|
Wii Game Review: Sword Of Vermillion |
|
|
Written by Rancour
|
|
Friday, 13 April 2007 |
First released in the first days of 1990 for the incredibly diverse Sega Genesis system, Sword of Vermillion was an early 16 bit RPG release from Sega that’s finding new life on the Nintendo Wii’s Virtual Console. A more or less typical hack and slash, dungeon crawling RPG, Sword of Vermillion was at the time of its initial release something new and interesting, one of the first 16 bit RPG options on the market. However, it hasn’t aged well, a long since redone game that’s been done infinitely better.
For 1990, Sword of Vermillion was a pretty game. It had wonderfully detailed villages and carefully drawn monsters that were for a change easily distinguished from each other. Fast forward 17 years and the game is obviously not going to hold up graphically compared to almost anything else on the market. Of course, that’s not the question to ask. The important thing is, are the graphics acceptable for someone interested in a bout of classic gaming? The answer is, barely. Because the game play isn’t anything special nor revolutionary or memorable, it generally doesn’t matter.
Similarly, the soundtrack to the game is forgettable, a classic 16 bit hack and slash score, with no memorable entrance, exit, or theme songs. It does its job nicely, exciting when the action picks up and slowing for moments of supposed drama, but generally it’s forgettable.
Story-wise, you’re getting a game that attempted to join the 16 bit era with an early 8 bit approach. A very straightforward, son-of-a-king on a quest story line doesn’t manage to excite any interest beyond those who find these types of games interesting regardless. There are no twists or turns, no vastly interesting villains or deep seeded vendettas to drive the action. It’s a very linear, standard RPG plot with a mute hero and qualities designed to draw in the gamer beyond the most artificial layers.
Games with dull storylines have occasionally managed to offset their shortcomings with engaging game play, as if the entirety of the development staff was working on the mechanics and not the artistic. Unfortunately, the mediocrity of Sword of Vermillion extends well into its game play as well. Without trying to be anything more than what its predecessors are, Sword of Vermillion gives us a standard dungeon crawling format with towns and dungeons, and nothing in between. There are no side stories, or mini-games, not that you might expect a mini-game in such an early game. But distractions are rare and the dungeons are as cookie-cutter as they come, repetitive and grinding.
Basically, Sword of Vermillion was a game that showed off the graphical prowess of the Sega Genesis in 1989 with top notch graphics and not much else. It has its niche, a generation of early RPG gamers that fell in love with anything new and interesting, but for today’s virtual console crowd, it’s not that great of a game. Even for those who remember the early days of the Genesis fondly, save your $8 for Phantasy Star 2 or 3. |
