Emerald Dragon - The Most Overlooked SNES RPG?

[@Xygor]

What was the most memorable part of Emerald Dragon to you? Please consider supporting me at www.patreon.com/xygorgaming OR through KZbin membership by clicking the JOIN button above!

[@KLNDR]

Literally never heard of Emerald Dragon, and that's an amazing thing to see in 2021. Way to highlight some truly unique stuff Xygor, great work!

[@StiffAftermath]

Same :)

[@ukrpgfan4029]

@@StiffAftermath Time to get out from under your rocks....

[@madhatter8508]

@2:00 those portraits remind me of Popful Mail, Lunar, Phantasy Star, Shining Force, etc... The big, colorful, detailed profile portrait was a standard convention in the few Sega Genesis/MegaDrive RPGs out there and I love them for it. It's good to see a SNES RPG that reminds me of the Genesis RPGs I grew up with

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

It has a kind of Game Arts feel to it. The character portraits remind me of Lunar, which was a Sega CD game, so the visuals looks nice. It's also a bonus now for me that it isnt Square or Enix, because it looks very different to their games, even Bahamut Lagoon with its dragons. Will def give this a shot once my Mister is set back up.

[@Xygor]

Totally does!

[@emberlegacy3410]

Man I love this channel, great videos about obscure RPGs you would rarely see or hear about, so good.

[@Xygor]

Thanks Ember, glad you're enjoying it, there are many more to come!

[@Robochris]

I love finding retro games like this. Even new ‘retro inspired’ games just don’t have the same charm and feeling like these do. Thanks for this. Sub’d.

[@Xygor]

Right on. Thank you!

[@madhatter8508]

Retro inspired games often have some odd quirks like gameplay that is out of place from the era, or assets of different resolutions, details, colors, etc. These old games were not trying to look retro; they had to adhere to the strict limitations of the SNES (or Genesis, Mega Drive, PC Engine, what have you) and so there is a cohesion in these old games that's lacking in retro inspired games where the developers might overlook some things that are out of place.

[@ParanoiaDragon]

The PC Engine/TurboGrafx CD version thankfully has an English patch in the works. Not sure how the voice acting is going to be handled, but likely someone will find a way to add subtitles or at least that's my hope since several games recently have had subtitles added, like Private Eyedol & Tengai Makyo Ziria. I think there was an MSX version, I don't recall if that's been translated yet though. I'll have to look into that.

[@volfi123]

i've finished this one. Its linear but its a pretty decent game with a nice story. Definately worth playing it unless you the type that wants to play only the best of the best. The original version that was on the pc engine had voice over

[@arielconstante212]

The art in character portraits is so cool!

[@catfud]

What a great channel. I love that the videos are straight to the point and have helped me discover new JRPGs I never even knew about!

[@Xygor]

Thanks a ton catfud, appreciate the praise and glad you're liking the channel. There will be more overlooked RPGs soon :)

[@louisharper1471]

JRPG's are so freaking good, I've been grinding through Star Ocean lately and I absolutely love it.

[@Xygor]

You know it! I bet you'd like the rest of my channel!

[@deividilavitz6645]

Not only north American my friend, thanks to jrpgs that were in english that I've learn the language (lunar series). Emeral dragon is on my list :).

[@Xygor]

That's a really great aspect of them!

[@robinmattheussen2395]

Yeah, when we first starting learning English in school every other student was super impressed with how well I spoke English (even though my English was just okay, nothing special). I would often get asked where I learned this, and I would just say "I watch the Simpsons and play video games".

[@Yuuretsu]

I've played through the PC Engine version myself. That version has slightly simpler but more colourful graphics overall. It still uses chiptunes but has several cutscenes and a large amount of voice acting. The voice acting really endeared the characters to me. I found the gameplay to be a breath of fresh air. The energy bar system has some strategy to it whilst not having to flip through a battle menu constantly keeps the pacing high. I found that the AI did an excellent job of choosing when to heal, cast spells and attack and was never bothered by it which I didn't expect at all. Overall I found the game to be a hidden gem with fast and fluid gameplay and memorable characters that I would encourage anyone looking for a change of pace in jrpg's to give it a shot.

