I’m not entirely sure when it happened, but I do know it was in the early 90s when we got the Nintendo Entertainment System. I was scarcely into my teens at the time and had played Super Mario Bros to death and BEYOND! One day, my mother brought home a game I never even heard of, but it has stayed in my heart from that day forward. It was called…
One of the greatest, most under-appreciated games OF ALL TIME!!
It was initially released for the Famicom in Japan in 1987 and released to the USA for the NES in 1989 by a company called Culture Brain (Now called Culture Brain Excel). It blended element of action and turn-based RPG combat, and in my opinion, years ahead of its time. The setting is a combination of Arabian culture and themes that makes a beautiful work of gaming art.
The story revolves around a great hero who had his memory stolen, lost his love and was thrown through time by an evil wizard who summoned a powerful demon. Now the he must gather allies to rescue his beloved, defeat the evil and saved the world (coincidentally called Arabia). Let’s breakdown all the greatness of this game.
First there’s the Battle System.
Action Battles…
Similar to what was seen in Legend of Zelda, the on-map battles are fast-paced and frantic!
Turn-Based Combat…
Standard fare in just about any RPG you’ll play, like Dragon Warrior or Final Fantasy.
There were GIANT, SCREEN-WIDE BOSS battles, preceding many of the ones you see in later games like Shadow of the Colossus or Souls-like games.
MoS also had an amazing soundtrack to boot. Here’s a sampling of some music, courtesy of VGMusic.com:
You can also here the FULL ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK on WiiGuys 8BitStereo’s YouTube Channel.
There’s also an amazing world full of amazing characters, powerful magic and mystery!
You can gamble for prizes and rupias(gold) and if you time it right, there’s a certain event where you’re sure to win!
Before Chrono Trigger…
Travel through time with the help of the Time Spirit, Coronya
Planting a special seed at the right time can yield profitable results!
The Princess, Scheherazade…
A sequel was planned for the SNES/Super Famicom, but unfortunately, it was abandoned for an unknown reason. I feel the reason this game didn’t get the buzz it deserved, due to not enough advertising on the part of the developer, releases of a lot of other more popular games and just plain-old BAD LUCK! If you ever get the chance, PLEASE GIVE THIS GAME A TRY!! You will definitely thank me for it!
UNTIL NEXT TIME…
