Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage

"Ever looked at something and thought, "That looks good, maybe I should try it."?"

When I first saw this game a few months back in an issue of Nintendo Power, I thought ''Yes! We're saved!'' I couldn't wait to get this game. Finally, the N64 was going to have another GOOD RPG! Let me tell you now: I am VERY good at making hasty decisions gone wrong. This games LOOKS awesome, but you know the old saying: Looks can be deceiving.

Graphics: 1/10
Crap. Pure CRAP. Even though this is one of the last games for the old dusty N64, the graphics look that of a very old Playstation. No wait, scratch that, even worse. There is a lot of texture jumping, jagged edges, and angular graphics. Everyone you see in this game looks like they've been molded out of some clay, and then screwed up royally.
Oh, then there's the battle graphics. At one point, I just stopped playing the battles and let my little cousin have at it. He enjoyed it.... he's 6. There is terrible battle collision. Rather than ''fighters and magicians fighting a fierce battle'', they look more like bad actors with bad reflexes.

Audio/Sound: 2/10
Ughh... I can't believe they actually thought this music was good enough to go on this game... Almost everywhere you go, the music feels, out of place, almost. Most of the songs are just 4 - 5 chords being played over and over on a really junky keyboard. I've heard better music and sound on Super Mario Bros. for NES. Yes, you read right, the ORIGINAL Mario Bros. game. As a matter of fact, most NES game own this game in the Music and Sound department.

Concept: 4/10
This game actually has some pretty good ideas as to equipment, skill learning, and whatnot, but all of that is shrouded in crap by the rest of the game.
Ohh, and the story line. SUCKS COW DUNG. I never really felt inspired to help out the main character... for all I cared, I would kill him and take all of his valuables. I could care less for him and his ''problem''.

Game Play: 2/10
This game is slow. REALLY SLOW. At the very first of the game, after you pick your partners, you have to take this REALLY LONG trip to another town. It took me around 3 days just to figure out where to head.... and halfway along this trail (keep in mind you are still just starting the game) You run into mean ass monsters that can kick your ass 4 times before you even fly into the air to fall to the ground. Very unbalanced.

Overall Entertainment: 2/10
It can be fun for a while, until you get past the Title screen. I could seriously say, for worst RPG ever in video gaming history, this one gets my vote. SIX TIMES. The replay value is incredibly low... the only reason you'd want to play again is because:
1.) You're crazy
2.) You have very bad taste
3.) To try to beat the game with different characters
4.) You don't have any other crap to sit through.

Overall Score: 3/10
This game is terrible. If only they had made a better game and kept the concepts behind the equipment and skills this game would be awesome. But the game we received sucks. Don't even rent it to laugh at it. Don't even take the time to go to any place just to look at it waste space on a shelf and laugh at it. It just has one decision for you to make: ''Do I want to throw this away, or use it as a hockey puck?'' You should probably choose the latter, because a garbage man would be embarrassed to have this piece of crap in his landfill. And that is putting it nicely. (Last two sentences borrowed from ''Game Informer'')

Reviewer's Score: 3/10, Originally Posted: 05/25/01, Updated 06/20/01