[@travissmith8017]

Is it available in english?

[@robinmattheussen2395]

I personally really like this one. It has a great balance between that comfy feeling of a classic SNES JRPG while also being unique enough to stand out. I definitely recommend it!

[@rafaelkuhn5154]

I finished playing this game for the first time a few days ago and have written a review for it, so I thought I might share it here: Emerald Dragon Gameplay: 8 “Emerald Dragon” is quite easily accessible as far as its key mechanisms are concerned. The battle system is really interesting, with movement being a strategic factor as it requires a certain amount of action points. Equally, stronger weapons also consume more action points, hence weaker weapons can remain useful at times if they require far less points. This is a novel concept and well thought out. Sadly, you can only directly control the main hero Atoreshan in battle, with all other characters being AI-controlled. The AI is quite good though, healing often and focusing attacks on the same enemies, which makes the battles go by smoothly despite the limited interactivity. They can be a tad on the easy side, especially once your healers advance to a level where they can restore your entire HP at once, but random battles featuring many foes can still be tough, so you won’t get bored. Enemies in critical condition start to flash red, which is a useful indicator. The encounter rate is generally manageable, but in a few places where you have to discover the right route it can be annoyingly high. However, many locations can be traversed without encountering enemies once you have beaten the final boss, which enables you to safely search for treasures you might have overlooked. The fact that you can save at practically any time further ensures that you won’t die too often and can check different routes. Generally, the difficulty rate increases at a good pace, with only the occasional sudden spike later in the game. The final bosses disappoint though, as they are really easy, making the game’s finale quite anti-climactic. Meanwhile the menus are well-structured, with the only major flaw being that you are only shown if a given character’s main related stat will be improved or decreased by an equippable item, but not the other stats nor by how much. This means you have to check any item’s complete stats separately, which is somewhat annoying. In shops as well, the stats of weapons and defense items are not displayed before you buy them, so you have no way to know if they are really a useful investment. Likewise, there is no description of the effect usable items have, forcing you to find out yourself by trial and error. On the positive side, characters who leave your party are automatically unequipped; returning members must be manually optimized. The way in which the game handles the character flow is generally well done: While only the main protagonists Atoreshan and Tamurin can level up, all other characters feature fitting levels when they join or rejoin, and there are a few additional ways to further improve the stats of those comrades that will eventually make up your final party. “Emerald Dragon” also offers a few original elements. The carriage system allows you to travel directly between towns you have already visited as long as the route is unobstructed, which is quite helpful. In coliseums you can fight enemies for money, which is a nice idea, but not particularly well implemented: There are only two such places, and one of them has such strong enemies in its most profitable challenge that you won’t stand any chance of winning until the very end of the game. Also, if you beat the highest challenge just once the coliseum immediately closes down, which is a very weird game design choice. The casinos in which you can play mini games against some capricious bunny girls and win useful items are really fun, with the exception of the final hidden one: Here, you have to repeat all prior games at a much higher difficulty, and the slot machine moves so fast that you stand almost no chance whatsoever to complete your task of assembling a character portrait. Story: 7 The main plot is probably the weakest point of “Emerald Dragon”. The problem is that it hinges on some plot twists that happen late in the game, which for most of the playthrough leaves you following a very generic story in which you simply fight an evil demon army with one-dimensional antagonists and no clearly defined agenda. The background information is gradually revealed, here and there with subtle beats, but more often than not in drawn-out exposition dumps that hardly constitute refined storytelling. As there are long breaks between those plot points it becomes very hard to piece together the exact sequence and causality of key events in the past, and the background and motivations of the involved forces remain very vague. Furthermore, towards the end there is one twist too many, with the true antagonists being revealed very late on; hence you have no emotional connection to them whatsoever, which further undermines the intensity of the final battle. What the game manages to do well however is characterisation. Atoreshan and Tamurin, apart from being kind-hearted and wanting to help, lack character traits and a more complex agenda, but you still come to care about them. The side characters really make the game, bringing charm, interesting back stories and development to the table. The dialogue is natural and regularly amusing and the anime-style character portraits and further anime graphics displayed at key story points also bring you closer to your protagonists. Furthermore, there is a nice chat option you can activate at any point, which will give you hints what to do next but very often also result in an lively discussion between the characters. Finally, sleeping in inns regularly triggers additional story beats. This character-driven narrative results in a few of the game’s truly touching moments, involving loss, the death of some of the main protagonists and in one case a quite poetic sequence where the distraught souls of victims of the war can be set free by kind words. In the final analysis, while the perfunctory and dramaturgically messy main story arc keeps you at a distance, the individual stories of the characters mostly prove quite engaging. Graphics: 7 The visuals are good, but hardly special. The pixel art of the characters is the best part, featuring many cute animations for a variety of circumstances. The aforementioned portraits that accompany dialogue and short anime-style frames or animations give the game an individual touch. The enemy design is okay but not exceptional, with regular foes at times very small and hard to differentiate in detail, plus there is also quite a bit of sprite recycling with different colours. The use of special effects is limited to some cut scenes displaying events on the world map and a nice ripple effect in the Village of the Dead. Music/FX: 8 The soundtrack is good throughout, often creating atmosphere, but few compositions are in any way memorable. The music is also used extremely repetitively, with even the best tracks getting old at some point. The sound effects are great though, aided by individual voice samples for both dialogue and battles and careful touches such as critical attacks having their own sound. The only minor flaw is that your characters emitting a scream of pain upon every single hit can get really annoying. Final rating: 8 “Emerald Dragon” is a fun playthrough with few mentionable flaws in its game design. Technically solid as well, its main plot is shallow and dramaturgically flawed, but the lively characters and their stories keep you engaged. Thus, the game ends up being always entertaining, if rarely truly gripping.

