Catalogue No. - T-14301G

Where can I start? It’s been a very long time since I’ve bought a game based on a preview video let alone a long time since I’ve bought a RPG based on a preview video. But that’s just what I did with Tengai Makyou. Tengai Makyou by Hudson is one of the few RPG games that I really enjoyed. There’s just something about Hudson’s master piece that keeps you coming back for more. Graphically it’s ok but nothing special. Magic Knight Rayearth looks better and that’s older but as we all know good games are not about pretty graphics. Tengai Makyou gets it’s charm from it’s presentation and characters. The presentation is done very well including some if not the best use of Cinipack on the Saturn !! Add the voice driven story plus instantly appealing characters (bar one little git with a wok for a hat) and you have yourself a magnificent game that drawers you closer and closer each time you play. The game is also full of humor which even none Japanese players will find funny thanks to a translation guide over at GameFAQS.com The one thing that is important with presentation etc in a RPG is the story line. So far I’ve been playing Tengai Makyou for 11 hours and I can honestly say that so far the story while not too serious has been very enjoyably, keeping me on the edge wanting to play just that little bit longer.

A special mention must go to the battle system. While it’s basically your standard turn based RPG battle affair it’s presented in more of an anime style than the traditional small character sprites Vs each other. In this game you don’t even get to see your characters, just their names and power bars. What you do see are full screen animations of the enemies as they attack you. The animation isn’t all that great to be honest but every now and then you’ll be treated to one of your character’s special moves that do look well animated. So well in fact that you’d swear it was video playing !!

I haven’t touched on the audio yet in this game. As you know it’s fully voice driven thanks to the talents of many popular voice actors and actresses. The real magic however comes from the music. One word describes it, Beautiful.

Get yourself a copy of Tengai Makyou ASAP then print out the English guide written by Lando over at Game FAQS This is one RPG that all Saturn fans should try out.

I actually prefer the instruction manual's cover art than the actual case. How about you?