Isometric Treasure: Landstalker for Sega Genesis - A Review | hungrygoriya

[@michaelcirco3948]

I appreciate you for having the patience for all the games I didn't. There's a whole corner of the gaming world I've always been adjacent to but never successfully immersed in. Your channel brings me to places I'd never reach alone.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww that's a cool sentiment! Glad to bring you along for the ride on my gaming journeys.

[@thrillhouse_vanhouten]

Well said, I feel the same way. Goriya's doing god's work.

[@waxknucklebearingjuice5592]

Agreed...my adhd ass can barely play anything for more than 20 minutes... so these videos are the perfect length.

[@alexanderyagiela1724]

Good comment lol I feel this

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

When I was a kid I had Nintendo, but a friend had Sega. So it was always fun talking about games we came across for our respective systems. One day he got a hold of Landstalker and he was having troubles figuring out the controls. He wasn’t that good with isometric. I was on the other end so it turned into a rare case were I would be playing the game well he watched. We fell in love with it and wished for something more. This game has ended up as iconic to Genesis as Sonic, Phantasy Star or Shining Force! It’s one of the few games I still have now with the box. I think I’ve played it so many times it’s play style is second nature. Although I do have to unlearn after I play 😅 I think the one thing that made my friend and I almost quit was in the second town. We just couldn’t figure out how to proceed until we figured out a kid was behind a building that you couldn’t tell you could go behind there! This is when we learned how to check everything! We left no stone unturned! Cause you never know! I think they were trying to go for a more humorous approach to the characters and design. Unfortunately they could only do so much with a 16-bit machine. I did like the idea that you aren’t on a quest to save the world! You might at one point save a princess, but that is never the end goal. Our hero is a treasure Hunter! That is why he went to the island and that is his end goal. Sure it does make him a bit shallow but it is a different plot then the usual If anyone made it this far and has a Switch, there is a great collection of Genesis (Genesis Classics) games that has Landstalker on it! As well as a few other gems when you’re done Well, that’s it for my post review rant! Love your selection of games! I’ve had a blast going through your reviews 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

The Landstalker control scheme is so unique eh? I wish it was transferrable to some other adventure. Perhaps there's one out there I'm just not aware of yet! It's cool that you have those memories with your pal, and that you got to shine for this one adventure! I know isometric stuff is extremely divisive and people either love it or hate it. It's so nice that you got to bring your friend along with you on this one. And I'm really thrilled that Landstalker's available in so many forms these days. The Nintendo Online Service is a pretty new addition to the many ways to play it. It's great to see this awesome game getting out to so many new people! Thanks so much for some more thoughtful comments and for sharing some more memories.

[@RicanJCap]

There was also Light Crusader another underrated game very similar to Landstalkers.

[@zeliardforty-two4692]

@@RicanJCap seen it mentioned once or twice but never got my hands on a copy. I think it’s on the Sega Classics Collection also. Maybe I’ll go try it out! 👍

[@RicanJCap]

Also Beyond Oasis. That was a well done game imo.

[@sand-motox32]

@@hungrygoriya Dark Savior on the Sega Saturn is the unofficial sequel to Land Stalker.

[@SurvivalHorror100]

Used to love watching my dad play this back in the day. Pretty sure the guys who developed this went on to create Alundra. If you enjoyed Landstalker, you will LOVE Alundra. It's such an overlooked masterpiece.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm definitely excited to try Alundra sometime. I haven't gotten around to it yet.

[@thesaurus9226]

I love how the giant oversized boots get their own section in the review! xD

[@hungrygoriya]

It's hard to ignore them!!

[@Dragynn999]

I love how this game just is an Old-School version of Alundra. It has everything. The Big boots, the swagger walk cycle, the stacking things on top of each other just for fun, the pretty amazing feeling of exploration... Landstalker is just one of those games that would have been up high on my favourites list if I had it during my childhood.

[@hungrygoriya]

I've heard great things about Alundra, but haven't had the chance to play it for myself yet. I'm glad to know that I can escalate my stacking shenanigans in a brand new adventure someday.

[@msd5808]

The company that made Alundra, Matrix Software, was formed out of former employees of the company that made Landstalker, Climax Entertainment. However Alundra has more of a top-down Zelda-like perspective.

[@nickharris5231]

This is the kind of game I'm super excited to finally play on my retro handheld devices. I rented this a number of times but always recall getting stuck and of course having to start over from scratch each time. So I shall save scum the hell out of this thing on my Miyoo Mini and love every minute of it!

[@hungrygoriya]

@@nickharris5231 Enjoy your time with Landstalker!

[@michaelfitzsimmons8393]

@@hungrygoriya I really hope you get the chance to play Alundra. It's one of my most favorite titles on the PS1.

[@Lovuschka]

According to various internet sources (the earliest seems to be one FAQ from David Richey and Victor Trent in 1995), the Lifestock indeed increases both hitpoints and attack strangth. Apparently nobody tested yet if attack strength can overflow. Swords don't make much of a difference regarding non-magical attacks according to another source.

[@hungrygoriya]

There would be an easy way to test how high strength could go with that one shop in late game that seems to stock infinite life stocks...

[@Lovuschka]

@@hungrygoriya Yes, but from what I read those are also pretty expensive at 1200 each. So I never played Landstalker, have no clue how long that would take. But someone reported defeating the final boss in just a few hits.

[@alcheMikhail]

On the board for the speedrun, the WR holder has a damage table spreadsheet while using the Thunder Sword and mentions any difference in damages for all of them

[@Lovuschka]

@@alcheMikhail Thanks!

[@SaviorGabriel]

​@@hungrygoriya To my understanding, those Life Stocks you can buy at Kazalt cap once you reach 99HP. However, you can exceed that cap by finding any Life Stocks outside of Kazalt. So theoretically, you could go through the entire game without collecting any Life Stocks, buy up the max at Kazalt, the go collect all the ones you missed, and be stupid strong.

[@jayesun3420]

I Love Landstalker, that game frickin changed me. I love that game

[@hungrygoriya]

I agree! It was very fun!

[@StewNWT]

have you played Alundra? Same devs, even better game

[@GreatistheWorld]

It was a treat finally diving into Landstalker and Crusader of Centy a couple years ago. Some of the best non-Zelda Zelda games

[@hungrygoriya]

I liked both games as well!

