Time for a change of pace from action platformers such as Strider and Shinobi with Sword of Vermilion. I actually prefer the PAL/NA box art for this one. I like the way the horse's head frames our medieval hero:
Released in Japan in December 1989 (early 1991 in US/EU) it was only the second Megadrive RPG (Phantasy Star 2 being the first, released in Japan March 1989). Sega of America made a pretty big deal of it, and it earn a place in their famous "Genesis Does" series of ads:
Apart from the hilariously exaggerated claim of over 300 hours of gameplay (30 hours would be closer to the truth), the ad actually does a pretty good job of showing potential customers what the game is all about. Remember, the SNES hadn't been released yet in the US, so the comparison was with the NES, making the screenshots look very impressive (especially the huge boss sprites).
Both
CVG and
Mean Machines gave the game good scores (Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter showing a beautiful mop of hair):
I think Sword of Vermilion is one of those games which came onto the console at just the right time. With the notable exception of the aforementioned Phantasy Star II, the Megadrive library up until that point was generally dominated by relatively short games, such as platformers, arcade conversions and shoot'em ups (although sports games could be said to have a lot of replayability). Having such a meaty title come along was a welcome breath of fresh air for the reviewers. They don't seem to be fans of turn based combat, so Sword of Vermilion took the crown as the best Megadrive RPG.
Things are a little different playing it today, of course. Although having four different types of gameplay was impressive in 1989, none of them play particularly well. The overhead village parts are the most smooth, and the villagers' dialogue can be amusing. The overworld map parts are a little choppy (it's a shame that both this and Phantasy Star II seemed to take a step back from the smooth corridor sections of the Master System's original Phantasy Star, but I guess Yuji Naka was too busy developing Sonic to lend a hand). I normally just ended up looking at the small map rather than the first-person view. The side view battles are a little weird too. Your character is a chubby, purple-haired chap in armour, awkwardly waving his blue sword (which looks more like a light sabre) as enemies seemingly randomly move around the battlefield. Although impressive in screenshots, the boss fights with the huge sprites are disappointing too. The bosses have very few frames of animation, and the only thing your character can do is walk back, forward, duck or swing your sword.
Despite all that, I actually found myself enjoying the game quite a bit. Firstly, as noted in the reviews, the music is indeed excellent, which helps a lot in a game where a decent amount of grinding is required. The whole simple rhythm of the game has a bit of an addictive quality to it too: go to the village, talk to the inhabitants, upgrade your stuff, wander about in the wilderness gaining money and experience, find treasure, defeat the boss, get the ring and repeat. I stopped at the third village (where everyone has been turned old by some evil creature), but I can see myself continuing the adventure some day.
It got some harsh reviews when rerelased on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, but this one is a little fair:
As we prepare for Shenmue 3, how about giving Yu Suzuki's first epic adventure a try? It also starts with the death of your father, so it's basically the same game
At the very least, I recommend giving the OST a listen. The first village's music is especially great:
