is a 1997

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

developed by Onion Egg and published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines su ...

and

Entertainment Software Publishing (ESP) was a Japanese video game publisher headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1997 as a publisher for games developed by the Game Developers Network (GD-NET). GD-NET, which included companies such as Treasure and Game Arts, was es ...

only in Japan. It was originally released for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

on July 25, 1997, and its

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 divisi ...

port by Japan Art Media was released on April 23, 1998.''PSM'' issue 8 (April 1998), page 22. ''Slayers Royal'' was the third video game adaptation on the ''

Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into individual volumes. They follow t ...

'' franchise and the first that featured the

full motion video Full-motion video (FMV) is a video game narration technique that relies upon pre-recorded video files (rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models) to display action in the game. While many games feature FMVs as a way to present information duri ...

cut scenes and voice actors from the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

versions. This well-received game was followed by a non-sequel ''

Slayers Royal 2 is a tactical role-playing game developed by Onion Egg and published by Entertainment Software Publishing and Kadokawa Shoten in 1998 for the Sega Saturn and in 1999 for the PlayStation, exclusively in Japan. It is a follow-up to 1997's ''Sl ...

'' in 1998.

Gameplay

Contrary to its two purely role-playing predecessors in the comedy fantasy franchise ''

'' video game entries, ''Royal'' is a

tactical RPG Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (Turn-bas ...

. The game is split between Adventure Mode and Battle Mode: *Adventure Mode itself has two components, conversation and travel (including visiting in-town locations such as stores and inns as well as dungeons). There is also no free movement while exploring the dungeons and the progress instead depends on the player's story choices. *Battle Mode features an isometric-view perspective similar to this used in ''

Final Fantasy Tactics is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. Released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998 by Sony ...

'' and is round-based for selecting orders (including a variety of spells and character-specific special moves), followed by their execution ending with a next turn. Each character in the player's

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

can be controlled either manually or automatically by AI. The fights can take place outdoors and indoors, and the most powerful offensive spells (such as the ultimate "Dragon Slave", capable of destroying large parts of scenery) can not be used in the latter. Compared to the previous ''Slayers'' games, the use of

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

as media enabled addition of FMV cutscenes and a large amount of digitized voice sampling, featuring the voices of

Megumi Hayashibara is a Japanese voice actress, singer, lyricist and radio personality from Kita ward in Tokyo and is affiliated with self-founded Woodpark Office. One of the most prominent Japanese voice actresses since the 1990s, Hayashibara is best known for he ...

Maria Kawamura , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer from Setagaya, Tokyo. Kawamura is a freelancer and a former affiliate of Arts Vision. In 1991, she married manga artist Mamoru Nagano. Filmography Television an ...

Yasunori Matsumoto is a Japanese actor and voice actor affiliated with Sigma Seven. Some of Matsumoto's most notable roles are Wataru Akiyama in '' Initial D'', Jean Havoc in ''Fullmetal Alchemist'', Magnum Ace in Shippū! Iron Leaguer, Gourry Gabriev in ''Slayers ...

, Masami Suzuki,

Hikaru Midorikawa is a Japanese Voice acting in Japan, voice actor from Otawara, Tochigi who is represented by Aoni Production. He is best known for the roles of Softon in ''Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo'', Tamahome in ''Fushigi Yûgi'', Seiran Shi in ''Saiunkoku Monogatari'' ...

and other main actors from ''Slayers'' anime productions. The

has some new features such as an improved FMV quality, five

minigame A minigame (also spelled mini game and mini-game, sometimes called a subgame or microgame) is a short game often contained within another video game. A minigame contains different gameplay elements, and is often smaller or more simplistic, than th ...

s (such as "Slayers Quiz"), and the

DualShock The DualShock (originally Dual Shock; trademarked as DUALSHOCK or DUAL SHOCK; with the PlayStation 5 version named DualSense) is a line of gamepads with vibration-feedback and analog controls developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the Pla ...

controller vibration feedback compatibility.

Plot

''Slayers Royal'' is notable for bringing together

Naga the Serpent is a fictional character in the light novel, anime, manga, radio drama and game versions of Hajime Kanzaka's media franchise ''Slayers'', who was introduced in ''Dragon Magazine'' in 1990. She is also often known as Naga the White Serpent, which ...

(

Lina Inverse is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the comic fantasy-themed light novel, manga and anime series ''Slayers''. Lina Inverse is a young yet very powerful sorceress travelling the world in search of adventure and treasure. Lina has b ...

's companion in the prequel stories) with

Gourry Gabriev is a fictional character from the Japanese media franchise ''Slayers''. In it, he is a mighty yet dimwitted warrior who becomes a travelling companion and self-appointed guardian of the protagonist sorceress Lina Inverse. Despite being one of the ...

, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun and

Zelgadis Greywords The ''Slayers'' light novel series features a cast of characters created by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. It follows the adventures of teenage sorceress Lina Inverse and her companions as they journey through their world. Us ...

(Lina's companions in the main storyline) at once for the first time. In the game's storyline, Lina, Gourry and Naga encounter an elf boy named Lark (ラークの) being attacked by the

mazoku In Japanese mythology and fantasy, are supernatural beings, normally evil ones such as devils or demons. A or maou is a ruler of mazoku, or in fiction more generically a dark lord or powerful monster. Etymology The name ''ma'' ( – devil) ...

demons. After rescuing him, they find that the mazoku have kidnapped Lark's sister in order to gain an ancient amulet that is now in hands of Lark. Eventually, they discover the real power of this legendary relic: with it, the mazoku can resurrect the demon king Ruby-Eye Shabranigdu and destroy the world.

Reception

''Slayers Royal'' was a commercial success in Japan, where the original

release became #2 best-selling game on any platform during August 1997. French magazine ''Consoles +'' gave a review score of 90% for the Saturn version, comparing it to '' Riglord Saga'' and ''

Sakura Wars is a Japanese steampunk media franchise created by Oji Hiroi and owned by Sega. It is focused around a series of cross-genre video games. The first game in the series was released in 1996, with five sequels and numerous spin-off titles being ...

'',''Consoles +'' issue 69
page 117
and later also 87% for the PlayStation port.''Consoles +'' issue 79, page
9495

Dave Halverson Dave Halverson is an American video game journalist who has been the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of ''GameFan'' (where he wrote reviews as E. Storm, Skid and Takahara), ''Gamers' Republic'', ''Play'', and currently the new versions of ...

from ''Gamers' Republic'' listed it among the untranslated Japanese games "that any Saturn user would have been proud to own."''Gamers' Republic'' issue 5, page 5.

References

External links

''Slayers Royal''
at the

official website
''Slayers Royal''
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

''Slayers Royal'' (Saturn version)
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

''Slayers Royal'' (Saturn version)
at Universal Videogame List
''Slayers Royal'' Partial English Translation''Slayers Royal'' English Translated Let's Play (Incomplete)
{{Slayers 1997 video games Fantasy video games Japan-exclusive video games Kadokawa Dwango franchises Kadokawa Shoten games Sega Saturn games PlayStation (console) games Slayers video games Single-player video games Japanese role-playing video games Tactical role-playing video games Video games developed in Japan Video games with isometric graphics Entertainment Software Publishing games Japan Art Media games

Gameplay

Plot

Reception

See also

References

External links