Our adventure begins!
So here we are at that difficult second album. The first review was something that fermented in the mind for years so it came natural for me to write it. It was a well known IP on an obscure device so I felt secure the audience would have at least some connection to an interpretation of something they already knew even if the machine it was played on was alien to them. It's been almost a year since that review and after a few false dawns, I now realise that if I don't write another one now, I never will. After this, I'll likely not care and churn them out using a combination of watching ”Let's Plays” and using ChatGPT. That's our little secret. Shhh!
I felt that the second game review should be something that is:
1) a game I played extensively as a child
2) a game that isn't super popular (I love Final Fantasy VII but what could I add to the general discourse that the many zany YouTube historians haven't regurgitated from Wikipedia. I'll come back to that later.)
3) it needed to be a game that is available on modern consoles/handhelds/PC so someone who reads this may want to give the game a shot and possibly realise they own a copy of this game indirectly. In a twist of fate, I never actually owned or rented the game prior to the PS4 generation. Dick Jr grew up on the mean streets where you used to share games with friends. I kept returning to borrowing from one friend, time and again. It hurt the day my friend traded in the Mega Drive for the PlayStation 1.
The start of my difficult second album
I won't limit myself to review games not available on modern hardware so don't fret yet Jet Set Willy fans (I swear to Christ that’s a real game). The game I chose, as you can already tell by the title is Landstalker. Landstalker, or Landstalker: The Treasures of King Nole to give it its full title, was released on the Sega Mega Drive (deal with it USA) in 1992 in Japan and 1993 worldwide (taken from Wikipedia…wink). The developer Climax Entertainment later released a game called Ladystalker, but due to ongoing legal matters I must refrain from discussing whether I'm the inspiration for the title.
A Ladystalker Easter Egg?
We start in medias res, watching a treasure hunting elf called Nigel…yep…you read that correctly, discover the Statue of Jypta. Following the sale of said statue Nigel is interrupted by a fairy named Friday who is fleeing from a group. To save herself, she tells Nigel that she has seen King Nole's treasures...or she's aware of the general area it is. So on top of a large flying bird, our heroes travel to the island.
After a very short section playing as Nigel, Nigel's keen senses brings him straight to a raft going over a waterfall and hitting dirt. He is found by Fara and taken in by the villagers of Massan.
After a very short section playing as Nigel, Nigel's keen senses brings him straight to a raft going over a waterfall and hitting dirt. He is found by Fara and taken in by the villagers of Massan.
This is Pockets. Your paths will cross many times
The game gives a false sense of open world. The game is open world, you just need to work for it first. The neighbouring tribe of Gumi have smashed up the bridge so the only place to go is the back to the village or to seek out the Wiseman by the Waterfall Shrine. Later when you move beyond the areas of Massan and Gumi, you have the option of going north to the island's capital or south to Ryuma. The game will block one option until the correct option's area has resolved its issues. For your information, it's Ryuma first. The plot does create reasons later to revisit some of the villages/towns.
Ryuma, then Mercator. I even said it earlier in the review.
Although Kayla and her thugs are chasing Friday, the true villain of the piece is revealed a few hours into the game, or many hours if you are hopeless at playing games. The overall plot is basic enough and a lot of the tropes are baked into it. While this can generally be a negative, the tropeyness works well and the story is engaging and focused. The only progression system is through finding better equipment and with finding additional health (life stocks) when exploring.
You may have seen this character before, but this is the first time you meet this particular character
The visuals are pretty for this 16 bit gen. There are a number of recycled assets so fair warning there is really no reason to think you met that character earlier unless they tell you explicitly. You may question whether the developers had any shred of creativity when the first few monsters you meet include bubbles and mushrooms. Yep, no need to reread that last sentence, you read it right the first time. But fear not, their creativity is not questioned when you finally put the controller down.