[@PlatReploid]

Time to discover a new game before bed time. It's worth repeating that your volume and tone are easy on the ears.

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoyed the video! Have a good sleep!

[@KOdenwalder]

One of the tricks with nigel's big feet is if you hang his toes off an edge and there's a moving platform that connects to the edge, you will automatically be transferred to the moving platform. It helps when you can't tell where the platform is like in the blue room you showcased. That being said, it's a shame he has such big feet but the color doesn't change to match the boot type like his chest plate and sword do

[@hungrygoriya]

I noticed I was being transferred to a new platform only sometimes. That's good to know! I wish his boots had changed as well! That would've been a very nice touch!

[@fanceeCrafts]

Seems like the big feet were an attempt at making an iconic character. Land stalker evokes movement/exploration. The gameplay revolves around movement mechanics. What represents movement in a character? Usually feet.

[@TFitz1]

I was an SNES kid but then I got step brothers and they had a Genesis. They introduced me to this game and we all loved it. It was a treat watching you stream it!

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! It's cool that you got to share in some uncharted waters with new family!

[@Zopharr]

Another side note: I used to put my dads shoes on and run around the house pretending I was Nigel, because his shoes are so prominent 😂

[@HybridAngelZero]

Oooo, this one is near the top of my Genesis "really want to play" list! I do own on it on a few platforms. It reminds me so much of late 80s and early 90s comedy fantasy adventure anime and I can't help but love that vibe xD

[@hungrygoriya]

This will definitely scratch that itch for you! The humour in it is pretty funny!

[@hezekiahramirez6965]

Yeah, it was totally influenced by fantasy anime. It was originally planned as a spinoff of the Shining series. The working title was Shining Hero. Sega had experience working on anime to cross promote its products and took a lot of inspiration from those projects. It's very clear from a lot of their games that they were more comfortable with taking inspiration from popular media than Nintendo, which was largely traditional with some cheeky moments here and there. GTV Japan has a couple videos on Sega's forays into anime. The Zillion video is particularly good

[@littlemixer7522]

I was thrilled to watch you play through this one live, as it's one of my favorite games I had growing up! That final dungeon stumped me for a month as I remember trying to brainstorm about it at school, but you knocked it out without much trouble at all, and even finished all the bosses in the end off without the best armor. Another prime example of why playing these games with no hints or guides results in some very unique stuff as we've seen in the past!

[@hungrygoriya]

As I was rewatching parts of the vods searching for the footage I wanted to use, I was reminded of how you helped me to track down that armour in plain sight that was driving me crazy! I still can't believe I missed the final armour upgrade. Very typically me! There's nothing quite like pushing through a game that's tough and demanding with no help. I'm glad we're on the same page with that thinking. It's cool seeing how you pull stuff off in so many games as well!

[@littlemixer7522]

​@@hungrygoriya I missed that same armour my very first playthrough as well! Just like you mentioned in the video, the armour is not something you'd expect to be in a store at that point, much less stuck over there by itself. Amiko watched your review with me, she loved the commentary and thoughts on the game as well cause she really likes this one as well. Looking forward to your next video!

[@hungrygoriya]

@@littlemixer7522 Awww tell Amiko thanks for watching! I appreciate you both!

[@youareacoward8459]

The bandit dungeon Ryuma has a room where I can't understand how you can get into the door without some time stop ability. Regardless how fast I am I reach the gate before it closes 0.5 seconds to 1 seconds to late.

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, some of the timed sections were really, really tight.

[@the1ucidone]

I love this review and episode so much. Honestly, it's your best work yet! Thank you for an episode that I will watch over and over again. I'm pretty sure there is a sequel to this game too and then a spiritual successor named Alundra for the PS1 as well. I'm no historian but they are all great games I'm sure you'll love.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww well thank you! I put a lot of time into this video and I'm glad it came together well. I haven't played Alundra yet, but I've had it for a couple of years now. I'm looking forward to it!

[@StewNWT]

@@hungrygoriya Can't wait til you play Alundra it's so good

[@Gaulto]

What a great review. Your narrative is immersive, I felt that way. You can clearly make the connection between what you hear and what you see. Remarkable work. Who knows, maybe I'll try the game. What is for sure, is that I will remember your review. Keep it up, girl.

[@hungrygoriya]

I spend a lot of time writing with my own experience in mind, and then go back through hours of gameplay to find what I want to show on screen that I wrote about. Glad you noticed, and thanks for the kindness!

[@Amgitstigma]

your observations about Lyle(Nigel)'s boots and the sfx were great. About the sfx, something that devs sometimes do when inserting assets is just record their own voice and pitch them up or down and will use that as placeholder, which I suspect is the case here, or intentionally (Something like Yoshi). The reason I know this is because the little sounds that Lyle makes are actually him speaking japanese. When putting an object down he says 'kore'(this) and the sound when he gets hit 'Itai'(ouch), so the funny chicken noises are just the sound guy doing his best to make death noises and pitching them up as well lol.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's interesting to know about sound effects. I have no idea how those kinds of things were made on the Genesis, so this is an interesting look into that world. I also don't know any Japanese so I could never have guessed. Thanks for the insights!

[@chasonlapointe]

I could have sworn you'd covered this game previously... looking through your videos I found out not only was I wrong but that you've been doing the youtube thing for a lot longer than I'd realized. Good video, Landstalker is a fantastic game.

[@hungrygoriya]

I did stream it, so maybe that's what you were thinking of? And yeah, I've been making videos here since 2016. I've had this channel as long as I've had Twitch channel and active on both the entire time. Thanks for taking a trip into the past, haha

[@EbenezerEibenhardt]

2:05 - Right away I said to myself, "Wait, where have I seen that green bird with the spear before?" He's almost a dead ringer for the Chest Beak enemy from Shining in The Darkness. A little quick Google research later and I discovered that both of the artists credited to Landstalker also worked on Shining Force: Hidehiro Yoshida and Yoshitaka Tamaki. =)

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah! There were some folks that worked on Shining games that also worked on this too. The town music here reminds me an awful lot of the town music in Shining in the Darkness.

