Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean[a] is a role-playing video game produced by Sunsoft for the Sega Saturn.[2] It was originally made for the Super NES, and ported to the Saturn late in its development. Released in Japan in August 1996, the game was made available in North America in July 1997 by Working Designs.[3]
Legend of Eldean is the first Albert Odyssey title to be released in English, as well as the first to feature traditional turn-based role-playing elements as opposed to tactical, strategy-based gameplay. It was created as a "gaiden", or sidestory to the original titles, and contains back story, characters, and plot that are independent from earlier games in the series. The North American version received mixed reviews.
Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean is a traditional RPG, with an overhead perspective and combat based around the selecting of character actions from menus.[4]
Story
The game follows the adventure of Pike, a teenage boy whose family was murdered by a horde of monsters while still an infant, and is raised by a family of winged humanoids known as Harpies.[5] Ten years later, his adoptive sister is turned to stone by an evil mage. Together with Cirrus, a talking sword housing the spirit of one of the legendary Eldean siblings, Pike travels the world to search for a cure, and discovers a plot by a group of evil magicians to turn the world's races against each other and revive the ancient god Vlag. Together with the help of friends he meets along his journey, Pike must prevent the evil's resurrection.
Characters
Pike – A human raised by Harpies after his parents' town was slaughtered. He has inherited his father's enchanted sword, Cirrus.
Eka – A singer Pike encounters in the town of Gigarl and becomes enamored with. Though emotionally withdrawn due to losing her parents at a young age, Eka finds herself opening up to the courageous and sensitive Pike. She wields numerous throwing weapons and powerful spells.
Leos – Daughter of the great priest Koras, a monk with an expert command of martial arts and healing abilities, dedicated to the priesthood. She joins Pike for his first adventure.
Gryzz – A dragonman, the oldest of the party, and the most powerful physical attacker. He holds a steadfast affection for his sister, and wields two katana in battle. In addition, he has a variety of breath weapons. Called Eruda in the Japanese version.
Amon – A rather flamboyant birdman who is very vain, a trait that leads to his fellow kinsmen loathing his presence. He eventually swallows his pride and brings his halberd skills to the party.
Kia – An apprentice magician who takes Leos' place in the party for their second adventure. She is the granddaughter of a famous sorceress. Powerful attack spells are at her command, although her air-headed nature can lead her into trouble.
Development
The characters were all designed by Toshiyuki Kubooka.[4]Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean was originally developed for the Super NES, but when plans for this release fell through, the game was ported to the Saturn, with the chief alteration between the platforms being the addition of an orchestrated soundtrack.[5]
Audio
Unlike most Japanese RPGs of the time, Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean makes little use of voice acting or cinematics, presenting most of its story through text.[6]
The music of Legend of Eldean was composed by in-house Sunsoft composer Naoki Kodaka, who wrote the score for the two previous Albert Odyssey titles.[7][8] Background music consists of a combination of built-in synth from the Sega Saturn's internal sound chip and live instrumentation recorded at Japan's Music Farm Studio.[9] Selected tracks were presented using CD-quality pulse-code modulation as opposed to sequenced, MIDI-based audio, resulting in fuller, more realistic sound.[10]
On March 21, 1996, Sunsoft released an official soundtrack to the game in Japan published by Pony Canyon Records.[9] The album consists of two discs, with the first fourteen tracks on disc one consisting of the live-recorded songs used in the game. Disc two contains a bonus sound effect digest featuring sound and voice clips used in the Japanese version, as well as two arranged tracks including the normal battle theme and end title.[9]
Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean Original Soundtrack – disc 1 track listing
No.
Title
Length
1.
"Prologue"
3:27
2.
"Opening 1"
2:49
3.
"Opening 2"
1:11
4.
"Title"
1:08
5.
"Main Theme 1"
2:50
6.
"Estarant"
1:31
7.
"Mysterioso"
2:12
8.
"Main Theme 2"
3:51
9.
"Solitude"
2:17
10.
"Serenade"
2:19
11.
"Aria"
0:46
12.
"Sailing"
0:22
13.
"Game Over"
0:13
14.
