The Super Famicom library never ceases to amaze me. Even now, decades after its last release, I am still discovering plenty of hidden gems in its lineup. While the SNES has a solid lineup of side scrolling beat em ups some of its best were left in Japan. Undercover Cops and Denjin Makai are two of the best brawlers of that generation but most have never heard of them. Melfand Stories is a game with an even lower profile. While it isn’t on the level of those two titles it remains a solid experience in spite of its flaws.
In the land of Melfand the King was kind and fair to all. However his subordinate Nomolwa decides he should rule instead and makes a bargain with the demon Beril to usurp the King. With this Nomolwa overthrows both the King and Queen and terror reigns. All hope of restoring peace lies with four warriors, each wanting to take down Nomolwa for their own reasons.
There are four characters to choose from, each with their own “specialty”. El is your traditional well rounder, good in all categories but exceptional in none. Nora can double jump plus has a long reach with her whip. If used correctly she can be game breaking despite her low attack power and has the easiest path to the end of the game. Corse has the highest attack and defense but is very slow. Lemin has the longest reach with her rod and supposedly is better with magic but I didn’t notice any difference.
Mechanically Melfand Stories is simple to its detriment. Although it is a side scrolling beat em up you can forget about combos and the like. Each character has a simple three hit combo, can back attack and block and use magic. For those looking for variety in their gameplay look elsewhere. At the same time the game is designed around it. Most enemies die in a few hits which keeps the pace brisk. Each stage is composed of multiple parts and the game does not linger in one spot which does help.
The action in Melfand Stories is confined to a single plane like the Ninja Warriors and Bad Dudes. The stages don’t feel like one continuous map but a series of short vignettes strung together. Every level has a unique set of enemies and bosses which keeps the variety high. At the end of almost every level you are offered a choice between two paths, usually designated easy or hard. No one character will see all the game has to offer in a single run.
Despite its multiple paths Melfand Stories is a short game. A single run with any character will comprise five stages at most. But the game does have some replay value. With nine stages there are three separate paths to the end. If you make the right choices you can take the long way to the king’s castle. In addition each character has a unique ending. But even with that in mind a single run is thirty minutes, give or take. At the very least with four characters it fares better than most brawlers when it comes to replay value.
The games brevity is not helped by its easy difficulty. When I said the levels are short I meant it. Each segment is a few enemies followed by a mid or end level boss. Boss patterns are easy to spot and with certain characters are cake walks. Despite some stages being labeled as hard that only means they are a little longer than normal. Life restoring food is readily available as well as screen clearing magic. Even though you have a single life and limited credits it is still more than enough. You respawn in the exact spot upon continuing and can even switch characters if you like. The game could really have used bump in difficulty as most will breeze through it easily.
I really like the presentation in Melfand Stories. The overall color palette is incredibly vibrant and looks more like an arcade game than a console title. The sprites are heavily stylized; the proportions aren’t realistic but they aren’t super deformed either. Even though the theme is generic fantasy the enemies and bosses have a charm that I can’t deny. The environments are the true star however. Nearly every backdrop is gorgeous, with multiple layers and foreground objects. The one area the game comes up short is its animation, which is stiff. Oh well.
In Closing
It has its flaws but Melfand Stories is a solid and entertaining game. For a game with very little presence I expected the worst. I enjoyed the time I spent with it even if it wasn’t as good as I thought.
