MASSIVE SPOILERS IN POST BELOW!!!!! FOLKS NON-FAMILIAR WITH THIS GAME BEWARE!!!!!
Really good review, Jason. In my opinion, the reason the story didn't have the same impact in the NES version was just because the technology of the time wasn't capable of really expressing it and things that should have been big wound up not really getting emphasized. You know, thinks like the sisters finally getting their true revenge on Balzack (or whatever he's called in this version, as I notice from the pics, some names aren't the same as on the NES) in Chapter 5. Should have been a big moment, but it just felt like any other boss fight. Or when Saro's lackey Radamvice gloats to you that he was behind Rosa's kidnapping/death in order to drive Saro over the edge. That's sort of a big announcement, but since you never heard of Radamvice before that moment and he just says it out of left field, you're more like, "Zuh? .....okay, dude....." And then, he's just a regular boss encounter who never gets mentioned again after you beat him. In the Japanese-only remake for the PS1, he gives more reasoning at least in that he caused Saro to lose his mind and overuse the evolution thing to be a mindless beast, setting the stage for him to rule the dark world.
Speaking of that first remake, from a GFs guide, I gathered there was bonus stuff you accessed after the game where you'd obtain Saro as a party member and a more powerful Radamvice was the actual boss. According to the guide, he was called Evil Priest in Japan, which makes sense as his on-screen avatar when you talk to him is of the priests who save your game, but Nintendo of America forbade religious references in games. Is that included in this version, as it seemed like a good way to tie up loose ends plotwise?
Really good review, Jason. In my opinion, the reason the story didn't have the same impact in the NES version was just because the technology of the time wasn't capable of really expressing it and things that should have been big wound up not really getting emphasized. You know, thinks like the sisters finally getting their true revenge on Balzack (or whatever he's called in this version, as I notice from the pics, some names aren't the same as on the NES) in Chapter 5. Should have been a big moment, but it just felt like any other boss fight. Or when Saro's lackey Radamvice gloats to you that he was behind Rosa's kidnapping/death in order to drive Saro over the edge. That's sort of a big announcement, but since you never heard of Radamvice before that moment and he just says it out of left field, you're more like, "Zuh? .....okay, dude....." And then, he's just a regular boss encounter who never gets mentioned again after you beat him. In the Japanese-only remake for the PS1, he gives more reasoning at least in that he caused Saro to lose his mind and overuse the evolution thing to be a mindless beast, setting the stage for him to rule the dark world.
Speaking of that first remake, from a GFs guide, I gathered there was bonus stuff you accessed after the game where you'd obtain Saro as a party member and a more powerful Radamvice was the actual boss. According to the guide, he was called Evil Priest in Japan, which makes sense as his on-screen avatar when you talk to him is of the priests who save your game, but Nintendo of America forbade religious references in games. Is that included in this version, as it seemed like a good way to tie up loose ends plotwise?
I'm not afraid to die because I am invincible
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle
Viva la muerte, that's my goddamn principle
