Soul Blazer

Written by Tom Clare in SNES Game Reviews, Friday 21 September, 2007

A Soul Still Burning Bright

During the mid-nineties, Japanese gaming maestros Enix denied European SNES gamers the chance to play Dragon Quest V and Ogre Battle, two of its most acclaimed RPG's of the period (both publicly and critically), instead opting to release the lesser-known, Quintet-developed Soul Blazer instead.

Perhaps Enix's decision to give it preference over their aforementioned big-hitters was that evidently, Europe wasn't ready for number-crunching turn-based battles and strategy in its RPG's; Soul Blazer had a rather more familiar, less complex real-time combat system, the popularity of which (on the SNES at least) had been cemented by The Legend Of Zelda. Originally released in 1992 in Japan and then Europe in 1994, Soul Blazer is an action/RPG that is a rather unusual combination of Zelda and Gauntlet - with a host of marvellously original touches that allow it to carve out its own identity.

King Magridd, ruler of the Freil Empire, has imprisoned genius-inventor Dr. Leo, forcing him to create a machine that will allow the King contact with the aptly-named evil-spirit Deathtoll. The King agrees to a deal whereby every soul he delivers to the evil creature, he is rewarded with one gold piece. The problem is, like all feeble-minded rulers in these types of games, he goes a bit too far and as a result humans, plants and animals become incarcerated. This is where the angel known as the Soul Blazer comes in - it is his job to free all of these souls across six areas and defeat Deathtoll.

There are two distinctive sides to the game - the towns/communities and the dungeons. Between the two, you will identify a number of quirks - by defeating a number of enemies and deactivating a base, you will restore a small portion of the town to which it is linked. And this may range from a plant to a goat or from a drunken soldier to a King. Thus by returning to the town, you can talk with those whom you have freed, some giving you specialist items or information.

The feature is fantastic; to see areas being rebuilt bit-by-bit is immensely satisfying and there are often around fifty bases to capture per area. Each area culminates in a boss battle, with victory allowing you to free a major figure in the community and, after invariably receiving a coloured stone (of which six are required to fight Deathtoll) and a quick “congratulations”, it's onto the next area. There are problems caused by this system however; progression in many cases rests on you claiming a specific base - if it holds a crucial figure and you've missed it, you won't be able to progress in the story.

There is also a slightly lightweight feeling to the characters that populate the towns. Whilst you do have to do a bit of backtracking in the latter stages to polish off the odd base that required the aid of a special weapon, most characters only have one or two sentences of dialogue to offer in the entire course of the game, and this appears slightly odd given how much you must do during the adventure. Another factor that makes these areas feel a tad shallow is the lack of stores - though you can acquire items, armour and weaponry in a variety of circumstances throughout the game, you can't buy anything, which removes some of the incentive to returning to certain villages once you've finished them.

The fact that Soul Blazer was effectively two years old on its 1994 release doesn't harm what remains an extremely pretty game for its era. It dated very well - the towns and dungeons are packed with intricate details and neat visual touches while the sprites are big, colourful and nicely-realised - ironically, the Soul Blazer himself is the only slightly underwhelming figure in an otherwise great graphical showcase.

Indeed, SB doesn't limit itself to the simple villages and crypts template - there is an excellent subterranean village replete with mermaids, fish and dolphins, each basking in the lovely water-effects and excellent architecture. Then there is a model of a town you can explore complete with mini roads and houses (very Beetle Juice), and even a section set in a forest whereby all the inhabitants you can interact with are either birds, squirrels, dogs or trees.

Another plus point is the fine variety of items that can be put to good use - ranging from the usual keys and door passes, to a Shield Bracelet that halves the damage you receive and Mushroom Shoes that prevent Blazer slipping on icy slopes. The most impressive tool however is the Dream Rod, which allows you to enter the dream of a sleeping person/entity - some simply provide flashbacks that add a bit to Dr. Leo's back-story, whilst others hint at secret treasure and hidden rooms.

The 'dungeon' sections work extremely well as Blazer is very responsive to your commands, and though combat is quite simplistic, the enemies are surprisingly varied, both in how they look and what tactics they employ to fight you. Whilst you'll be slashing away with the 'B' button the majority of the time, there are various magic attacks you can acquire that add another dimension to the proceedings, such as attacking from a safe distance and being able to dispatch enemies who are using scenery as cover. As well as this, you can side-step with the L and R buttons so as to remain facing in one direction whilst moving (“crab-walking”, as one character amusingly refers to it as), whilst the layout of equipment menus is also efficient, making for pretty much pain-free navigation. There are several teleport pads to be found in the dungeons that allow you to save your progress, heal, and return to the communities - very helpful, but also used relatively sparingly which was a good move on the part of the developers.

The soundtrack is top-notch and fits the game well, with a host of strongly-produced, infectious ditties that, though perhaps not quite in the same league as Final Fantasy VI's, are still very fine. The effects are nothing out of the ordinary though serve to compliment the combative element of the game well.

It's a shame there isn't a little bit more to the story as though Blazer gets to travel through (among other places) a woodland, an underwater kingdom, an ice-capped mountain and the dreaded 'World Of Evil', we never learn anything about him and he never speaks - thus his 'relationship' with Lisa (Dr. Leo's daughter) seems very tacked-on. You also discover that the vast majority of towns-folk have little to say regarding the worlds apparent strife, choosing instead to discuss trivial matters. Some of the things they say are admittedly very funny though (perhaps not always intentionally!) - such as one figure remarking that a goat reminded her of her dead dog, and a mouse standing by an alter claiming to be 'devout'.

Soul Blazer offers up a solid twenty hours or so of entertaining gameplay, which isn't remarkable but sees it comfortably on a level with most of its competitors. Completing the game isn't too difficult a task - some of the bosses require a bit of tactical nous to overcome (though the last boss is pretty easy), but your progress is more likely to be blighted by simply not knowing where to go or what to do next. There were five or six occasions where I felt utterly lost, and this is part of the problem of having villagers always repeating the same bits of dialogue; it can be a struggle getting meaningful advice.

But overall, Soul Blazer is an original and highly-playable RPG with some fantastic concepts and solid gameplay. If you can overlook some overly-obscure puzzles and a slightly undernourished storyline, there is a well-crafted and clever RPG lying in wait - though sadly, given the limited popularity of the RPG genre in Europe at the time, it isn't the easiest title to get hold of; eBay is your best bet. Recommended.

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