Elemental Gimmick Gear

"An Instant Classic"

Elemental Gimic Gear is a 2D overhead action/RPG. If you bought the Dreamcast for amazing 3D graphics I wouldn't get this but it does have 3D boss fights in which the graphics sometimes look maybe even like Playstation graphics. But dispite that this is a great game and it maybe safely compared to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past.

This game has been bashed and bashed about its fighting systems so before I bought it I had my doubts but I got it anyway and what I found was amazing (and I didn't find anything wrong with the fighting systems except that the spin takes too long to start up). Oh yeah and the box art looks really bad.

Gameplay 9/10: E.G.G. has very simple controls that most people could pick up in a very short amount of time. The 3D boss fights are awsome as well. I read one review that said ''You move like a dead slug'' (in the 3D fights) but I found that to be completely untrue! You move at normal speed which is fairly fast. The only bad thing i found was that you can't jump just like in Zelda but like in Zelda you can get a grappling hook, but in this game you get it in the form of a ''Wire Hand.'' But unlike in Zelda you will find that you WILL NOT find any borderline useless items. The game is also very hard.

Story 9/10: The story is original and it gives depth to the game in the form of regaining your memory. You have to regain your memory because you have been sleeping fo 5100 years and you lost your memory! Just read the back of the box to learn the story because I don't want to go into detail right now.

Graphics 10/10: Even though E.G.G. doesn't have ground breaking 3D graphics the enviroments were all hand drawn and look amazing!

Sound 10/10: E.G.G. doesn't use many sound effects but the ones that are used are very good and appropriate. Also the music was very appropriate and helped to set the mood I guess you could say.

Replayability 2/10: After beating this game you may not want to play it again because of the shear difficulty. But there is some replay value in the form of finding secret items and finding the mini-games (only if haven't already found them). I just can't get over how hard this game is and I think the difficulty takes away from the replay value. (But maybe the difficulty will keep you playing longer)

To Buy or to Rent?: I have one thing to say: ''BUY IT!!!'' Well now that that's said I would only buy it if you like the Zelda style games.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/17/00, Updated 06/17/00