Glory of Heracles

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Glory of Heracles (Herakuresu no Ēkō (ヘラクレスの栄光?), as it's known in Japan) is a Japanese video game series developed and published by Data East. After Data East became defunct due to bankruptcy, Paon took the rights to this series. The series consists of a total of six games, all RPGs, and is most comparable to the Dragon Quest series, from Enix. The most distinguishing feature of these games is the ancient Greek setting, and the game's locales, characters, enemies and items come directly from Ancient Greece or Greek mythology.

While popular in Japan, the series never gained a following outside its native country, as none of the games were officially translated and released overseas, likely due to the lukewarm popularity of Japanese RPGs in western markets during the height of the series' popularity.

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[edit] The Series' Name

There is some discontinuity over the "correct" name for the series, particularly in English-speaking circles. The Japanese name for the series is "Herakles no Eikou", and many purists prefer to use this name.[citation needed] Others may exchange the 'k' for a 'c' in order to use the familiar English name for the mythological character, and call it "Heracles no Eikou", or use the more well-known Roman version of Heracles, Hercules, and call it "Hercules no Eikou".

When the name of the second game in the series was translated as "Glory of Heracles II", that name began to be favored by many RPG enthusiasts, but many who prefer the translated title still use variations, such as "The Glorious Light of Heracles" (which is perhaps a more literal translation), "The Glory of Herakles" and "The Glory of Hercules".

It is also interesting to note that Heracles' name itself means "Glory of Hera", which would make the series' name mean "The Glory of the Glory of Hera".

[edit] Games in the Series

  • Glory of Heracles (闘人魔境伝 ヘラクレスの栄光?): The first game in the series was released on the Famicom and MSX in 1987. Like many RPGs of the time, the game shared many similarities with the previously released Dragon Quest. The protagonist and namesake of the game is Heracles, and the main antagonist is the Greek god of the underworld, Hades.
  • Glory of Heracles II (ヘラクレスの栄光II タイタンの滅亡?): The series' second game was released two years later on the Famicom, in 1989. This time, in true Dragon Quest fashion, the protagonist was merely a nameless hero, instead of being Heracles himself. This time, instead of going alone, the hero was joined by other companions, including a neurotic centaur and a living statue. The titan Cronos replaces Hades as the main antagonist. This game was the first in the series to gain any real notoriety in the English-speaking world, as it was the first one to be fully fan-translated into English.
  • Glory of Heracles III (ヘラクレスの栄光III 神々の沈黙 Glory of Heracles III - The Silence of Gods?): The third installment of the series made the jump to the 16-bit world by being released on the Famicom's successor, the Super Famicom in 1992. The game features improved graphics and an odd border surrounding the playing screen. The game was rereleased for the Wii Virtual Console in Japan.
  • Glory of Heracles: Snap Story (ヘラクレスの栄光 動き出した神々?): Later in 1992, Data East released its first portable game in the series, for the Game Boy. In this game, the player reprises the role of Heracles, and the graphics are very reminiscent to the second game in the series, and many sprites are taken directly from that game.
  • Glory of Heracles IV (ヘラクレスの栄光IV 神々からの贈り物?): The fifth game of the series was released on the Super Famicom in 1994. The game boasts impressive graphics and is a culmination of the advancements the series made in its previous four installments. The Japanese Virtual Console received a rerelease on April 22, 2008.
  • Glory of Heracles: Proof of Spirit (ヘラクレスの栄光 魂の証明?): A new entry in the series was released on May 22, 2008 for the Nintendo DS [1].

[edit] References

  1. ^ ヘラクレスの栄光 〜魂の証明〜

[edit] External links

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