A few bytes of history, Sierra classics restored only on GOG.com
Rise of the Dragon • Heart of China • Conqueror A.D. 1086
NOV 8 – Take a few bytes of gaming history with GOG.com, the digital game store where the oldies come to play.
Today, three productions from the Sierra & Dynamix back catalog return, including two legendary Jeff Tunnell adventures (designer for Incredible Machines, Willy Beamish, and Betrayal at Krondor) – fully restored for with modern computers, exclusively on GOG.com:
Rise of the Dragon
With its noir cyberpunk setting, the Blade Runner inspirations are undeniable and that’s a good enough reason to not pass this one by. Furthermore, the story-heavy gameplay and stylish art set the stage for years of unforgettable Sierra adventures, making Rise of the Dragon an influential release and noteworthy experience even today.
Heart of China
A product of its time through and through, this 1991 adventure plays like an interactive-comic trip through an admittedly outmoded depiction of 1930s China. According to Computer Gaming World, “Heart of China is everything a good adventure movie should be: fast-paced, tense, ingenious, witty, varied of locale and light of plot. Above all, it is entertaining.” It was labeled one of the 50 best computer games ever by PC Format in 1991.
Conqueror A.D. 1086
Fast-forward a few years to 1995, and travel back to medieval Europe. Conqueror A.D. 1086 is a blend of strategy, management, and a sprinkle of action – taking you from but a child, to conqueror of lands or slayer of dragons.
All three Sierra classics are available now, exclusively on GOG.com.
A female agent by the name of Aluche is given the task of guarding her childhood friend Liliana, who is now a priestess of the order, to the Curia but it is here they find out that only a horrible fate will await the pair. To put a stop to the new evil, known as the Moon Queen, an existence called the Bride of Time must be sacrificed and Liliana is the one who has been selected as the bride. Unprepared for such a mission, the pair set out but It isn’t long before another friend from their past by the name of Ruenheid appears to inform them that there is another possibility to that the Curia speaks of, but all that is for naught as the party is beset by none other than the Queen herself.
There is a certain problem that arises when you create a storyline that thrives when you interact with the cast and learn little bits about them and enjoy the service that is provided as your relationship grows and hamper it with something as frustrating as a time limit. Gust is no stranger to placing time restrictions on story events as the majority of the Atelier franchise featured such a system but nowhere did it feel more restricting as in Nights of Azure 2: Bride of the New Moon.
For the most part, players will be spending their time outside of Hotel Eterna and taking part in field missions where Aluche will battle against enemies and try to complete as many tasks possible within a limited time frame. You see, thanks to Aluche not being accustomed to her new body there is only so much time that she can spend out in a field before having to return to Eterna and get some rest. To make things worse, players are given a second time limit where every time Aluche returns to rest, a night passes and once the moon grows completely dark, the game comes to an end. This means that not only are players limited in actual exploration but they are also limited in how long they can explore before worrying about advancing the storyline and returning the moon to its previous phase, making players have to often make sacrifices in an attempt to see as much of the story as possible without risking a game over screen.
These include areas that require a Servan capable of burning a path, or something else, and there will be instances you’ll need to worry about whether you need strong fighting Servans or those capable of clearing an obstacle in an attempt to avoid having to return to Eterna and lose your available exploration time, potentially ruining a chance to complete a limited mission. Thanks to this, actually trying to complete as many side missions and Lily interactions as possible is something of a pain that is hard to be annoyed by.
Whenever this happens a tension gauge is filled and special skills can be activated. These skills vary depending on what Lily you have assisting you but they range from small buffing abilities or small scale attacks to large area of effect attacks capable of completely wiping out an enemy force. With these abilities growing stronger as your bond with a Lily is increased, players are encouraged to strengthen the Aluche’s relationship with these characters, though don’t expect most combat encounters to be too difficult even with an unfamiliar partner as most encounters, even some boss battles, can be incredibly easy on the Normal difficulty setting, so you will likely wish to avoid the suggested Easy difficulty unless you happen to be entirely new to action RPGs.
It is worth noting that this release of the game comes with only the original Japanese voice track. This works well for the most part as the voice actresses fit their roles well here and the subtitles do a solid job keeping up with the dialogue without any noticeable issues like previous Koei Tecmo releases. The soundtrack also features a wide array of music that fits the theme and aesthetic of the game perfectly, making any venture into the battlefield a treat when you aren’t rushing from place to place.
Playing as their perfectly recreated avatars, these four are introduced to the world of Alsgard by the guardian spirit named Bouquet who informs them how the world came to be and inform them that they are the chosen ones who must help restore power to the Tree of Life by gathering four Sacred Treasures and summon the four goddesses back to the world to put a stop to the revival of the Demon King Jester who had previously challenged the goddesses to the point that they could no longer freely enjoy the world they created.
This light hearted comedy plays a major role in keeping things interesting as the characters continue to take shots at one another and the world they are exploring. There is a bit of something for everyone when it comes to the comedy on offer here and don’t worry, even the CPU Candidates get plenty of time to shine. Even though the story really doesn’t delve too deeply or offer any major developments for our familiar cast of characters, Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online is a nice and light refresher between many of the darker games we see released every month.
Players will find that there are various mechanics and systems that will need to be used to make the most of the system. This includes blocking and parrying enemy blows to leave them open for retaliation and making use of the various weapons and armor upgrades that are made available through the title. To be fair, most of these mechanics should be extremely familiar for fans of action RPGs, especially if you’ve played the games based off the one that Cyberdimension Neptunia: 4 Goddesses Online takes so many shots at.
While the combat system has been reworked and exploring dungeons is different this time around, the actual town “exploration” is still handled the same way. This means that when you return to town you will instead be presented with a picture hub populated by chibi NPCs that can be talked to to trigger various events, learn little tidbits, or simply hear a joke or two. This hub offers various shops to upgrade characters as well as the Guild where you can take on side quests to earn extra rewards for completing tasks that, for the most part, you’ll be doing anyways.
That being said, it is a bit disappointing to see that the visual novel scenes have taken a bit of a hit this game. Rather than make small motions to fit their dialogue the character portraits are now completely stiff in nature outside of moving different directions. Considering how well these animated portraits helped add a bit of extra impact to these scenes their removal is unfortunate.
