Today, I opened a brand new Sega Genesis game, something I haven't done since the 90s. What is also interesting about this fact is that this is a game I've never played before, released twenty years after the Genesis itself: Pier Solar, by Watermelon.
The very first thing that must be mentioned is the absolutely gorgeous packaging. This is exactly how packaging should be done to this day, whether the game is a cart or a disc. Pier Solar comes in a solid plastic case that doesn't seem like it is going to fall apart. Within the case are a set of cool looking stickers (not that I'd imagine anyone who owns this game would ever actually use them) and a full color, lengthy manual. The entire package exudes tasteful design aesthetics, not something I think I have ever seen in Genesis packaging (actually, almost anything from the 90s). The cart itself has a nice Pier Solar logo on it and looks classy popping out of my Genesis Model 2.
The game's charm hits you immediately - after the familiar "Licensed by Sega" screen, another screen pops up that says "Please disregard the previous screen - this game is not licensed by Sega Ltd. (or something to that effect, I'm paraphrasing here)." The Pier Solar menu pops up, and then you create a save and start the game.
I was not expecting the music in Pier Solar to be very good. I thought it would be passable at best, due to how few Genesis games actually have good soundtracks (even Castlevania: Bloodlines sounds weird despite having great tracks). And while Pier Solar doesn't have the soundtrack of, say, Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger, it is very charming and quite good, to be honest. One thing most Genesis games didn't do was evoke atmosphere via music - Pier Solar does this very well. The cave music in particular does this excellently, from what I've heard so far.
The graphics are very elaborate and remind me of Phantasy Star IV, despite being a little more finely detailed. It took a bit of adjusting because I've played so many more recently made games, but the abstract nature of the tilesets make getting around a bit difficult. The game compensates for this a little bit with it's "pathfinder" setting, which makes your character always move if he hits a wall and can go around some nearby corner to keep advancing in the general direction you were going (this feature can be turned on and off at will as well as the "autorun" ability, which speeds up your characters walking speed).
The battle system struts its stuff right off the bat as well. The first battle I fought had three floating jellyfish-looking things, and some thing that was sitting on the ground. What is important about this is that every time I had my main character - who was equipped with a dagger - attack the floating guys, he wouldn't do any damage. My bow and arrow user always did. Without giving me some annoying tutorial, I figured out right away that there are two heights at which enemies could be, and I have to compensate for their position given the situation. A little bit of strategy right away!
So I beat what I think is the first boss and I might have been a tad under-leveled. I'm going to go back and look around for some sidequests because I want to savor this game while I can - how often are true 16-bit RPGs made these days?
Monday, September 24, 2012
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