, released in Europe as ''The Adventures of Alundra'', is an
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
video game developed by
Matrix Software
, commonly referred to as Matrix Software, is a Japanese video game development company located in Tokyo. Founded in July 1994 by former members of Climax Entertainment and Telenet Japan, the company has since created games for a number of syst ...
for the
PlayStation
is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...
, originally released in 1997.
The game's protagonist is a young man named Alundra, who learns that he has the power to enter people's
dream
A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...
s. He is shipwrecked on an island, near the village of Inoa, where locals have been suffering from recurring nightmares that sometimes cause death. With his dream walking ability, Alundra proceeds to try to help the locals. The narrative becomes gradually darker and more twisted as the game progresses, dealing with mature themes such as death, clinical depression,
fate, religion, and the essence of human existence.
The gameplay involves extensive exploration of the island and various dungeons, with an emphasis on challenging
puzzle solving
A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...
, real-time
action
Action may refer to:
* Action (narrative), a literary mode
* Action fiction, a type of genre fiction
* Action game, a genre of video game
Film
* Action film, a genre of film
* ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford
* ''Action'' (1980 fil ...
combat, and
platforming,
as well as interaction with
non-player character
A non-player character (NPC), or non-playable character, is any character in a game that is not controlled by a player. The term originated in traditional tabletop role-playing games where it applies to characters controlled by the gamemaster ...
s in the village of Inoa. The main gameplay innovation is a dream walking mechanic, where Alundra can enter people's dreams, with each of the dream levels having its own unique twist based upon the dreamer's personality and traits.
Upon release, ''Alundra'' earned critical acclaim as well as some initial commercial success. It was praised for its well-written story and characterization, smooth game mechanics and platforming, challenging gameplay and puzzles,
and expansive
overworld
An overworld (sometimes referred to as a hub world) is, in a broad sense, commonly an area within a video game that interconnects all its levels or locations. They are mostly common in role-playing games, though this does not exclude other vide ...
exploration. A sequel entitled ''
Alundra 2: A New Legend Begins'', which has very little in common with the original ''Alundra'', was released in 1999.
Gameplay
The gameplay style is top-down
action-adventure
The action-adventure genre is a video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres.
Typically, pure adventure games have situational problems for the player to solve to complete a storyli ...
, with a heavy emphasis on puzzle solving. A range of terrain and surfaces affect the player character, from sand, which causes the player character to move more slowly, to lava, which damages the player character. Upgrades throughout the game can help the player overcome many of these obstacles, encouraging exploration.
Plot
Alundra, the
silent protagonist
In video games, a silent protagonist is a player character who lacks any dialogue for the entire duration of a game, with the possible exception of occasional interjections or short phrases. In some games, especially visual novels, this may extend ...
and
player character
A player character (also known as a playable character or PC) is a fictional character in a video game or tabletop role-playing game whose actions are controlled by a player rather than the rules of the game. The characters that are not control ...
, is an
elf
An elf () is a type of humanoid supernatural being in Germanic mythology and folklore. Elves appear especially in North Germanic mythology. They are subsequently mentioned in Snorri Sturluson's Icelandic Prose Edda. He distinguishes "ligh ...
from the clan of Elna, the Dreamwalkers. He set out for a place called Inoa because of a recurring dream in which a mysterious figure who calls Alundra "Releaser" tells him that he must save the villagers from the evil of Melzas. The ship carrying Alundra is caught in a storm and is broken in half, leaving most of the crew dead and Alundra drifting unconscious.
Alundra is next seen washed ashore to an unknown beach, where a man named Jess finds and rescues him. Jess carries Alundra to his house at the village of Inoa and lets him sleep in his guest room. In the village, Alundra discovers he is a Dreamwalker, which means he has an ability to enter other peoples' dreams, and helps the villagers get rid of the nightmares that have been possessing them. Since Alundra's arrival, bad things begin to happen in the village, with various villagers being murdered in their dreams, which leaves them dead outside of their dreams as well. Some of the villagers eventually start blaming Alundra for what is happening.
