Blazing Heroes

"The twelve must fight together!"

During my search to get different kinds of Saturn games, I discovered there are different kinds of RPG games. There are action platform RPGs like DARK SAVIOR and fighting, or ''beat 'em up'' RPGs like GUARDIAN HEROES. Then there are strategy RPGs like MYSTARIA, THE REALMS OF LORE. After getting this game, I went to the Internet, looking for any info, but couldn't at first. Then I discovered that the title changed to BLAZING HEROES, because of legal reasons. I understand the reason but why rename it BLAZING HEROES? Won't that confuse people with the game GUARDIAN HEROES, thinking they have the same players, which they don't? Then again, I don't know what ''Riglord'' in the original title, RIGLORD SAGA, means. Anyway, I got the game and I'm happy with it.

The story is this: the warlord tyrant named Bane and his five lieutenants invade the continent of Mystaria and taken the queen. A prince named Aragon, the queen's only son, has lost his throne from this and seeks help. He must travel through the lands of Mystaria, fighting Bane's legions and enlists the aid of 11 adventurers for the final showdown.

The graphics are in 3D throughout the game. It's designed like a battle map and constructed of texture mapped polygons. It is also has three different camera views to look through. From looking at your characters from above, to look far off into the horizon to first person view. The problems is the background designs look simple. One town has only four small block like building on each side with a castle behind them. The graphics are not sharp and it's fuzzy enough that you can't make out some of the characters. When you zoom in it does get a bit blocky up close at times. It's still nice to look at and the views are really deep in 3D. The animation's fine, but very limited. When you command Aragon to do a spinning sword attack, the scene goes up close and Aragon acts like a statue on a spinning pedestal, with his sword and arms out stretched as he twirls in his attack against the enemy or enemies. Fortunately, the effects of special and magic are great to look at.

The sound effects are nothing to write home about. There are plain and uninspired, but it's well used and not annoying enough that you want to turn them off. The music, however, is terrific. Great orchestral tunes are clear and sets the right mood, although some are a bit repetitive. There are 6 tracks on the CD outside the game you can listen to.

The controls are simple, since response time is not a factor. You don't need a pause button because the battles are turn based. They are also easy to use, from running through the item menu, to selecting what battle technique to use for your characters.

The game play is easy to use, even easy to beat, if you know what you are doing. You play up to 12 characters, getting to choose six to go into battle. At the start, Aragon and his 5 allies have low Hit Points and Magic Points. As you progress, you gain Experience Points to advance to next Levels, making your characters more powerful. You get new allies to complete the twelve and sometimes you receive new battle techniques. When you arrive in a town, you can enter into the Arena, and fight to get more Experience Points and money to buy weapons and items. Once you get the right technique and weapon, you can defeat certain foes completely. Example: magic specters can only be stopped with magic weapons or powers wield by certain characters. You can also save your games before and after each battle scenes. The trouble is there is too much technique and weapons each characters has in their possession. You never get to use all of them in one game. Also, once they reach battle town, you can have them battle in the Arena and get unlimited money and increase their levels to the max. This makes some of them too powerful and makes the game play long and boring at times. Fortunately, there are still challenges when you face Bane's bosses or when playing in certain scenarios, like playing as Ashe, the dragon knight and have to have him carry water to the prison without spilling it and going through rooms filled with clumsy enemy guards.

No matter what it's called, RIGLORD SAGA, MYSTARIA, or BLAZING HEROES, despite it's flaws, it is great game to have for anyone who is into RPG. I have bested this game once, and even though there's no reason to, I will play it again, just to change my tactic and decisions since it's mostly non-linear. It has good graphics, great turn based battles and challenges that will last you for hours.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/16/03, Updated 06/16/03