[@Xygor]

Thanks for your thoughts!

[@KeyleeTamirian]

Eh, another review with snobby words like "Story is weak, revolves around repetitive antagonists", like it's something bad. "Visuals are good but hardly special", oh yes, because you surely do know how special visuals look like, mr know-it-all? "Music is good, but compositions are not memorable" oh yes, because YOU of all people have the right to decide what is memorable, eh? I hate snobby reviews like this. Always trying to sound like your opinion is a fact. Why you're not using words "In my opinion", when you say stuff about Visuals and Music? Explain to me. Why so many people want to sound like smartasses, when you can just speak your opinion without giving any numbered ratings?

[@PsychomachineryEBM]

Dual Orb and Dual Orb II are great, obscure and underrated af. They deserve a video.

[@Xygor]

They will get them!

[@ldrelick]

Played the SNES translation a few years back but I unfortunately forgot a lot about it. The most memorable part was probably the large world map, especially the forest maze in the bottom right quadrant of it.

[@chaospoet]

This is one of those games on my to get list. I've been wanting to play this since SNES Drunk did a video on it years ago now. This, Live-a-Live and Record of Lodoss War are my top 3 Super Famicom games I want to own. I grab S.F. games infrequently when I have some spare money or I find a good deal. Last year I managed to snag 3 titles for a good price: Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together, Front Mission and Front Mission: Gun Hazard. Emerald Dragon is likely the next one I'll get.

[@tyaustin6114]

Funny, I just started playing this one (along with Record of Lodoss War and Bushi Seiryuuden) after discovering it on cdromance last week. Great game so far, I'm surprised they were able to fit such detailed portraits and voice overs onto the cart!

[@theopatino2379]

Never heard of this one, pretty interesting.

[@MarioNintendoh]

I don't really like playing RPGs, but I sure love hearing about them. Thanks!

[@kenhammscousin4716]

Weird. Why don’t you like them?

[@apdo6107]

Been subbed for a couple years now, really enjoy your content and hope to see more :)

[@kenhammscousin4716]

I like that battle system, makes it like a hybrid between action rpg and tactical rpgs of the time

[@Jack-nj9pi]

If i remember correctly this game has voice acting which is always a treat to these retro games. The art style is amazing and the fighting system i love as its almost like star ocean minus the character switch so it adds a layer of challenge

[@TheJadeFist]

I actually own this game, and played just a little bit, unfortunately, I can't really read japanese, so that kinda makes it hard to get much out of a text heavy rpg.

