is a 1987

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 h ...

developed by

Nihon Falcom is a Japanese video game developer, best known for their '' Ys'', '' The Legend of Heroes'', and ''Trails'' series. The company was founded in March 1981, making them one of the oldest active video game companies. They are credited with pioneer ...

as the fifth installment in the ''

Dragon Slayer A dragonslayer is a person or being that slays dragons. Dragonslayers and the creatures they hunt have been popular in traditional stories from around the world: they are a type of story classified as type 300 in the Aarne–Thompson classifica ...

'' line of games. Originally released for the PC-8801 Personal Computer, it has since been released on a wide variety of platforms.

Gameplay

''Sorcerian'' is a side-scrolling action-RPG. The player can create up to ten characters, from whom up to four members can be present in a party at the same time. Each character is highly customizable, with four different classes/races (fighter, wizard, elf, and dwarf) and over 60 possible jobs/occupations (ranging from clown to exorcist) available for them to perform; each has its own strengths and weaknesses, affecting the seven primary attributes (strength, intelligence, protection, magic resistance, vitality, dexterity, and karma) in different ways, as well as different equipment limitations. The player can choose from fifteen different scenarios, or

quests A quest is a journey toward a specific mission or a goal. The word serves as a plot device in mythology and fiction: a difficult journey towards a goal, often symbolic or allegorical. Tales of quests figure prominently in the folklore of ev ...

, to play through in the order of their

choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a giv ...

. The party must battle enemies and perform tasks within the given levels to clear each scenario, before moving onto another scenario of their choice. The player controls the entire party at the same time, with all four members running in a line, jumping in sequence, and attacking in unison. The party members follow behind in a manner similar to the Options in the

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

shooter Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, Bow and arrow, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or Blowgun, blowpipe). Even the acts of launching Flamethrower, flame, artillery, Dart (missile), darts, ha ...

Gradius is a series of shooter video games, introduced in 1985, developed and published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper. Games *''Scr ...

'' (1985). ''Sorcerian'' also employs class-based

puzzles 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 ...

, such as using a high-strength character to force open doors.Sorcerian (PC)
''GameCola.net'', October 30, 2010 All the characters have a default starting age of 16. Each time a player begins a new scenario, a year passes by, while additional time passes by in towns as a character goes through training or enchants items. The characters age at different rates depending on their race, with humans reaching old age at 60, dwarves at 100, and elves at 200. Upon reaching old age, for every year that passes, a character can die permanently at a random time. There is also an "Advance Time" to speed up the flow of time. Another new feature of ''Sorcerian'' was its episodic format that extended across various

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or an ...

s. Besides the default fifteen scenarios that come with the game, there were a number of additional scenario packs released. The aging system was created with the additional scenario packs in mind.

Release

It was originally released for the

NEC PC-8801 The , commonly shortened to PC-88, are a brand of Zilog Z80-based 8-bit home computers released by Nippon Electric Company (NEC) in 1981 and primarily sold in Japan. The PC-8800 series sold extremely well and became one of the three major Japane ...

in 1987, and was later ported to other

personal computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tec ...

platforms such as the

NEC PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

, the NEC PC-88VA, the Sharp X1 Turbo, and the

MSX2 MSX is a standardized home computer architecture, announced by Microsoft and ASCII Corporation on June 16, 1983. It was initially conceived by Microsoft as a product for the Eastern sector, and jointly marketed by Kazuhiko Nishi, then vice-p ...

, for which it was released under the title ''Dragon Slayer V: Sorcerian''. An English version for

MS-DOS MS-DOS ( ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few ope ...

PCs was published by

Sierra Entertainment Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, ...

in 1990, ports for the

Atari ST The Atari ST is a line of personal computers from Atari Corporation and the successor to the Atari 8-bit family. The initial model, the Atari 520ST, had limited release in April–June 1985 and was widely available in July. It was the first pers ...

Commodore Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

Apple IIGS The Apple IIGS (styled as II), the fifth and most powerful of the Apple II family, is a 16-bit personal computer produced by Apple Computer. While featuring the Macintosh look and feel, and resolution and color similar to the Amiga and Atari ST ...

and

Macintosh The Mac (known as Macintosh until 1999) is a family of personal computers designed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple Inc. Macs are known for their ease of use and minimalist designs, and are popular among students, creative professionals, and ...

platforms were announced, but not released. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...

