Developer: Hudson Soft Publisher: Hudson Soft Release: 12/08/89 Genre: Adventure
One of my biggest regrets with the NES library is that point and click adventure games were sparse. Back in the 80s the genre was still largely the province of the PC with consoles receiving scraps. But oh were those scraps so good. I enjoyed Déjà vu so much I almost bought a Gameboy Color just to play the sequel. The Famicom in Japan was bursting at the seams with these titles however and thanks to the fan translation community the West can finally play these previously impenetrable beasts. Seirei Gari is a horror themed adventure that is a bit short but an enjoyable ride while it lasts.
Michimune and Miu are a couple living together with her grandfather. As they celebrate Miu’s 18th birthday a demon named Rosenkreuz kidnaps her with the intention of using her to reawaken the God of Evil after waiting 100 years. Rosenkreuz then kills her grandfather and knocks out Michimune when he tries to stop him. Upon awaking Michimune teams up with Doctor Kiyojo to save Miu.
Seirei Gari is very much a Japanese adventure game. That means in contrast to its Western counterparts it focuses more on story and navigating the environment with some light puzzle solving rather than collecting items. There are few items in the game in fact; at most you will have maybe four and you use most almost immediately after picking them up. The list of commands is short compared to more complex games like Shadowgate. This makes it easy to navigate as well as make progress as your options are so few. In many ways Seirei Gari feels more like a visual novel than and adventure game.
With its streamlined interface Seirei Gari is easier than most adventure games. The game is divided in to chapters with each taking place in a particular location. There is no backtracking because it is not necessary. Because there are so few commands it is easy to suss out how to proceed. Generally checking the area in every new screen a few times will yield results. It unfortunately is also a bit tedious. The game falls in to the trap of many old adventure games where you must repeat the same action multiple times in order to proceed. This is where I wish there were more puzzles to break things up. They are either brain dead simple (put the orb in the hole) or obtuse (lead the lava through the maze to a dead end with rushing water to create a path). A middle ground would make the gameplay more interesting.
Although the two games have nothing in common thematically Seirei Gari is structured very much like Princess Tomato in the Salad Kingdom. Hudson Soft has a formula for these games and they stick to it. Both take place across a number of distinct chapters, they each feature an assistant that offers advice when necessary and both incorporate some light RPG elements such as boss battles and mazes. The battles here are simple; you simply need to use your few items in a set order and the game does not let you pick otherwise making it impossible to die. The mazes however are few more complex, with identical walls and the only distinction being a small description of something different. You will want a map or list of directions to avoid frustration.
Seirei Gari is classified as a horror themed adventure yet it disappoints in that regard. The art is very bland overall. The haunted mansion of chapter one sets a nice tone but it is downhill from there. You spend the majority of the game among remote villages and mountains with not much going on. There are some cool monsters every now and then at least. The game tries to convey horror through atmosphere but falls flat due to its bland art and lackluster soundtrack. While these sound like minor complaints considering the genre they at least help. In a genre where you spend all of your time looking at pictures they could at least make them look interesting.
In Closing
I like Seirei Gari a lot. I went in with no expectations as the game is virtually unknown to me. What I found was an enjoyable tale that breezes by thanks to the streamlined interface. That makes the game very accessible although it will leave you wanting more. But you will enjoy the time you spend with it.
