Gaming off the Beaten Path

It's time to check another console off the list, because I finally got my hands on a Sega Saturn. It's been a long time coming, I've always found myself fascinated by Sega's 5th generation offering. Even when it came out, something about it's look and lineup of games piqued my interest. The problem was, I was just a kid and there was absolutely no way I was ever going to be able to afford more than one console. At least I didn't think so. Being a SNES kid, I got an N64 on launch day, it was the first thing I ever bought with my own money. While it had some great games, it was also a wasteland for RPGs, which were quickly becoming my favorite genre. Believe me, when I first saw screenshots for Final Fantasy VII, I was incredibly upset I would never be able to play it. Again, so I thought. Thanks to a massive sale on top of a price drop, I was able to pick up a PlayStation in early 1997 for a surprisingly miniscule amount of money. But the Saturn still eluded me...

Of all the games that I thought would make go back on something I said, I never thought it would be this one. It's time to talk about yet another golden era PS1 RPG, one that certainly divides opinion amongst the RPG fanbase. But before we do that, I want to go back and revisit a topic I covered regarding how I talk about games in general. A few years ago, I talked at length about the words "overrated" and "underrated" in the general gaming discourse and how much I disliked them. I discussed at length how these terms were used as a crutch for overly simplistic and shallow criticism, often serving as vehichle for the myriad half-baked edgelord hot takes that permeate gaming discussion. That said, I even admitted that the two terms were somewhat difficult to replace and that while I would actively try to avoid them, there would be instances where I wouldn't be able to do so. And that brings us to this week, where, after years of not using either of those word...

Last week, we took a look at Far East of Eden Zero, a fan translated game that stood absolutely no chance of ever being localized for Western markets based on its themes and story. But what about its gameplay? I think before I get into the details of the combat and other systems, I need to talk about something I glossd over last week; the graphics. FEOEZ very well could be the single best looking game on the SNES (or I guess the Super Famicon), and that's not an exaggeration. These are some of the best 2D sprites I've ever seen and it was legitimately shocking how much detail they were able to get into some of these assets. If you told me this was an early 5th generation game, I probably would have believed you. The story is largely told through cutscenes, which feature some incredible images that have a surprsing amount of movement to them. Overall, the game looks great and it sounds ok too, that was definitely one of the bigger positives here. I will say some of the gameplay...