"Fin 1"
0:39
15.
"Embracing the Memory"
3:28
16.
"Overture to an End"
1:56
17.
"Mourning Those Who Passed Away"
2:20
18.
"Massacre"
2:58
19.
"Badge of Merit"
1:02
20.
"Another Loan"
1:01
21.
"Ancient Breath"
1:59
22.
"A Wind Blows Across the Plain"
2:46
23.
"Place of Amusement"
2:17
24.
"Flower City"
2:18
25.
"Guidance of Light Magic"
1:36
26.
"Cheating Death"
4:33
Total length:
53:46
Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean Original Soundtrack – disc 2 track listing
Legend of Eldean sold well during its original release in Japan, with the game moving enough copies to qualify for Sega's "Saturn Collection" distinction and was re-released in June 1997 at a budget price.
The game received largely middling reviews in North America. An exception was Electronic Gaming Monthly, where critic Dan Hsu remarked that the game was "not only beautiful (both musically and graphically), it has one of the best, most involving story lines seen in an RPG", calling the game's dialogue "witty" and awarding it an Editor's Choice Silver Award.[12]GameSpot stated that "Although there are better RPGs out there, Albert Odyssey delivers where it counts", commending Working Designs for their script as well as several gameplay improvements made to the North American release, but found much of the game's design to be "unimaginative".[14]Game Players called the game a "worthwhile venture" and found that the town and dungeon graphics' "subtle detailing and rich colors are beautiful things", but declared that the overworld graphics and spell effects were lacking, calling them "disappointingly bland, lacking any visual depth".[17]GameFan conversely declared that the in-battle graphics were "very nice", yet found fault in the game's slow pacing and dated presentation, especially when compared to newer, more cinematic role-playing games.[19]
GamePro stated that "Although Albert Odyssey materializes on the Saturn with a fun cast of characters, a soothing soundtrack, and a compelling story line, the lack of solid gameplay and overall shortness of the adventure banish this RPG to the realm of rentals." They compared it unfavorably to Shining the Holy Ark, which was released in the U.S. the same month as Albert Odyssey.[20]Game Informer criticized the slow pace of the gameplay, the monotonous battles, and the lack of any standout aspect, but concluded that "Even if you don't even like RPG's[sic] Albert Odyssey warrants a rental at the very least. The laughs you'll get out of it are worth more than a couple of bucks."[13]Next Generation stated that "The magic spells and combat engine are not just slow and unimpressive, but downright painful to look at. ... Luckily, Working Designs polished up the storyline and text to make the game seem more valuable and made a valiant effort to make the most of a regrettably forgettable game." However, he recommended that Saturn-owning Working Designs fans instead hold out for their upcoming release of Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete.[16]IGN also compared the game to future Working Designs titles, calling it "more of a mild appetizer for Lunar and Magic Knight Rayearth – it'll hold you over, but it's not a satisfying meal in itself", nonetheless calling the game "pretty good".[15]
^Known as Albert Odyssey Gaiden ~Legend of Eldean~ (Japanese: アルバートオデッセイ外伝 ～レジェンド オブ エルディーン～, Hepburn: Arubāto Odessei Gaiden ~ Rejendo Obu Erudīn ~) in Japan.
References
^. 1999-10-13. Archived from the original on 1999-10-13. Retrieved 2023-04-30.
^Boulette, Bryan (1998). Albert's Good Time 2013-02-02 at the Wayback Machine, RPGamer.
^"Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean Release Information for Saturn - GameFAQs". gamefaqs.gamespot.com. Retrieved 2021-10-28.
^Gann, Patrick (2005-11-05). "All Sounds of Albert Odyssey". RPGFan. from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^Gann, Patrick (2005-11-05). "Albert Odyssey 2". RPGFan. from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^ abcWalton, Jason (1999-10-05). "Albert Odyssey Gaiden ~ Legend of Eldean". RPGFan. from the original on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
^Working Designs (1997). Albert Odyssey Instruction Manual. Working Designs. p. 37. T-12705H.
^"Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean for Saturn – GameRankings". GameRankings. Retrieved 2019-06-11.
