Post by Warlock on Jul 29, 2013 15:49:38 GMT -5
I'm not sure if I've mentioned Shadowrun here before. The SNES Shadowrun is one of those games that I really enjoyed, yet inexplicably don't think about too much; it's unusual enough as an RPG that I usually don't think about it in discussions of oldschool RPGs.
Set in a near-future cyberpunk Seattle- after corporations took control of the government and the end of the Mayan calendar heralded the return of magic to the world- Shadowrun is the tale of Jake Armitage, who awakens in a morgue with no memory of his past, corporate goons out to kill him, and only the vague advice of the Dog Spirit to guide him. It separates itself from the other RPGs of the time in a number of ways; the game's Cyberpunk trenchcoats-and-mirrorshades look and feel was a rarity on the SNES, the tabletop setting that it's based on gave the game a rich background to draw from, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the game had its' roots more in adventure games and PC RPGs than Japanese games. A number of aspects were ahead of its' time- it's one of the first console games I can remember which used a dialog-tree system, for example, and the emphasis of the game was as much on problem-solving through conversation as it was on combat. Some of the puzzles can be a bit obtuse (or at least seemed that way to my 14-year-old self), but it's a very solid, unique game that's definitely worth playing.
There were a couple games released in the series later- a Genesis sequel the next year which much more closely resembled the tabletop game (I've heard fairly solid things about this one, but I was never able to get into it), a Japanese-only Sega CD game, and most recently a terrible XBox shooter which stripped away most of the interesting aspects of the setting.
The reason I mention this now is that pseudo-sequel and Kickstarter darling Shadowrun Returns has just recently been released on the PC; it's a turn-based strategy RPG which borrows from both the SNES and Genesis games and thus far seems to have been fairly well-received. I'm really excited, though I haven't played it yet- it just doesn't seem to be the right time for Cyberpunk until it's cold and rainy...
- HC
Set in a near-future cyberpunk Seattle- after corporations took control of the government and the end of the Mayan calendar heralded the return of magic to the world- Shadowrun is the tale of Jake Armitage, who awakens in a morgue with no memory of his past, corporate goons out to kill him, and only the vague advice of the Dog Spirit to guide him. It separates itself from the other RPGs of the time in a number of ways; the game's Cyberpunk trenchcoats-and-mirrorshades look and feel was a rarity on the SNES, the tabletop setting that it's based on gave the game a rich background to draw from, the soundtrack is fantastic, and the game had its' roots more in adventure games and PC RPGs than Japanese games. A number of aspects were ahead of its' time- it's one of the first console games I can remember which used a dialog-tree system, for example, and the emphasis of the game was as much on problem-solving through conversation as it was on combat. Some of the puzzles can be a bit obtuse (or at least seemed that way to my 14-year-old self), but it's a very solid, unique game that's definitely worth playing.
There were a couple games released in the series later- a Genesis sequel the next year which much more closely resembled the tabletop game (I've heard fairly solid things about this one, but I was never able to get into it), a Japanese-only Sega CD game, and most recently a terrible XBox shooter which stripped away most of the interesting aspects of the setting.
The reason I mention this now is that pseudo-sequel and Kickstarter darling Shadowrun Returns has just recently been released on the PC; it's a turn-based strategy RPG which borrows from both the SNES and Genesis games and thus far seems to have been fairly well-received. I'm really excited, though I haven't played it yet- it just doesn't seem to be the right time for Cyberpunk until it's cold and rainy...
- HC