[@EbenezerEibenhardt]

...also, the big, blobby boots very much seem to be a part of their signature character style.

[@windbornideas1457]

I came onto KZbin for something, I don't remember what now because as soon as I saw this I HAD to watch it. This was one of my favorite games when I was a child, it just stuck out that much to me and it still holds a special place in my heart. Its been a long time since I played it so I don't even know if I remember the bit about his armor changing colors or not. Outside of that, everything you said was spot on. I'm just really happy someone covered this game.

[@hungrygoriya]

Sorry this video distracted you! I'm glad you love this game too. I was surprised that there were so few videos about it, but after I played it, I needed to spread the good word. Landstalker's an awesome experience and I'm happy that it's becoming more and more available these days. I think it's on the Genesis Mini as well as the Nintendo Online Service.

[@windbornideas1457]

@@hungrygoriya I remember playing it and finally beating it years later on the Wii, I may try it again just for old time sake too. Also don't worry about the video distracting me, its like walking into the kitchen and forgetting why you did it, lol. Keep up the good work.

[@Hasekbowstome]

Just found your channel via this review! Landstalker was one of my childhood favorites, and I'm glad you enjoyed it too! There's really only one jumping puzzle (which you highlighted) that I found especially troublesome when I played it when I was younger, and I think Landstalker's 3D perspective is part of why I have really good spatial reasoning skills as an adult. I'm glad you pointed out Nigel's feet, too - I've always found them to be kind of cartoonishly cute. Looking through your other reviews on here, I have to say, you do a really good job of reviewing these classics. Your scripting is really thoughtfully articulated while also being pretty brief. Hope you keep up the great work, I look forward to seeing more of these!

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks so much for your kindness! I'm glad you're enjoying the channel so far. It's so nice to be able to share my experiences with these games with people, even if I'm very late to experiencing a lot of them for the first time. I didn't have a lot of games growing up. Landstalker was an awesome time and considering how much I liked other isometric stuff as a kid, it was an easy game to decide to play. I'm glad I'm not the only person who got stumped by some of the jumps here!

[@YoungThos]

Hungry Goriya is a Canadian national treasure. The reviews are so compelling that I can't help but watch them all, even if I haven't necessarily played or even intend to play the game in question.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you! I appreciate you taking the time to check out the channel.

[@AB0BA_69]

She is Canadian? Oh no! I am so sorry 😢

[@Shamazya]

One thing I really want to see an isometric style game, probably not a platformer, is take advantage of the shortcomings of the style and create 'impossible' layouts for part of the game. Probably not the whole game but a dream sequence or final/secret stage would be good candidates.

[@hungrygoriya]

That would be a really interesting take on this format!

[@Marionette_Doll]

Glad to see a video on this one! It was a lot of fun to watch, and I think it was the game you were playing when I first found you on Twitch.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww hooray! I was really pumped to stream this one. I'm glad you enjoyed the playthrough and the video here.

[@ichrius]

Fantastic game, fantastic video. Glad you enjoyed this one HG. Played the heck out of it as a kid!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks so much! I think I would've really liked this one back in the day if I'd had the chance to try it out.

[@zy-blade]

Thanks for reviewing this game, I liked it alot back in my childhood. You made some good points, about what could be better, but also appreciated the good stuff.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's really what I strive to do in every review: look at a game for its good and its bad and talk about my personal experience with it. Thanks for checking this out!

[@sammyyo461]

this game definitely needed a drop shadow for so of those tough platforming areas. the developer "Climax" made several of these isometric adventure/platformer games, one of which is a DS game "Steal Princess" which was a Puzzle/Platformer also featuring a greedy treasure hunter with a fairy companion!!! its quite good!!

[@hungrygoriya]

It's funny how absolutely nothing has a shadow, though I don't know if shadows would've helped with no floor anyway... Steal Princess, you say? I'll have to see if I can find it!

[@opaljk4835]

There’s also lady stalker on the sfc and the Dark Savior game on the Saturn

[@mamaharumi]

Man, I absolutely love how this game looks. Also, I wish isometric's would make a comeback. Like, I am still upset that Falcom went full 3D.

[@hungrygoriya]

Never say never! My fingers are crossed there will be more adventures like this to enjoy.

[@retrogamingknight]

I don't recall having those issues with the controls when I played Landstalker a few years ago. Maybe it's because this and Q*Bert are the only isometric games I've really played with a controller or joystick. I guess I didn't have to unlearn a more standard control scheme. I don't remember a huge amount of my playthrough, but I did remember falling into that ghost pit countless times though.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's definitely different and felt weird to me, but if you haven't already gotten the feel for a lot of isometric games before getting to this one, that's almost a good thing.

[@magnum3.14]

I am not even sure how an isometric control scheme can be more "standard" than what Landstalker does. You wanna go up-left, you press up-left, and so on. The 2 romhacks shown in the video set it off by 45 degrees in one direction, which sounds worse to me.

[@kromanaut]

I just picked up a copy of Landstalker last weekend because I heard good things about it. I haven't had time to play it yet, so I figured I would check out your review to see what to expect. As always, I loved your video, and it made me excited to play the game. Your reviews really are the best. Keep up the great work!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you enjoy your time with it! Congratulations on the new pick-up!

[@chriskoschik391]

I just got Equinox last night. What a coincidence you review this lol. Will have to give it a try!

[@hungrygoriya]

Aha! I haven't played Equinox just yet, but I've heard it's excellent. Good luck with the playthrough!

[@OGBuddah]

YES! This is one of those games I played years ago that has stuck with me. I was not able to beat it until I went back and played as an adult but I remember this was a fun and unique game. Tons of secrets and interesting dialog. This game also made me want to try and play LadyStalker which I heard was the sequel but never did play it. On a side note, my mind is absolutely blown regarding the HP/Attack correlation. I have not noticed that nor heard that before but it does make sense. I played the game and used mental gymnastics to swap between swords using elemental damage to exploit weakness, but that was more than likely all in my head. I am going to look deeper into this. As always awesome video and thank you for sharing!

