shots to be convinced it wasn't the shadow and lighting effect being used.
Magical attacks in battle sequences range from using large sprites (Meteor) to heat wave effects and palette swaps. I have never really been impressed by any magical effect in any 2D RPG, and this game is no different. However, the effects displayed here are superior than that of the Lunar games on the Sega CD, in that they use larger sprites, more animation, and more special effects.
Overall, the graphics are impressive, and definitely demonstrate the added advantage of being a 32 Megabit game cartridge, 8 Megabits larger than Phantasy Star IV. Some comments based on early previews have compared the game to the 1995 SNES release, Chrono Trigger. While it is certainly understandable to want to make this comparison, the two games are so different in graphical presentation that they are actually incomparable. With that said, the graphics of Chrono Trigger contain far more effects, three times the colors on screen in game (six times in overworld scenes), more animation and more expressive characters, and an overall better production quality. If Chrono Trigger and Beggar Prince were the same type of game, Chrono Trigger would flatten the later game in every respect.
Sound
Musical scores are catchy and even familiar sounding for the first castle, overworld and dungeon scenes that I have played through so far. Digital voice samples are minimal and limited to grunts and whelps during the combat scenes. Everything is clear and crisp, with no graininess to further sully the Genesis sound chips already underrated reputation. The only gripe I can see here is the menu sounds in combat are particularly high pitched and loud, and have graded on my ears on occasion.
Gameplay
It's an RPG, a genre which I have a hard time finding anything I'd relegate as gameplay in the first place. All scenes are overhead views, and you control your character's up-down-left-right movement, talk to people by pressing an action button, bring up a menu with another, and attack enemies in turned based battles by selecting them (and your actions) with arrows and menus. The menus are sparse, and there is little to no need to manage inventory, at least up to the stage of the game I have gotten to. There is also no weapons customization scheme, the game seems to follow traditional routes of buying or finding a better weapon, rather than tweaking existing ones.
Super Fighter Team has gone out of their way to translate the game in a way that lends it a little bit of pop-culture charm, without the fruitiness of Working Designs translations. Expect to see random Star Wars and Zero Wing references, and a somewhat quirky and cocky main character from the get go. I have no means to compare the translation against the original script, so I can't comment on the authenticity. Considering the amount of text in this game made it overly difficult to play for non-native speakers, Super Fighter Team has certainly done a good job of making the game not only playable but fun to read in English.
Conclusion
Beggar Prince is a decent RPG from the days of yore, when five minute long cutscenes from CGI workstations were not the preferred distraction from the genre's shortcomings. The story carries just enough dialog to propel the player from one point on the map to the next, as well as in and out of the dungeons. To the point in the game I have played, the main character has seen no character development, no moment of crisis, he has simply done whatever the hell he wants, and found himself in an adventure. There could be more dialog later on, but it's looking more like the game focuses on dungeon exploring, leveling up and boss fights than character angst and sappy prime time TV dialog. I'll forgo the recommendation to buy or rent, and simply state that if you wish to see more new releases on the Genesis, you'll pick Beggar Prince up if and when SFT makes any more of them.
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Scott
http://www.gamepilgrimage.com
1) Actual arcade system collections, with and without enhancements (for music sound mainly), which are *actually tested* and play exactly like the original, and don't have infinite credits enabled by default. What I mean is that there would be seperate collections of System 16 (all iterations and dual board models), System 32, NEO GEO, CPS 1+2, MODEL 1-3, etc., bringing actual arcade games in perfect tested condition to the home screen as a MAJOR market product, for the first time since Saturn and Dreamcast.
2) Re-release rare and non-localized games in unaltered form, especially those which losers online have been scalping people for all of these year. This would include Panzer Dragoon Saga (which I own) and Radiant Silvergun, amongst many others.
3) Actually release games (especially non-localized) from more obscure systems in perfect form. I would especially like to see a US release of Dracula X Chi no Rhondo, and a re-release of the Turbo CD Valis games, but there are limitless backlogs of games which the general public has never seen or heard of, and which feature unique and highly polished gameplay, graphics, sound, etc.