, Falcom released ''Sorcerian Forever'' for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

-based PCs. In

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Falcom released ''Sorcerian Original'', a

remake A remake is a film, television series, video game, song or similar form of entertainment that is based upon and retells the story of an earlier production in the same medium—e.g., a "new version of an existing film". A remake tells the same ...

of Sorcerian for Microsoft Windows-based PCs. In addition, console versions of Sorcerian with somewhat differing content from their PC counterparts were developed: A version for the

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

was developed by

Sega is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, r ...

, a version for the

PC Engine CD The TurboGrafx-16, known as the outside North America, is a home video game console designed by Hudson Soft and sold by NEC Home Electronics. It was the first console marketed in the fourth generation, commonly known as the 16-bit era, thoug ...

was developed by Victor Musical Industries, and a version for the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

was developed by

Victor Interactive Software was a Japanese video game software publisher and developer, established on October 1, 1996 as a division of Victor Entertainment. Their first game was ''Fish Eyes'' and their last game was ''Fish Eyes 3''. Some of their games used the brand. Hi ...

. The Mega Drive version was re-released on the

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Unix ...

on September 16, 2008. An

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

version was released on January 20, 2012 by Aeria Inc. Base game includes 5 free scenarios, maximum party size of 5 characters. Pay versions include 10 extra scenarios, maximum party size of 10 characters. As part of Sorcerian's 25th anniversary, between December 6 and 20 of 2012, ''Sorcerian'' for iOS was released for free, and 3 in-game items (10000 Gold, revival LV3 x2, magic item x3) were free, registering as AeriaGames member gets revival LV3 x3 in-game items. In 2014 the PC-88 version was released along with ''

Romancia , also known as ''Dragon Slayer Jr.'', is an action-adventure game developed by Nihon Falcom. It is the third installment in the '' Dragon Slayer'' series, preceded by '' Xanadu'' and followed by '' Dragon Slayer IV''. ''Romancia'' is a simpler ...

'' for the retro game distribution service EGG. The mobile (iAppli) version, called ''Advanced Sorcerian'', was re-released on

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

through the

G-Mode is a Japanese company that specializes in games for Java-compatible mobile phones. The company also licenses content for mobile telecommunications operators, as well as being involved in the original equipment manufacturing of mobile phone games. ...

Archives label in February 2021.

Add-ons

A number of add-on

s containing new scenarios were developed for the PC-8801 version of ''Sorcerian'', by both Falcom themselves and by other companies: *Developed by Falcom: ''Sorcerian Utility Vol. 1, Sorcerian Additional Scenario Vol. 1, Sorcerian Additional Scenario Vol. 2 – Sengoku Sorcerian, Sorcerian Additional Scenario Vol. 3 – Pyramid Sorcerian'' *Developed by Amorphous: ''Sorcerian New Scenario Vol. 1 – The Visitor from Outer Space, Selected Sorcerian 1, Selected Sorcerian 2, Selected Sorcerian 3, Selected Sorcerian 4, Selected Sorcerian 5'' *Developed by Quasar Soft: ''Gilgamesh Sorcerian''

Music

The soundtrack to the original ''Sorcerian'' was composed by

Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres ...

, Mieko Ishikawa, Reiko Takebayashi, Hideya Nagata, and Takahito Abe. The Falcom-developed ''Additional Scenarios'' were handled solely by Ishikawa. The music for the original ''Sorcerian'' was arranged by

Kenji Kawai is a Japanese music composer and arranger. Known as one of the biggest names in the soundtrack world, he has worked on a wide range of mixed media productions, including anime, TV shows, films and video games. Among his credits are Toei's Kame ...

for the

release. Rob Atesalp and Ken Allen converted the original score to be a MT-32 MIDI-compatible arrangement of the soundtrack for Sierra Entertainment's English version of the game. Soundtrack releases for ''Sorcerian'' include: *''Music from Sorcerian'': The original score to the PC-88 version of the game. *''All Sounds of Sorcerian'': The original sound again, this time in the form of medleys for each scenario, along with two arranged tracks. *''Sorcerian Super Arrange Version'': A series of three albums featuring arrangements by

Hiroyuki Namba (occasionally credited as Hiroyuki Nanba) is a Japanese musician. He has composed for and arranged songs from Japanese anime, OVA and video games. Notably, Hiroyuki Namba composed for ''Dallos'', the first anime Original video animation. However ...