[@hungrygoriya]

Did Lady Stalker get translated? I've been curious to see what that one's all about, but last I checked, it was still stuck in Japanese only. And I'm super curious about how the life stock stuff works. I watched a few other reviews last night after I got my video out, and a couple of people mentioned that when you get a big heart (to the left of the small heart meter), the strength goes up. As far as I know, there's no direct correlation between the type of sword and attack strength, but I'm definitely curious to see the details. If you figure anything out about it, please keep me posted! Thanks so much! I appreciate you taking the time to check this out.

[@Schpoo]

I really enjoy this aesthetic! Great review. 😁

[@hungrygoriya]

I loved how this entire game looked. And thanks so much for stopping by!

[@namae3]

Great review! As usual, a really thoughtful encapsulation of the good and bad in this game. I randomly returned to this one a while ago and finally completed it. It was a very rewarding experience, for sure, and something I always wanted to finish since we'd only rented the game as kids. I loved the section with the riddles in the tombs - those are some of the most memorable and fun puzzles I've experienced in a game. Agreed on the soundtrack, I love the composer and the music is great, but a few more songs sprinkled in would've worked wonders. His work on Shining Force 2 was breathtaking

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you! I had a lot to say about this one! The riddles in the tombs were really, really cool. I wanted to talk about them specifically, but it was so cool to discover that without knowing about it in advance. I would hate to spoil that for someone. And there's something very "Shining" about the music, indeed! The song in towns really reminds me of the music from the town in Shining in the Darkness. I really liked 95% of the music in this game, and given how long it was and how many different songs there are, that's saying something!

[@deathisaprimitiveconcept]

Awesome, have been wanting this one! Have always been ambivalent about this game, it looks awesome but I've never been able to fully get in to it.

[@hungrygoriya]

The controls were a huge barrier when I started it up, but once I got past all that, it was great. I hope you stick it out sometime and that it finally clicks with you.

[@SonofSethoitae]

I've been waiting for this since we talked about it in the comments of your Solstice review! It's an acquired taste, for sure, but one i've definitely acquired for myself. Easily my favourite Genesis game. I got around the control issues by simply using the diagonals at all times. You can use them without using the cardinal directions at all. Much smoother. Also, I dunno, i liked the characters and the goofy cartoon story. Nigel makes like he's motivated entirely by gold, but he also gives up the lithograph for Friday, so he's not totally heartless. It was a nice change from the bog standard fantasy adventure game story.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a great one! I played it not too long after I played Solstice, but it took me a little bit to get the review together. It's also cool that you can use the diagonals the entire time. I don't know if I ever ended up trying that since I'm hard wired for the cardinal directions. I think the problem was more with how the controls broke from normal conventions in other games I was already used to more than it was a problem with the controls themselves. It's likely more a me problem than anything else, and I hope that was clear in the review! And you're right: these characters were a nice change from brave heroes that just charge aimlessly into battle to seal away an unsealed bad guy that's bringing monsters into the realm. I just wish I liked them more!

[@churrascovoltorbgaming9453]

I love this game but it is somewhat cursed for me. I heard lots of good things about it and was excited when I found it was included on my multicart. Unfortunately it was a bad rom of the game that kept immediately crashing when I tried playing it. So I bought a legit cart and.... dead battery. People say I can just dedicate an 8 hour play session and beat it without saving but those type of game sessions are long gone lol. I'll eventually get the battery replaced and play this. Fantastic review!

[@hungrygoriya]

Boooo! I'm sorry you've had so much trouble playing this game. Batteries aren't too tough to change if you know some simple soldering, and if not, hopefully you know someone that can give you a hand with it. Thanks so much for checking out the video!

[@andrewkelly6828]

I loved this game. Did anyone else have the Sega Channel back in the day? It was the greatest thing ever. You paid a monthly fee to Comcast and got access to a boatload of rotating Genesis games every month. It's how I enjoyed all these classics without ever owning them.

[@hungrygoriya]

I didn't have the Sega Channel, but I really wish I did. It sounds like it was a really cool experience.

[@chaoscontagion3208]

I DID. We didn't have it for too long. My great aunt worked for the cable company in town and got us a few months free. Did you play Landstalker with it? I remember it being on Sega Channel.

[@andrewkelly6828]

@@chaoscontagion3208 I did! I never even had a Sega game. I just got the Genesis, then Sega Channel. That's where I played all the greats. Landstalker, Phantasy Stars, Shining Force. That Sega Channel was light years ahead of its time with game streaming.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

Excellent review. I enjoyed this game despite the high frustration factor. Looking back, it's probably the best game Climax Entertainment ever made. I think I've mentioned before in these comments that Dark Savior on the Saturn made me want to punch a wall. It took Climax's signature obtuse isometric jumping challenges and cranked them up to 11. At least that's my recollection -- I haven't played through these games in decades.

[@hungrygoriya]

Landstalker's definitely a great game, even if it comes with some very frustrating sections. I haven't played Dark Savior yet but I've been looking for a copy to try.

[@tommylakindasorta3068]

@@hungrygoriya If I still had mine I'd send it to you!

[@Guardian978]

Always glad when I discover a channel and they're still uploading new content, means it will take longer for me to get through them all lol

[@hungrygoriya]

I try to get something new out every couple of weeks. Thanks for checking out my little corner of the internet.

[@EarthboundX]

Remember playing this as a kid, recalled enjoying it, but got to a part in what I think were called the Dwarven Mines or something like that where the isometric platforming got really hard, so I stopped playing. I think I have the game in one of those Sega collections, so I definitely want to go back and finish it someday.

[@hungrygoriya]

I think I know the area you mean. It definitely keeps getting harder, but that incremental learning curve I mentioned was actually perfect for me to pick up the skills to conquer later areas. Except for that blue dungeon, which can rot in hell, haha

[@SprocketGames]

Watching a Hungry Goriya video is a great way to relax at the end of the day!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you! I'm glad I finally got this out for all of you. It was a long one!

[@PsychOnlineAldrian]

As someone who grew up with an 8 bit Nintendo and only got to play it well into the 16 bit cycle, i love seeing all the things i missed. Thank you so much for sharing these videos! 🎉

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm very late to the party on a lot of these games myself. Glad you're along for the ride with me!

