0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Alundra

       

Alundra known as Arandora in Japan and The Adventures of Alundra in Europe is an action/adventure role playing game developed by Matrix Software. The game was published by Working Designs in North America, SCEI in Japan and Psygnosis in Europe.

The game released first in Japan on the 11^th of April 1997 with a December 31^st release the same year in North America, Europe had to wait another six months before they could get their hands on the game with it releasing on June 12^th 1998.

The games soundtrack was composed by Kōhei Tanaka who is a prolific Anime composer he is also the composer for 2012’s Gravity Rush as well as its 2016 sequel. Alundra received a re-release in 2010 on the Playstation Network.

The gameplay style of Alundra is a top down action/adventure game with Role Playing elements the game is well know for possessing many difficult puzzles, the game also features platforming elements as well as environmental puzzles, the games uses a real time action combat system.

A large part of the game is spent exploring dungeons, which are reached by an overhead map, this is where you find the puzzle elements to the game, solving these puzzles allows the player to proceed, during the course of the game the player finds new items, spells, and special attacks with are used to solve new puzzles and reach previously inaccessible areas.

The game also makes use of a range of terrains for example sand which will slow the player character down to lava which will injure them. The player is able use upgrades throughout the game which help negate many of these obstacles.

Another major gameplay mechanic is the Dream Walking, where Alundra is able to enter the dreams of people with these dreams having their own twist depending on the dreamers personaility

The games protagonist Alundra sets out for a place called Inoa after suffering reoccurring dreams of a mysterious figure, who tells Alundra he must save the villagers from the evil of Melzas on his way to Inoa he is shipwrecked in a storm drifting in the sea he eventually wakes washed up on an island.

As it turns out he still makes it to his destination after being found on the beach and being taken back to the village of Inoa, in the village he discovers he is a Dreamwalker, a person who is able to enter the dreams of others and help them get rid of their nightmares.

However since Alundra arrived at the village several villagers have been murdered in their dreams, as a result they have died in the real world as well, eventually the pitch fork mob direct the blame towards Alundra for what has happened.

Another Dreamwalker called Mela arrives in the village and helps Alundra fight off the nightmares of the villagers, as it turns out Melzas has disguised himself as a god and is the source of the nightmares and his goal Is to get the villagers to pray to him in order for him to gain power from their prayers.

Melzas also has a Trojan horse in the village a priest called Ronan who has been deceiving the villagers and keep them praying to Melzas, once Alundra discovers the truth he gathers the needed information and items to access Melzas’s palace and defeat the demon.

The games themes gradually do take a darker and more twisted tone as the game progresses, with the game dealing with mature themes such as death, clinical depression, fate, religion and the essence of human existence.

Alundra was very well received by Critics with multiple 90+ ratings for the game, with 10 out of the total of 21 reviews scoring the game at a 90 or higher. And only one review scoring the game below an 80/100, but as usual we will start with the best which comes from Playstation Plus who scored the game a 91/100 sadly the review is lost.

Next we move on to a whole heap of 90/100 scores from the likes of Official Playstation Magazine both US and UK versions, PSX Extreme, Thunderbolt and GamePro (US), with the latter concluding with. Alundra's off-the-hook action and challenging gameplay elevate it to must-have RPG status. Wake up and buy the game-missing out may cause you to have nightmares.

PSX Extreme were also full of praise concluding their 90/100 review with. If you enjoyed Zelda, or you crave an action/RPG, or you want to see why Working Designs is the most revered and reviled company in the role-playing community. Alundra is absolutely the game for you. Even without the brilliance of Zach's scriptwriting, the sheer amount of action/adventure gameplay makes Alundra a must-buy.

GameSpot praised the game for its addictiveness in their 88/100 review they concluded by saying. Nowadays, companies have turned to focus more on graphics and battle systems than on strategy, puzzles, and gameplay. With role-playing games in particular, it's hard to find a game that is more than just pretty graphics, one that's easy to pick up and play but is addictive and enough of a challenge so you could be stuck in a dungeon for hours trying to figure out its puzzles. Alundra is such a game.

