Silver

I tried everything in the books (Including all GoG proposed solutions) but I can't make this game work without crashing during combat. I have a high end computer running Windows 7-64. Injury is added to aggravation since there is no possibility of saving a game outside of pre-scripted checkpoints. I can't complain too much because of the low discounted price at GoG but still, a great disappointment.

The story leaves much to ask for. You need to save all the women of your town, who have been abducted by an evil wizard. While what is going on at different times may be better, zoomed out and seen as a whole the story is never very interesting. I was surprised to really enjoy the game despite of that. Just wanting to give it a try for nostalgia (having played this game as a kid) I became more or less absorbed and finished the game in a few days. Exploration is great. Non linear, branching paths, hidden bosses and lots of secret treasures etc. The exploration part is very well designed! It was long since I enjoyed exploring as much as I did playing this. Many of the skills and magics are really fun to use. There's a lot of different one's to find. Design, variation and atmosphere is great. Just try to listen to some of the music on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0sONxLhZLo and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8oy1iZsMrM I'd definitely give it a try if you're just looking for something really fun, simple and relaxing. If a good story is that important for you, just read some book after to compensate for the lack of a good story here. Also, there is a bell puzzle that hasn't aged well. It solved differently on these new fast computers compared to the old one's. When you reach the bell puzzle, google the solution. Your computer will most likely be too fast for you to solve it as it was intended.

15 years ago i had to decide between this game and Resident Evil 2 for my pc, i ended up buying RE2. Ive regretted that due to how hard this game was to reacquire and more importantly get to run on newer pcs. This game sadly was not worth the wait all those years. Playing through the 15+ hours it took it was pure torture. Game requires alot of open browser tabs in how to get the game running + downloading 3-4 files and adjustments to your pc. Even with those i still managed to get tons of problems with the game since there is a big bug at the boatman character that hasn't been stickied or fixed at the forums, so you can encounter a moment where you might have to backtrack to a older save, i personally used a custom save file though otherwise i would have stopped. The game itself has always fascinated me with its prerendered backgrounds and very FF7 style of visuals. However once you get your hand on it the similarities disapear. It has some nice touches like small early pc/amiga type oc health bars/icons and nice clean graphics. Some of the voice work except for the games main character David is really well executed and the ambiance/music in the game is great. The letdown of this game is mainly by some really obscure and un-intuitive controls and a interesting but ultimately horrible and chaotic combat system, the 2 combined leads to more frustration than joy with the game. The story and characters arent deep either, its about collecting a set of orbs and then fight some bosses on the way. The last 1/3 of the game the enemies in a screen/room just keep coming after killing the 1st/2nd groups, that it becomes more and more tedious and you keep longing for it to end. I cant recommend this game unless you're completely out of the top Tier Rpg's, its simply a torment to both get working and play the more you play it. I used to see this game as a gem for the pc but thats not the case anymore, this game is a mediocre missed opportunity, it could have been a classic.

doesnt allow me to review it since it freezes right after the first scene(s)...shame! (compability mode worked for 5 mins, then freeze and reboot again..third time now..shoot!

The game is a classic with quite original mechanics. I had it on Dreamcast as a kid and it was a pleasure to replay it on PC. It has a lot of flaws however, some of which cancel eachother; for example the game can be finished in under 10 hours but that allows it to stand out as a unique experience and you can forgive the repetitivness of some sequences. I'd say my biggest grief with this game is that it half-assed some critical gameplay elements and that the end game is a mess of a level design. My biggest praise is that it's a 10 hours adventure that doesn't feel boring overall, with no surprise but still some quality ambiant that make some chapters very pleasant. Pros: - Nicely prerendered backgrounds, which aged very well. I'm still impressed at the quality of some maps and how immersive they are. - Every line of dialogue is voiced, and the actors are pretty fitting in their roles. - You can visit the whole world, no World Map chicanery. This adds credibility to the world, at first. - The gameplay is pretty original. - Rain is a very iconic city to me. Cons: - 3D models look blocky and low texture, which creates a weird constrast with the fine backgrounds. The rigged animations are very good though. - The whole world is very small, you only have one big city then some very isolated countryside parts. - The story sounds like a parody of classic RPG scenario. Orphan boy raised by grandpa has to save his kidnapped girlfriend by finding 8 magic orbs. - The way you move around from one quest to the next lacks something. To me it feels more like a Doom-Like game where you see a lot of closed doors, get a key, which gives you another key, etc. - Endgame is boring! Maps get too big and intricate, enemies get annoying powers like teleporting when you get too close, and your teammate's IA can't handle it. - I've crashed around 6 times in my last session of the game. It's very annoying when the game has very specific save points. - The magic system is not fun sadly.