[@josefkrenshaw179]

Landstalker was my first isometric platformer so the controls didn't seem so odd. Replaying it did take time to adjust. I still swear by the tank controls for the early Resident Evils and Silent Hills, So the controls that work for me is suspect for everyone else,

[@hungrygoriya]

I suppose this would've been the place to start for isometric games, haha... lucky you! My first one was Snake Rattle n Roll and then Bill and Ted for NES. Landstalker was definitely a jarring change for me.

[@misterhat144]

Oh my god I can't believe you're covering this!

[@hungrygoriya]

It was awesome! I'll be sad when I'm out of isometric games to play for the first time.

[@msd5808]

One of my favorite games as a kid. So glad to see such a detailed and thorough appreciation for it!

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a great one! I think I would've enjoyed it a lot as a kid too. Lucky!

[@msd5808]

@@hungrygoriya I read the sad news that the artist for Landstalker, Tamaki Yoshitaka, died earlier this year of lung cancer. He also drew the art for Alundra, Dark Savior, Shining Force and others. The website Time Extension has an article about it showcasing some of his illustrations.

[@ne0n1880]

Thanks HG! I remember more games from back then with no instructions, but the instructions came in the manual, or on the back of the box.

[@hungrygoriya]

Definitely! So many games just threw you to the wolves if you didn't have a copy of the booklet!

[@williebias672]

I played through this one a few years ago, and enjoyed it fairly well. I’ve similar gripes as what you’ve stated in the video. I really enjoy your channel. Many of the niche adventure genre games you showcase are ones that I too have come across and enjoy, but sometimes you put up ones that I haven’t played, and it gives me something to go check out.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm so glad you're finding new things through the channel here. Most of the games I play are new to me as well, so it's nice to share that joy with others too. Thanks so much for your kindness!

[@geraldcortez826]

I'm glad you made this video, I played this as a kid and couldn't remember the name of it for nothing. So when I seen this in the KZbin feed I was happy. I remembered it being on the SNES though guess I remembered it wrong, probably was one of those games I got to play on the sega channel what a great thing that was back then.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! Someone else mentioned it was part of the Sega Channel, so your memories are probably correct on that! Glad you remembered!

[@geraldcortez826]

@@hungrygoriya yeah I remember beating so many games because of having it through the cable company. Offering a low price a month. Ashamed Nintendo never bought the Sigma broadcast service to the USA, it never made it out of Japan. Wouldn't it have been awesome to play remake games like BS Zelda on our SNES like we did on the Sega Genesis with the Sega channel. Oh well at least we can track down the rooms of BS Zelda today. Take care

[@RPGFort]

Loved this game as a kid, it was nice to see some fair criticism levied!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad you thought that some of my criticisms were fair ones and not too nitpicky. Even with its frustrations, this was still a great experience that I really enjoyed.

[@Toad64]

This one looks interesting but man, I don't think I'd have the patience for some of those isometric jumps it was asking of you! Great video!

[@hungrygoriya]

There are definitely a few mean spots, but a lot of it is pretty fun and fluid. I can understand that this isn't going to be for everyone but I really liked the challenge of the platforming. Except that blue dungeon I mentioned near the end of the video. That one can eat a crap sandwich.

[@ShawnRaz87]

The thing with movement is you don't want to press the diagonal to turn yourself and then press the Cardinal directions to move in the direction which you've now turned you want to press diagonal and continue holding diagonal to walk in that direction maneuvering entirely with only the diagonal inputs you really never want to be pushing Cardinal directions on your d-pad

[@hungrygoriya]

Yeah, it's just different from the conventions of every other isometric game I've ever played. Old habits are hard to break! I know people play this game with an analog stick and it saves a lot of headaches for them.

[@psychodiagnostik]

Love your reviews and especially this one! Started watching your Twitch channel as well.

[@hungrygoriya]

I saw the follow over on Twitch! Thanks so much for checking out the streams and the channel! I'll hopefully be able to get through this pesky StarCraft mission soon enough.

[@wolfman11983]

OH MAN I LOVE THIS GAME!! I was looking for it for ever as a kid, and my parents got me Light Crusader based on my description. (fun game too) but this one is just so much fun.

[@hungrygoriya]

I haven't tried Light Crusader yet, but I'm looking forward to it. I'm glad you eventually got to try out Landstalker, even if your parents had other plans for you, haha

[@noirlavender6409]

Funny how nintendo would steal this whole fairy companion thing for OoT a few years afterwards

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm pretty sure these people stole it from Miracle Warriors: Seal of the Dark Lord on the Master System!

[@garou1911]

Ghost Assault sounds like a great band name

[@hungrygoriya]

It's all yours!

[@RetroGamingJebus]

I remember spending the grand majority of a summer on this game. It's so fantastic and I would say my favourite part was the crypt with all the riddles you must figure out in order to move on. I also liked that it was in the basement of some random house buried in the corner of the town.

[@hungrygoriya]

I looooved that part. It was so much fun to run into it without knowing of it in advance when I played that I didn't want to spoil it here. It was a huge highlight for me too!

[@RetroGamingJebus]

@@hungrygoriya That's awesome! I felt the music and the atmosphere stood out and was spot on. I made a separate save just to play it over again 🤣. P.S. I love your channel. Even if I can't watch it, I listen to it while I work. Thank you for everything.

[@KajDarkwind]

Nice, I loved this game as a kid, and still find it pretty charming. I always got stuck as a kid in the riddle dungeon where you have to solve all those riddles (some of which are pretty cryptic) to get ferried across the water.

[@hungrygoriya]

I was stuck there for a little while myself. There was one riddle that I accidentally solved, but then died before I had to save. I had no idea how I did it the first time and was stuck there for far too long!

[@brandonporpoise]

Just yesterday, I was binging a few vids waiting for the next release. You really give me such a hankering to play some retro games.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you for checking out some of the other stuff on the channel! I spend a lot of time writing and editing so it's usually a couple of weeks between releases. Sometimes longer depending on real life stuff! I hope you liked the video!

[@brandonporpoise]

@@hungrygoriya Immensely! Keep at it!

[@TheMultiGunMan]

I've missed a ton of your video because they haven't been showing up in my feed.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh no! Sorry to hear you haven't been seeing them come up, but I appreciate you coming to look for them anyway!

[@chavesa5]

Always a pleasure when hungr goryia updates

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for stopping by!