Madame Yard's in Mercator is for the... older clientele
The music pumps out that glorious Sega sound chip evoking childhood memories. The composer nails their brief with a variety of music that further compliments this game. The only issue is when you open a chest, the music resets. That and the weird enemy death sound that is very chicken like. Get used to that sound.
The game is an isometric adventure. This makes gameplay a challenge in two parts, it's isometric view makes jumping sections tougher by default and it is coupled with using the controller’s diagonal buttons for movement. The jumping sections are tougher again when you are making jumps over a black hole and your depth perception is put to the test. However the gameplay is easier in the modern ports where your thumbs will thanks you for stick control and you can also press a button to rewind when you fail a jump if playing it via the Sega Mega Drive Classics on PS4. The gameplay is basic, one button to slash/pick up objects, another to jump and pressing both creates a jumping slash or throwing an item. You can also use items but you’ll rarely need them. Controls are primitive but it doesn’t need to be over complicated here to keep you engaged.
The game is an isometric adventure. This makes gameplay a challenge in two parts, it's isometric view makes jumping sections tougher by default and it is coupled with using the controller’s diagonal buttons for movement. The jumping sections are tougher again when you are making jumps over a black hole and your depth perception is put to the test. However the gameplay is easier in the modern ports where your thumbs will thanks you for stick control and you can also press a button to rewind when you fail a jump if playing it via the Sega Mega Drive Classics on PS4. The gameplay is basic, one button to slash/pick up objects, another to jump and pressing both creates a jumping slash or throwing an item. You can also use items but you’ll rarely need them. Controls are primitive but it doesn’t need to be over complicated here to keep you engaged.
I told you your paths will cross several times. Damn you Pockets!
The game is as difficult as you want it to be. If you crave adventure, you’ll find more life stocks (hit points) by searching everywhere and the game is easier. The fights are straight forward, just remember the pointy end goes in the other man.
Did I complete this game? Yes, both as a child and recently via the PS4 collection. The ending etched in my mind differed to what I remembered as a child so a quickish Google search confirmed that the US version differed to the rest of the world. I noticed halfway through my playthrough that you can select different regions so I'll try the Landstalker EN version in 2025 to see if I find the original ending. So, this ties to my complaint on YouTube historians. I recently watched a retrospective on a very well known RPG series and the presenter casually mentioned this is what Wikipedia says about the plot and later showed a screenshot of the same Wikipedia page. That is just lazy. If I do consider going down that route of cribbing entirely off Wikipedia, please shoot me out of a high story building in Detroit.
Did I complete this game? Yes, both as a child and recently via the PS4 collection. The ending etched in my mind differed to what I remembered as a child so a quickish Google search confirmed that the US version differed to the rest of the world. I noticed halfway through my playthrough that you can select different regions so I'll try the Landstalker EN version in 2025 to see if I find the original ending. So, this ties to my complaint on YouTube historians. I recently watched a retrospective on a very well known RPG series and the presenter casually mentioned this is what Wikipedia says about the plot and later showed a screenshot of the same Wikipedia page. That is just lazy. If I do consider going down that route of cribbing entirely off Wikipedia, please shoot me out of a high story building in Detroit.
Although the character models are recycled often, there is variety in dungeons.
Would I recommend Landstalker? Absolutely, it has its flaws such as controls and isometric set pieces, but burrowed inside is a game that will stay with you for years. Would I recommend you find the original and a Mega Drive? No, buy the Sega Mega Drive Classics Collection and save the money if you are only current gen. The collection may even feature another game or two for future reviews. Should you play it? Definitely try it right now if you already own the Sega collection on your platform of choice. Am I to recommend you pay 30 dollarbucks for just one game from that collection? No, but with some great classic games, it's a steal at full price for over 50 games but it’s regularly on deep discount. If Landstalker grabs you, I would recommend Alundra (a PS1 classic but not available on current platforms unfortunately) or the first Oceanhorn (easily found on many modern platforms).
Rest up. This second adventure is now complete
Also if you are still reading this, Alex J. Murphy is a bitch.
