Record of Lodoss War (Dreamcast)...

I've begun picking up a few titles to play around with on my new Dreamcast. The one that I've played around with the most is an action-RPG called Record of Lodoss War (2001; developed by Neverland). RoLW is (loosely) based on a 90s Japanese cartoon series of the same name that was itself heavily derived from the tropes of Dungeons & Dragons1. It's partially for this reason that I wanted to play it - I used to be a big D&D fan - but also because the action RPG is one of my favorite genres, and I'm always looking to try out new entries.

RoLW is quite fascinating if for no other reason than historical interest. It's very similar to a later, much more popular game called Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance on PS2 (2001; Snowblind Studios) though it incorporates some gameplay elements that are superior in many ways than its spiritual successors. (Note that while both games came out in the same year in North America, I believe that Lodoss War came out two years earlier in Japan).   

One way in which RoLW is substantially inferior to later, similar action RPGs is in its graphics, which really are quite abysmal. I've heard from retro podcasts that many Japanese developers were taken by surprise in the move to 3D graphics - some studios stubbornly refused to switch, producing 2D games for many years while others attempted rather poor forays into 3D and ended up closing their doors.

Lodoss War looks only slightly better than a PS1 game because of the noticeably crisper polygons. The devs would have been so much better off by stylizing the characters rather than going for 'realistic' proportions. Notice the complete lack of shadows on anything; something I'm finding quite common on Dreamcast games. I can't take my own screens, so this one's from Gamespot (here).

Neverland was clearly unprepared for the transition to 3D: character models are flat, simple barely shaded polygons. While all equipment is technically represented on the character, it doesn't really matter as this essentially translates into some smudge becoming a different colored smudge. Animations are also laughably bad: characters run as though they're skating around, with nary a bob or swagger. It's easy to chalk this up to RoLW being an old game, but there are many N64 titles that looked a lot better than this.

If one can overcome the horrible eyesore there's quite a bit to like about Lodoss. For starters, the game features a neat weapon/armor upgrade system that takes the place of the 'loot' so common in other Diablo-esque clones. On top of allowing quite a bit of variety in terms of play style and customization, the key breakthrough in the system is that you can easily transfer any upgrades placed onto an item to any other item of the same type. Furthermore, all upgrades 'stack' without a limit on the number of upgrades other than their rising cost. A common problem in Diablo-type games is the fear of 'wasting' upgrades on equipment that may quickly become obsolete.

In RoLW's case, you're actually just carrying stats and skills forward onto each new piece of equipment such that by a few hours in, your stuff is pretty crazy 'epic'. This also has the benefit of allowing players to experiment with different upgrade paths (eg., boosting critical hit chances, damage, weapon speed, etc.) with very little consequence. (I should also note that a recent rather under-appreciated title, Two Worlds II, also implemented a somewhat similar consequence-free upgrade system that made experimenting pretty awesome - why don't more games do this?).

Note the 'quick' item bar on the right side of the screen. It's pretty useful and easy to cycle through, even if it's typically only filled with green healing potions. Screenshot from here.

Also, it's somewhat mind-blowing to me that Lodoss War lets you save almost anywhere (the only exceptions are boss battles). At any time you can town portal home, save, and when you load, the portal is still there waiting to take you back into the fray. This comes at the price that savegames chew up just under 1/3 of a memory card, but it's rather shocking that a very early game in what became a rather popular genre2 offered an awesome feature that none of its successors, even on hardware with HDDs, did.

Among its other neat features are an excellent automap, and a host of optional dungeons and content that seem interesting even if they're only there to pad out the experience somewhat. I guess I should mention that in typical Diablo fashion, the story is near non-existent - basically you've been revived from the dead to halt the ressurection of a dark Goddess. It's a bit of a departure from the theme of the original cartoon (which a friend loaned me when I was 16), but you do meet and team up with some of its main characters. These NPC sections are actually quite fun, as your helpers are powerful, and generally allow you to be more reckless than you can be solo.

While it's clear that RoLW is a product of its era, the number forward-thinking elements it incoporated into its design made it quite easy for me to overlook its general ugliness. The appeal of such a title, being tied to a classic cartoon, would have made it niche no matter what, yet it's unfortunate that more games of the genre weren't influenced by its efforts. It certainly deserves a look from anyoen who's into loot games or classic RPGs in general.

1For all I know, the game could be based on the novel/comic book series, but I'm not up on that sort of stuff.

2'Rather popular' was sarcastic. After Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance was a smash success, we got such titles as: Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance II (2003), Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes (2003), Champions of Norrath (2004), Xmen Legends (2004), Fallout: Brotherhood of Steel (2004), The Bard's Tale (2004), Champions: Return to Arms (2005), Xmen Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse (2005), Marvel Ultimate Alliance (2006), Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 (2009), Deathspank (2010) and sequels, and Bastion (2011). On top of that, we have many games that are only slight variants of the above model including Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003), Forgotten Realms: Demon Stone (2004), and Too Human (2008) among what I'm sure are many others. The point I'm trying to make here is that I don't hear enough people talk about what an INCREDIBLY PLAYED OUT GENRE these boring hack-and-slash, loot-based RPGs have been. Please come out with something with the semblence of originality!!!