Another dreamwalker, Meia, from the clan Elna arrives to the city and helps Alundra fight off the nightmares of the villagers. Later in the game, it is revealed that the demon, Melzas, has disguised himself as a god, and he is the source of all the nightmares of the village. His goal is to make the villagers pray for their god, and thus make Melzas himself gain power from their prayers. Ronan, the priest of the village, was also on the side of Melzas and helped him to deceive the villagers, and keep them praying for Melzas, the false god. Once Alundra discovers the truth, he gathers the information and items needed to access Melzas' palace to defeat the demon. After Melzas is destroyed, Alundra and Meia bid farewell to the villagers and depart together, before going their separate ways.
Development
''Alundra'' is considered a
spiritual sequel
A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...
to
Climax Entertainment
was a Japanese video game development company. It was a small company, with just 20 staff in 1996. Climax got its start during the 16-bit era, primarily developing games for the Sega Genesis console. During the 32-bit era, some members of the t ...
's ''
Landstalker
is an action-adventure game that was developed by Climax Entertainment and released for the Sega Genesis in 1992 in Japan and 1993 elsewhere. Players take on the role of a treasure hunter named Nigel (Ryle in Japan and France, Niels in Germany) ...
'' on the
Sega Genesis
The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...
,
particularly because several members of the game's programming and design team had worked on ''Landstalker''. ''Alundra'' producer Yasuhiro Ohori previously worked on ''Landstalker'', while map designer Kenji Orihara previously worked on the ''
Shining Force
is a 1992 turn-based tactical role-playing game for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. While primarily a traditional fantasy-themed game, it contains some science fiction elements.
The game has been repeatedly re-released: in Sega Smash Pack Vol ...
'' series.
The game began development before the PlayStation launched in 1994 and took three years to complete. It originally began development as an
action role-playing game
An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a subgenre of video games that combines core elements from both the action game and role-playing genre.
Definition
The games emphasize real-time combat where the player ...
. According to Ohori, the team decided there would be "no experience points" but instead "the player accumulates experience" themselves so that by "the end of the game, even someone who sucked at the outset will find they’ve gotten way better at the action."
''Alundra''s game world contains over 7,000 screens.
The music for ''Alundra'' was composed by
Kohei Tanaka.
Release
The game was published by
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
in Japan,
Working Designs
Working Designs was an American video game publisher that specialized in the localization of Japanese role-playing video games, strategy video games and top-down shooters for various platforms. Though the company had published many cult hits, i ...
in North America, and
Psygnosis
Psygnosis Limited (known as SCE Studio Liverpool or simply Studio Liverpool from 1999) was a British video game developer and publisher headquartered at Wavertree Technology Park in Liverpool. Founded in 1984 by Ian Hetherington, Jonathan Ell ...
in Europe.
Later, ''Alundra'' was released as a downloadable game on the PSone Classics service for the
PlayStation 3
The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on Novemb ...
.
Reception
The game had sold 143,114 copies in Japan by the end of 1997.
Following its North American release, Working Designs sold over 100,000 copies of the game in North America within a single month in early 1998.
''Alundra'' was well received by critics upon release.
[ It has a score of 86 out of 100 at ]Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
based on 9 reviews, making it the sixth highest-rated PlayStation title of 1997,[ and held an 84% at ]GameRankings
GameRankings was a video gaming review aggregator that was founded in 1999 and owned by CBS Interactive. It indexed over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 video games. GameRankings was discontinued in December 2019, with its staff bei ...
based on 13 reviews at the time of the site's closure in 2019.[ Critics hailed the game for its deep and often maddening challenge, particularly the puzzles.][ They said that, while the gameplay is derivative of '']The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-relea ...
'' series and ''Landstalker
is an action-adventure game that was developed by Climax Entertainment and released for the Sega Genesis in 1992 in Japan and 1993 elsewhere. Players take on the role of a treasure hunter named Nigel (Ryle in Japan and France, Niels in Germany) ...
