Developer: HAL Laboratory Publisher: Square Released: December 13, 1993 Genre: Action RPG
I am a huge fan of Super Smash Bros and Kirby. The work that Hal Labs has done over the years to keep Kirby relevant is nothing short of miraculous. But I also miss the period when they released all kinds of games. The Adventures of Lolo is still one of my favorite puzzle games of all time to say nothing of the Mother series. Even though it has its flaws I still enjoyed Arcana. One of their RPGs that never left Japan was Alcahest, an excellent action RPG that should have come to the US. Thanks to the fan translation community everyone can enjoy this retro gem.
Thousands of years ago the god Alcahest came to the human world, throwing it into chaos. All seemed lost until one lone warrior with the aid of the four Guardian spirits sealed him away. It is said that in a thousand years Alcahest will return but also that a new warrior will also arise to stop him. The evil Babilom, one of Alcahest’s followers, tries to destroy the hero Alen, who he believes is that warrior and sets him on the path to fulfilling his destiny.
Alcahest differs from most action RPGs in terms of its structure. The game is chapter based, eventually totaling eight. There are no towns to explore and very few NPCs to even converse with. You don’t even earn any currency or experience points. All equipment is found in chests or awarded at the end of each chapter. It makes for a brisk game and one that is playable even in Japanese. The points you earn award extra continues as even death is different here. There is no battery backup; the passwords only start you at the beginning of each chapter, meaning you’ll want to complete each in one sitting.
Mechanically there are many similarities to Crystalis. Through the course of your adventure you eventually gain four elemental swords. Like SNK’s classic each has multiple charge attacks except here you aren’t equipping bracelets to access them. These attacks vary in range and power making switching viable right up until the end. Thanks to the extra buttons on the SNES controllers you won’t need to fumble about in menus either. Alcahest also wisely avoids the frequent elemental resistances that game also employed which slowed it down.
While this is a single player adventure it isn’t entirely a solitary journey. Each sword comes with a guardian that will assist at the cost of MP. These attacks are incredibly strong and when matched with the right boss can shred them in seconds. MP is abundant so you can spam these attacks regularly too. Aside from the Guardians various NPCs will join your quest. These characters bring a variety of attacks to the party; some wield magic while others are physical powerhouses. Some are so strong they might even do all the work for you!
Due to all of these features is a very brisk game. The story is….serviceable and full of the typical clichés but still enjoyable. Each chapter does not feature many enemies and without experience points and levels there isn’t much to bother with frequent combat. There are no puzzles to speak of and the few quest items in each chapter are used minutes later. As such events occur quickly and the game doesn’t dawdle. I like the pacing even if it means the game is shorter than average for the genre. Outside a few rough spots most will finish in less than ten hours which feels like an appropriate length.
The difficulty is pretty interesting. There are an abundance of life restoring items, magic, and SP items to spam your partner’s abilities. Most enemies will die in a single hit and some of the secondary characters are grossly overpowered. Yet Alcahest still manages to put up a fight. Enemies respawn as soon as you move an inch off screen and it can be overwhelming at times. But the frequent boss battles pose the biggest challenge. You can cheese some of them using Guardian magic but for the most part you’ll actually have to put in an effort. I like it overall as it straddles the line between too easy and difficult perfectly.
In Closing
It’s a shame this was never released in English. But the game features little dialogue and is straightforward enough that it doesn’t matter. Alcahest is an excellent action RPG and game in general, one that I recommend wholeheartedly. Grab the fan translation and enjoy.
