Old RPG Review #19 Majin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden

NuMetalManiak I am getting more and more obscure with each of these, I swear. This particular game is called Majin Eiyuuden Wataru Gaiden, an NES game created by Hudson Soft as a Japan only RPG. It's a ROM translation that I played so that I can play in English, because like with Tales of Phantasia, I know nothing about Japanese language. This particular game is actually based on some Japan-only anime, that I also know nothing about. That's okay, because to be quite honest, this actually not a bad game!

Gameplay: From what I see, this game plays very similar to Zelda II, in that there's standard RPG top-down overworld navigation, and the battles are side-scrollers. Like Zelda II, your battles are action-based and not turn based. Enemies attack you directly as you attack them. In this game, you have what's called machins for battle. There's several of these, upgrading on the one you get currently. Each one has a rather short but effective melee attack, and the ability to use magic spells at the cost of MP. After beating all enemies onscreen, a treasure will appear, which usually contains money.

The RPG is pretty linear in terms of how you get around, and the world is thankfully not too big. Overall, Majin isn't that bad as far as an action RPG goes in terms of gameplay. Grade: B+

Plot: Your main character is some nameless guy whom you get to name. He's got blue hair, red clothing, and that's about it. Now the game actually has a named hero you actually have to rescue, named Wataru, and he gets separated from his machin, possibly kidnapped. The machin asks you to find him. And so you set out to find him. Not much happens plotwise though, but you eventually find Wataru who is somehow encased in a bottle, and your original machin gets more power for some reason. After defeating the final boss, Wataru is free and thanks you. Really, the game plot does not have a lot to it. Grade: C-

Music: Holy cow, is the music in this NES RPG fantastic! I enjoyed this music a lot, especially the overworld and dungeon themes. The music makes this RPG worth it. Grade: A+

Overall Grade: B+

The music and the gameplay are good, the plot is bad. The game is pretty short though. What sucks most is that this RPG is Japan-only, so you need a ROM and a translation unless you are fervent in Japanese. Not like that would matter, this game is probably not available except as a ROM. But it was a cool RPG to play.

Comments