"A game that was way ahead of its time..."

This game is one of the best arcade-style action RPGs of the 16-bit era, or at least I think so. Seriously, this game was way ahead of its time. Yes, this game is basically a Gauntlet clone, but it had a lot of things that Gauntlet (whichever new version came out during the 16-bit era) and most other arcade-style action RPGs of that period didn't have. Off the top of my head... Arcus Odyssey had characters that were very unique - I don't mean unique as in Gauntlet-type characters who's only differences are in sprites and statistics; I mean unique as in character-specific offensive and defensive magic spells, character-specific weapon types, character-specific special attacks, and of course statistics. Arcus Odyssey had npc characters that tagged along and helped you fight. Arcus Odyssey had character upgrades. Keep in mind when this game came out, and what type of game this is. This game is not an action RPG - when I think of an action RPG, I think of Legend of Zelda and Seiken Densetsu. Arcus Odyssey game is an arcade-style action RPG - the types of which include Cadash and Capcom's Dungeons & Dragons games.

Graphics - 7/10 - If you've played Wolf Team's other games then you'd notice that the graphics have a MSX2 or PC98 quality to them, if you know what I'm talking about... I wouldn't be surprised if this game is actually a port. Personally, I don't mind the graphics as I'm used to it. The cinematic sequences are pretty nice. The sprites are decent. The backgrounds are decent. And the effects are decent. The animation is a bit lacking, but overall the graphics are passable for an old Genesis game. The character death animations are quite charming though.

Sound / Music - 6/10 - A few catchy tunes here and there. A few monotonous tunes in some dungeon levels. Nothing special.

Controls - 9/10 - The A button is used to open your menu and manage your items and spells. The B button is used to cast your spells. The C button is used for attacking and blocking; you tap C to attack and hold C to block. The SNES version of Arcus Odyssey has a separate button for blocking. In my opinion, the Genesis controls are superior. The attack and block button came to me naturally. On paper, it sounds unconventional and uncomfortable having attack and block on the same button. But in actual play, it is amazing how effective and easy it is. The controls are awesome. Once you've become good at the game you'll have no trouble killing off hordes of enemies coming from all directions while blocking projectiles and dodging flaming boulders.

Gameplay - 9/10 - The gameplay is superb. The game is very fun to play, one player or two players. There are four characters you can choose from. My personal favorite is the wizard. If you're good at blocking then health isn't really a big issue, low health being the wizard's ''weakness'' and all. His spells aren't as useful as the archer's heal or the warrior's damage-reducing spell, but they are very nice to take out bosses without breaking a sweat. His normal attack is his real strength though; his attacks are very powerful, have maximum reach, and spread out. The American version of the game is much easier than the Japanese version. They increased the number of health points that each character has, and the whip user has been beefed up a bit. If you want to play the game how it was meant to be played, then I would recommend the Japanese version. Good luck finding a cart of it...

This game isn't the type of game that takes you dozens of hours to beat. How many times did I say that this game is an arcade-style action RPG? Just like an arcade game, Arcus Odyssey can sometimes take less than an hour to beat (if you're really good), but that doesn't mean you're through! Just like an arcade shooter (which this game is very similar to) you can play it through over and over again if it's your cup of tea, just 'cuz it's fun. And this game is definitely my cup of tea.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/22/03