[@JaseNeverSleeps]

I've just discovered this channel and I'm loving it

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! Thanks for checking out the channel. I appreciate it!

[@WWCL4Life]

I always hoped you would give your thoughts on this classic! I used to play this game non stop as a child, and I remember it vividly- the first time I had played it on a black and white television (my grandmother forbid the use of her floor model colored television lol) It is easily my favorite game of all time. Such nostalgia! Thank you for uploading this! 💜

[@hungrygoriya]

Landstalker in black and white must've still looked beautiful. I can imagine how exciting it must've been to see it in colour eventually. Thanks for taking the time to watch! It was my pleasure to shine some light on a game that hopefully some other folks will check out too.

[@jesusbreamusic9831]

Nigel did have some noble traits, and he did saved Fara and that wizard dude, after all. Yeah, he was motivated mostly by greed but I never imagined him doing anything stomach-turning. Thank you for reviewing one of my childhood faves 😊 your channel is so underrated!

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thank you so much! I hope more people give Landstalker a try.

[@projectmayhem6898]

Thanks!

[@hungrygoriya]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your continued support.

[@NeufAtora]

After getting every game available for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis Collection on Steam, I realized this was one of them, and I'm looking forward to trying it out. I barely have any experience with isometric games, and the control scheme is definitely taking some getting used to. It looks fantastic and seems pretty straight forward. If the characters aren't all that great or likeable, it's not a dealbreaker for me as long as they're written consistently. There are two other games in that collection as well that I'd recommend, an RPG/beat 'em up named Beyond Oasis and an isometric dungeon crawler named Light Crusader. I haven't played much of either but I really like what I've seen so far from both, Light Crusader especially. Even though it's an isometric perspective, the character moves exactly how you think they would based on your inputs, making it possibly one of the most natural-feeling control schemes I've encountered in a video game. I felt fully in control of my character from my first movement.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oooo Beyond Oasis and Light Crusader are on my list of things to play sometime. Light Crusader's especially interesting to me because of that isometric view you mentioned, though I don't really know much about it other than that. That aspect's enough to get me interested though!

[@NeufAtora]

@@hungrygoriya One feature Light Crusader has is auto-item usage. I can't remember which game you reviewed that had that as well, but if your thoughts on it are anything to go by, then I'm sure you'll love it. But in all seriousness, you have the option to turn it off, which is fantastic. I played with it on at first and quickly realized how incredible item autonomy really is

[@urdnal]

I also loved the vibe in the outdoor sections.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was somehow perfect! I really loved the parts that had waterfalls since you could walk behind most of them too!

[@sneakyskunk1]

That bit about Nigel being a greedy murderer made me laugh pretty hard. The accompanying visuals provided by HG made it even funnier. I hope Alundra makes her playlist some day.

[@hungrygoriya]

I have intentions to play Alundra eventually. I'm glad you liked the video :)

[@sneakyskunk1]

@@hungrygoriya The funny thing about Alundra is that it is a pseudo sequel to Landstalker. Why they didn't just call the MC in that game Nigel is beyond me. Thanks for another great video and for replying!

[@user-yg1dg6xm2g]

I'll never play this game. I just watch because you are so good at reviewing these games. Very thorough!

[@hungrygoriya]

It's not for eveyone. I was pretty excited to try it out since I like isometric games so much.

[@sevencastleforest]

When I do my grocery shopping I pick up each item one at a time and throw it at the cashier, purchase it, then I leave the store and return so I can buy the next item. Finally a game that reflects my life! Anyway, thanks for the great video as always!

[@hungrygoriya]

I bet all the cashiers run when they see you coming! Thanks for taking the time to check this out!

[@chewygad7899]

Hey hi! This channel is great. Your verbal economy is perfect. I watch now just for the vibe.

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks so much!

[@mumm-ratheeverliving3138]

Hmm, rethinking this one now. I started the game about 4-5 times, and couldn’t make myself play past the first 20 minutes or so. I remember the music on this title being amazing back in the day, and it still seems to hold up. For a while, I thought that the Genesis sound hardware was cursed and in the hands of the right composer it can actually do some impressive things. As always, thanks for the huge effort that you put into these videos. Much appreciated.

[@hungrygoriya]

If you do give it a try again, just go in with reasonable expectations: a controls learning curve, some huge difficulty spikes, some "charming sound effects", but a really rewarding experience once you get going. And that's really sweet of you to say! This one did take a lot of time to put together and I'm really glad to know it shows.

[@devingunnels3251]

Nigel got them Kingdom Hearts feet

[@hungrygoriya]

Haha I forgot that Sora's feet are also like this...

[@devo076]

I remember playing (and beating) this game! And to be honest, having been a veteran of many Nintendo games with awful controls I didn't have a hard time with the controls on it. I did like how graphically colorful and detailed this game was. Only thing missing was a shadow beneath the PC so you could tell where you were jumping (just like Solstice). Thanks for reviewing this!

[@hungrygoriya]

It makes me happy to know that the controls clicked instantly for you. I think playing other isometric games before this one is what messed me up more than it being a problem with the controls themselves. It just breaks with any conventions I've seen in earlier console installments. Shadows would've definitely helped in some places. At least on some of the objects... on the character too, but it would've been nice to see where floating platforms were relative to one another. If there was a floor to cast a shadow on, anyway...

[@larrynintendo6838]

One of my favorite games of all time! ❤️ I still playthrough it every few years.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's an awesome game! Definitely tough in spots, but also very enjoyable on the whole!

[@DjDreamcastle]

Yo, thank you for featuring my favorite Genesis game. About to watch!

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you liked the review!

[@DjDreamcastle]

@hungrygoriya It was fantastic! Much better than the rest I've seen.

[@MazokuRanma]

This was my absolute favorite Genesis game. I already had it on the Switch collection, but I'm loving playing through again via the online addition with an actual Genesis style controller. I suppose I could have done it via the collection before, but the buttons aren't mapped properly and I didn't want to remap them. Also, Nigel is motivated by the treasure hunt more than the treasure itself, but you literally have no way of finding that out without beating the game, which is no simple task. Once he's richer than Midas, Friday mentions another hidden treasure and he's all in regardless.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm glad you're getting to experience it with the correct controls, even if they did drive me a little crazy! And yeah, the ending was very underwhelming considering how hard I had to work to get there! It's good that Nigel has more to look forward to with all the treasure hunting ahead of him. I took him wanting to go on more treasure hunts as wanting more treasure. I suppose what you've mentioned here makes sense too!

