Card Grasp: Seal of Rimsalia (カードマスター リムサリアの封印), launched 3/27/1992, developed and revealed by HAL
That is an early Tremendous Famicom RPG that I skipped initially as a result of it was launched in English (as “Arcana”). I performed this recreation as a child; I assume that I rented it from a video retailer however I do know I by no means completed it. It’s a primary particular person “blobber” dungeon crawler recreation.
The primary function of this recreation that units it other than others is Rooks’ card and summoning. In the beginning of the sport you solely have Sylph (air spirit) however as you go on you’re going to get the opposite three. These elemental spirits are just about ineffective at attacking however they acquire various spells as Rooks ranges up. They get better 1 HP and MP each step within the dungeon, and when you get multiple, you may freely swap between them (in battle you are able to do this on Rooks flip as a free motion). Within the first dungeon, Sylph is just not very helpful, however when you get a second spirit and begin studying simpler assault spells, they turn out to be far more vital. The spirits get better their HP and MP even when they don’t seem to be at present summoned, that means you may swap between them successfully and use their spells even in common random battles.
A giant downside with lots of these early video games is that spellcasters have very restricted MP and there’s no approach (or no cost-effective approach) to revive their MP, that means that the spellcasters are mainly simply useless weight therapeutic potions, or can solely actually be utilized in boss battles. So it’s good to see video games escape of this sample.
Other than Rooks and the spirit, you get various different allies. However they be part of and go away because the story progresses, so that you by no means fairly know who you will have. You additionally get a recreation over if any of the human characters attain 0 hp. Defeated spirits might be restored in cities, or later Rooks will get a spell to convey them again.
The battle system is typical AMID, with some factor of battle putting — I feel the enemies or allies who’re within the again row are more durable to hit. Along with the sprites and primary assaults, you should purchase “playing cards” within the city that Rooks can use to do issues like flee from battle or use elemental assaults. I by no means actually used these a lot though I feel a number of the encounters would have gone extra easily if I had.
There may be fortuitously an automap, though it’s restricted — it could actually solely present you a sure space round your present location, and it doesn’t mark something aside from stairs/exits.
The dungeons themselves are comparatively featureless. Mainly the one issues to seek out in them are treasure chests and an occasional boss or story sequence.
The sport takes place over 5 chapters. Every one has a city you begin in, after which a dungeon or sequence of dungeons. As soon as you progress on to the subsequent chapter you may’t return (not that there’s any motive you’ll wish to). One factor that I by no means was in a position to determine: the Gamefaqs maps appear to indicate that within the English model, whenever you return to city you don’t all the time have to begin from the start of the chapter’s dungeon. Within the Japanese model you do, however I don’t know whether or not I’m misinterpreting the walkthroughs or whether or not this was an precise change within the English model.
Total I assumed the sport was comparatively straightforward. There are some encounters within the later chapters that some with lots of robust magicians utilizing space assaults, however even there I by no means obtained a recreation over.
The story is serviceable however nothing too out of the extraordinary. The objective is to cease an evil demon from being revived by a magician. There are some shock betrayals and such, however you may just about count on a 1992-level story from the sport.
So general this recreation is respectable; it’s much more playable than another SFC video games nevertheless it’s nothing particular. There’s a patch somebody made (https://www.romhacking.web/hacks/4505/) that apparently improves the sport, though I wasn’t capable of finding a full description of what the adjustments are.
