The Legend of Alundra

[The Legendary Zoltan]

I'm talking about the god of old school action RPGs, (in my opinion)

ALUNDRA!

I don't know about you guys, but when I first played that game I was blown away. I heard about it only 3 years ago. I was surfing Game FAQs and I don't know how I stumbled across the Alundra board, but there were several phrases that jumped out at me. One was something like "Them Alundra puzzles were forged by the devil, they were." And one more was along the lines of, "It is practically impossible for someone to complete the entire game of Alundra without ever looking at a guide." After reading a bit more I realized that this wasn't a puzzle game like Tetris or Puyopuyo (Which kicks ass, by the way!) but an action RPG that happened to be filled with Zelda-type gameplay, Zelda-type characters and items, and Zelda-type puzzles except all of these things were obviously geared more toward adults because the story is much heavier, the gameplay is more challenging, and of course the puzzles are, as one once said, "forged by the devil."

I kept thinking, that there's no way it could be as cool as people say it is for about 1 year because it apparently is freaking rare now. Well, then I finally got my chance to move to Japan and on a random day early in my stay I happened to come across it in a game shop. There it was! The could be game of my dreams! You know it's only 1000 yen? . . . That's like TEN BUCKS MAN! It's not even in my native language and it's supposedly the hardest game to clear without a guide. I decided to take the challenge. My game time ended up being 55 hours, which I ASSUME is unbelievably long for that game because there were countless hours of translation work included in that time. Hahaha. I managed to beat the game and every required puzzle along the way AND understand nearly all of the story without every looking at a guide. The entire time I was loving the gameplay, the story, and the music. Countless hours were spent just sitting in the same room trying to figure out a puzzle, and countless more hours were spent calling my friends to make sure I was translating the Japanese hints correctly. It was truly the most epic gaming experience I've ever had.

Please use this thread to:

1) Talk about your most legendary gaming experiences.

2) Talk about anything related to Alundra and/or brutal puzzles.

3) Talk about how cool I am (or you are) for completing a challenge that some random guy, who might be a pessimist, stupid, or just one of those guys who exaggerates everything, mentioned on a GameFAQs forum.

*The post has to be long or it won't be very legendary *

[Dark_T_Zeratul]

Alundra was a freaking AWESOME game, and woefully underplayed. Unfortunately, the "sequel"* was a great big steaming pile of crap.

*It was developed as a completely different game in Japan, then released in the US as Alundra 2 in some misguided attempt to sell more copies. I don't think it worked.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Unfortunately, the "sequel"* was a great big steaming pile of crap. *It was developed as a completely different game in Japan, then released in the US as Alundra 2 in some misguided attempt to sell more copies. I don't think it worked.

Oh man, I hear that! I played just the beginning of it, and every moment I was thinking, "What the hell is this crap?!" But I'm pretty sure it was called "Alundra 2" out here too.

[ZeroBass.Exe]

Alundra 2 does not exist. Cease the lies!

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Alundra 2 does not exist. Cease the lies!

You're in denial, man! Snap out of it! And don't try to deny the fact that you're in denial, cause we all know what that means. =p

As crappy as it is, we still have to acknowledge its existence so that human kind as race will never make the same mistake again.

Usually every game has at least a few fans somewhere but I wonder, is there ANYONE who likes Alundra 2? Hahaha.

[I-n-j-i-n]

I'm not afraid to say it. Alunda out-Zelda'd, Zelda. I consider it a fact.

BTW, I need to buy it again since some distant relatives whisked it away.

[Nec5]

Alundra is/was for the playstation? That is now considered oldschool?

[Shhteve]

I still own a copy of Alundra, believe it or not, from when it was first released. Admittedly, it was too hard for me to beat without a guide, so I ended up giving it up for something else.. which I think was Wild ARMs at the time (which I never ended up beating either.. go figure.) It's an excellent game, the only thing that kept me from enjoying it 110% was the puzzles I could never finish. Great game, pretty decent story.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Alundra is/was for the playstation? That is now considered oldschool?

It was for the Playstation, but that's not why I say it's old school. It's got old school 2D graphics (although they look really nice) and it's just good old-fashioned "You-can't-access-that-area-until-you-get-the-right-tool" type progression action game. You know, they didn't add anything new to the original gameplay equation, so I count that as old school. Which means that a game as new as Dragon Quest 8 can be counted as old school too... I think. Perhaps, old school isn't the right word. I think I wanted to use the word "traditional." That's much better. Which means that Dragon Quest 8 is not old school, it's just traditional. Pardon my n00biness. Hahaha.

[Kizyr]

Alundra 2 does not exist. Cease the lies!

That's the same thing I say about Rocky V.

Even Spike TV agrees with me. Whenever they marathon Rocky, they omit V.

Anyway...

Yeah, Alundra, it's still my absolute favorite Action RPG. The puzzles were extremely challenging and enjoyable (and yeah, I didn't bother looking at a guide once). One of the best things, also, is how the enemies weren't just automatons (a la Legend of Zelda) but had decent AI for attacking.

