Alundra (Sony PlayStation 1, 1998)

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. Play the part of Alundra, a young boy who possesses the power to venture through people's dreams. He's like one of those dream warrior chaps from Nightmare On Elm Street, but instead of fighting Freddy Krueger, Alundra instead faces difficult mazes, challenging puzzles, and nasty monsters. Maybe not the best analogy, but you get the picture. Not only does this game possess a really cool story, but it also has some great music and graphics that totally suit the game, like Wild Arms. Sure, it's no Final Fantasy VII, but Alundra has that classic, more traditional RPG feel that has literally faded away since the introduction of polygonal graphics. I'm not saying that evolution is bad, but I honestly miss these types of games.
The game may look outdated, but Alundra does in fact possess a level of gameplay that doesn't appear much in today's role-playing games. I mean, am I the only one who's tired of turn-based RPG titles? Alundra shares the same gameplay elements found in the classic NES version of Zelda: A Link to the Past and, like I mentioned before, LandStalker. Staged in a pseudo-3D environment, Alundra builds on the basic fundamentals of those old console adventure titles and simply makes them better. With improved character animation, better level design and more puzzles, Climax has turned this fizzled genre into a game that most, if not all RPG fans will enjoy. Because of Alundra, I now own three busted controllers and have two holes in my wall -- I'm kidding. However, I will warn you that there are some levels in Alundra that were so dang difficult, I literally broke down and cried. And get this -- when you die, may it be by the hand of a skeleton or a slight miscalculation of a jump, you have to start all the way back at the last save point. When this happens, and you can bet it will, you can do one of two things. You can either give Climax the middle finger, or a thumbs up for making the game challenging. Hey, I gave them a thumbs up... most of the time. Besides my gaming integrity being slightly scarred by near impossible obstacles, and I use the word "near" really loosely, I do have to admit that this game is awesome. If you really enjoyed games like Ys, Zelda, and/or LandStalker, you'll especially dig Alundra.

Alundra is an RPG not unlike Zelda. I was very impressed by the old school nature of this game. I also loved the packaging. It had a very nice booklet :)

Here are the details.

Gameplay: 9/10

Elements 9/10: This is your basic no encounter 2d RPG. Like Zelda, you run around, get items, talk to people, solve PUZZLES, etc. This game is VERY puzzle oriented. Which in my book just makes it a lot more enjoyable. And there is also a great deal of exploring to be done in this game. The enemies and battles you face are in real time per say, as you can see where an enemy is and if it's not a boss, you can try to run away or avoid it. I found myself often, chopping grass for like an hour for fun, just to get money. lol . Overall the combination of all these elements make for a deep game :)

Controls 10/10:: The controls are great. I had no qualms about any of the controls.

Difficulty 9/10: This game starts off at average difficulty. And head towards hard, on the puzzle side of it. While even the most difficult puzzles ARE doable given time, this may be a little too hard for the video game novice.

Story 10/10
Maybe it's just me, but I loved the story. Not only is the story great, but there are little loop holes, between locations storywise. Meaning that when the game is constantly bombarding you with story, so you don't go on far without seeing more story!! And that makes for a great game :)

Audio 4/10
There isn't much going on in the Audio department, so a 4/10 will suffice.

Graphics 6/10
The graphics are great for old school. Yet a bit lacking in comparison to what is out there now. So because of that I have to give it a 6/10.

Value 9/10
Value 9/10: All in all I would say this game is worth the buy. It's long, fun, and has a great story. What else do you want?
Replayability: Not much replayability in this game as it is an standard RPG.

Fun Factor 9/10
This game is a LOT of fun. From chopping grass, to solving puzzles, and chopping enemies, and handling bosses. It has a lot of content, and a great story. I have to give it a 9/10 for fun.

Overall Rating 9/10

I hope this review helps someone :)

Remember the great game of yor like The Legend of Zelda? What made that game great was that it was the first popular example of a game that gave the player freedom to explore. It had a great story and lots of challenges.
Alundra is clearly inspired by that same quality of game, in that it is story driven and allows the player to explore and try things in a vast world.
The action is fun and challenging without being daunting. You always have something new to try and to discover, and after the first playthrough you will want to go back for more.
Forget the age of photo-realistic graphics and 3D images. Go back to Alundra and enjoy the old-school enjoyment of exploration and adventure.

Released in early 1998 this top down action/adventure/RPG, similar to Legend of Zelda, is a must have for those who enjoy those types of games.

The storyline is quite dark so if you are turned off by the happy-go-lucky plot lines of some games you can rest easy because you will not find it here. As you progress in the game it tends to get darker.

This game contains many difficult puzzles that pose a great challenge and make this game a great value. This game should be ranked up there with all time greats such as FFVII and is a must have for any RPG fan.

any game by working designs is good period great puzzles and a great sequel to land stalker for the genesis