^ abcCrispin Boyer; Dan Hsu; Shawn Smith and Sushi-X (September 1997). . Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 98. San Francisco, California: Ziff Davis Media. p. 50. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005.
^ abPaul Anderson; Andy McNamara; Andrew Reiner (September 1997). . Game Informer. No. 73. GameStop Corporation. Archived from the original on March 11, 2005.
^ abJohnston, Chris (1997-09-15). "Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean for Saturn Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2008-07-01.
albert, odyssey, legend, eldean, role, playing, video, game, produced, sunsoft, sega, saturn, originally, made, super, ported, saturn, late, development, released, japan, august, 1996, game, made, available, north, america, july, 1997, working, designs, north,. Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean a is a role playing video game produced by Sunsoft for the Sega Saturn 2 It was originally made for the Super NES and ported to the Saturn late in its development Released in Japan in August 1996 the game was made available in North America in July 1997 by Working Designs 3 Albert Odyssey Legend of EldeanNorth American cover artDeveloper s SunsoftPublisher s JP SunsoftNA Working DesignsProducer s Kiharu YoshidaDesigner s Yoshiaki IwataProgrammer s Akihiro AsadaHiroaki AtsumiHiroya MatsugamiArtist s Akari FunatoToshiyuki KubookaWriter s Tsuyoshi MatsumotoComposer s Naoki KodakaSeriesAlbert OdysseyPlatform s Sega SaturnReleaseJP 9 August 1996NA 23 July 1997 1 Genre s Role playing gameMode s Single playerLegend of Eldean is the first Albert Odyssey title to be released in English as well as the first to feature traditional turn based role playing elements as opposed to tactical strategy based gameplay It was created as a gaiden or sidestory to the original titles and contains back story characters and plot that are independent from earlier games in the series The North American version received mixed reviews Contents 1 Gameplay 2 Story 3 Characters 4 Development 5 Audio 6 Reception 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External linksGameplayAlbert Odyssey Legend of Eldean is a traditional RPG with an overhead perspective and combat based around the selecting of character actions from menus 4 StoryThe game follows the adventure of Pike a teenage boy whose family was murdered by a horde of monsters while still an infant and is raised by a family of winged humanoids known as Harpies 5 Ten years later his adoptive sister is turned to stone by an evil mage Together with Cirrus a talking sword housing the spirit of one of the legendary Eldean siblings Pike travels the world to search for a cure and discovers a plot by a group of evil magicians to turn the world s races against each other and revive the ancient god Vlag Together with the help of friends he meets along his journey Pike must prevent the evil s resurrection CharactersPike A human raised by Harpies after his parents town was slaughtered He has inherited his father s enchanted sword Cirrus Eka A singer Pike encounters in the town of Gigarl and becomes enamored with Though emotionally withdrawn due to losing her parents at a young age Eka finds herself opening up to the courageous and sensitive Pike She wields numerous throwing weapons and powerful spells Leos Daughter of the great priest Koras a monk with an expert command of martial arts and healing abilities dedicated to the priesthood She joins Pike for his first adventure Gryzz A dragonman the oldest of the party and the most powerful physical attacker He holds a steadfast affection for his sister and wields two katana in battle In addition he has a variety of breath weapons Called Eruda in the Japanese version Amon A rather flamboyant birdman who is very vain a trait that leads to his fellow kinsmen loathing his presence He eventually swallows his pride and brings his halberd skills to the party Kia An apprentice magician who takes Leos place in the party for their second adventure She is the granddaughter of a famous sorceress Powerful attack spells are at her command although her air headed nature can lead her into trouble DevelopmentThe characters were all designed by Toshiyuki Kubooka 4 Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean was originally developed for the Super NES but when plans for this release fell through the game was ported to the Saturn with the chief alteration