It's been a pretty long time since I've played it, though. KF

[Avatar of Justice]

Alundra is possibly one of the most depressing video games I've ever seen plotwise. So many deaths its almost a greek tragedy.

[Nec5]

It was for the Playstation, but that's not why I say it's old school. It's got old school 2D graphics (although they look really nice) and it's just good old-fashioned "You-can't-access-that-area-until-you-get-the-right-tool" type progression action game. You know, they didn't add anything new to the original gameplay equation, so I count that as old school. Which means that a game as new as Dragon Quest 8 can be counted as old school too... I think. Perhaps, old school isn't the right word. I think I wanted to use the word "traditional." That's much better. Which means that Dragon Quest 8 is not old school, it's just traditional. Pardon my n00biness. Hahaha.

My comments were more self-centered on my age. Hell, I never owned a Playstation I or II. I pretty much skipped those systems and the games that went with them because I stuck with Nintendo. So the last laugh is on me.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

Alundra is possibly one of the most depressing video games I've ever seen plotwise. So many deaths its almost a greek tragedy.

That's for damn sure. After about 1/3rd though the game, every time I came out of someone's dream the only thought in my mind was, "Is this one gonna live?" And then, of course, that damned acoustic guitar part starts playing and I don't need anymore explanation from the characters. Loved it!

[Kizyr]

That's for damn sure. After about 1/3rd though the game, every time I came out of someone's dream the only thought in my mind was, "Is this one gonna live?" And then, of course, that damned acoustic guitar part starts playing and I don't need anymore explanation from the characters. Loved it!

That's one of the best parts of the storyline... You really didn't know whether someone was going to live or die after this. KF

[The Pezman]

There are many many good games I haven't played.

This is one of them.

But Threads of Fate was also a vastly underappreciated game. This laid the groundwork for the Kingdom Hearts combat style, and was entertaining to boot.

[I-n-j-i-n]

Thinking back, the PSX was the golden era of RPG games for me. So many innovative action/RPG or JRPGs that tried new things and was really entertaining or full on classics like Suikoden 1 and 2. Most games nowadays tries to capture that old feel it seems.

And it would be really amazing if they can make a proper Alundra 2, though it is less likely than Shemue 3. Another atrocity in lack of sequels.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

That's one of the best parts of the storyline... You really didn't know whether someone was going to live or die after this. KF

I agree whole-heartedly man. . . .or woman. They totally had my number with that move. By the way, Kizyr, what does the "KF" at the end of your posts stand for?

Was Threads of Fate really that cool? I haven't played it.

Injin, you say some pretty nice things sometimes. If they made a proper Alundra 2 for a next-gen console, that would be the deal-sealing stroke for me. Even though Metal Gear is on PS3, Zelda games are on Wii, and sweet Tri-Ace games are on the XBox 360, I'd forget about ALL of that and go straight for the system that has Alundra 2 with no regrets.

[Kizyr]

I agree whole-heartedly man. . . .or woman. They totally had my number with that move. By the way, Kizyr, what does the "KF" at the end of your posts stand for?

Man, if you're wondering. 'KF' is my initials; I usually end every post/email I make with that. It's become habit now. KF

[Chapel]

Anyone else get the Spirit Wand? I just finished replaying it recently. This time I put forth the effort of collected all 50 gilded falcons. 40 hours of frustration later I FINALLY won at the wheel of fortune game five times thus receiving the final falcon. I had no idea what the Spirit wand did until I saw a YouTube video and then I realized how broken it was. It would have been nice if the spells were made more part of the game play. I never used them unless it was a boss fight and even then I only used the water magic to heal unless it was Melzas. The only way to replenish it was either a rejuvenation square, elixir, or the very rare magic seed (not the item, the glowing orb) so it wasn't like a player could use it whenever.

Another small gripe is that Zorgia wasn't really incorporated into the story as much. Here sits Melzas right-hand man and he does nothing the whole game until...(i guess I should do a Spoiler Alert, although I think everyone here has at least played all the way through it but nevertheless SPOLIER ALERT)|He kills Nirude|(END ALERT) which is a little over halfway though the game and then you see him again and kill him. That's it. The Murgg had a bigger role than that. I dunno maybe it's just me.

The only other thing minor thing I didn't like about the game was that many of the boss fights were too easy, especially for some of the later bosses. Get the Nava amulet and go fight Wilda, it's a cakewalk. Also (Spoiler Alert) Ronan was really predictable too. (End Alert).

Other than those minor things, this is one of my favorite games of all time. As a fan of puzzle games and games with puzzles (like silent hill) I really enjoyed the puzzles in this games. Ranging from easy to excruciating, it was fun to have to actually have to think in an adventure RPG.

The soundtrack is excellent (some of my favorites being Kline's Dream, The Child's Dream, The One Who Hates Man) and really fit the surroundings of whatever area you were in.

