The PlayStation version of Konami‘s Azure Dreams is an excellent level-grinder, and this Game Boy Color version is also very good, but differs somewhat from the original.
It still takes place in the provincial city of Monsbaiya, and you are still a Monster Hunter. Whereas the PlayStation version uses a 3D isometric viewpoint, this one instead goes for an overhead, 2D view. With titchy characters and intricately-detailed locations rendered as flat pixel art.
Developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo (KCET) and published by Konami in 1997, in Japan, and in 1998 in North America and Europe, Azure Dreams is a ‘Roguelike’ Role-Playing Game about a young boy who wants to become a Monster Hunter.
Beginning of Post Game:
Visiting Havens Above on Cetacea.
Dragon Quest XI does have substantial Post Game content, for those who want the full experience of the excellent story. Challenges such as The Past Masters in Tickington , The Wheel of Hama at Mount Pang Li, Drustan’s Labyrinth, The Luminary’s Trials, and The Timewyrm are all battles for the DQ11 experts. They’re all very challenging to beat, and they’re a serious visual treat. But they’re worth grinding for to get to! 🙂
Continue reading Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, PC [Part 4 – Post Game]
Beginning of the Third Act:
Remembrance service in Arboria, and The Tower of Lost Time.
A gigantic number of people worked on Dragon Quest XI, and if you play it enough you’ll see where all the effort went – into creating arguably the best JRPG of all-time. Square Enix not only managed to keep the feel of the Dragon Quest universe true to itself, but also managed to innovate in many areas, to enhance the play experience.
Continue reading Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, PC [Part 3 – Third Act]
Beginning of the second act:
The quest “A Dark New World“, and then some individual companion quests before the party reunites.
The game changes after the dramatic first act ending. Monsters become “Malicious“, become tougher, and now have glowing green eyes. The world turns on its head with some seriously bold story-telling…
Continue reading Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, PC [Part 2 – Second Act]
Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is the eleventh – and reportedly final – game in the long-running Dragon Quest series, from Square Enix. With the passing of character designer Akira Toriyama in March 2024, and composer Koichi Sugiyama in September 2021, this will now likely to be the case. But what a stunning game to end on, because Dragon Quest XI is one of the best, most vibrant, and most rich JRPGs I’ve ever played…
Continue reading Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, PC [Part 1 – First Act]
Developed and published by HAL Laboratory, Arcana is a fantasy Role-Playing Game that mixes card-battling with first-person dungeoneering, and it is a reasonably enjoyable experience overall. Also known as “Card Master” in Japan, Arcana was first published in 1992, exclusively for the Super Nintendo.
The fourth Soulcalibur game was once again developed by Project Soul for Namco. It was first released in 2008 for the PS3 and XBox 360, through Namco Bandai Games.
The third instalment in the Soulcalibur series was developed by Project Soul and published by Namco in 2005. Soulcalibur III was first released for the PlayStation 2, and was later followed by an improved arcade version (it was actually the last Soulcalibur game to receive an arcade release).
Golden Axe: Beast Rider was developed by Secret Level, Inc. and published for the PlayStation 3 and XBox 360 by Sega in 2008. What initially drew me to this game was the fact that it was 18-rated, in an age when few games are. I wondered why it was an 18. I also wondered if it was worthy of the Golden Axe name.
The King of Grabs 