between the platforms being the addition of an orchestrated soundtrack 5 AudioUnlike most Japanese RPGs of the time Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean makes little use of voice acting or cinematics presenting most of its story through text 6 The music of Legend of Eldean was composed by in house Sunsoft composer Naoki Kodaka who wrote the score for the two previous Albert Odyssey titles 7 8 Background music consists of a combination of built in synth from the Sega Saturn s internal sound chip and live instrumentation recorded at Japan s Music Farm Studio 9 Selected tracks were presented using CD quality pulse code modulation as opposed to sequenced MIDI based audio resulting in fuller more realistic sound 10 On March 21 1996 Sunsoft released an official soundtrack to the game in Japan published by Pony Canyon Records 9 The album consists of two discs with the first fourteen tracks on disc one consisting of the live recorded songs used in the game Disc two contains a bonus sound effect digest featuring sound and voice clips used in the Japanese version as well as two arranged tracks including the normal battle theme and end title 9 Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean Original Soundtrack disc 1 track listingNo TitleLength1 Prologue 3 272 Opening 1 2 493 Opening 2 1 114 Title 1 085 Main Theme 1 2 506 Estarant 1 317 Mysterioso 2 128 Main Theme 2 3 519 Solitude 2 1710 Serenade 2 1911 Aria 0 4612 Sailing 0 2213 Game Over 0 1314 Fin 1 0 3915 Embracing the Memory 3 2816 Overture to an End 1 5617 Mourning Those Who Passed Away 2 2018 Massacre 2 5819 Badge of Merit 1 0220 Another Loan 1 0121 Ancient Breath 1 5922 A Wind Blows Across the Plain 2 4623 Place of Amusement 2 1724 Flower City 2 1825 Guidance of Light Magic 1 3626 Cheating Death 4 33Total length 53 46 Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean Original Soundtrack disc 2 track listingNo TitleLength1 In the Peaceful Sunlight 2 332 Holy Brilliance 2 213 From the Noble Law 1 274 Bewildered Soul 3 095 From Out of the Darkness 1 346 Descendant of Dragons 3 237 At the End of a Distant World 2 338 Wings of Heaven 2 029 Solitary Fortress 1 5010 Crystal Clear Blue Sky 2 0811 Earth and the Blessing of Life 1 5012 Seduced into Darkness 1 5513 Violent Sandstorm 2 3514 Castle of Heaven 2 1715 Fallen Angel 4 2516 Continuing Together 0 5117 Prayer of the Holy Mother 3 0218 Dancing Water Surface 2 4319 Confusing Path 2 2320 The Breadwinner 2 0521 Overflowing Memories 1 3822 Four Holy Towers 2 1523 Emperor of Magic 1 5024 Caught Between Hope and Hopelessness 3 4225 Spiritual Purification Ceremony 1 2526 Sound Effect Digest 0 4027 Battle extra arranged track 3 4328 Fin 2 extra arranged track 0 36Total length 62 39ReceptionReceptionAggregate scoreAggregatorScoreGameRankings75 6 reviews 11 Review scoresPublicationScoreElectronic Gaming Monthly33 40 12 Game Informer7 25 10 13 GameSpot7 6 10 14 IGN7 10 15 Next Generation nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp 16 Game Players7 10 17 RPGFan91 18 AwardPublicationAwardElectronic Gaming MonthlyEditor s Choice Silver Award 12 Legend of Eldean sold well during its original release in Japan with the game moving enough copies to qualify for Sega s Saturn Collection distinction and was re released in June 1997 at a budget price The game received largely middling reviews in North America An exception was Electronic Gaming Monthly where critic Dan Hsu remarked that the game was not only beautiful both musically and graphically it has one of the best most involving story lines seen in an RPG calling the game s dialogue witty and awarding it an Editor s Choice Silver Award 12 GameSpot stated that Although there are better RPGs out there Albert Odyssey delivers where it counts commending Working Designs for their script as well as several gameplay improvements made to the North American release but found much of the game s design to be unimaginative 14 Game Players called the game a worthwhile venture and found that the town and dungeon graphics subtle detailing and rich colors are beautiful things but declared that the overworld graphics and spell effects were lacking calling them disappointingly bland lacking any visual depth 17 GameFan conversely declared that the in battle graphics were very nice yet found fault in the game s slow pacing and dated presentation especially when compared to newer more cinematic role playing games 19 GamePro stated that