Product ReviewsAidyn Chronicles: The First Mage (Nintendo 64, 2001)

Have 100 free hours? Than this is the game to play.

The first thing to note about Aidyn Chronicles is, it's going to take a massive time commitment on your part. This isn't just the type of game were you can put in a bit of time, cut corners, and finish quickly. At a bare minimum, figure to spend at least 70 hours in order to beat the game. That's with cutting corners and skipping extra stuff though. If you actually take time out to explore, do all there is to do and everything, it's going to easily be over 100 hours, possibly quite significantly more than 100 hours. So, if you're not prepared to put that kind of time into a game, turn back now.
Other than the time, this is a very fun game. The gameplay is smooth and the graphics are great. So if you like RPGs, if you like long games, if you like involved games, then it's definitely worth your while to at least check out Aidyn Chronicles. While it might not be for you, it also might be one of the most wonderful games you've ever experiencedRead full review...

Great condition, surprisingly good game.

Working product. The game has a help file so there wasn't a need for a manual. I didn't even know this game existed.
This game's combat may seem slow, but it is similar to Quest 64, but with a team. There are few fast travel options, so there may be a lot of walking. If you have a cartridge reader and an emulator, or a modified console, fast forward solves the issue of long walks. Combat is not triggered by random encounter, but upon proximity to enemies in the world. Additionally, saving/loading can be done anywhere in the game outside of combat. Graphics are.. well, N64 graphics, not bad for the time period. Smaller objects have a notably small draw distance, but distant scenery is still rendered, so it doesn't seem like a game with perpetual fog.

Beneath all that lies a rather ambitious RPG. It has a working day/night cycle with a lunar cycle, both of which can influence player or monster performance. It even has weather. Skills, spells, and attributes are given the chance to be levelled up after every battle. In towns, certain NPCs offer training in skills or spells for a cost in gold, but a lower EXP cost. Certain skills allow access to crafting, like making potions or making dropped animal hides into armor or shields. Your main character can learn spells from any school, and you are given options in forming your first team, so you are free to try and shape your character and team to suit your gameplay style.(Obviously, some will be easier than others). Party members can die and stay dead, but a handful of replacements exist in the world.

Overall, it's been a great game with a few flaws (travel), but if you are patient, or have the right tools, they can be mitigated somewhat. Combat may seem slow-paced, unless you are used to it. The dialog is actually pretty funny at times. I feel like I would have sank a lot of time into this game if I had found it when I was younger. I'll sink a lot of time into it now. Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: cheap**games

Serious RPG/Tac RPG fans only.

Aidyn Chronicles is a deeply flawed masterpiece of RPG gameplay. If I didn't play it back when it first came out and play it again recently as a nostalgia trip, I'd find it almost unplayable, but if you persevere, you'll find fairly deep RPG systems that were ahead of its time and have aged reasonably well.

First, the bad:

Even back in 2001 when I initially bought and played the game, the graphics were so bad it was very difficult to tell what things were and what could be interacted with. In turn, that leads to getting very lost in some areas without some kind of strategy guide. It also has the negative effect of making it difficult to judge distance in combat. The character models and sound are similarly low quality.

Movement in and out of combat is very clunky even by N64 standards as characters handle like whales in fishtanks. You'll often accidentally skip your turn in combat if you hold the controller wrong and manage to tap Z (Lord knows I did.) Scrolling through spells and items on the C buttons is similarly annoying, but overall these are minor issues that you get used to after a while.

The storyline and dialogue are decidedly mediocre. It's mostly a thin plot to string along a variety of locations that would be interesting if they weren't so graphically abhorrent. There is a deeper story about the world if you do more than scratch the surface, but a lot of it that was great in 2001 has become standard fantasy by now.

The Good:

The story isn't all bad. Some characters have fairly interesting quirks and all of them have likes and dislikes and may or may not join your party based on decisions that you make, which was fairly novel for console RPGs at the time.

The spell, combat, and character building systems in this game are excellent. The relative power levels of the characters mean that you aren't punished too hard for picking whichever group setup you want (although Thieves are a bit on the powerful side). There's a huge number of skills to choose from, each providing unique benefits.

Combat is tactical and turn based with elements like facing, Line of Sight, range, and movement playing huge factors. It's everything a tac RPG nut like me loves and the real reason I keep coming back.

In conclusion: If you're a serious retro RPG fan or just love tactical RPGs and can put up with really outdated controls and graphics, I heartily recommend this game. If you're none of those things, best to skip it.Read full review...

Aidyn Chronicles - First Impression

Well, Just fired up this RPG and after a couple of hours I didnt want to stop playing. It seems like will be a very large world to explore. So far, I dont care too much for the graphics (couldve been ALOT better), or the fighting style of the game (sluggish). Its playable and overall I like it. The are very few RPGs for the 64 so I will continue play this game which after 2 hours seems quite interesting eventhough gameplay is not the best.Read full review...

Aidyn Chronicals is a must have for collectors.

The music can be repetitive if there is any at all. The graphics aren't so sharp by todays standards, but back in the day this was the best! It is regarded by many as a terrible game, but I was always entertained by it, though I warn you that it can get monotonous.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: bayoucollectibl...

lightweight with great features

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: pobogames

A must have game for a N64 RPG person

You will need to allot quite a bit of time to Aidyn Chronicles. It will take time and attention. But it is one of the best RPG games that is made for the N64. The general movements are very easy to learn, as is the fight movements. The graphics are amazing. There is alot of talking that you have to do but for me that does not deflect from the fun of the game at all. My sister owned it and let me borrow since she knew that RPG games were my favorite. After that I was hooked and had to own it. It is really fun.Read full review...

Great Game

Love this game! Challenging and compelling.

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: rbfguy229

too much to read, not enough action

I bought this game hoping for an action adventure, all I got was a reading lesson. I think the people who created this game couldn't think of really anything interesting to do so they used a lot of captions. This game really sucks, it takes too long reading all the captions, you do more reading than actually playing the game. When it comes to fighting your enemies, I couldn't figure it out, none of the buttons or controls worked, so I had to just wait for the enemy to kill me. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. In my opinion, I wasted my money buying it.Read full review...

Aidyn Chronicles: The First Mage for the N64

This game is a solid RPG, and has plenty of good points. One of the more intresting ones is something you might know if you have ever played fire emblem. If you let a character die, they truely are gone. For me this led to many resets... but this only adds flavor to an already great game.Read full review...