. Volume 1 contains a set of arrangements from the base scenario of Sorcerian. Volume 2 contains arrangements from the base scenario and Additional Scenario Vol. 1, along with the original sound of Additional Scenario Vol. 1. Volume 3 contains arrangements and the original sound from Additional Scenario Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. *''Perfect Collection Sorcerian'': A set of 3 2-disc albums containing various arrangements of the base Sorcerian soundtrack, similar to the ''Perfect Collection Ys'' album series. *''Sorcerian Forever I & II'': Two albums containing upgraded versions of the Sorcerian base scenario soundtrack, similar to the ''Music from Ys Renewal'' releases.

Reception

In 1990, ''

Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...

'' (now ''Famitsu'') reviewed

Sega Mega Drive 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 ...

(Genesis) version of the game, giving it a generally positive score of 27 out of 40. In the July 1990 edition of ''

Games International ''Computer Games Magazine'' was a monthly computer and console gaming print magazine, founded in October 1988 as the United Kingdom publication ''Games International''. During its history, it was known variously as ''Strategy Plus'' (October 19 ...

'' (issue 16), Theo Clarke was disappointed in this game, calling the animation "rudimentary", and that there was "little realism in the game". He thought it was far more an arcade game than a role-playing game, and awarded it a below average rating of only 6 out of 10, calling it "a well-preserved museum piece". In the October 1991 edition of ''

Computer Gaming World ''Computer Gaming World'' (CGW) was an American computer game magazine published between 1981 and 2006. One of the few magazines of the era to survive the video game crash of 1983, it was sold to Ziff Davis in 1993. It expanded greatly through ...

'', Scorpia noted it has "an interesting feature or two" and liked the game's division into many miniquests, stating that instead "of the usual long adventure, this one sports fifteen separate small quests" which "allows for a certain amount of variety". However, she disliked the magic system, and stated "the action is

in style, which is typical for a Japanese game, and some will find this irksome" but noted "this is not just

hack-and-slash Hack and slash, also known as hack and slay (H&S or HnS) or slash 'em up, refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes combat with melee-based weapons (such as swords or blades). They may also feature projectile-based weapons as well (such as ...

, as there are

to be solved along the way". Scorpia concluded that ''Sorcerian'' was a "good for a change of pace" for those comfortable with "arcade" action. During production of

PlatinumGames PlatinumGames Inc. is a Japanese video game developer that was founded in October 2007 as result of a merger between two companies, Seeds Inc. and Odd Inc. Shinji Mikami, Atsushi Inaba, and Hideki Kamiya founded Seeds Inc. after the closure of ...

title ''

Scalebound was an action role-playing game developed by PlatinumGames from 2013 until its cancellation in 2017. It was scheduled to be released in 2017 for Xbox One and Windows, but Microsoft Studios announced its cancellation in January 2017. In the game, p ...

'', game designer

Hideki Kamiya is a Japanese video game designer and director who is the vice-president of PlatinumGames. He began his career in 1994 with Capcom, where he directed '' Resident Evil 2'' (1998), ''Devil May Cry'' (2001), '' Viewtiful Joe'' (2003), and ''Ō ...

said he was inspired by ''Sorcerian'' as well as '' Hydlide 3''. He noted the influence of ''Sorcerian'''s fantasy theme, "gigantic monsters", different scenarios, "expansive possibilities", "tons of adventures" and enemies such as a hydra boss and "lots of amazing dragons".

References

External links

Official website for ''Sorcerian Original''Official website for the iOS version
via

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

* Falcom's catalog pages for
Sorcerian forever
via Internet Archive * {{Dragon Slayer series 1987 video games Action role-playing video games DOS games Dragon Slayer (series) IOS games MSX2 games NEC PC-8801 games NEC PC-9801 games Nihon Falcom games Role-playing video games Sega Genesis games Sharp X1 games Side-scrolling role-playing video games Sierra Entertainment games Single-player video games TurboGrafx-CD games Video games developed in Japan Video games featuring protagonists of selectable gender Video games scored by Kenji Kawai Video games scored by Yuzo Koshiro Video games with expansion packs Virtual Console games Windows games