Time Stalkers

"I found this one in a used game bin..."

Timestalkers is a relatively unknown game. It was released in 1999, and features a cast of characters from other games, including Nigel from Landstalker, and Pyra from Shining in the Darkness, both Sega Genesis games. I found this game to be truly unique, and very strong in most areas. It is a bit unconventional. For each dungeon you enter, you are reset to level 1. As you fight through, you get your levels back, but you get to keep certain abilities. Instead of levels, you move up ranks. Pretty neat, I guess.

Graphics(8/10):
This game is just beautiful. I mean, the graphics are very well done. I especially like the cut away scenes, and the the world which is designed. The only thing I didn't like is the lack of voice dialogue. I mean, come on, guys. It's a Dreamcast game.

Sound(10/10):
Rocked out to this one. Sega has a habit of making some really great tunes for their games, and they did it again with Timestalkers. I never got tired of any of the sounds that I heard throughout the game. I especially like how they have different music for each character you play.

Story(7/10):
Really confusing and kind of stupid. You come from another world by opening a book. And as you progress, different pieces of the world come together and you are joined by a band of characters from other places in time. Although they did explain why this happened later in the game, I found the explanation kind of lame.

Battle System(9/10):
Very cool. I liked this facet of the game a lot. You play as your choice of character, and are accompanied by two captured monsters who fight with you. I know it sound pokemon-like, but it's a pretty cool system.

Characters(10/10):
Contained quite an interesting cast of characters. It features Nigel from the game Landstalker, which is one of my personal favorites. Also contained some other cool characters, such as Sword, the ''main'' character (stupid name, I know.)

Difficulty(6/10):
Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this one out. The system of getting your levels is difficult...for like 2 minutes. Pretty much straight forward and linear...for what it's worth.

Fun(7/10):
Was this game fun? Yes. It wasn't a ride in an amusement park, but I was able to entertain myself while playing. I beat it once, and do not care to play again. You can experience a different ending for each character you play, so that gives it good replay value.

Timestalkers is a pretty cool game. One of the things I really liked about it was the fact that you had so many characters to choose from. You could be Sword, the ''hero'', Rio, the lion warrior, Nigel the elven swordsman, Lady, the aristocrat, Pyra the sorceress, and some hidden character whose name escapes me. Anywho, good game overall. I would recommend it if you're bored on a rainy day.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/09/04