Although Albert Odyssey materializes on the Saturn with a fun cast of characters a soothing soundtrack and a compelling story line the lack of solid gameplay and overall shortness of the adventure banish this RPG to the realm of rentals They compared it unfavorably to Shining the Holy Ark which was released in the U S the same month as Albert Odyssey 20 Game Informer criticized the slow pace of the gameplay the monotonous battles and the lack of any standout aspect but concluded that Even if you don t even like RPG s sic Albert Odyssey warrants a rental at the very least The laughs you ll get out of it are worth more than a couple of bucks 13 Next Generation stated that The magic spells and combat engine are not just slow and unimpressive but downright painful to look at Luckily Working Designs polished up the storyline and text to make the game seem more valuable and made a valiant effort to make the most of a regrettably forgettable game However he recommended that Saturn owning Working Designs fans instead hold out for their upcoming release of Lunar Silver Star Story Complete 16 IGN also compared the game to future Working Designs titles calling it more of a mild appetizer for Lunar and Magic Knight Rayearth it ll hold you over but it s not a satisfying meal in itself nonetheless calling the game pretty good 15 See alsoAlbert Odyssey Super Famicom game Notes Known as Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean Japanese アルバートオデッセイ外伝 レジェンド オブ エルディーン Hepburn Arubato Odessei Gaiden Rejendo Obu Erudin in Japan References Working Designs Home Page 1999 10 13 Archived from the original on 1999 10 13 Retrieved 2023 04 30 Boulette Bryan 1998 Albert s Good Time Archived 2013 02 02 at the Wayback Machine RPGamer Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean Release Information for Saturn GameFAQs gamefaqs gamespot com Retrieved 2021 10 28 a b RPG Special Feature Albert Odyssey Electronic Gaming Monthly No 88 Ziff Davis November 1996 p 142 a b Albert Odyssey The Super NES Loss Is the Saturn s Gain Electronic Gaming Monthly No 95 Ziff Davis June 1997 p 84 Protos Albert Odyssey Electronic Gaming Monthly No 94 Ziff Davis May 1997 p 36 Gann Patrick 2005 11 05 All Sounds of Albert Odyssey RPGFan Archived from the original on 3 July 2008 Retrieved 2008 07 01 Gann Patrick 2005 11 05 Albert Odyssey 2 RPGFan Archived from the original on 3 July 2008 Retrieved 2008 07 01 a b c Walton Jason 1999 10 05 Albert Odyssey Gaiden Legend of Eldean RPGFan Archived from the original on 3 July 2008 Retrieved 2008 07 01 Working Designs 1997 Albert Odyssey Instruction Manual Working Designs p 37 T 12705H Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean for Saturn GameRankings GameRankings Retrieved 2019 06 11 a b c Crispin Boyer Dan Hsu Shawn Smith and Sushi X September 1997 Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean review Electronic Gaming Monthly No 98 San Francisco California Ziff Davis Media p 50 Archived from the original on March 11 2005 a b Paul Anderson Andy McNamara Andrew Reiner September 1997 Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean review Game Informer No 73 GameStop Corporation Archived from the original on March 11 2005 a b Johnston Chris 1997 09 15 Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean for Saturn Review GameSpot Retrieved 2008 07 01 a b Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean Review IGN 1998 01 29 Retrieved 2008 07 01 a b Finals Next Generation No 34 Imagine Media October 1997 pp 172 175 a b Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean review Game Players San Francisco California Ziff Davis Media 120 September 1997 Archived from the original on March 11 2005 RPGFan Reviews Albert Odyssey Archived from the original on 2015 09 06 Retrieved 2015 10 22 Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean review GameFan IDG Entertainment September 1997 Archived from the original on March 11 2005 Four Eyed Dragon September 1997 Albert Odyssey review GamePro No 108 IDG Entertainment p 121 Archived from the original on March 11 2005 External linksOfficial website Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean at GameFAQs Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean at MobyGamesPortals nbsp 1990s nbsp Japan nbsp Video games Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Albert Odyssey Legend of Eldean amp oldid 1177190739, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