[@SladeDemesne]

I vaguely remember playing a game called "Paladin" on the SNES growing up.... can't remember much about it at all. 😆 🤣

[@SladeDemesne]

Oh, Paladin's Quest.... weird pastel pallete... and not a Paladin in the game. 😆

[@stepheng8061]

I loved this game there’s a scene that made me tear up the guy looked just like my friend who died in 2009 and had a similar story I forget exactly what the lines were

[@briansmith1218]

Just got into emulation, too bad we can't get a hack to let us control all the characters in combat. But I'll give this one a try and see if losing control of my teammates fits thematically.

[@ukrpgfan4029]

One of my all time favs....

[@samirjohnson4524]

What's the song that plays in the intro?

[@Xygor]

Magus' theme from Chrono Trigger.

[@samirjohnson4524]

@@Xygor Thank you!

[@orahouse7479]

Can anyone tell me how I can get these Japanese RPGs that got translated to English. I would really love to play them, but I don't know where to find them

[@dukeofnylon]

combat sounds like Ultima 7 which I love , so I will give it a shot thanks.

[@Xygor]

Great, hope you enjoy it!

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

Oh, I love this game. The one I know is the PC Engine version. Amazing music.

[@برداوسلاما-و4ث]

I played it when I was young and now I'm a father 😁 ... the days go by quickly 😥

[@drearmouse9510]

All hail the almighty legends that are translators.. I swear. Bout to jump into Bushi Seiryuuden and it's all thanks to them.

[@brianplougmann6065]

It's funny how ALL the rpg games you review are The MOST Overlooked SNES RPG

[@scottbunn1222]

This game is bad ass this game is like shining force suikoden and bof put together cray zeeeee!

[@villager9874]

Think you can do a review of Shin Megami Tensei Revelations: persona 1?

[@mark.matthews73]

I'm going to start this one today for the next 6m - I had made every single translated JRPG in cart form and then designed and printed every single box also! Every 6m I change to a new one! Just finishing Glory of Heraclues IV

[@Krystalmyth]

Shame about the snorefest combat. This game would have never come to the US due to the American belief in the industry in Americans not liking anime styled artwork for some stupid reason. (That or they simply didn't want it to take, as it would strengthen the Japanese industry) This is visible in many SNES games, and games like Cybernator in the US, which stripped all of its anime'ness out of the game for the US.

[@daisukegori2112]

Oh this was on the pc 88 . Or was it 98.

[@Chelaxim]

While I did love this game my biggest problem has nothing to do with the game itself. This got a fan translation in 2008...so many games that got fan translations back then are like... who asked? Think about how long it took so many games that people were really wanting. Romancing SaGa 3 gets one 6 years after release but Shin Megami Tensei If took almost 30 years.

[@Nikujaga4649]

PC Engine ver is better. The last of Yaman in Snes ver is just... stupid.

[@TheAlphaOmegaX3]

I'd love to hear why the PCE version is better. I'm debating on which version to play.

[@Bjorick]

so, i have to disagree with you on this one, never heard of it, but going JUST on your review, nothing makes this a great game. It sounds like has a great story and great art, and would work just as well without the combat system, and would a great visual novel. Not trying to give you a hard time, and i enjoy your 'best/most overlooked' vids, but the sales pitch for this one struck me as being off :D Merry Christmas man, hope i don't come off as being a jerk :P

[@galloe8933]

I missed this one, but do one on Hoshi wo Miru Hito / Stargazers. I heard that's one of the worst NES RPGs to never make it out of Japan... Though, I feel we all already know that, so hype it up and see what happens.

[@Cuprite1024]

A year late, but worst as in the game is bad or as in bad it never came over? I'm assuming the latter, but I'm curious.

[@galloe8933]

No, you’re right, it was like a year ago, but that game “Star Gazers” is just a famously garbage game. I don’t know why, but it had to have been on my mind, at the time. The game, however, is a gold medal recipient for one of the worst Famicon games ever made.