Beyond Oasis
| Beyond Oasis The Story of Thor | |
|---|---|
 Front cover of Beyond Oasis (North American version) | |
| Developer(s) | Ancient |
| Publisher(s) | Sega |
| Designer(s) | Kataru Uchimura |
| Composer(s) | Yuzo Koshiro |
| Series | The Story of Thor |
| Platform(s) | Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Virtual Console |
| Release date(s) | Sega Mega Drive/Genesis:
15 March 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Action role-playing game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | 24-megabit cartridge |
The Story of Thor, known in Japan as Story of Thor: Hikari o Tsugu Mono (ストーリー オブ トア 〜光を継ぐ者〜 Sutōrī obu Toa ~Hikari o Tsugu Mono~, lit. "The Story of Thor: Heir of the Light") and in North America as Beyond Oasis, is a 1994 action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19, 2007 in North America, and April 5 the same year in Europe. The game was also included in Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection/Sega Mega Drive Ultimate Collection for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3; in the European version of the latter, it is entitled The Story of Thor.
Plot
The player takes the role of Prince Ali, who has discovered a buried gold "armlet" which once belonged to a wizard who waged a long war against the evil wielder of a silver armlet. The silver armlet was used to create chaos and destruction, while the gold armlet had the power to summon four spirits: the water spirit, "Dytto"; the fire spirit, "Efreet"; the shadow spirit, "Shade"; and the plant spirit, "Bow". Ali travels the land of Oasis, gradually acquiring the ability to summon all these spirits, in an attempt to stop the person who has discovered the ancient silver armlet and is once again using it for evil.
Gameplay
The game has action adventure elements similar to The Legend of Zelda series. The player controls Prince Ali and takes him across the maps to fulfill his quest. Along the way the player picks up special items to restore health and magic, special weapons to help defeat enemies, and four magic spirits found in shrines to aid Prince Ali's mission.
Prince Ali's default weapon is his knife, which can perform special attacks and has unlimited usage. Also during the course of the game the player can equip Prince Ali with special weapons such as swords, crossbows, and bombs. Some crossbows (and a sword) can ignite their targets on fire. However, unlike the knife, these weapons do not have unlimited usage and will break after a set amount of uses.
Each of the magic spirits acquired in the game has a number of spells that can attack enemies, restore health, or unlock hidden areas. Each spirit is summoned by the Light Ball (A Button) and is sent away by tapping A, B, and C at the same time or when the magic meter runs out. Each spirit's power can be increased by picking up gems that correspond to the color of the spirit: Blue for Dytto, Red for Efreet, Black for Shade, and Green for Bow.
Reception
Game Informer gave the game a "very good" score of 8.75/10.[1] IGN gave the Virtual Console re-release an 8/10, calling it "very stylish," and expressing "surprise" that despite a lack of polish in certain areas, its "unique" mechanics "deserve to be mentioned alongside such classics as Secret of Mana."[2]
Prequel
A prequel to the game, The Story of Thor 2 (The Legend of Oasis in North America), was released for the Sega Saturn in 1996.
References
- ↑ "Ultimate Review Archive." Game Informer. Issue 100. August, 2001. Page 55. Original review published March 1995.
- ↑ Thomas, Lucas. "Beyond Oasis Review." March 21, 2007. http://wii.ign.com/articles/774/774863p1.html
External links
- The Story of Thor at GameFAQs
- RPGClassics' The Story of Thor Shrine
- Hardcore Gaming 101's series overview
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