Alundra

"A Zelda clone... and then some!"

Intro
One of my friends got a demo CD that came with a magazine. It had some really cool previews on it. Two non-playables that really caught my eye were Mega Man Legends and Alundra. Although they really didn't show much of the gameplay, just the anime sequence was cool enough. After that, I saw Alundra when I was in Fred Meyer and decided to buy it. I wasn't too extremely impressed at first, but then the further I got into the game and the more I got into the storyline (not to mention all the great, challenging puzzles), I really fell in love with this game.

Setting the Plot
In Alundra, you play as a guy named Alundra (imagine that!) travels to a town called Inoa after a strange person in his dreams tell him to travel there. Alundra is like no other person. He has an uncanny ability to walk into someone's dream and interact with it. After a while of working with everyone in the town, who all seem to be suffering from extremely bad dreams, he finds an unseen evil working behind the scenes.

Action/Adventure as Usual
Ahh... A fresh action/adventure game. Lots of exploring to do. Basic systems, too. You may have some Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening flashbacks. I mean, you basically run around and hack enemies up like in that game (with some differences) to gain money and buy more items and such. There are also special items called gilded falcons which you can redeem later in the game for some really good specialty items. I rather liked the gameplay elements a lot. It had a good sense of exploring and adventure to it while remaining to have a very good challenge factor to it. By very good, I mean very balanced. The challenge was emphasized where it should very well have been. Challenging bosses and puzzles.

It's All About the Puzzles
Almost everywhere throughout the game are challenging puzzles. A lot of people had trouble with these puzzles. Let me just say if you're very good at problem solving and critical thinking, then you might have a little fun with the puzzles. I think you mainly have to be a patient player and possess a little bit of wit to complete them. The boss battles are actually a bit harder than the puzzles at times.

2D Beauty
I really liked how they made the game a 2D perspective. We don't see too many 2D adventure games anymore, which is very much unfortunate. I felt the color and design were some very strong points here, as well as the superlative texture and resolution. Greatly designed enemies and bosses, well put together environments. What's not to love? The game's graphics herald a beauty all of their own.

Sounds
The music and sound fill the game with a great atmosphere. You almost feel as though you're playing a game based in Northern Europe just based on the music. They also had appropriate music in their soundtrack to fill the right emotion in. When they wanted you to feel a bit sad that someone died, they threw in the sad music. In the world map of the game (for lack of a better term), they had adventurous music. During boss battles, things sounded desperate. The sound effects went well with their given positions and actions.

Final Word
My experiences playing Alundra have all be the greatest. This is one of my favorite games on the PlayStation and I'm glad that Working Design picked up the license to it when they did. It's just a shame to see so much wasted potential on a ''sequel'' by Activision. My only hope is that if they actually wish to make a better sequel, they should restore some honor to the Alundra name and continue the actual story of Alundra rather than someone else that has no significance to the first game whatsoever. I would love to see this return in a 2D perspective with new additions of the storyline. I don't usually say that for many games. I usually don't care to continue to the see what goes on with the characters after the game is over. I can actually say that for Alundra because the ending actually did intrigue me as to what else he was going to run into. Oh well, that's enough wishful thinking for one day.

FINAL JUDGMENT
Graphics: Yeah? So what if it's not 3D! It's still not too bad! 8/10
Sounds: Built the atmosphere just the way I wanted it! 10/10
Controls: Lenient, no complexities, and good response 10/10
Plot/Storyline: Well written. Religious folk may not be too happy with it, though. 9/10
Gameplay: Great challenge and well-thought puzzles 10/10
All Together: 10/10

Perks
*Great challenge factor
*Very fun
*Great storyline
*Intelligent puzzles
*Atmospheric
*Awesome soundtrack

Downers
*Can be a bit frustrating at times

Recommendations
I recommend this only to those who are patient and good with critical thinking and problems solving tactics. Anyone who doesn't feel the need to sit down and think while playing this game may want to avoid it (or get a walkthrough). There is also a ''sequel'' to this game that I thought was a major letdown.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 02/04/01, Updated 10/23/01