[@merlin1649]

I enjoy the Zen moment you bring to the internet. Share your pleasure with these old gems. I haven't played them as they were before my time or were out of reach at the time.

[@hungrygoriya]

Awww thanks! I'm only getting to a lot of games nowadays myself, if it's any consolation. I was finally able to do a bunch of collecting over the past 10 years or so. I found some great titles!

[@merlin1649]

@@hungrygoriya Gets harder to enjoy with so many options shortened attention span, and time passing faster. It's a strange touch grass you offer. Life is short so do what you love even if this is a flash in the pan for your fans. Thanks for the smile.

[@AStupidID]

Love when you do videos on games that have come to NSO. Interesting to hear the differences from modern hardware, and makes me way more interested in playing games I've never heard of before :).

[@hungrygoriya]

I'd be curious to see how it plays on the Switch. I imagine the analogue sticks probably help a lot. I don't even know if you could use the joycon control "D-pads" since there aren't any diagonals though...

[@InkyMuste]

I think they made the boots so large to give a better sense of how big of a space the character occupies, the boots basically form a 1x1 square area.

[@hungrygoriya]

That's a great point!

[@mbrando4403]

4:30 when i played Landstalker i had 2 official Genesis controllers, one with red letter buttons like yours and one with white letter buttons. for some reason the movement just felt OFF on the red buttoned controller. i can not explain it but it just felt "right" on one controller and WAY off on the other. i've since used the 6-button and it feels great too, and emulated with an analog stick on my GPD XD+ and it was even ok on that one. but, this is the only game where i have used 2 seemingly exact same controllers (both official Sega 3 button controllers) and they perform SO drastically different.

[@hungrygoriya]

I know controllers can wear out over time. I wonder if that was the issue? I know that the ones with the red print were released with some of the first Genesis runs, so they're probably a lot older, with more wear and tear on the membranes inside. That's my best guess! Sorry you had so much trouble with your red 3-button!

[@evilash570]

I hope everyone appreciates your Trinitron! A thing of beauty!

[@hungrygoriya]

If other people don't, I sure do! I love how games look on them after growing up with a very fuzzy RF signal.

[@mariusamber3237]

Oh, this one's neat! I've always liked the atmosphere, the fun dialogues and just the general gameplay. There's also Ladystalker (on SNES/SFC), but it came out only in Japan, unfortunately, so not many people have played it in the West.

[@hungrygoriya]

It was a great game! I'm glad so many people here seem to have enjoyed it as much as I did! I keep hoping Lady Stalker will get translated one of these days. It looks really interesting!

[@wingusdingus9447]

I almost played this back in the day on an emulator after I had a really intensive surgery. I played a link to the past and Chrono trigger. This and Beyond Oasis were on my list of possible choices my late 90s computer could run, but I didn't get around to them. I am more of a survival horror or souls like gamer when I do sit down to play something these days. Still enjoy watching videos of older games to zone out and relax. Probably more than I like playing games.

[@euanforrester7723]

You might also enjoy Light Crusader on the Genesis: it's another isometric RPG/platformer/puzzler. It lacks the charm of Landstalker, but the character has a shadow and can move in 8 directions instead of just the 4 diagonals. I found that Landstalker really leaned into the confusion created by its perspective in a way that I found a bit frustrating as I played through it. I kept picturing the designer cackling to themself every time I missed a jump. Light Crusader didn't have that particular issue, although it has its own problems with jankiness here and there. I just finished playing through it after previously completing Landstalker and craving more isometric action. I think it has lower highs and higher lows than Landstalker, if that makes any sense. It certainly seems better than some of the stuff you've suffered through for your channel!

[@hungrygoriya]

I'll definitely give Light Crusader a shot sometime. I picked it up last summer and haven't gotten around to it just yet. I keep trying to space out my isometric gaming experiences so as to not use them all up at once. I'd hate to run out of new-to-me games so soon! I also imagined the game designers cackling away when things went horribly wrong for me. I thought I was the only one that did that!

[@partridgestorm]

I was just thinking of you. Jeremy Parish did a video of A Boy an his Blob and Crystalis, which made me think of you. When I was done watching the video this review appeared in my feed. YES! I always wanted to play Landstalker, but I still need to play Shining Force, Shining in the Darkness, Beyond Oasis and Crusader of Centy. It needs to get in line because those are all games I KNOW I will like.

[@hungrygoriya]

Oh nice! I'll have to check out his video. Of your list here, I've played Shining in the Darkness and Crusader of Centy so far. They're both great for their own reasons! I hope they impress you when you do get around to them!

[@thewingedavenger1007]

Great review! And thank you very much for mentioning those hacks, because I was unaware of them and had written this game off as having an annoying control scheme. For me, the game is far better with one of the hacks that you mentioned. The better one for people who have played the classic isometric games is the one called "Alternate Controls" by Jon Najar, because it gives you what I consider the standard isometric controls (as in Solstice and Snake Rattle & Roll), in other words, when you press up your character goes diagonally up and right. The other hack, titled "Improved Controls (MIJET)" by Pennywise, makes it so that pressing up makes your guy go diagonally up and left, which no classic game has done to my knowledge. Maybe there's some beloved ZX Spectrum game that did that, but anyone in North America will probably want the "alternate" hack.

[@hungrygoriya]

Thanks for the info about which hack works best! I'm curious to see what the hacks feel like because I think the controls were still messing with me right up until the end of the game! I got used to them, but I still faltered with them once in a while. I'm happy you got around to giving this a try with the improved control options.

[@schlangengrube157]

Another fine review.😀 Landstalker is one of my most beloved games of all time. It had so many aspects and moments that were unusual for a console game back in the days. For example, the concert with Mr. Ludwig in the banquet room and the subsequent quest in the crypt of Mercator were so memorable.

[@hungrygoriya]

I really loved the crypt part. I didn't want to spoil it here since it was so much fun to stumble into. What a clever way to advance the game for a while!

