Treasure of the Rudras - The Most Overlooked Squaresoft RPG?

[@Xygor]

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

[@superfalcon022]

How did you pin this one month ago lol

[@Xygor]

@@superfalcon022 it was open to exclusive viewing by Patreon patrons/KZbin members before it was released

[@rayray0987]

The floating lands falling and becoming part of the surface world. That was cool.

[@BinaryDood]

naming attacks "Buttfat"

[@st.haborym]

Being able to learn the strongest spells from the very beginning so long as you knew what the words for them was, plus the fact that unlike literally every other jrpg ever made, it doesn't revolve around grinding for levels.

[@alexhayden507]

Shout out to Aeon Genesis, my god. They've translated soooooo many games, long complex RPGs being several of them. We are super indebted to them.

[@Xygor]

Totally, awesome machine they have running over there.

[@SamsaraRevolves]

I find it crazy that after years and years of searching for SNES games of reasonable caliber, something like this pops up. What an amazing find. Thank you!

[@Xygor]

Thanks for watching!

[@TardustheToasty]

I highly recommend trying it out.

[@Sephiroth517]

Wouldn't be a surprise to everyone, but using Dragon Quest's japanese spells names also worked in Rudora no Hihou...

[@ConejoZing]

Rudra is an ancient Vedic deity mostly of the wind element. It literally means who eradicates problems from their roots or wind clearing out the deadwood.

[@decusq]

Anyone else here watching this thinking we could get an HD 2D remake of this too like LIVE A LIVE?

[@MirinkaiserVODs]

So... the mantra system. I experimented a lot trying to make spells with regular words to see how much it would recognize. "Fire" was a fire spell, "Wind" was a wind spell... One time, I created a mantra called BOING. And the spell animation? The letters "BOING" bounce across the screen. I lost it.

[@Llortnerof]

Though it made one of the drawbacks of the translation be that the best spells where essentially random letter combinations.

[@st.haborym]

Seriously?

[@Llortnerof]

@@st.haborym Anything that isn't an elemental spell will simply be the Mantra jumping across the screen. That happens to include Boing.

[@st.haborym]

@@Llortnerof Aw, that's not as funny

[@falcon8752]

@@Llortnerof not all void spells do this. For example, one of the animations is a bird dropping the word "failed" onto enemies. and the mantra itself wasn't the word Failed.

[@Ritchian]

This is for sure among my favorites of the SNES-era RPGs. The magic system was so original and fun to mess with and I love the overlapping stories. Getting to see the results of the events you participate in from another angle when you play through the other stories adds a perspective you don't usually get in an RPG. And the fan translation is phenomenal. I can't recommend the game enough and truly wish Square Enix would consider releasing it and some of the other RPG gems we missed states side for a current console so more people could get a chance to play it. Seriously, Squenix. Where's my Live A Live remaster?

[@Xygor]

Yep, this and Live A Live would both be excellent games for them to remaster soon!

[@st.haborym]

Funny you should mention that... Also it's not a remaster. It's a full blown remake.

[@Ritchian]

@@st.haborym I completely forgot this comment. I obviously need to put a list together of more remakes to wish into existence.

[@SnthwaveSunset]

I still think this game deserves a remaster if not a remake, its such an underrated gem

[@Xygor]

Yes it does! I put it in my top 5 RPGs that need an HD2D remaster video.

[@ShadyPlatinum777]

After the Live a Live remake anything is possible

[@theLethalRabbit]

Most memorable aspects of the game? 1) Seeing the same events from three different character viewpoints 2) Switching between those characters anytime in the game and seeing how they interact with each other... 3) The magic system, of course. Graphics and music are among the system's best. Only thing about Treasure of the Rudras that didn't fascinate me was the story and the characters - i couldn't connect with them as much. Still, a great game, shows how much Square experimented during this era. Along with FFV, Live a Live, Romancing Saga 3, Bahamut Lagoon and Trials of Mana, these are the best Square games that never left Japan at the time (yes, so many games!)

[@mikej2020]

This game needs to be remastered and localized by Arte Piazza, like they did with the Romancing SaGa games.

[@Xygor]

Agreed!

[@MrOnepiecem7]

Or like Live A Live

[@c1sower]

I loved this game. It is very sad it never got an official release here. My favorite memory was in one of the scenarios, there was an area you could get into early that had higher level enemies and there was a weapon you could obtain from battle or in a chest, I can’t remember, that made you way OP for a good portion of that scenario.

