Developed By: Chuanpu Technologies
Published By: Piko Interactive
Release Date: 1996/2019
Brave Battle Saga was one of the main reasons I bought an Evercade. Just imagine the excitement Mr. RPG himself had at the prospect of playing a couple of obscure, Taiwan only games from the 16-bit era. Nothing gets me more exciting than 16-bit RPGs. Of course the cartridge that it came on, Piko Interactive Collection Volume 1, has nineteen other games on it from just about every genre, but it’s the four RPGs, including the also-Taiwanese Canon: Legend of the New Gods, that really drew me in. I had a great time playing Drakkhen and Dragon View, but those made It to North America the first time around. Dragon View may be expensive but it is out there. So just how is this long lost RPG which is now part of the North American cannon? Well it’s a mixed bag.
Brave Battle Saga was originally made for Genesis in the mid 90s, and it has those peculiar advantages that only Genesis RPGs had. It moves very fast for one thing. Where so many RPGs from the era were in turtle mode this one bumps it into rabbit. Overworld exploration never gets tedious because of the fast movement. The text boxes move at a good pace too. It also has very simple controls. Since the Genesis only had three buttons, games had to be more streamlined. Most commands are mapped to the same couple buttons, but it never gets confusing. This is one of the big advantages of having an RPG on console. There are no complicated controls to get in the way of the tropey but engaging story. Expect the usual twists and betrayals along with some very good character development. If you are looking for an older game you haven’t played that has a decent story than this might be the game for you. Unfortunately there are some glaring flaws that are hard to overlook.
Your enjoyment of Brave Battle Saga is going to depend on your tolerance for boring combat and confusing dungeons. Typically I enjoy dungeons that require thought to traverse. They can especially be useful in a game where grinding is necessary. The most confusing dungeons can also earn the greatest rewards. But you can’t have the dungeons without the combat, and it’s a real chore in this game. It has an active time system like Final Fantasy IV, but like everything else it moves very quickly. Often by the time you have thought out a strategy it’s already too late. The best thing to do is either attack or spam the same spells over and over again. Monsters will have elemental weaknesses, but the ones they’re not weak too tend to be effective enough that it doesn’t matter. Also spells are bought at stores and go into your inventory in whatever order you buy them. If you don’t arrange them properly than everyone will have the same spell in a different place in their menu. This can lead to some real confusion. I know that they can be arranged, but in just about every JRPG I have ever played this has been done automatically. This all leads to countless battles of spamming the same moves. Since so many of the dungeons are labyrinths it get old fast.
Brave Battle Saga was a game I really wanted to like. Sadly, it falls just a little bit short. It’s still okay thanks to the story and setup, but the tedious battles bring it down. I am still glad I played it, but that might just be because I am a complete obsessive when it comes to RPGs. Even playing through every one of them wouldn’t be enough for me. Now that I have ten of them I am going to start an additional ranking of RPGs for extra reference. In my overall listings it slots in at #40 right ahead of Evoland because I think Brave Battle Saga is a more complete game. That also puts it at #7 in my RPG rankings. That doesn’t sound too bad for now, but once I’ve ranked them all it probably won’t be so well. It might not even make the top thousand. I guess you’ll just have to wait and see.
RPG Rankings
1. Zelda II: The Adventure of Link
2. Ultima III: Exodus
3. Dragon View
4. Drakkhen
5. Ark the Lad
6. Artifact Adventure Gaiden DX
7. Brave Battle Saga
8. Evoland
9. Dragon Crystal
10. Weakwood Throne
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