German publications Video Games and Mega Fun were both close with their review scores, the former scoring the game an 87/100 while the latter gave the game an 86/100. NowGamer also awarded Alundra an 86/100, for some reason criticising that you only get to play as one character, they were still positive on the game with their review concluding with.

More characters to control would have been nice, but there’s certainly plenty for one player to content with for the most part. The important consideration here is gameplay, which Alundra has in spades. It may not be turn-based (luckily) like Final Fantasy VII, but Psygnosis has proved that although the formula has been recycled, Alundra is definitely the best in its field, with better level design and more puzzles to keep RPG junkies glued to their screens for a long while.

RPGDreamers called the game a must have for fans of Action RPGs in their 80/100 review, even if the graphics won’t dazzle you but  the enjoyable and frustrating gameplay will keep you busy for a long time and leave you with a feeling of satisfaction of having accomplish something that you'd think was impossible to do.

RPGFan really like Alundra but they did concede that the game will definitely not be for everyone in their 80/100 review with their conclusion reading. It's difficult, and many players will not have the patience to see it through. It is the best Action RPG available on any Next Gen system though, and will most likely remain so until Zelda 64 is released later this year. If you're looking for a good Action RPG , then Alundra should do the trick.

At the other end of the rating scores we find two review below the 80/100 mark starting with French publication Jeuxvideo.com, who scored the game a very average 55/100. While Gaming Entertainment Monthly in their 68/100 review concluded with, To make it easier to see what I'm getting at, were I to rate this title, Alundra would get a "B".

Although the title is highly fun and addictive, and it would be a great SNES game, it just doesn't have the technology and the looks to be a top contender with the PlayStation crowd. If you like fantasy games, by all means check Alundra out, just don't expect anything innovative from it.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit five online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com,  eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, I will also be including Ebay.com as well

So lets get down to business with Gamedude, who if you are looking to trade in your copy of Alundra will pay you around the $30 for your copy. If on the other hand you are in the market for a copy of the game from Gamedude you will be looking at a minimum of $59, and this is a long way from being the most expensive Playstation 1 game from Gamedude.

On to Retrogames.co.uk who have a copy of the European release The Adventures of Alundra, this is a used copy in good condition, they have rated the disc quality as a 7/10. This used copy will set you back £20, which works out at $25.81 in the US (remember PAL console needed for this copy), in the Euro zone countries it will cost you €21.63 while in Iceland it will set you back 2712.63 Icelandic Króna.

eStarland.com have one copy of the game available, this is a used copy which is just the disc and is priced at $26.38, they also offer a trade in for the game with eStarland.com paying $28 for a copy of Alundra.

Heading over to Amazon.com where the vast majority of copies on sale are incomplete copies, either disc only or case and disc and disc and manual copies of the game. If you are looking for a complete copy of the game the minimum you are looking at from Amazon.com is $69.99 + $4.59 for shipping for a very good condition used copy.

If you are wanting better than that a like new copy is currently on the market for $119 that is with the shipping costs added in, with like new prices reaching past the $130 mark. At the time of writing this there are currently no new copies of the game available on Amazon.com.

Heading over to the co.uk version of Amazon where we find the European version of the game which is much more reasonable. With a complete copy in very good condition available for around £22.50 once shipping is added in, like the dot com version there are no new copies available, a like new copy is available but it is expensive sitting at £102.03 once shipping has been added.

Ebay.com up next and once again we set out shipping location to the UK, and the first item we see is a copy from Japan of the Japanese version priced at $15 + £6 for shipping, this is a complete copy with the exception of the map.

A resurfaced disc only copy again of the Japanese version is priced at $7.99, the shipping fee however pushes that price to just short of $25. Beyond this point we get into the North American versions of the game where a disc only copy can easily pass the $40 mark with the shipping fees added in.

A complete version this includes the map that comes with the game is currently available for $83.49 with the shipping fees this price goes up to $94.49, like Amazon and other retailers there are no new copies of this game available.

Written by

P J Gibbon