[@ryo-kai8587]

That was always my favorite in classic RPGs too. You worked for it, you figured out how to beat something that's "too hard" and now you've _earned_ that OP time. It eventually balances itself out anyway, but the feeling of going beyond and actually getting rewarded appropriately is unparalleled. Sometimes I wonder if that's a "concentrated version" of a big reason we play RPGs in the first place. _Fight slightly hard boss_ -> Get slightly stronger _Fight hilariously OP mob_ -> *Get hilariously OP*

[@justanotheryoutubechannel]

There’s something like that with Surlent, if you enter the desert next to the Dragon God Ruins, you can fight enemies called Paimon, they’re pretty strong but not unbeatable early in the game. They have a low chance of dropping a weapon called Red Eagle, which does 115 damage compared to 20-ish for your starting weapon, and 40-ish do the best weapon you can get in a shop at the time.

[@FactStash101]

This was one of my favorite jrpg games. Definitely up there with final fantasy 6

[@tennotsukai87]

Easily one of my favorite translated games I played in my teen years, but sadly none of my friends had any idea this game existed. The most memorable aspects: 1. The freaking amazing music. 2. The different character stories, and how each felt unique. 3. The mantra system. Though, I'm split on it, my 12 y.o. self had a good time naming spells after DBZ skills lol (kamehameha)

[@mrmanju6989]

Im so glad this is a higher viewed video of yours. I adore this game to now end. They all have some slight walkthrough moments, but if you pay attention well enough you would be fine. I love the atmosphere, characters, music, mantra system, storyline, etc. great shit

[@EmmittDespain]

Played this one last year. LOVED it. The music by far is the most memorable part of it for me, but the graphics and mechanics were definitely a close second. Such a brilliant game. Thanks for the video.

[@Xygor]

Thanks for your thoughts on it!

[@secretofmana-ananimatedtri3820]

Another great RPG! One of the things I liked was to be able to copy any mantra an enemy or boss would throw at you. Just need to write it down, and add it to your list after the fight! Most of the time it won't be as efficient as it was when a boss is using it, but still, that was unique :D The game can be very challenging sometimes, I remember how incredibly usefull the buff/debuff mantra are. Learn them as soon as possible!

[@Xygor]

I didn't even realize this strat....thanks for sharing!

[@nanoglitch6693]

I never got around to this one. The enemy and battle sprite animations look incredible though!

[@kabukimanindahouse]

playing this game for over a decade now and you can still find all this crazy new secret stuff in it. like last playthrough, when i found zombie surt in the abyss. however you can seriously exploit powerup and critical in this game. just set up an element barrier and power yourself up and whack every boss to shreds

[@MaruEien]

I can't believe I've never heard of this game. Looks sick!

[@anawood3338]

Played this the first time 20 years ago when I was a young teenager. Great game, only complaint regarding the visuals, is a lot of towns are almost copy pasted using different tile sets in my opinion, other than that, its designed beautifully. The battle system could of been better if they integrated the active time system. Most of the battles that are somewhat challenging are almost like breaking a code, you figure out their sequence, and get into a rhythm by picking out the commands for your party, and you'll win figuring out the right sequence, the wrong sequence could be game over very quickly even with level grinding. Kind of hard to explain if you haven't played it. There is caveats of course like certain magics that increase speed, agility, strength, etc that change it up a little but not by much.

[@mhalvargas3641]

I remember playing this gem back in the day when emulation was still like a new frotier, this game has some great tracks and story but the magic system takes the cake fot me. At the time i discovered this game i was also making the rounds in the wastelands of shin megami tensei II, so naturally i started naming spells my spells like in smt 2. To my surprise agi, bufu, zio and dia worked in the same way in Secret of the Rudras and Smt, also the modifiers me, dyne, and lao work, so spells like media, agilao or bufudyne work in the same way. Years later i found another game that also has a spell naming system in which the same happened, "A Magical High School Girl" was totally not the title i was expecting to find an in depth magic system but here we are with a little anime witch obliterating cutesy monsters with megido😅.

[@PanupatChong]

That battle animation reminded me so much of Bahamut Lagoon

[@RyonMugen]

Im gonna try this. I LOVE the font! I miss how RPG's had different kinda of fonts to stylize the text boxes, Nowadays everything just looks Arial to me.

