Landstalker
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| Landstalker: Treasure of King Nole | |
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| Developer(s) | Climax Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Release date(s) | 1993 (North America) , October 30, 1992 (Japan) October, 1993 (Europe) |
| Genre(s) | Action-RPG/Action-adventure game/Platform game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive |
| Media | 8-megabit cartridge |
Landstalker is a Sega Mega Drive game somewhat similar to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past game that was available on the competing SNES at the time. Unlike Zelda, this RPG featured an isometric viewpoint and especially creative level design. It is held up by many to be one of the greatest Sega Genesis games.
Developed by Climax entertainment, a Japanese company. A sibling game called LadyStalker was released on the SNES in 1995 (in Japanese only). The Sega Saturn game Dark Savior (produced by the same company) is considered its spiritual successor.
The main characters from Landstalker, Nigel (Ryle in Japan and France) and Friday, reappear in the Dreamcast game Time Stalkers. The game story begins on Gamul date 318, where Gamul is a fictional dating system used in the game.
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[edit] Gameplay
The player, as Nigel the treasure hunter, is tasked with searching for clues that lead to the treasure of King Nole. This is accomplished primarily by travelling through both outdoor areas and dungeons. All gameplay takes place in an isometric view, including plot-advancing scenes.
From the outset of the game, Nigel may walk, jump, swing his sword, talk to various NPCs, and pick up and throw various objects. With very few exceptions, these basic actions do not change throughout the game, although Nigel's weapons and armor may be replaced with better versions thereof. There are a variety of items throughout the game, most of which are either restorative in nature or important to advancing the plot or solving puzzles.
The game bears some similarity in design to the Legend of Zelda series. The game's dungeons are filled with monsters, puzzles, and traps that require the player to jump from platform to platform. Locked doors inhibit the player's progress, and keys must be found to unlock them. The player's health is kept track of by hearts, which may be purchased in towns or found in dungeons. The player is not prevented from revisiting old towns and dungeons, and is frequently required to do so to advance the plot.
 Title Screen |
 Restart Point |
 Introduction |
 Introduction |
[edit] Plot
Nigel, a young treasure hunter, was led to a small island by his newly acquired Wood Nymph friend, Friday, in hopes of discovering the legendary treasure of King Nole. He began his adventure in the village of Massan, inhabited by bear-people. He settled an argument between them and a neighboring tribe and earned himself a piece of King Nole's treasure. He left Massan and arrived in Ryuma, a town being terrorized by thieves. He defeated the thieves and earned a place on the court of Duke Mercator who ordered him to go defeat an old wizard locked in a tower nearby. The wizard said that he was not the one forcing villagers to pay him (it was his brother the Duke) and gave Nigel another piece of King Nole's treasure. Nigel hoped to search for more pieces so that he might find clues to finding the treasure. He returned to Duke Mercator just to have his two jewels stolen by the Duke. Mercator left for Verla, a mining town on the other side of the island, as Nigel was forced to explore a giant hedgemaze to repair a lighthouse so that he may follow. He arrived in Verla to find that its people were forced to be slaves to mine through a mountain so Duke Mercator could pass. Nigel freed them and followed Mercators trail to the Water Shrine where Mercator engaged Nigel in a duel. Nigel won but Mercator fled by the help of a Drakkonian named Zak. Nigel tracked down Zak so that he may find Mercator's whereabouts and found him right back where he had started his journey. Nigel followed Mercator into the center of the island and into King Nole's labyrinth, a massive confusing dungeon guarding King Nole's palace. After making it through the labyrinth and the palace, Nigel had come to the room which held the treasure. He could not access it and was attacked by the ghost of King Nole himself. After defeating the ghoul, Duke Mercator appeared and attempted to claim the treasure but was killed by the treasure's final guardian: The Dragon God Gola. Nigel defeated Gola, afterwards wanting to travel back to the main continent to continue treasure hunting with Friday.
In 2005, it was announced that Landstalker will be remade for the Sony PSP (PlayStation Portable). The release date is TBA for 2007.
[edit] Trivia
The Japanese version is region free unlike the US and European versions.
There is no Looping demo.
There are no official cheats for Landstalker. However there are many loopholes in the game, allowing you to cut out sections. The main character in Alundra, Alundra, bears a striking resemblance to the main character in Landstalker.
[edit] Localisation Changes
“Madam Yards Studio” (brothel) was renamed to “Ballet Studio” for US and European territories.
