In ancient times, there was a Sorceress by the name of Castorina. She sought the destruction of the world. Total annihilation, remaking it in her image, all the usual stuff. Her plans were ultimately foiled by Leaty, the good witch of the north, who banished her to the realm of darkness. Finally, as insurance in case the Sorceress ever returned, a legendary sword called The Power of Leaty was forged. Huh. I get that Leaty is the sole reason why the world hadn't succumbed to an eternity of destruction, but what an awkward name for a sword. Alright, fine. I'll stop with the lame jokes. Arcus Odyssey, the 1991 action-adventure by Wolf Team, deserves a lot more respect than that. Point is, Castorina is back and none too thrilled. It's time to save the world yet again.
Right after choosing a 1 or 2 player game, you (and a friend?) are greeted with the choice of four heroes. Naturally, I've decided on Jedda Chef. He's a swordsman befitting the 2025 Special so- ehh!? You've got to be kidding me. I've seen a lot of goofy names over the past few months, but Sir Chef over here takes the cake. Each of the four characters have a ranged attack. Its power and coverage increase whenever the player picks up a red crystal (up to three times). One of the delightful aspects is that everyone can move while shooting. There aren't very many occasions where it's in your best interest not to shoot. Enemies respawn ala Ninja Gaiden, so go crazy and stay alive. Everyone also has access to five spells. The cost/effectiveness varies wildly. Oh, and holding down the fire button creates a projectile-blocking shield. Don't underestimate the usefulness of this technique.
Let me emphasize that despite the overhead perspective and somewhat similar core mechanics, this is not a Gauntlet situation where the four heroes are mostly the same in terms of strengths and weaknesses. In fact, I've made things harder on myself by going with the choice. Mr. Chef's regular attack has meager coverage and requires some heavy button-mashing to destroy bosses. His level 2 spell is pretty strong, crushing most bosses in 1-3 hits. However, late game adversaries require the level 4, which is expensive and tricky to use. The crazy part is that even as the worst character, he still kicks ass. Everyone in this game is just that wicked-strong. Erin, the lady with the flail, can kill most bosses with one swing. Diana is an archer with a level 1 full-healing spell. Bead's regular attack ensures that most foes aren't alive long enough to appear onscreen.
I'm going to run with an assumption here that Wolf Team intended for each character to be ultra-powerful. They wanted everyone self-sufficient, lending the player enough allowance to approach the game however they choose. Basically, if you're confident in your gamer abilities, you can rush through Arcus Odyssey without hunting down items. Newcomers or those seeking a more relaxed adventure are free to explore, gathering whatever's necessary to defeat Castorina. This setup is also a boon in two player mode. If there's a skill-deferential, then you or your partner can grab the items. Nobody is forced to steal from each other just to survive. Besides, passwords are handed out after every level. This is a game intended to reach a wide audience, while still allowing the maniacs to play their own way (no items, no continuing, etc.).
On my first couple play-throughs, I was initially put off by the level-design. The stages are often labyrinthian in design, requiring multiple objectives or key-items to complete. Imagine feeling put off that Wolf Team wanted some adventure in their action-adventure game. Yeah, this was something that I had gotten over after a bit more playtime. Each area is usually small or focused so that players aren't wandering around for very long. The few NPCs generally say everything you'll need to know. If you have to do a lot of running around, then you're likely going to stumble upon powerful stuff like invincibility and full-heal potions. Respawning enemies can be troublesome, especially for the one or two Chef fans out there, but even the longest stages shouldn't take more than 10 minutes to complete.
Indeed, this is one of the shorter games I've reviewed this year, and that's fine. The multiple playable characters as well as support for different play styles make this an easy revisit. There's a decent breadth of variety in both locales and fiends. It's an adventure that feels sufficient, making full use of its limited runtime. Boss battles can be tough, but only if you approach them with the intention of playing fair. Personally, I reveled in the fact that so many of them can be killed outright. The developers didn't skimp on the power in their power fantasy, and I totally admire that. Perhaps, I'd have felt differently at another point in my life and demanded that every encounter be a life-or-death slugfest as finely tuned as the average Cave shmup, but... Nah! I'm going to savor this.
Arcus Odyssey is yet another Sega Genesis game that is prone to slipping through the cracks and getting ignored by even the hardcore gaming community. I mean, I'm absolutely speaking for myself here. This is the first time I ever seriously played the game. Wolf Team did some great work here. A rad intro, a sometimes-silly localization, and Motoi Sakuraba's classic Mega Drive sound round out the package nicely.
Give it a go.
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