Alundra
| Alundra | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Matrix Software |
| Publisher(s) | |
| Director(s) | Yasuhiro Ohori |
| Producer(s) | Takahiro Kaneko Hideaki Kikukawa Akira Sato (executive) |
| Designer(s) | Yoshitaka Tamaki (character) |
| Writer(s) | Ichiro Tezuka |
| Composer(s) | Kōhei Tanaka |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation |
| Release date(s) | JP April 11, 1997[1] NA December 31, 1997[1] EU June 5, 1998[1] JP October 10, 2007 (PSN)[1] NA October 12, 2010 (PSN)[1] EU August 15, 2012 (PSN)[1] |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Distribution | CD-ROM, download |
Alundra (アランドラ Arandora), released in Europe as The Adventures of Alundra, is an action-adventure video game developed by Matrix Software for the Sony PlayStation and was released in 1997. It was published by Sony in Japan, Working Designs in North America, and Psygnosis in Europe. It won great critical acclaim for its well-written story, smooth game mechanics, and challenging gameplay. The game's protagonist is a young man named Alundra, who learns that he has the power to enter people's dreams. He is shipwrecked near the village of Inoa and proceeds to try to help the locals, who have been suffering from a terrible curse. The narrative becomes gradually darker and more twisted as the game progresses. There is an emphasis on puzzle solving.
A sequel entitled Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins was released in 1999.
Gameplay
Alundra is considered a spiritual sequel to Climax Entertainment's Landstalker on the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive.[2] In addition to a similar looking main character, the game's development team consisted of former employees of Climax Entertainment. The gameplay style is top-down action-adventure and is known for containing many extremely difficult puzzles, some of which cannot be accessed if the player progresses further in the game, making some items unattainable. It is also known for its music and dark storyline. A range of terrain and surfaces also add variety, from sand, which causes the player to move more slowly, to lava, which damages the player. Upgrades throughout the game can help the player to overcome many of these obstacles, encouraging exploration.
Story
Alundra, the protagonist and player character, is an elf from the clan of Elna, the Dreamwalkers. He comes to Inoa because of a recurring dream in which a mysterious figure who calls Alundra "Releaser" tells him that he must save the villagers from the evil of Melzas. His ship is caught in a storm and he is later found washed ashore unconscious. After arriving, he starts being blamed by the townsfolk for all of the terrible happenings that occur. Alundra is a silent protagonist.
Alundra has drifted to a beach, where a man named Jess finds and rescues him. Jess carries Alundra to his house at village Inoa and lets him sleep in his guest room. In the village, Alundra discovers he is a Dreamwalker and helps the villagers get rid of the nightmares that have been possessing them. Since Alundra's arrival, bad things have started to happen in the village, with various villagers being murdered in their dreams. Some of the people eventually blame Alundra for what is happening. Later in the game, however, it is revealed that the demon, Melzas, has disguised himself as a god, and he is the source of all the nightmares of the village. His goal is to make the villagers pray for their god, and thus gaining power from their prayers. Ronan, the priest of the village, was also on the side of Melzas and helped him to deceive the villagers.
Another dreamwalker, Meia, from the clan Elna arrives to the city and helps Alundra fight off the nightmares of the villagers, while he gathers the information and items needed to access Melzas' palace and eventually kill the demon.
Development
It was published in America by the now-defunct Working Designs.
More recently, Alundra has been made available as a downloadable game on the PSone Classics service for the PlayStation 3.[3]
Reception
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Alundra was well received upon release. The game had sold 143,114 copies in Japan by the end of 1997.[13] It currently has average scores of 83.77% at GameRankings based on 13 reviews,[4] and 86 out of 100 at Metacritic based on 9 reviews,[5] making it one of the highest-rated PlayStation titles of 1997.
In January 1998, IGN stated, "Never have I been so tested and challenged since the old Genesis adventure title, LandStalker. And Climax has made Alundra twice as hard, twice as challenging, and twice as good as its LandStalker counterpart." The review further states that it has "a really cool story," "some great music and graphics that totally suit the game," and concludes that "this game is awesome."[7]
In 2009, Destructoid's Conrad Zimmerman described Alundra as a "fresh and innovative" game and "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming." He particularly praised it for featuring "a plot the likes of which I had never seen before in the genre," the strong "writing and characterizations," and the "clever and challenging puzzles."[14] In regards to the PSN release, Platform Nation's Julian Montoya said the game "is very enjoyable and definitely worth playing" as well as stating it is a "long, fun, hard, mildly mature and full of personality adventure".[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 "Alundra Release Information for PlayStation". GameFaqs. Retrieved 2013-03-22.
- ↑ Webber (03/02/1998). "Alundra". RPGFan. Retrieved 31 January 2012. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "アランドラ". PlayStation.com(Japan). Sony. 2007-10-10. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Alundra". Game Rankings. Archived from the original on 25 December 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 "Alundra". Metacritic. Retrieved 2010-01-13.
- ↑ Chris Johnston (January 8, 1998). "The Adventures of Alundra Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Alundra - PlayStation review". IGN. January 9, 1998. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ↑ Alex (February 1998). "Alundra". PS Extreme. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ Tidwell, Mikel. "Alundra - Staff Review". RPGamer. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ↑ Terence Gage (September 28, 2007). "The Adventures of Alundra - PSone review". Thunderbolt. Retrieved June 28, 2012.
- ↑ "Alundra". Ultra Game Players. January 1998. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ Gann, Patrick (11/11/10). "Alundra". RPGFan. Retrieved 30 January 2012. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Video game software sales in 1997". Geimin.net. 1997-12-28. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
- ↑ Zimmerman, Conrad (2009-03-20). "An RPG Draws Near! Alundra". Destructoid. Retrieved 30 January 2012.
- ↑ Platform Nation's Alundra Review
External links
- Official website at Matrix Software (Japanese)
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