Developed by: Quintet
Published by: Enix
Release Date: August 1992
Soul Blazer is one of the strangest games I have ever played, and I don't think weirdness was their intention. You could set out to make the weirdest game possible and you still wouldn't come close to the level of oddity that is Soul Blazer. For Quintet, however, this is just the way games are supposed to be. Before this game they made the cult classic ActRaiser which is also an oddity. You can certainly see that both games were made by the same company. Like ActRaiser the game is split into two parts and involves putting the world back together. Soul Blazer does so in such a strange way though. It's a game that only works because of how well made it is, but it's one of the most well made games in history. The pure fun of it helps it to overcome any problems it may have. It's fairly short, repetitive, easy outside of boss fights, barely an RPG even though it is advertised as one, but surprisingly engaging and satisfying. I've never played anything quite like it, and for once that is a good thing.
In Soul Blazer you play as a celestial being trying to put the world back together after an evil force has utterly destroyed it. You know, that old story. You do this by going through dungeons and fighting monsters. When you defeat enough of them their lair will start to glow which will trigger an event when stepped on. Sometimes it opens new areas or makes treasure boxes appear, but most often the lair causes new residents of the area to appear in the overworld. It's not only people either but animals, plants, and inanimate objects almost all of which have a story to tell. This may be the only game I have ever played with both talking flowers and doors. Destroying monster lairs is basically the entire action portion of the game. This fact might ruin a lesser game. It's basically stand in one spot and swing your sword over and over again. There is very little strategy in the combat, and if you die you just teleport back to your home base with very little penalty. Once you clear out a lair it doesn't come back, so the dungeons can get fairly empty. There are only a few bonus monsters left, so it doesn't have the endless monsters of a typical RPG.
It sounds like the combat is going to bring it down in the rankings, but somehow it doesn't. Soul Blazer is truly one of the best SNES games. Everything adds up to a great experience. The combat is somewhat boring, but the presentation is great. Every monster lair is exciting just to see what it is going to reveal. Sometimes it's the answer to a puzzle, sometimes it's important information, and sometimes it's just silly jokes and flavor text. Very few games have such an immersive world. After destroying a few lairs I start hoping that I get killed just so I can go back to town and see what I uncovered. I think if the combat was more difficult it would hurt the overall experience. It's all about the world building and puzzle solving, and making it more challenging would just get in the way. Each level is completely different and unique. There is a city full of talking animals, underwater mermaid world, and secret laboratory where you end up shrunk down and fighting monsters in a miniature world just to name a few. It's impressive how much care they put into each level. A lesser game would just do typical green grass cities with maybe a snow level. Soul Blazer was made by people who actually care and it shows in every detail.
It's not too hard to tell that I am going to rank this one high. It goes right into the timeless classic section all the way up to #6. It would probably rank higher if I hadn't played all those beloved arcade game already. Soul Blazer is probably the best SNES game I have played that I never played as a kid. I am judging it not by nostalgia but by honest playability. I am even more in awe of the fact that Soul Blazer isn't even the best SNES game or probably even in the top 10. If you are judging a console by its top 100 games the Super Nintendo might be the best of them all. I can't wait until I have top 100 lists of specific consoles.