[@patrickobrien7647]

I like how spells work in this game. Great job!

[@Xygor]

Yeah man, definitely a unique concept! And thanks!

[@MP2066]

Why is it I learn of this Old Square Enix games NOW I heard about Live A Live while a back and it got a remake almost 5 years later or so, Something like that so Maybe the same will happen here this game LOOKS sick as heck though those Animations so SMOOTH! I will either play it with the patch or get the remake if it gets one I hope it does.

[@rVesperialGaming]

Hopefully this game will get HD2D treatment same Octopath Traveler and Live A Live

[@iwannabethekid34xc]

Your channel is a real gem, I appreciate the recommendations. I wish I could have done some sort of content like this myself when I had the time to back when I was still a major gamer, but it's great to see my old ambitions carried out by someone who does.

[@Xygor]

Thank you!

[@MeDjezze]

Absolutely gorgeous game, that needs a remake in the style of Octopath Traveler.

[@Xygor]

100% agreed!

[@Lozard2324]

Sprite art reminds me of bahamuts lagoon a bit

[@technopriest8686]

I actually discovered this game this last Summer researching the legendary concept artist Keita Amemiya. He did the character designs for the infamous Hagane: The Final Conflict, Onimusha 2 & 3, and along the recent Shin Megami Tensei IV. He's even directed and created multiple tokusatsu film and television series, such as Garo, Kamen Rider, and Zeiram. I seriously suggest anyone who is a fan of bio-mechanical designs, body-horror, sci-fi, and kaiju to check him out.

[@YelenaSkunky]

I'm still a bit bitter about the fact that there's no artbook for this game. The designs that were published are freaking amazing. But there's definitely more where it came from.

[@technopriest8686]

@@YelenaSkunky I think there is an art book out in the wild that is out of print that may have some art from this game potentially. It is only a guess though as I've never looked at the inside, but i believe it did exist at one point .

[@Half-HeartHero]

if any game should get an hd-2d remake, it's this one

[@Xygor]

Agreed!

[@rasser80]

looks like a game i would have picked up in my younger days of playing games.

[@HallyVee]

Ah ha !THIS is where that RPG-Maker tileset came from!

[@truepatriot6657]

Rudra is another name of lord Shiva from hindu culture , mantra are hymns in sanskrit literature ( ancient hindu language )

[@eirhjien]

dont why this game gets so little love, it's basically FFVI-2

[@Xygor]

Haha, don't know if I'd go that far, but it is really good!

[@rvfiasco]

One of the few RPG's from that era I haven't gotten around to. I might have to change that!

[@Fai2012]

Somehow knowing zero Japanese I was able to beat this at the time. It was the pinnacle of SquareSoft and SFC RPG, with awesome music and character designs.

[@mastahshonuff]

Just discovered your KZbin.. I'm impressed with your list of games. I've played most of them and look forward to going through your other videos. Excellent choices.

[@MyPhobo]

I miss mid to late 90's squaresoft.

[@DeffoZappo]

Rudra in Hindu religion is also a chant/ mantra, a wind deity associated with Shiva. I find this interesting because Final Fantasy also uses Brahma for summoning ( another Hindu deity) Also Shiva although Shiva in FF is a female deity of ice.

[@mybecember]

I’m playing Chrono Trigger in between other games because I have played it before But this one looks great! I love how it feels and looks to have a lot of replay ability which is also quite appealing! I have thought about hunting down the old tactics ogre games too! And I played and beat final fantasy tactics on PlayStation in Japanese So cheers for releasing these kinds of videos!

[@beerious8392]

Tactics ogre, heck ya.

[@WilliamScavengerFish]

Exploring mantras is fun. A strong fire element is adding giga+mega+flare. Another one uses the games base mantra "Ig". What is great about the fire mantra is that it only has 2 characters. This means you can the best amplifying words like my favourite one, "gigakaiggod" (giga+ka+ig+god). This mantra is single target but extremely strong.

[@YelenaSkunky]

The most memorable part for me was the glitch that alters the final party. It was pretty funny. Also, Surlent's scenario and party. The quirkiest bunch of guys around, for sure.

[@BryceRehder]

I love this game, but remember the translationed us version having a broken magic system.

