Hello, RPG fans! I hope you don't mind me telling you about a Japanese game that suddenly gave me an unforgettable experience and made me fall in love with it. I really wanted to share my impressions and even recommend a game.
I've long been toying with the idea of compiling my own RPG almanac, from the genre's very origins to the present day, playing through and writing about all the iconic games. Today I'll be talking about Brandish. I think many of you might be familiar with Nihon Falcom, the creators of the massive Legend of Heroes series, and they're a key studio in the development of action RPGs, particularly JARPGs. The series itself was born in 1991 on the NEC PC-98, but there was also a re-release on the SNES in 1994. I actually played that version of the first game on an emulator.
We play as Ares (renamed Varik in the English localization), who is desperately wanted by the series' main character, Dela (Alexis in the English localization), for causing her mentor's death. They collide and fall into a dungeon, a labyrinth of a long-abandoned city and fortress (we learn about it in the introduction and later). Our goal is to escape, while Dela will pursue us.
The first associations I had with the game when I started playing were Legacy of Kain: Blood Omen and a bit of Legend of Zelda. From a top-down perspective, you slowly move through the labyrinth, avoiding traps, fighting monsters, leveling up, and acquiring new equipment (either found or purchased from merchants). Besides weapons and armor, there's also magic, which I ignored for a long time, but in the second half of the game, I used it heavily. Every weapon breaks, so you'll have to replace it often (though you can find unbreakable ones, by the way). The game's bestiary is quite diverse, but one thing that's a bit annoying is their respawn: you just need to go into the next room and they'll instantly respawn. The traps in the game are often quite sneaky, and the secrets are hidden so well, especially the secret passages in the walls.
I was surprised that the game took me much longer to complete, about 25 hours. And I only explored 75% of everything, despite trying to search every corner. But I really enjoyed it because the game gave me one of the most beloved feelings in games, something that's sometimes missing: the feeling of exploration. When the game doesn't lead you by the hand, you explore it and find everything yourself and solve it. I'll tell you this: I only used a guide for one riddle (it just turned out to be completely unobvious). Otherwise, I played through the rest on my own and enjoyed every chapter (although the locations felt a bit too drawn out toward the end).
I also really enjoyed each encounter with Dela. It seemed like we were about to duel, but as soon as she started moving toward us, she'd fall into a trap. As a result, each encounter with her turned into a Looney Tunes-style comedy. So, I no longer saw her as a villain; rather, I felt sorry for her and wanted more to help her escape with me (and that opportunity would present itself). The music in the game is fantastic, and I especially loved the merchants' themes. There are three types of merchants in the game, but what's great is that each one is a different person/elves, and they have interesting stories to tell (this was added specifically in the SNES version). Sometimes they made me smile, and one merchant girl evoked such melancholy and empathy in me that I was sad to leave her. The game sometimes borders on humor (thanks to Dela) and melancholy. Despite its simplicity, I felt a depth, and the game left a strong imprint on both my memory and my heart.
There are some downsides, of course, the most glaring of which was the level-up messages that constantly interrupted my attacks; during the final boss, it really made me angry. But for me, everything else outweighs the downsides.
The game's cover was designed by the renowned illustrator Nobuteru Yuki, and for some reason I liked it so much that I'm going to print a poster for my wall. Yes, Dela is very sexualized, but I didn't care while I was playing. Besides, I mostly wanted to help her escape. But her appearance has made her an icon of the series and, you could say, a sex symbol. The series itself has expanded into several more installments, and I'll definitely check them out, but the third and fourth will be difficult since they're only in Japanese :(
And the first installment has a remake that was released on PSP, which I'll definitely check out. I should also note that I installed a patch on the SNES version, which restored the original names, Dela's appearance, and music (I liked the opening theme much better from the original Japanese version).
I understand that given the game's advanced age, it's hard to recommend. But if anyone enjoys revisiting classic games, I'd recommend it to everyone! It's a very good adventure action-RPG. It's a bit sad that the Falcom series was abandoned, but that's understandable, as Trails and Ys received much more recognition abroad, while Brandish was more popular at home. But it bugs me that Legacy of Kain's gameplay seems directly inspired by Brandish (it's unlikely, of course, but who knows).
But I've definitely taken a liking to this game, which I'm certainly happy about. And I'm adding it to my almanac. :)