[@rawrharhar]

Thanks for the review. This is a top 3 Genesis game for me. I can't wait til you get to Alundra. That game is a transformative experience that no one expects.

[@hungrygoriya]

I'm both intrigued and scared to play Alundra. I've heard the puzzling is ruthless and that the story is gut-wrenching. Still, I'll definitely play through it one of these days.

[@GentlyWitherchainsaw]

You should play Dark Saviour on the Saturn next. It’s the spiritual successor to this, but has a completely original battle system and story progression system 😊

[@hungrygoriya]

I'll keep an eye out for a copy. I haven't come across it in my collecting adventures yet.

[@Unholy_Louie]

@@hungrygoriya SOOOoo recommended. You can buy a very high quality repro too if the price is too ridiculous.

[@Darkkfated]

Dark Savioiur is a weird beast. It wants to be Landstalker 2, but this was AFTER Climax lost a lot of its talent to the people who left to form Camelot Software Planning. Plus it's on the Saturn, which as everyone knows was a stupidly hard sytem to make good games for. The end result is very weird. Still fun, but it has this really bizarre dueling system where you're locked into only being able to move forward and backward, almost like a fighting game, but with shallow Landstalker combat. You can "block" by attacking at the same time as your foe, and you can move, jump, and attack. That's it. It's SO WEIRD in a very "Yep, this is a Saturn game alright" way.

[@hungrygoriya]

@@Darkkfated It sounds intriguing to say the least!

[@Y9Power]

It is normal to get used to the perspective of this game. You are a good gamer, the learning curve of this game gets the best of us. I used to go to my friends house to watch him play. I never brought up the courage to play this yet. If I get the time I will try this. Good review as always.😁❤

[@hungrygoriya]

Hey thanks for saying so! Isometric games and I tend to get along quite well. I hope you try this one out sometime. I'm sure you'd get a handle on it and get through it yourself too!

[@jonothanthrace1530]

I played Landstaker via Sega Genesis/Mega Drive Classics years ago and ran into a wall when I had to deal with one of the moving platform puzzles. It's the one at 16:28, in fact!

[@hungrygoriya]

That part definitely took me a while to figure out. I think I pulled 20 seconds of what was easily a 10 minute+ clip of making it up to the top of that ledge!

[@SaviorGabriel]

Borrowed this game from a friend back in high school, and it became one of my favorite games on the Genesis. I kinda like that you're not out to save the world, but on an adventure to hunt down a legendary lost treasure.

[@hungrygoriya]

It's a nice, fresh take on video game storytelling, that's for sure! I just wish our treasure hunters were nice people that I could root for!

[@Filmonaut]

Never noticed any hidden leveling up system, very interesting. Back in the day the story was a breath of fresh air compaired to the usual "chosen one has to defeat a great evil".

[@hungrygoriya]

The story's definitely different. I just wish I didn't dislike the characters so much! I watched a few other reviews after I got mine out last night, and people mentioned that after so many life stocks, you get a big heart beside the small heart meter. Apparently the number of big hearts you have is relative to your overall strength. I don't know what source that comes from, but it seems plausible.

[@Filmonaut]

@@hungrygoriya In the original japanese version there is even a brothel in Mercator and a few other sexual innuendos that were censored for western audiences. I can see why you disliked the characters although I found them likable. The twist with the duke being the bad guy instead of his brother was pretty good for the time in my opinion.

[@michaelkreitzer1369]

This was the only isometric game of the era I played. Tbh, the controls are perfectly natural. You press the direction you actually move. What could be simpler? The other games you describe sound broken to me. If up goes up/right and right goes down/right, what freaking happens you you press up and right? 😮

[@hungrygoriya]

It took some serious deprogramming for my brain to get a handle on these controls. You make a good point though, haha... it makes sense when you haven't played any other isometric games that set that sort of standard.

[@michaelkreitzer1369]

@@hungrygoriya Funny how that works! To be fair, it is an interesting problem. What do you in a game where you can't actually move in the directions a typical dpad points? 😅 What exactly should happen when I press "up" and nothing else. There's no frame of reference. Game starts, I press just "up". Typical top down games don't have that problem since you can't only press a diagonal. There isn't a diagonal button in the hardware. All diagonals are combination presses of two buttons.

[@dmxdxl]

I remember playing this on Sega as a kid, thinking to myself that graphics couldn't get any better than this, and it felt like a full 3D game to me at the time, looking back I still love this game for LIFE, and could play it through another 6 times!!!..

[@hungrygoriya]

I hope you do give it another playthrough one of these days. I love how this one looks too!

[@dmxdxl]

@@hungrygoriya DO IT, this game is so underrated and an absolute GEM!!!...

[@MotherKojiro]

The visuals are about all I remember from playing this... probably something like 12 years ago? They took the usually muddy palette of the Genesis and made something very charming out of it. Not sure if you've played Light Crusader, but that is also an isometric Action-Adventure with a heavy emphasis on puzzles that you might enjoy; the controls are generally more fluid, for one thing, and I say that as someone who's not great at isometric platforming.

[@hungrygoriya]

This game is gorgeous! I'm pretty enamoured with how colourful and charming the graphics are. I don't think I've seen anything quite so sunny, save for Crusader of Centy. I haven't played Light Crusader yet! I have to save up some fresh isometric platforming fun so I don't run out too soon.

[@yaktaur]

This is one of my all time nostalgia favorite games, I've got it basically memorised hahah. I never thought about how the controls are locked to one way till you press a diagonal, I always just thought you had to always press diagonals to move... hm!

[@hungrygoriya]

It's definitely jarring when you've played other isometric games with the cardinal directions changing which way you're facing. I'm glad this game's a favourite of yours. I can definitely understand why it would be!

[@alejandrofrancetich4607]

This game is awesome! Except the part in the final dungeon (?) where you have to move rapidly to keep a box on a conveyor belt 😫 That’s where I gave up

[@hungrygoriya]

The final dungeon was definitely crazy in some parts. I remember that section you're talking about!

[@Idle_Wisdom]

The worst part of the game right there. I think I aged 6 months beating that section of the final dungeon.

[@alejandrofrancetich4607]

@@Idle_Wisdom I just didn’t even try. Still loved the game