Developer: KCET Publisher: Konami Release: 06/30/98 Genre: RPG
Konami were on a bit of a hot streak in terms of RPGs on the PlayStation. Suikoden beat the odds and was successful in 1996 while Vandal Hearts was a nice appetizer before Final Fantasy Tactics. In the summer of 1998 they followed that up with Azure Dreams, a dungeon crawler. This particular genre was niche and more at home on the PC than console. However Azure Dreams manages to be both accessible and challenging and is charming to boot. It is a bit obscure but an excellent starting point into the rogue-like genre.
The town of Monsbaiya is a remote village, with the monster tower as its only other landmark. The monster tower attracts fortune hunters from all over the world seeking to get rich by capturing and selling its monsters. One such hunter is Guy, who makes it to the top of the Tower and is never heard from again. 15 years later his son Koh follows in his footsteps.
Azure Dreams is one part dungeon crawler and the other half a town building simulator. The majority of the game’s action takes place in the tower where you collect items and fight monsters. Outside the tower you can spend your town building up the city and more importantly wooing the ladies. Eventually you’ll spend an equal amount of time exploring both facets of the game as they expand and affect one another. There’s a simple gameplay loop the game follows that while repetitive is enjoyable.
Azure Dreams follows all of the conventions of the rogue-like genre entering the tower. For every action you take the monsters do the same. You can only carry five items upon entry, Koh’s level resets upon exiting and floors are randomly generated outside of the second one. It seems punishing at first but there is some permanence. Any monsters you level keep their experience and the same applies to your equipment. Progression in the tower comes in increments and with forty floors it will take some time to reach the top.
Exploration in the tower is aided and abetted by a legion of traps and items that produce a variety of effects. There are innumerable traps; some cause confusion, explode, teleport your familiar away or even toss you up a floor! They might even flip the screen upside down! The cool thing about traps is that enemies can trip them as well. While you’ll want to focus on collecting monster eggs there are a ton of items to experiment with. Some will reveal the entire map or treasure or monster locations. Seeds can boost stats permanently or produce temporary effects. The most important are the sands, which improve Koh’s weapon and armor permanently.
The systems don’t stop there. Aside from your initial familiar any monsters hatched at home can fight by your side. With over fifty monsters there are a lot to play around with. Some evolve at set levels and become stronger while others gain stronger magic. Many possess innate traits such as double HP, halving magic consumption, etc. You can also fuse monsters to create overpowered beasts. It is very reminiscent of Shin Megami Tensei Nocturne and functions in a similar manner. This system is incredibly deep and worth digging into as your familiars are the ones that will carry you to the top.
In town there is plenty to keep you occupied. Everyone seems to have problems or goals that only you can solve, usually involving money. Building up the town opens up plenty of side activities such as a casino, a theater, a bowling alley and even horse jockeying. While some are superficial others will benefit you, allowing you to earn money quickly. You can also win the affections of seven single ladies in town, lending the game a dating sim aspect. Some of these require heavy investment and while its fluff it is pretty cool.
The variety of activities in town is needed to relieve the eventual boredom that comes from repeated journeys into the tower. Progress is very slow initially; because experience is split between you and any active familiars it can take a while before you can advance beyond floor ten. While it is random there are distinct changes every five floors with specific new enemies that appear. The difficulty curve is steep if you aren’t gaming the system and even that isn’t foolproof. If you plan to make it to the top prepare to dedicate at least twenty or thirty hours. While that repetition is inherit in the genre it does grow tiring here.
In Closing
I still really like Azure Dreams despite that. While I had played other roguelike games such as Fatal Labyrinth this was my proper introduction to the genre. It lacks the production values of most Konami titles but is thoroughly entertaining nonetheless.
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