[@jameshunter6289]

Damn this looks awesome! Never heard of it but would love to give it a try

[@torshec8634]

If Squeenix would only remember they have other games than Final Fantasy, Live A Live and Treasure of the Rudras need a Pixel Remaster treatment while staying loyal to what they brought.

[@NameNotAChannel]

I played through this game on a borrowed, imported Japanese original cartridge, in the 90's, without walkthroughs or translation... just experience with other RPGs under my belt :) Fun game, even without knowing the story.

[@smokeldogg]

The Actraiser remake gives me hope that non FF games, like Treasure of the Rudras, will eventually get some love too.

[@DhinCardoso]

If dollar wasn't so expensive after conversion (I live in Brazil) I would consider donating, caz your videos is a real treasure.

[@forcelightningcable9639]

That magic system reminds me so much of spell names from the megaten universe.

[@kytim89]

Wish that Square would remaster this game.

[@kloa4219]

octopath traveler?

[@spike6322]

Wow, I never heard of this game but I'm definitely eager to etch out some time to play it, having loved so many of the usual SNES RPG classics. Thanks for sharing!

[@Rohan_Trishan]

Using indian/ Hindu names, imagery, and relogious symbols or themes like mantras and gods and stuff seems very unique and interesting... Alot of rpgs borrow a few elemnts from india like certain names/gods such as shiva or agni but few really go in depth, would like to see more of that

[@Nova67827]

Digital devil saga is for you

[@UbdU]

Thanks for the heads-up on this one. It looks fantastic.

[@MarxasThomas]

Ryuji Sasai also did the ost for bushido blade 2 and Saga 3/ Final Fantasy lengend 3!

[@beastyshout]

I never heard of this game before! Looks awesome

[@DennisJHarrisonJrHere]

wow, totally unheard of for me - can not wait to play it, thank you! :)

[@Xygor]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@ryogo666]

Great game but I wasn't a fan of the magic system. They certainly did good in making it work in English, but I feel like a lot was lost in translation. I loved the music in this game, and that every scenario had its own boss battle theme. I remember that I couldn't sleep at night because I kept hearing Surlent's boss theme in my head in an endless loop for days after playing.

[@-roejogan-]

One of my favorite parts of Rudras is filling the spellbook with nonsense.

[@Mokinono45]

I'm playing this right now, it's very good. While I think J-rpgs are an aquired taste, I like this game a lot!

[@grimmSOL]

Get to play this and Treasure Hunter G, LIVE A LIVE and Bahamut's Lagoon, but growing up an SNES kid, I've always been a huge fan of pixel art and RPGs. This seems to borrow and improve upon Seiken Densetsu 3, and even Chrono Trigger a bit.

[@rickydargence5948]

I got this on mi mini SNES because I really like JRPGs, but I downloaded a bunch at the time and discovered some cool hidden gems like Brainlord and Dragon View, Rudras definetly was at the top of my list, I specially liked the OST and cover art, but I just played like 2 hours of it, maybe I'll finish it one day. I miss when SQUARE pumped out different IPs and games that were borderline experimental, definitely what I liked of them during the late SNES to early PS2 era.

[@toolman4745]

Love your videos. This one was great. I've never heard of this game but it looks amazing. SNES era sprite based RPGs are so good.

[@Xygor]

Thank you! Yes, it is really solid!

[@toolman4745]

@@Xygor I need to grab it and play it on my snes classic

[@tp1382]

great review, definitely gonna try to play this when i get the chance :D as echoed in the comments, thanks for this true find! you and SNESDrunk are doing the Lord's work

[@moberhau]

Thanks for sharing - this game looks really interesting!

[@michellet4444]

Looks like secret of mana,, a link to the past and final fantasy 6,,, mixed together, I will try to find a copy,, thanks for the great review.

[@darklordyianni4463]

......emulate it, there's a fan translation.

[@ryo-kai8587]

*@Michelle Thoburn* Still some of the greatest ever made. All 3 had legendary overworld themes, and legendary music in general. Even though Secret of Mana was more region-based, you know which song I'm talking about; pretty sure it's the first exploration theme and it's called "Into the Thick of it." ...even though the ice country song "A Wish" is also hauntingly and meltingly beautiful... but I digress; I could probably list most of the music from these games, lol

[@alexiere]

I had noooo idea that this was a Squaresoft title. Thanks again for another great video! 👍

[@GB-sh9st]

Setting and story look very original, particularly for the time. Large cast with strong motivations sounds compelling too. Where does the game fall challenge-wise on a scale from mystic quest --> seventh saga?