I hate when people write this game off as just another Zelda clone because it really is much more than that. That's like calling Halo a Wolfenstein clone because they are both FPSs. The story is much more adult to be even compared to Zelda anyways. There is no princess to save. Instead you have to kill a false god who really is a being that fell from space and tricked people into making them believe that he was a god. He is now killing his followers so that they will pray to him more, making him remain his power and not be forgotten and fade away (the story is actually way better than that, just a gross simplification for argument sake). Religious figures killing people in cold blood due to their blind fanaticism, Main characters dying, the idea of self-empowerment instead of praying to god(s) (essentially an atheistic game), religion itself, are all themes that Zelda hasn't touched for obvious reasons. The point I'm trying to make is that this game is too unique to be called a clone of something. People need to stop judging games by looking at the box art and playing it for five minutes and actually give them a chance.

Whew now that I got that off my chest, I have a question. Is Alundra 2 really a sequel to Alundra or is it like Doki Doki Panic! was to Super Mario Bros. and was really another game that was named Alundra 2 in the US? I haven't played it because I was told it had little to nothing to do with the previous game, that the game play was completely different from the first, and it was an overall terrible game.

[Kenobio]

I bought this game off of eBay (a near brand new copy) about a year ago, having been interested in it for a long time. Sadly I've never really gotten around to playing it, though this thread has somewhat inspired me to maybe give it a go...

Edit: I think, in fact, that the reason I bought it was because people kept talking about it in a thread (something along the lines of "saddest videogames ever") that was on OCR some time ago and it sounded pretty interesting.

[ZeroBass.Exe]

Was Threads of Fate really that cool? I haven't played it.

ToF is definitely worth the money if you can find copy of it. It has a grest, solid story, fun bosses, and you have to play through twice in separate stories to get the whole deal. Wonderful title. Needs a remake, at a least a sequel.

[Dark_T_Zeratul]

Whew now that I got that off my chest, I have a question. Is Alundra 2 really a sequel to Alundra or is it like Doki Doki Panic! was to Super Mario Bros. and was really another game that was named Alundra 2 in the US? I haven't played it because I was told it had little to nothing to do with the previous game, that the game play was completely different from the first, and it was an overall terrible game.

It was like Doki Doki Panic in that it was not originally created as Alundra 2. Unlike Doki Doki Panic, though, it was neither retooled to fit as Alundra 2, nor is it anything resembling fun.

[Fritz the Cat]

Alundra's backstory was neat: king forces his people to stop believing in the gods, and they lose the ability to create. Then their dreams start killing them.

[The Legendary Zoltan]

It was like Doki Doki Panic in that it was not originally created as Alundra 2. Unlike Doki Doki Panic, though, it was neither retooled to fit as Alundra 2, nor is it anything resembling fun.

Lots of people say what you're saying, but I live in Japan and the one that I bought said "Alundra 2" right on the cover. So, if it WAS originally something else, then what was it? Does anyone know?

I agree with what everyone is saying about how sweet the story is. Actually I'm learning a lot because I played it in Japanese, so naturally I didn't understand everything perfectly. I didn't know that Melzas was from space. The way I knew was that he was a demon and he was able to steal the "throne of god" from god by...by...well actually I never understood how.

Kenobio, shame on you. I can't believe you have a copy of Alundra THAT YOU'VE NEVER PLAYED just sitting in your house! If I were you, I'd say that the only way to atone for this is to throw away ALL of your other PS1 and 2 games except for your favorite one and Alundra. Then Play Alundra all the way through and realize the grave mistake that you've made. Once you've learned that lesson, you'll have no regrets about throwing that one remaining game in the trash and telling me how thankful you are. Hahaha. But seriously, just go play it man. And record your progress in the thread. In fact, I'd bet that if you didn't use a guide and asked for help from people in this thread, it'd be a lot of fun. Just an idea. Now get to work.

For the reasons that you gave, Chapel, I really want to play the game in English so I can FULLY understand every point of the story, cause I could still get a feeling of what you were talking about from trying to understand the Japanese version.

If they DID make a sequel that was good, does anyone think that it could be done equally well in 3D?

[Chapel]

I didn't know that Melzas was from space...For the reasons that you gave, Chapel, I really want to play the game in English so I can FULLY understand every point of the story, cause I could still get a feeling of what you were talking about from trying to understand the Japanese version.

It's probably translated different from the original Japanese but from what I recall it is that either Septimus or Meia(I think Septimus) discovers that Melzas is a being from space that fell with a meteor that landed in the location of the soon-to-be Lake Shrine. the king orders his subjects to check it out and finds Melzas. It gets hazy from here maybe someone else can help me out but I think the king takes Melzas prisoner and was going to execute him but Melzas appears in his dream and shows the king conquering his enemies. The next day the king makes him his advisor and then people start to worship him in which the Lake Shrine is built to honor and worship him. From there I think people start to slowly stop coming to the shrine for worship and stop praying to him in which he starts entering dreams and terrorizing people into praying to him again, which is where the game starts. Don't quote me on all of that because it's been a little while since I last played and I'm running off of 50 mins of sleep so I'm fuzzy on the details.