"Not an unknown gem, but it was still pretty decent"

If it weren't for the fact that Squaresoft decided to publish ''Alcahest'' for Hal Labratories in 1993, there would not be many people who have played this game (none in America because we never got it). Although Hal brought us great stuff later on (Arcana, Super Smash Bros.) they were not very well known at the time. ''Alcahest'' itself is not a FF 6 or a ''Tales of Phantasia'' but it was fun for the short time it lasted. For 1993 the graphics and sound were very well done, and the gameplay was pretty decent. This isn't the best thing to come out of Hal Labs but it is still fairly good.

GRAPHICS: 10/10

I just couldn't help but love the graphics in this title. All sprite movement was fluid and seamless. Never once did any on-screen motion seem choppy or awkward in any way. The backgrounds of mountains and skies were beautifully draw and could almost rival games like ''Chrono Trigger''. And while I may be a little biased about the character portraits (I LOVED ''Arcana'') they were also very well draw and pictured in the semi-old school anime style. Of the few cut-scenes that there were I was very impressed. Each of these was done with the full technology available at the time and it shows. The only flaw I could find would be in the fact that the character sprites appeared slightly pixilated, but this was 1993 and I will forgive it. This characteristic was common among mid-generation SNES games. Truthfully, the graphics in this game really reminded me of old Enix titles like ''The 7th Saga'' and ''Brain Lord''.

SOUND: 7/10

Honestly, the sound was not very memorable. I just finished beating the game about 30 minutes ago, and I had to go back and check out the tracks to write this review. None of them are bad or painful to listen to, but most of them bear a striking resemblance to most of the others. On a lighter note, they were all appropriate for their specific level or circumstance. Most of the music was fairly upbeat with dark undertones that moved the game forward pretty well. The sound effects were also not much better, though. I don't know what magic is supposed to sound like but I bet that Hal got it pretty close. All in all there weren't a great number of different sounds to listen to throughout the course of this one. I don't think anyone is going to be laying down money for the soundtrack of ''Alcahest'' anytime soon.

CONTROL: 9/10

With an action-RPG (although this barely classifies as RPG) there is not much one can do to really screw up the control, with the exception of ''Ys III''. In ''Alcahest'' you control one character who is occasionally followed ''Secret of Mana'' style by another NPC. All of the movement is normal and easy, with the added bonus of being able to attack diagonally. The button scheme is set in stone, but there is no real reason to change it. There is one menu that can be shuffled through but there isn't much point in doing so. It is all your basic hack and slash action with a little bit of items and magic along for the ride. One aspect that did sit very well with me was the way the charge meter was managed. This meter could be filled by holding down the attack button for about 3-4 seconds, and when it was released, so was a super attack (basically any charged sword slash in any game). The part that agreed with me so greatly is that your character has to be standing still to charge the meter. This means that in a boss battle, while trying to dodge projectiles and other nasties, you have to stand still to charge. I thought that this added an extra element of strategy and fun to the game, but maybe it's just me.

GAMEPLAY: 7/10

What little gameplay there was I enjoyed. Like I said in the control section, this is your basic hack and slash. If it weren't for the presence of story and other characters, though, it would have just been action. Areas can be wandered around for awhile, but once you advance they can't be revisited. Not that there would really be anything to go back and do. There is an experience system, but it isn't what you think. Instead of gaining extra stats on a level up, you instead gain extra lives. In this way it is almost an RPG style ''Final Fight'' type of game. Throughout the game there are 5 characters that follow you at different times. These NPCs attack along with you and each have their own special ability. At the end you can choose and switch which one is following you, but there are only a couple worth using. And, on top of this, the final boss was actually hard. You will have to fight him a few times before you get it down. The great aspect of this gameplay, though, was the ability to change sword attribute. By the end of the game there are 4 different sword charges and accompanying magics to choose from. And, best of all, none of them ever outlive their usefulness. Yay!

STORY: 3/10

Basically, you have heard this story a million times before. You are Alen, the legendary hero with the legendary weapons, who must stop a big bad evil from being resurrected. There is also this evil empire, but they aren't really important. While sometimes this is done well, here it is not. Because the game is so short the story always feels slightly rushed. It is similar to taking a story, giving a summary, and leaving out all the details. It gets a little better at the end, but this is too little too late. Ah well, in this case the bad story doesn't really detract from the game.


In the end this is just an average action-RPG. I really hesitate to call it this, but I guess it meets enough of the requirements. Don't sink any money into this one. Rent it if you can find it, or probably just borrow it. This was not a diamond in the rough but you will probably have fun with it. Gameplay maxed out at around 5 - 9 hours.

Recap:

GRAPHICS: 10/10
SOUND: 7/10
CONTROL: 9/10
GAMEPLAY: 7/10
STORY: 3/10
TILT: 5/10

TOTAL: 7/10

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/13/03, Updated 03/13/03