Torneko: The Last Hope

Our Hero, in all his Claymation glory!

Hi there! Although I'm not going to be doing a Let's Play in the same old format anymore, I still thought this would be a good place to write about the games that I'm starting up, so here we go again! ^_^

Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2: Fushigi no Dungeon /
World of Dragon Warrior: Torneko: The Last Hope
(PlayStation, 1999/2000)

The original "Torneko no Daibōken" for the Super Famicom was a spin-off from Dragon Quest IV. The format was similar to games that have been referred to as "roguelikes," which get their name from the 1980 computer game "Rogue." It consists of mostly randomly generated dungeons filled with enemies which take their turns after the player, resulting in strategic gameplay regarding the approach of monsters and which skills to use—and when to wait—so as not to let them gain an advantage. At the end of that game, Torneko is successful in retrieving something known as the "Joy Chest" from the dungeon, and all is well! The sequel is another roguelike, and the first (and only) installment seen in the U.S. Six months after the first game, the entire village is slowly becoming a dungeon, and it's up to Torneko to explore the different areas and discover why! The game was quite popular in Japan, as was the original, but the localization of the sequel didn't do as well in North America, garnering as low as 1/10 from reviewers. Really, it's not that bad...judge a game on its merits, not on whether you like its style...but whatever. The NA version has become a bit of a rarity it seems.

Dragon Quest Characters: Torneko no Daibōken 2 Advance: Fushigi no Dungeon
(Game Boy Advance, 2001)

A mere two years after its initial release with Sony, this handheld Nintendo version was published. It appears to be exactly like its predecessor, with the same graphics and sound effects, but with fewer buttons to control the various functions, and an added feature to temporarily save the game between each floor of the dungeon. I'll have to look into it to see if there were any added features, but it doesn't seem that this is worth playing once you've played the console version—unless you just reeeally want your Torneko to go.

And that's that! I hope you'll follow my tweets as I attempt to discover the secrets of this charming little gem!