Anybody here play Blazing Heroes?

[SOUP]

I recently set up a Saturn emulator on my PC, and wanted to test out some games on it. I don't usually buy used games, but I swung by the local record/comic/game shop, to check out what they had as far as Saturn games go.

Not a whole lot of stuff I recognized, but I picked up Daytona USA, and the only other SEGA published game I could find.
It's called Blazing Heroes, and I know absolutely nothing about it.
Anyone here ever play it?

[Sharky]

Funny, you posted this thread around the same time as I mentioned this game in another and I dont think I have mentioned this game on this forum before.

It is also called Mystaria and Rig Lord Saga... It's very similar to Shining Force and I personally really like it.

[SOUP]

Do you know what team developed it?

[Sega Uranus]

Like Sharky said, it is a Shining Force-like game, though I think it is nowhere as good and has aged really poorly in some parts - though I kind of like how shitty the graphics look, it has a weird charm on me or something.  I still think you will like it even if you do not dig the mechanics and graphics. No idea about which team developed it though, sorry...

How much did you get it for?

[SOUP]

I've never actually played a Shining Force game, so I don't really know what the gameplay is like in those either.  Pretty much the only strategy RPG I've ever played was Valkyria Chronicles. I'll probably end up playing Blazing Heroes before any of the Shining Force games though. (I've got the Ultimate Genesis Collection for PS3, so I've got the Shining Force games ready to go whenever I decide to put the time aside).

Daytona was priced at 10, Blazing Heroes was 20, but I ended up getting the two of them for $20 even.

[MadeManG74]

I've never actually played a Shining Force game,

Shining Force III Trilogy. Now. When they arrive I'll explain how to play them in English, then you can thank me later. Just about equal with Shenmue for what I think are the best games Sega ever made, it's as essential as oxygen for a Sega fan.

[STORM!]

Blazing Heroes is Riglord Saga? Why the name changes?

 Yeah, the game is fabulous! I loved it at the time it was released, but if you play now, you feel the camera and graphics are bad ;p

 The system is very funny, and the characters have a lot of special moves. The first one was a masterpiece when the Saturn was launched, but at that time Sony was stronger... and got more RPG titles than Sega ;__;

 The game was developed by Microcabin, and this company is now a part of AQ Interactive(or it is a part of GungHo?). They are not working with Sega anymore.

 I have finished the first one, but never the second. The very best part of the series, are the musics! Both opening themes are awesome!! I wish the composer works with Sega again.

[Sega Uranus]

I've never actually played a Shining Force game, so I don't really know what the gameplay is like in those either.  Pretty much the only strategy RPG I've ever played was Valkyria Chronicles.

Shit man, you never lived. There are whole franchises out there begging to be played with nowhere clear to really start on, so go nuts when you have the time!

Daytona was priced at 10, Blazing Heroes was 20, but I ended up getting the two of them for $20 even.

Together that is a pretty good deal if they were both complete, nice.

[SOUP]

@STORM: Thanks for the info on the developer. Very much appreciated.

@MadeMang: So. english version of the first one, and are there translation patches for the other two, or is it going to be a translation guide situation?
What kind of time commitment would I be looking at as far as gameplay goes?

@Sanus: The time thing is the biggest hurdle at the moment. I've got a backlog of over 200 games in my collection that I haven't beaten. I try to beat the ones for the current-gen systems as I get them, and spend the in between time whittling away at the backlog.  Finally finishing Skies was a pretty big deal for me.

I just went back to the store today and traded in God of War, God of War II, and Final Fantasy Chronicles (as I've got better ports for all of them on other systems), and got Astal. I'd never heard of it before, but saw it on a few "best of" lists for the Saturn and remembered seeing it at the store.  Great condition too.

[Sega Uranus]

@Sanus: The time thing is the biggest hurdle at the moment. I've got a backlog of over 200 games in my collection that I haven't beaten. I try to beat the ones for the current-gen systems as I get them, and spend the in between time whittling away at the backlog.  Finally finishing Skies was a pretty big deal for me.

I can understand. The best bet would be to start off with Shining Force 1 though. It is not extremely short, but the easy to understand combat system, along with the save states from Genesis Collection HD should make it ideal for you. The first few battles take 10-20 minutes each if you can understand the controls, so it is worth a shot to try out when you have the time.

As for Astal, it is really not that good. It is a very basic and slow platformer. The graphics, art, setting and especially some of the bosses really are very cool. It is worth playing through at least for those. It also has some neat two player co-op options you should try out. I forget what they are, so when you save the bird in the first level plug in the second controller and test it out for yourself.  

[SOUP]

I can understand. The best bet would be to start off with Shining Force 1 though. It is not extremely short, but the easy to understand combat system, along with the save states from Genesis Collection HD should make it ideal for you. The first few battles take 10-20 minutes each if you can understand the controls, so it is worth a shot to try out when you have the time.

As for Astal, it is really not that good. It is a very basic and slow platformer. The graphics, art, setting and especially some of the bosses really are very cool. It is worth playing through at least for those. It also has some neat two player co-op options you should try out. I forget what they are, so when you save the bird in the first level plug in the second controller and test it out for yourself.  

I think that'll probably be my best bet. It'll at least give me a feel for what the series is all about.  I'm just a little hesitant to start a game without knowing I'll have the time to get through the whole thing.

The two player on Astal will probably have to wait a while. I ordered one of those SEGA licenced usb game pads.  It'll probably be a while before it actually shows up.

[MadeManG74]

You can start with 1 or 2, but know that 3 just blows them out of the water entirely (at least in my opinion). The story and gameplay is just light years ahead in part 3.

As for translation, Scenario 1 is in english, so you can get the english copy and play that on your PC/Saturn, then get the Japanese Scenario 2 and 3 with a translation patch to play on Emulator or hacked Saturn (I would go with SSF emulator, it works easily and doesn't require any hacking/damage to the console). Don't forget that saves tranfer across games and affect things, so try to do it all on the same platform if possible.

And yes, the games are quite long, each one would take at least 20-30 hours I would say, but it's completely worth it.

[SOUP]

Looking like I'll go with the PC route.
I don't really know where to get ahold of the iso's/translation patches though.

[MadeManG74]

Looking like I'll go with the PC route.
I don't really know where to get ahold of the iso's/translation patches though.

You're best off getting the actual Japanese copies of the games, i don't really know where to find ISOs of the games, and shouldn't post it here if I did.

The translation tools/patches/tutorials can be found at http://sf3trans.shiningforcecentral.com/

YOu just need to put the disc in your PC and then use the patching tool and it'll make a CD image of the game with English Language  

[SOUP]

Thanks for the link.
I've bookmarked the site, and I'll see about tracking down those japanese copies.