El Dorado Gate Preview

Capcom first mentioned the possibility of a monthly role-playing title for a video game console almost a year ago, and now it has finally released some solid details. The game is called El Dorado Gate, and it's for the Dreamcast. But instead of coming out monthly, the game will be released on a bimonthly basis starting this summer in Japan. The game was originally slated for the Saturn, but apparently it either ran into production problems or was held off due to the shorter-than-hoped-for life span of the console. The game is composed of 24 episodes, and the first chapter will include the first seven episodes. Each of the episodes will contain about three stories each. The character design has been done by Yoshitaka Amano, and the scenario writing was handled by none other than Flagship, which has worked on scenarios for other major titles such as Resident Evil and Legend of Zelda: Mysterious Fruit of Tree.

The story began a long time ago when the god of all knowledge, Dios, and the god of evil, Razin, clashed. Dios defeated Razin and banished him and his 12 evil disciples. Several eons have passed, and people have long forgotten about Razin. It's now the dawn of the industrial revolution, and the Stasia Engine has been invented. The Stasia Engine makes it possible for anyone to extract the energy out of Stasia - a resource similar to our coal or oil. Before the invention of the Stasia engine, the energy of Stasia was only used by magicians and alchemists for magical spells. You will choose one of twelve youths, each of whom is influenced by the different spirits of the evil minions of Razin. As the story unfolds you will discover whether the youths are truly evil or if they hold the key to salvation in the new age. Though theinstallments of the games will be released on a bimonthly basis, El Dorado Gate will let you play through the episodes in any order.

So far, the game uses traditional 2D sprites, and it is not yet known whether it will use 3D polygonal graphics. The game has a field map where players can roam around villages and dungeons, as well as a world map on which you can travel from one location to another.

The battle engine of El Dorado Gate sports a front-view perspective similar to those seen in RPG titles such as Final Fantasy Legends, Wizardry, and Dragon Warrior. When fighting against enemies in the game, your characters will not gain experience or level up. Instead, they'll develop into stronger warriors only by acquiring weapons and magic stones from defeated enemies, treasure chests, and stores. Each of the game's weapons belongs to one of five elements - fire, water, earth, life, and light. The first three weapon elements are mainly used as attack spells - fire is stronger than earth, and water is stronger than fire. Life will mainly be used for healing spells, while light is considered to be stronger than the three attack spells. You will also be able to have a blacksmith combine your weapons to make them stronger. The element of a weapon will differ depending on how it was combined. For example, if a fire sword and an ice dagger are combined, the element of the new weapon will be that of the first weapon - in this case, fire.

The magic stones will basically let characters cast magic spells. There will be two ways to learn stronger magic spells: Use the magic stones you have as much as possible and acquire stronger magic stones. Additionally, a character that has higher magical attributes will be able to cast stronger spells even if their magic stones are of a lower class.

The first chapter of El Dorado Gate is expected to release this fall in Japan for a price of 2,800 yen (US$26).