Mystaria: The Realms of Lore
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| Mystaria: The Realms of Lore | |
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| Developer(s) | SEGA Entertainment, Inc. |
| Publisher(s) | SEGA Entertainment, Inc. |
| Designer(s) | Yasuhiku Nakatsu |
| Platform(s) | Sega Saturn |
| Release date | 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Tactical RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Kids-to-Adults (K-A) |
| Media | CD-ROM |
| Input methods | Gamepad |
- Mystaria is also a spider genus (Thomisidae).
Mystaria: The Realms of Lore, also released as Blazing Heroes in North America and Riglord Saga in Japan, is a tactical role-playing game for the Sega Saturn. Its graphics consist of pre-rendered sprites and true 3D backgrounds. Its sequel Riglord Saga 2 was only released in Japan in 1996.
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[edit] Story
- Ten years ago, the legendary Twelve Warriors fought against the War-Mage Bane to stop his plans to take over the continent of Mystaria. But Bane was not defeated, he was only forced to retreat to his own kingdom.
- Ten years have passed, and his army, commanded by five super-powerful leaders, has managed to abduct the Queen of the realm before retreating. Prince Aragon, the Queen's only son and the hero of our story, has lost his rightful throne. But in Queensland's darkest hour he knows he is the only hope left, and will fight to the end to win back his homeland.
- Prince Aragon needs help. The five commanders under Bane's command are powerful adversaries. Aragon must enlist the aid of eleven adventurers, the strongest warriors he can find. He must travel through the lands of Mystaria, fighting Bane's legions as he gathers his group together for the final showdown - against the dreaded War-Mage Bane himself!
[edit] Gameplay
Playing as primarily Aragon, you get a team of 12 heroes. The option of whom you recruit however is non linear and the story adjusts itself to the newest character that joined.
"Mystaria is a continent blessed with rich and beautiful resources. Four countries have peacefully shared this continent for many years. Unfortunately, peace does not last forever as history has shown. Lord Bane, the magic shogun, and his army have come across the sea from the country Yamatui in the east. In a flush, the army has taken possession of Queensland and has begun invading other countries. A prince and his group are watching for an opportunity to lunch a counterattack. A legendary battle which will change the face of history has now begun."
In the beginning you attempt to overcome Lord Bane and his army. You control Aragon, the prince of Queensland and his party to try and reclaim the land to free your people. Aragon's mother, the Queen of Queensland, has been placed under a spell by Lord Bane and has handed her country over to him. Lord Bane has complete control over her and she believes that the prince and the others are traitorous rebels.
The group that you controlled throughout the game is first made up of four characters. The others that want to help prince Aragon are: Saura the priest of Queensland, Hector who was once a soldier in the Queen's army, and Ferral the last Lion-man. As the game begins, three others from Lord Bane's army will defect to yours giving you a total of seven characters to control. The three characters are Raiko a ninja warrior, Aletha who is a half-fairy, and Katzhai a bird-man. Each of the characters have specific fighting techniques and will develop new techniques with practice.
When a character learns a new technique, you will watch your character practice his new move. The next time you move them, you will need to select the new moves to make them available for fighting purposes.
The game play is easy to learn and very quick once a person has the commands down pat. Until then, the game will seem a little slow. You are able to move all of your players once and to have them either fight, defend themselves, cast a spell, throw fireballs, and more. When attacking your adversaries, a certain amount of their health energy will decrease and a red number will display how much has been released. The same happens to your characters and once the energy level reaches zero, the character will die, this proved difficult fo many players at the beginning as unfoortunately, Saura had limited healing capabilities and you weren't able to restore your characters to full health avoiding death.
The graphics were considered phenomenal and in 3D throughout the game. Three different views are possible for playing the game allowing you to look at your players from above, from their perspective of view, or to look far off into the horizon. A feature was to look ahead in the direction of where you are going so that you can see if there are any enemies in your way. Although you may not see any enemies, they will sometimes appear from nowhere to attack requiring you to remain alert. A grid of squares is also available so that you can see how far you can move your characters forward.
The game was heavy on dialog between all the players, done through large rectangles where you see a picture of the character and the text for what they have to say. The dialog helped you know where you were supposed to direct your characters and what you should be trying to do in the game.
[edit] Characters
- Can be renamed accordingly
Some characters came with two fighting styles, others with one. The others however had another capability i.e flying, power or agility
Aragon - Swordsman / Magician
Raiko - Ninja / Hand To Hand
Aletha - Fairy / Magic Support
Hector - Archer
Saura - Magician / Healer
Ashe - Dragon Knight / Magic Support
Galford- Thief / Archer
Wiseman- Magician / Healer
Ug - Giant
Fiona - Pirate / Hand To Hand
Katzhai- Ninja
Ferral - Spear / Hand To Hand
Zereth - Magician, revealed to be evil.
Bane - The overlord of evil.
Various techniques could be learned and in no particular order, allowing for you to be very creative with your particular hero. For example utilizing Ferral's Spear rather than Hand To Hand, some characters had individual spells and attacks.
The thief could steal monster techniques and then the original characters could use them to your advantage, and other items such as treasure, required Katzhai to get to them via flight. Thus all apporpriate techniques were utilized in game.