'', it has enough original elements to stand on its own.[ '' Next Generation'' stated that "Working Designs made a smart decision importing ''Alundra'', and any gamer looking for a unique challenge is guaranteed to appreciate it."] Jay Boor wrote in '' IGN'', "Never have I been so tested and challenged since the old Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
adventure title, ''LandStalker''. And Climax has made ''Alundra'' twice as hard, twice as challenging, and twice as good as its LandStalker counterpart."[
The music was applauded for its strong composition and appropriateness for the tone of the game.][ '']GamePro
Gamepro.com is an international multiplatform video game magazine media company that covers the video game industry, video game hardware and video game software in countries such as Germany and France. The publication, GamePro, was originally ...
'' commented that "the game's heroic battle music will make you feel good about being the fighting savior of tormented sleepy souls." Reviewers for ''Electronic Gaming Monthly
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' (often abbreviated to ''EGM'') is a monthly American video game magazine. It offers video game news, coverage of industry events, interviews with gaming figures, editorial content and product reviews.
History
The ...
'' (EGM) and ''GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition ...
'' also praised the translation as being noticeably more restrained that Working Designs' earlier projects, in which the humor was often overdone to the point where it compromised the mood.[ ''GameSpot''s Chris Johnston said that "For those who have bagged on WD for its past liberties with American humor, there is little to complain about here. ''Alundra'' is maturely written and has a tone and feel that fits the game to a T."][
The one significantly criticized element of the game was the graphics. Both ''Next Generation'' and ''GamePro'' remarked that ''Alundra'' looks too much like a "]16-bit
16-bit microcomputers are microcomputers that use 16-bit microprocessors.
A 16-bit register can store 216 different values. The range of integer values that can be stored in 16 bits depends on the integer representation used. With the two ...
" game, with ''GamePro'' giving it a 4.5 out of 5 for sound, control, and fun factor but a 3.5 out of 5 for graphics.[ ''GameSpot'' found that it is sometimes difficult to judge height and depth, forcing the player to proceed by trial and error.][ ''EGM''s Sushi-X said the color palette is too dominated by "bland greens and tans", though he and the other three members of the review team were overall very impressed with the game's challenging dungeons and puzzles, giving it their "Game on the Month" award.][
''Electronic Gaming Monthly'' and ''GamePro'' both selected ''Alundra'' as the runner-up for their 1997 Best Role-Playing Game of the Year awards, coming second only to '']Final Fantasy VII
is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was r ...
''.[
In 2009, ]Destructoid
''Destructoid'' is a website that was founded as a video game-focused blog in March 2006 by Yanier Gonzalez, a Cuban-American cartoonist and author. Enthusiast Gaming acquired the website in 2017, and sold it to Gamurs Group in 2022.
History ...
's Conrad Zimmerman described ''Alundra'' as a "fresh and innovative" game and "one of the finest examples of action/RPG gaming." He particularly praised it for featuring "a plot the likes of which I had never seen before in the genre," the strong "writing and characterizations," and the "clever and challenging puzzles."
Sequel
The game was followed up by '' Alundra 2'' in 1999. The sequel uses 3D graphics instead of the 2D that the original had.
References
External links
*
* at Matrix Software
, commonly referred to as Matrix Software, is a Japanese video game development company located in Tokyo. Founded in July 1994 by former members of Climax Entertainment and Telenet Japan, the company has since created games for a number of syst ...
{{Authority control
1997 video games
Action-adventure games
Fantasy video games
Matrix Software games
PlayStation (console) games
PlayStation (console)-only games
Psygnosis games
Sony Interactive Entertainment games
Sony Interactive Entertainment franchises
Video games developed in Japan
Working Designs
Single-player video games
Video games about dreams
Fictional elves
Video games about nightmares
Video games scored by Kohei Tanaka