Before I really got into traditional RPGs with
Lunar 2 on SCD, one of my favorite genres was the Action-RPG. Not so
story-intensive that it forces you to remember countless characters, religious
references, references to sequels/prequels, blah blah blah... sure, that stuff's
good once in a while (which is why I play Xenogears...once in awhile), but I
tend to prefer games that actually focus on being a game, instead of a work of
literature. Beyond Oasis was more or less the perfect Action RPG at that time -
as much as I liked Evermore, Langrisser, and Mana, they aren't a match for
Oasis' simple yet addictive formula.
As the last paragraph should have made clear, the focus in Beyond Oasis isn't on
developing some convoluted plot. So if you're from the Final Fantasy school of
thought - i.e.: every RPG has to have this or that plot-wise, don't bother with
this game.
Anyway, the plot can best be summarized as, Prince Ali finds the Gold Armlet,
Prince Ali comes back to Oasis island to find the dock village overrun by
soldiers, Ali defeats them and soon learns that he must battle some evil
caped-person that holds the Silver Armlet for the fate of Oasis.
So playing as Ali, you go around the island completing dungeons, battling
bosses, unlocking new areas, and maybe stumbling upon a secret or two. The
island isn't that big - it might take 15 minutes to thoroughly visit every area
of it barring the final dungeon. Which, of course, means that the game isn't
that long either. It can be take anywhere from 4 - 10 hours to finish it,
depending on whether you rush through or take your time. Not that long at all -
you could finish it in a sitting or two.
The set-up is simple - you have a dagger with infinite attacks, and can pick up
9 other temporary weapons that disappear after a certain number of
slashes/shots. There's also quite a few "special" attacks with certain weapons.
All I needed was the 360 degree slash using the knife for crowded situations,
but there are others, at least according to the box.
Then there's the summons; four elemental gods that do three attacks each. These
can be used to kill non-boss enemies or open up pathways that Ali can't by
himself. You'd use the fire guy for a block of ice, or use Shade to swing across
to other platforms, for instance.
The dungeons feature a bit of puzzle solving and fighting, some more than
others. Most of it is just key-hunting, finding which switch opens which door,
lighting however many torches, stuff like that. While doing this, you fight
re-spawning enemies. Sometimes these enemies drop items or weapons, and you may
even be forced to clear a room of them to open a new pathway.
I can't say that Oasis has the longevity of Secret of Mana, or the replay value
of Langrisser, but it's still extremely fun that first time through. Going
through the different areas and figuring out how to use the elements with that
environment, and heck even the key-hunting are challenging and addictive (you
don't hear that every day). Too bad you can do and see all of it in a day, and
still have time to write your own review.
Controls are great overall, no complaints here. A is the Magic Shot (which you
would use to hit an element statue), B is Attack/Talk, and C is Jump.
Visually, Beyond Oasis is breathtaking. It's easily the Genesis Chrono Trigger
equivalent, and possibly even superior to it. The colors are bright, but not
overly so, Ali and even the various NPCs are well-detailed and move fluidly.
Same with the environments, which look beautiful. The art's amazing as well,
resembling the style of Phantasy Star which is a definite plus.
I would have to replay the game focusing on the sound to truly describe it. The
best thing to say about it is, as the last sentence should convey, that it's
forgettable. Not necessarily bad, but not anything that you'll be humming to
yourself either. Never gets annoying.
Despite it's relatively short length and lack of replay value, I loved Beyond
Oasis. It's not really a rare game any more than typical Genesis fare (Streets
of Rage, Sonic The Hedgehog) are, so pick it up while there's still copies lying
around. The Saturn prequel is probably harder to find.
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Beyond
Oasis
