Lagoon

"An ok game that may satisfy the hard core adventure fan"

Let me start this review off by saying that Lagoon is an old game in the vein of Zelda (any except Link), Terranigma and Seiken Densetsu 3(Secret of Mana 2). The three aforementioned games (in my opinion) are THE greatest adventure games and rank among the greatest games in general. These three games have qualities about them that not only met the standard with which adventure games are based on,(note: to me, the original Zelda set the standard for all adventures to come) but they completely shattered the barrier between what it takes to be an average game to what makes a fantastic game. Unfortunately, Lagoon has a bit of trouble of even meeting the standard. The game really has no high points, and when you read any of my reviews, please take into account that I when I play a game, I try to get as much enjoyment out of it as I possibly can so I forced myself to adapt to this game's faults. Ok, enough of my foolish banter, here is the review.

Graphics: 4/10
This is kind of hard to review as this was one of the first games for the Super Nes. But, even after taking this into account, they are pretty bad. All of the dungeons in the game are pretty uninspired and extremely basic. The characters have a slight cartoonish look to them, but slightly serious as well. Not quite sure if that makes too much sense but that's the best I can do. The bosses are pretty big and a little bit original, but the normal enemies are a little stupid looking, and many of them are generic. The best way to describe the graphics in this game is boring.

Sound/Music: 4/10
Nothing really interesting here either. Sound effects are (from what I can remember)non-existant except for the little ''chink'' sound when you hit an enemy. The music is also not that memorable, as I can't remember any of it except the boss theme which is some early 90's videogame rock/techno kind of stuff.

Gameplay: 5/10
Ok here is where this game will either attract those that like wandering around in dungeon mazes or cause those that don't to put it in the back of the closet. The game is set from an overhead's perspective. The game is split up into 5 ''areas'' (maybe 4 but I can't remember). In each one, you have an objective to do before you can go on to the next one. Each area generally consists of a town and a dungeon (or two). You are able to jump unlike most games like this, but in my opinion, the makers of this game could have left out the ability to jump since the only times you jump are over small chasms and no real skill is required. Enemies don't do much, besides either try to run up and touch you or shoot projectiles at you(they are like the enemies in the NES game Crystalis). You gain levels also like in Crystalis(come to think of it, Crystalis was seperated into areas as this one was...this game and Crystalis are very much alike). Probably the most unique feature of this game and the first one(that I can think of)with this feature is the magic system. You may have seen this feature in later games. There are four staffs, each with a corresponding element such as fire, water, wind, and earth. There are four crystals, also with these elements. You can combine a crystal with a staff to use a different spell. Use water staff with wind crystal and a spell occurs. Use wind staff with fire crystal and you get a different spell. Here are some of the bad points. Your sword sucks. From what I can remember it is about a centimer long and you need to get extremely close to an enemy to hit them. Also, when you are facing towards the screen or away from it, there is practically no way to tell if you are going to hit an enemy or get hit by the enemy as your sword is just too small. Oh yeah, and each dungeon is a maze. I never make my own maps in a game, although I should but I kind of like using my memory.

Story: 5/10
The story is about you Nasir, who is the child of light. The child of darkness was kidnapped when you two were babies. Now, years later, the land of Lagoon has dried up and it is up to you to find out the cause and to restore the balance. Standard stuff, but a few slight twists make it slightly interesting.

Replay: 2/10
None. I don't think that there are any side quests in this one, and the game is ok but not good enough to play through again immediately after you beat it.

Overall: 5/10
I gave it a 5 because as I have stated, I try to get the most out of a game(especially if I paid money for it whether it's bought or rented) so I feel that it is not a good game and most may not like it too much, it is a satisfactory game that deserves to be bought for less than $10.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/23/00, Updated 04/23/00