Alundra

"Keep dreaming"

Alundra has to be one of my favorite action/RPG's of all time. The storyline and plot are well done, the characters are very well developed, and the overall gameplay is very fun. This ranks up as one of the hardest games I have ever played because of its mind-boggling and FRUSTRATING puzzles.

You star as Alundra who is a pointy eared guy who doesn't have a lot to say. (hmmmmm.....sounds like another action/RPG hero) Alundra was sailing on a ship to this remote village because a nightmare told him that he needed to go there and save the people of the village. The ship crashes, and he somehow winds up right in front of the village (coincidence?) and an old man named Jess brings him to his house, and that's where the adventure begins. Alundra has the unique ability of going into people's dreams, and determining the outcome. He must save the people in this village from their deadly nightmares. It's a pretty scary storyline, but it gets a 10/10.

The characters are great to, and the writers have no trouble killing off somebody who might be your favorite character. I mean it, they are relentless when it comes to death.

Graphically this game is decent. The graphics are a bit on the darker side, and they add to the overall feel of the game. The opening and closing scene are also well drawn anime videos. The musical score is kind of bland as it contains nothing that will stick to you for a while.

In terms of gameplay, this is like a VERY complex Legend of Zelda game, except you can jump. Alundra uses swords, bombs, bow's and arrow's, magic wands, and several other familiar items. All this takes place on your average Legend of Zelda over world. This contains one village, many isolated houses and caves all over the place, and specifically placed dungeons. This is probably the closest we'll ever get to see the masterpiece, Link to the Past, again. You also collect ''heart pieces'' in this game, so you can increase your life. Magic seeds increase your magic, and you can find several magic spells, and an update for each one, but sometimes, the update just isn't worth it. Combat is pretty easy o learn, just swing your sword. You also eventually get a charge up attack which surprisingly is NOT a spinning move. And the bosses also take a deal of strategy

The main purpose of this game is puzzle solving. I have never enjoyed puzzle games, but I'll do anything for a good storyline and stunning characters. Some puzzles can take you up to 2 hours to solve. (but that's why we have gamefaqs.com, right?) If you can beat this game without using gamefaqs ONCE, I'll consider you to be smarter than Steven Hawking. I think I used it a few times, like in that stupid Ice Pillar puzzle in one guys dream. Anyway, they're tolerable, and most of them are beatable, but there are about 6 or 7 that can keep you pretty busy.

Perhaps my only other complaint is the choppy controls. When you try to jump from ledge to ledge and fall, you get pretty annoyed after you do it for the 50th time because it is so hard to guide the jumps.

Pro's
AMAZING horrific storyline
Cool graphics and anime scenes
Fun and easy combat
Some fun puzzles....

Con's
SOME ****ING HARD PUZZLES
Choppy controls
Bland music

Overall this is a very fun game, and a noteworthy addition to any RPG fans collection. It's a shame it wasn't more popular, but I guess it was popular enough to produce a TERRIBLE sequel that has nothing to do with the amazing first one.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/25/03, Updated 04/25/03