[@WolfyLuna]

First time I heard of this game. Thanks for sharing.

[@astaynax7531]

I haven't played this game yet, I didn't realize square made this game, I did play live a live but, I guess I'm going to have to give that one a whirl when I go back home

[@poohbear01x48]

Haven’t played - but the beautiful animations of the sprites makes it worth a play alone. Helps I’m a SNES RPG freak 😁👍

[@markbelanger9199]

Holy cow man. You sold me at spell words. I stopped listen before I spoiled any more. No way to play this without roms huh?

[@theminimalisttrainer1288]

Rudra is better than FF6. I 💝 Rudra.

[@AyuNeko]

i loved this but didn't finish because translation was not complete yet at that time, then i forgot about it :( need to take my time and play this again and find the complete translation lol

[@ZEX606]

It's really good I beat it 11 years ago great story in game play you will enjoy it. The perfect time to play RPGs in fall in winter time well my favorite time lol

[@daniel_cofresi]

You should check out Chaos Seed while you're checking these SFC gems, It has very interesting mechanics and story, I'm sure you'd like it

[@Xygor]

I've played it a lot, one of the first games I ever reviewed...

[@daniel_cofresi]

@@Xygor Found it! Looks like i still have a lot of binging left to do huh?

[@Domaudeo]

I played this game last year, and even if I mostly liked it, what I disliked if that each scenario is played in the same world at the same places, and they are long. So you basically seen the same world and places 4 times before being able to visit new places and see new stuff. Also I am not a fan of the Mentra system but this might be just me.

[@alimirza851]

This is the father of Octopath Traveler..

[@karlo9572]

This games graphics, sprites and combat animations reminds me a lot of Bahamut Lagoon.

[@arberreka2242]

The best part of this game was the revelation at the end. The Reapers are coming and humanity needs to pull themselves together or else...

[@anderxale1]

Thanks for pointing this great looking game out! Backlog growth! :) /subscribe

[@eggplantking7554]

Guess I know what Im doing with my weekend!

[@LynxxLancer]

When it comes to graphics on the SNES, I think Tengai Makyou Zero takes that cake.

[@DrunkMoblin]

Another excellent video! Small note, Live A Live is pronounced like Five A Five!

[@mrmanjumac3454]

Oh? Is it stated anywhere how to pronounce it?

[@eviljoshy3402]

I, like many, never heard of this game before this video. I may have to find and pu it on my mini snes now :P

[@cosmogang]

Whoa. Must play.

[@guardianrandy]

I'm surprised you didn't compare it to Wild Arms which came out around that same time and featured three different scenarios that cross over and join together.

[@anonamatron]

I remember when this game was being translated. One of the translators rushed in to the #emu room on IRC to announce that there was a "poruno" (porno) spell.

[@rgbcrafts]

Am playing it. It is fantastic in so many topics.

[@anthonyldaniel1]

I have to say, the snes had some of the best rpgs on it. Despite some hiccups like mistranslations and the fact that some of the better rpgs didn't make it over to America. Like the Secert of Mana sequel never got a true translation until the past year or two

[@greyspot00]

Awesome looking game. Definitely going on my short list.

[@Han-Solo-Cup]

I can see them remaking this in octopath traveler form.

[@mrmanjumac3454]

Excellent game. Makes me so sad that it hasn't been played by many. It's up there with the best snes rpgs

[@yosefabbas8438]

The most memorable part of the game for me was definitely the soundtrack

[@nimbylive]

I would add the look also has a lot Bahamut Lagoon vibes. Squaresoft pushed the SNES so hard.

[@Doctor_Pazuzu]

1:36 "The world is plagued by pollution and mankind has given up hope that the earth's demise can be reversed." Love them super topical videogames.

[@mangaexperts]

thanks bro i will try it

[@TheModernGafa]

So that's where all those RPG Maker graphics came from.

[@Catastrophic-hk3mh]

Hmm..early Octopath Traveler

[@mmd77777]

Feel like Octopath is literally based on this Things play out really similarly and the graphics are sooo reminiscent of rudras

[@ZEX606]

This game really good I beat it about 11 years I really enjoyed it