Sadly, I am very confident that the Industry is going to let me down on each of these points. Rather than seeing the above, I expect crappy selections of only the most derivative popularly known titles for the Genesis and TG16, which will basically be a list of games anybody with nose picking capabilities could find on accident because there are so many lying around. I also expect the emulation of Genesis titles to be severely screwed up in the area of sound especially, as this is Sega's way of helping false media histories appear true about Sega's great history of games. Lastly, I expect Nintendo to be one of the few companies to get their own IP right on the new system, but to only re-re-re-re-release games which have already been ported to the GBA, if not various other Nintendo products, and nothing more.
[QUOTE="SHEATH013"]my local TRU had them too, I didn't have a Saturn until some time after it's defuncting... that was my 'sad' fate. I really want Hotd1 in some form, and if the saturn form is the best i can get it in, i just might, i just feel a bit weird paying a whole lot for a game that is more then a few years old. I know rarity is definatly a factor, but there are plenty of non-rare games i would rather buy with that 50 bucks+++ im laying down on a 10(?) year old copy of a saturn game >_<
I had heard it was more like 70,000. I don't think it could have even made it to our local Toys R Us if there were only 5,000. That's where I bought mine, and I recall passing on House of the Dead too.
waflerevolution
I wouldn't pay more than $60 for it unless you're just really into Saturn gun games. It's available on the PC also, and that one has 3D acceleration. The Saturn game was really low resolution compared to the excellent Virtua Cop games. I'd stick to HOTD 2 on Dreamcast and HOTD 3 on Xbox personally.
I'm told that there were 5000 copies of that game printed, as well as 5000 of House of the Dead. They were released on the same day, too, I think. Perhaps SHEATH can confirm.
gmsnpr
I had heard it was more like 70,000. I don't think it could have even made it to our local Toys R Us if there were only 5,000. That's where I bought mine, and I recall passing on House of the Dead too.
Here's the updates I've had since May in regard to my library on Gamepilgrimage.
July 28, 2006
Added Mario 3 (Complete, in exchange for fixing a Sega CD 2) to the NES section and Night Trap, Star Wars Rebel Assault, and Pitfall the Mayan Adventure (complete, $25) to the Sega CD section of My Library.
July 16, 2006
1. Added Batman (Complete) to the NES section, Alien 3 (Complete), Batman, Eswat, Ernest Evans, El Viento, Gunstar Heroes, Kawasaki Superbike, Rolling Thunder 2 (all in box, without docs), and Wings of Wor (Complete), ($13.00) to the Genesis section, Art of Fighting (Complete, store credit), and Super Metroid (Cart only $19.93) to the SNES section, Otogi 2 (Complete, free) to the Xbox section, and New Super Mario Bros (New, free, [for redesigning FX's peripherals]) to the Nintendo DS section of My Library. Sold Gamecube Component Cables for -$50.
I suppose... it still shouldn't be used as a standpoint...
waflerevolution
Well no, nobody in the media or marketing departments should that's for sure. I'm just sore that companies cater exclusively to this crowd today, and stopped taking risks on new ideas. Hopefully the next gen will change a few things, but then I don't really care to shell out the $1000+ just to see if they do.
please ellaberate why. and discuss your feelings and opinions about the topic.
I have to say that the mass market is largely kids and no-life young_adults. These are the people who flock to one company, and only one company, and make up or praise marketing and false histories which slander the competition. These are the videogame market which number over the 20 million or so in the US who bought a Sega Genesis or an N64, or the supposed 70 million (true numbers have never been supported) worldwide who bought a PS2 and a PS1, but not a Sega Dreamcast, Sega Saturn, Nintendo Gamecube or Microsoft Xbox.
That still leaves 20 million in the US who have the sense to shop around, but that's not enough buying power for the media and the developers to focus their game design on. We who actually bother to *read* about games, much less write about them weekly in forums, number an extreme minority in the market. Thus, we have countless war themed games using the same gameplay as Quake 1 from 1997, and countless urban themed thug games dependant on violence and "mood", which wouldn't cut it in a 'B' novel, rather than gameplay. The problem is an incredible lack of informed consumers in the videogame market, and therefore a lack of games designed to be great at being *games*. Solve this problem, and you solve the problem of politicians using the Industry as a scapegoat as well.
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