Beyond Oasis

Yet again, we have a first.  Looking back, I realized I have yet to review a Sega Genesis game.  And no, Sonic Mania doesn’t count.

That’s probably because I was a Nintendo/Sony person growing up.  Nowadays, the PlayStation and XBox are almost interchangeable.  Sure, there are a few exclusives, but for the most part developers are going to release the same game on both systems.  Hell, some games even have cross play between consoles.  That wasn’t the case in the 90s, when your choice of gaming console drastically altered which games you could play.

This also meant the big first party developers spent a lot of time trying to ape each others’ big name series’.  Nintendo was always looking for their own Sonic, while Sega was on a never ending quest for their own Mario and Zelda.  The generally did a pretty good job making games comparable to the former, but often struggled with the latter.  There were quite a few second rate adventure games on the Genesis that just couldn’t quite get a grasp on the LOZ formula.

Fortunately, Beyond Oasis was not one of them.  It’s very clear from the outset that this was yet another attempt at a Zelda clone on the Genesis.  While most of those games failed, Beyond Oasis delivered an enjoyable experience that clearly had a lot of thought put into it.  Don’t get me wrong, its not “A Link to the Past,” not even close, but it was an excellent game and an IP that might be worth a second look in the modern era.

You play as Ali, the prince of a mythical kingdom who comes across an ancient armlet while digging for treasure.  This gold armlet, along with its silver counterpart, were used by an ancient society to help balance good and evil and seal away demons.  And Ali’s timing in finding it couldn’t be better, because the holder of the silver armlet has suddenly decided he no longer wants that balance to be a thing.  In case you hadn’t already guessed, you must traverse the kingdom and bring him down.  It’s simple, but that’s all you need in a game like this.

The graphics here are incredible, all the sprites are clean, clear and colorful.  I have always liked big sprites, even if they mean you have less screen real estate.  The enemies all look great and are among the most detailed I have ever seen in a 16-bit/4th gen game.  Your movements are fluid and all of the unique attacks you can perform look cool.  The Isometric-ish perspective is okay, but does lead to some problems we will cover later.  

The game all takes place predominately in the overworld, where you must move from area to area defeating monsters.  You will occasionally find your progress blocked by an obstacle, from a mini iceberg to a massive gap to jump over.  Just like in Zelda, you need to travel to dungeons, where you can collect what you need to proceed.  The game is generally pretty good at making it clear where you are supposed to go, which is nice.  The dungeons are all pretty well designed and the difficulty curve is appropriate.  I will say though that they aren’t nearly as expansive and don’t require as much puzzle solving as a LOZ title.  

While a few of them dungeon prizes are items, most come in the for of spirits.  Once Ali unlocks a spirit, he can summon it by using his armlet to shoot an appropriate item.  For example, he can summon the fire spirit by shooting a torch or the water sprite by shooting a waterfall.  These spirits help you advance through the game and can also assist in battle.  Most have two or three attacks, ranging from a basic shot to a screen clear.  The game does a great job of making this mechanic important, with dungeons forcing you to find ways to summon the appropriate spirit to complete puzzles.  The spirits also require a heavy MP investment, so you can’t just have them with you all the time.  

That’s okay, because the combat here is a blast.  The hit detection is great and everything is fair and balanced.  Ali can slash with a blade and use a variety of special moves.  When he gets close he can also throw kicks and punches at enemies.  Having a good variety of attacks makes each encounter feel fresh and the great sound effects make you want to fight more.  It’s also cool that the slashes and kicks have different sound effects.  While I am at it, I should mention the sound effects in general are pretty good.

As good as the sound effects are, the music is borderline terrible.  I know the Genesis sound chip is a “love it or hate it” kind of thing.  I have never been a fan.  The limits of the Genesis’ hardware are on full display here, as the tracks are generic, limited and grainy.  In a fantasy adventure game like this, it can really take away from the atmosphere.  I will also say that while the hit detection is good, its sometimes difficult to pull off specific attacks.  It was rarely a big deal, but I could never figure out how to get Ali to do the specific attack I wanted him to.

The biggest problem here though is the jumping.  It is absolutely awful.  There are a few dungeons where platform jumping is essential for completion and its just a chore every time.  You can never tell where you are going to land, as the perspective makes it almost impossible to make your mark.  Even worse, these areas are almost always filled with enemies who knock you back if they hit you.  You may land your jump, only to have all your progressed erased with one hit.  It’s absolutely miserable, particularly in the boss fight that requires jumping. That almost made me stop playing.  

The only other criticism I can offer is that Beyond Oasis is very short.  You can beat the game in six or so hours, which is incredibly short when compared to a Zelda title.  For a more action oriented title or FPS that would be okay, but a game like this should really be longer.  That being said, none of those flaws mar what is an excellent experience.  It’s not Zelda, but Beyond Oasis is one of the better alternatives out there.  If you had a Genesis back in the day, you would have been more than happy with this and while you should play its more famous brethren first, its worth trying to play today.

8.5/10

Play this if:

You are looking for a good, quick adventure game

You are looking for more Zelda without actually playing more Zelda

You were a Nintendo kid who missed out on it

Avoid if:

Frustrating platforming is a deal breaker

You are looking for something longer and more involved

You prefer your adventure games more puzzle oriented.