It dies! I think this is the oldest member of my backlog, and I finally finished it. This is a game I started many times in high school, but could never get through it before getting distracted by something else, dissatisfied with my builds, etc. It was also one of my gaming goals for the year, so I can check that one off. Here's a quick update for my faithful reader at the quarter mark of the year (roughly):
1. Clear out 30 unbeaten games:
8 so far, which puts me on track for 32 completed games. Check.
2. Buy all the new games I want, as long as it's a good deal. Also, add a really pricey game (more than $80) to my collection just for fun. Maybe Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance or Lufia II.
Since the beginning of the year, I have purchased 19 new video games, seventeen physical and two digital. I've spent a total of $152.66 on those games. I haven't denied myself anything for the purposes of slowing the collection, only for keeping within my budget. Collecting has definitely slowed down since Covid-19, so this is probably fewer than I would like. I also haven't bought anything super-pricey, so we'll try to get that done before the end of the year. I did buy a really big lot of PS3 games, as well as Super Mario Maker 2 and another game for more than $20 that I don't want to name because I haven't reviewed it. So far, so good. I'm definitely leaning towards a Lufia collection for my pricey stuff, so we'll see how that goes.
3. Replay some old favorites again.
I did my annual playthrough of Super Mario World, and am really itching to run some Mega Man. I'd say I'm on track.
4. I MUST finish Bahamut Lagoon.
Check
5. Finish the main campaign of Final Fantasy XIV once and for all.
I have made absolutely zero progress on this. Seems like an appropriate thing to subscribe to in quarantine, though. Hmmmm.
Anyway, back to my Bahamut Lagoon review! Bahamut Lagoon, released in 1996 on the Super Famicom, is one of the earlier tactical RPGs out there, obviously following trailblazers Fire Emblem and hangers-on Langrisser and the shining series, as well as fellow Super Famicom standout Tactics Ogre. It's a very late release on the Super Famicom, with the Nintendo 64 coming out a few short months after its release.
Due to its late release and the general apathy of the American public to JRPGs, Bahamut Lagoon has never received a western release. As such, if you want to play this game, you'll need to obtain rom hacks that translate the game to English (either on a repro or an emulator), because this is not a game to be explored without some language support.
The basic concept of the game is that you control a lineup of warriors who ride dragons into battle. These dragons obey limited commands (come, go, and wait), but are generally free to target whoever they wish. Developing these dragons to have a wide range of powerful skills will be the key to getting through the game, as your warriors are mostly pointless, save for those who can attack from ranged.
In between battles, you can feed your dragons weapons, armor, and items to raise their stats, in addition to the natural leveling they will get just by battling. These levels seem to raise only the dragons' HP and MP, though, as the other stats seem to be derived solely from your feedings. This is a nice little system that has a logic to it, although I would absolutely recommend finding a guide to feeding them that details the stats you get from each item, as well as what to do if your dragon turns into the dreaded Uni Uni (feed it a heal). RPG Shrine has a good one, as do the fine folks at GameFAQs (didalos' guide).
The dragons start out extremely stupid, and will frequently heal their foes by using the wrong elemental attacks on them, but they definitely get smarter and smarter the more they develop. The dragons will turn into different forms as they develop and grow in various stats, but for the most part these are cosmetic changes only.
The translation is certainly rougher than an official release. I used the translation by Tomato and dejap. They have a pretty complete translation of most of the dialogue, although some of it seems pretty literal. The biggest problem is with the item names, and that's a BIG problem, especially when trying to use the right items on your dragons to ensure they get the stats you're looking for. It's a fan translation though, so I have to say that it's extremely forgivable. I'd still love an official western release at some point, but that's a big ask for a game that probably wouldn't sell a ton. I think the fan translation is our best option, and for a game with a ton of text in it, it's actually really good for what it is. The online guides really help close the gap, too.
The visuals in the game are extremely good. This game was released after Chrono Trigger, mind, so the folks at Squaresoft were well versed in wrenching the most impressive visuals out of the Super Famicom. It has some of the best use of Mode 7 I've seen in a game, and perhaps the biggest, most detailed sprites on the entire system.
The music is excellent as well, and is emblematic of Square's dedication to musical perfection at the time. There are a ton of very memorable tracks in the game, and it's a really great soundtrack.
The battle, development, and exploration system are just really thin on this one, and it feels like this was a patchwork game between Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VI and Final Fantasy VII, which was almost certainly in development at this point. The balance between warriors and dragons is nonexistent. The AI for enemies are pretty poor, and they will almost always target your dragons or do other dumb things. You basically just go from mission to mission, talking to a few people to unlock the next mission, shop for new gear, feed your dragons, and then send your dragons out to wipe everyone out in the mission while you trail behind. Your dragons can move unlimited spaces each turn, which means they'll attack every turn, gaining experience, while your warriors limp behind, cleaning up what little the dragons leave in their destructive wake. The story is not really close to as well developed and interesting as its Squaresoft predecessors, and it feels like a first shot for Squaresoft to cut their teeth on a concept that would later be perfected in Final Fantasy Tactics and its quasi-sequel on the GBA. And that's fine! Intelligent Systems had Famicom Wars before Fire Emblem, so every company has to figure this stuff out. And it took Squaresoft three (!) Final Fantasy games before they finally hit on a masterpiece in Final Fantasy IV. But it feels like this game should have been better, given the fact that there were several games that others had produced in the same genre from which they could have learned, and also give the prestige of Squaresoft at the absolute peak of their powers, and with all of their critical personnel still in house. The modern Final Fantasy games take a lot of grief, but the reality is that most of the people who were involved in the development of those games are gone now, and that you now need huge teams of people to make games, meaning that the ability of a small group of people to make a masterpiece is greatly reduced these days. That wasn't true in 1996, though.
Don't get me wrong. Bahamut Lagoon is good. But check out this list of games released by Squaresoft in a 6 year stretch from 1991 to 1997:
Final Fantasy IV
Final Fantasy Legend III
Romancing SaGa
Final Fantasy Mystic Quest
Final Fantasy V
Secret of Mana
Romancing SaGa 2
Front Mission
Chrono Trigger
Seiken Densetsu 3
Secret of Evermore
Romancing SaGa 3
Super Mario RPG
Final Fantasy VII
Final Fantasy Tactics
Front Mission 2
That's right. In six years, this company released at least 5, maybe 7, all-time masterpieces. Of the third-party developers, only a handful can say they've had 5 all-time masterpieces in their entire existence (Capcom, Konami, Enix, Blizzard, Activision, HAL, EA, Valve, Namco, and maybe a few more I'm forgetting). But I really don't think any of them ever had a six year stretch quite like Squaresoft. Maybe Blizzard from the Warcraft II-Diablo-Starcraft-Diablo II-Warcraft III-World of Warcraft run. But that was ALL Blizzard was making during that time! Squaresoft also sprinkled in a bunch of really good games in that stretch. When you look at this list, Bahamut Lagoon is clearly towards the bottom in terms of quality. And that's a shame, because it feels like this concept deserved better execution.
I'll give Bahamut Lagoon an 8.0, primarily on the strength of its visuals, music, and concept. It's a fun game that seemed like a castoff from an all-time great, like a down year for prime Roger Clemens. It will be fun to those who love tactical RPGs, but if you haven't spent time with the true greats in the genre (Fire Emblem, Final Fantasy Tactics), go there first. If you fall in love, you can spend a fun 25 hours with this one. Up next is a game I haven't teased before (finally)!
-TRO
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