Dark Savior

"I never would have played Landstalker if it weren't for this!"

For those of you not ''in the know'' of Sega and Climax RPGs (such as Shining Force), they released a cool action RPG back in the days of the Genesis known as Landstalker. Unknown by most, but beloved by it's fans, it remains a favorite of many RPG gamers today.

In 1996, Climax released a spiritual sequel to Landstalker, incorporating the action-rpg style of gaming found in Landstalker with the graphic capabilities of the Saturn. The result is a solid game that's a lot of fun to play, if not a little short.

Gameplay: 10/10

As far as action-rpgs go, this one is a sheer winner. You control a bounty-hunter named Garian who is searching through a HUGE prison island for an escaped shape-shifting monster known as Bilan. You can run around, jump around and on top of nearly anything, and slash at switches, puzzles, etc. Which brings me to the point: a lot of the game is composed of puzzles accompanied with some of the toughest jumps ever seen! There are memory puzzles, find-the-key, block stacking, flick-the-switch, logic, and almost any other puzzle you could possibly think of.

The battles are good, too. Instead of an RPG command-based battle, it's a best 2 out of 3 street fight type battle system? Meaning, you start in one corner, your opponent in the other, and you slash and hack away at each other. You can capture most of the monsters you battle and use them in later battles! How cool is that, huh? 8)

By the way, this game is divided into 5 different stories, or ''parallels''. What you do in the opening sequence of the game and how fast you get to the Captain's Cabin of the ship determine what parallel you will run into. Each one is unique in it's own right: in one you follow Bilan on a wild goose chase throughout the island, in another Bilan is dead, but the evil motives of the so called ''good guy'' Warden Kurtleigen are exposed. These parallels add a lot to the game, even if they are a little short.

Controls: 9/10

Good controls are essential for any action game. Dark Savior fails to disappoint, though having B as a jump button on a Saturn controller seems a little odd at first.

Story: 9/10

A great story involving the character Garian (reminiscent of Max from Shining Force) and the mysterious ninja woman Kay, who he ends up falling for and depending on your parallel, they live happily ever after or Garian mourns her loss. Ahh, a standard RPG love story, but a good one, aside from the translation.... ugh... i've never heard ''Prepare to die'' so many times in an RPG.

Graphics: 9/10

Nothing wrong here. Everything is full 3D and easy to see and understand. The movie sequence near the end is fairly impressive.

Audio: 9/10

The sound effects need some work (like when Garian gets hit), but the music is great. I'd buy the soundtrack if I could find it.

Replayability: 8/10

There are multiple ways through this game, and a few different ways through each one. Though altogether the game is a little short, you'll want to play it again!

Buy or Rent: If you can find it and you own the system, buy it. It's fun for all ages.

Overall, I'd recommend this to any RPG fan who wants to try something different from all those Final Fantasies that people are always hyping and yelling about. Sega and Climax have always been good, and this game is proof. So what are ya waiting for? Go play it! Have fun! Tell your friends!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 07/10/02, Updated 07/10/02