vshnayder

During a recent trip to Japan, I got to browse through game stores in Akihabara in Tokyo, and while I didn’t buy Super Famicom carts or Final Fantasy orchestral CDs, I did pick up the Legend of Zelda Anniversary Edition Game and Watch for a very reasonable 5,000 Yen (roughly $30, less than half of what it goes for in the US). It’s got the original two NES Zelda games, Link’s Awakening, the original Game and Watch game, and a “display” clock mode.

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Overall: This is a cool keepsake device, not something I’ll actually use particularly heavily. But it is cool, nonetheless. And the box folds out into a little display stand!

Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX [Z4 Randomizer] (GBC, Played on RG35XX-H) – This is a different randomizer than the last one I tried for this game. Not as good as the other randomizer; it doesn't randomize trading items and at least at first wasn't that far from vanilla. It swaps a lot of chests for things you'd normally knock out of trees or dig for, and I'm not sure what that means for later chests. Items get duplicated often, especially if they're in their vanilla spot and also somewhere else (I found three of the dungeon keys, the boots and the feather twice!) You end up doing the dungeons mostly in order, only you go into them already having the key item. And then I think Catfish's Maw is unsolveable? The boss key is missing, I got a second level 2 bracelet, and the final Stalfos miniboss didn't spawn.

The 7th Saga [Randomized] (SNES, Played on Odin Pro) - I actually tried two more seeds with randomized characters (though I picked the ones with the best stat growth). In the first one, I tried the randomized locations feature, which moved towns and dungeons to different spots in their map areas; I didn't like it but see how it might appeal to someone who likes the overworld exploration. But I also talked to one of the other apprentices at the start who offered to set plot flags, and it broke the game, giving me two copies of each Rune, all of which were useless but prevented the real ones from spawning. I tried again with just the characters randomized, and again it was mostly a difficultly mod though with an added thrill of wondering which spells you'd end up with.

Final Fantasy: Dawn of Souls [HMSJayne Randomizer] (GBA, Played on RG35XX-H) – I did another run of this, too. This was a funny, roundabout run, especially when I discovered that Kraken (guarding the Cube) was Omega. The fourth crystal was in the Adamant slot, so I could have stopped there, but Tiamat (Ultros) guarded the canoe and the waterfall cave was where I finally found the class change. (I carried around some fantastic equipment, including the Excalibur, from very early on.)

Earthbound [PK Scramble Randomized] (SNES, Played on Odin Pro) Firstly, this reminded me how little I actually remember about Earthbound and made me glad they kept the Hint Guys. I did find it annoying that a bunch of spots just unlocked teleport destinations I already had (and couldn't not have--the Magic Cake lady unlocked Summers!) They changed a few plot-unlocks to items, like a Police Badge to unlock the fights at the station in Onett. They mixed up character pickups, so I got Paula when I finally reached Dalaam, Flying Man in the cabin, and a teddy bear at the top of the Monotoli building. This was a wild ride. I finally found Poo in Deep Darkness, which I had reached early but had to do pretty much everything else to get the Hawk Eye. Actually, the last few hours of the game (Lumine Hole, Lost Underworld, Magicant and the Past) were pretty much in order. It was cool that everyone got boosts from Magicant, and they mixed up the characters who pray for you and the finale photos (and they give you scores and times at the end). This is a really good randomizer!

Embers of Mana (GB, Played on RG35XX-H) - A completely new game built out of Final Fantasy Adventure. All-new characters, all-new plot, basically the same systems but a bunch of new mechanics. It opens by showing off a bunch of new features, like switches that creates bridges and drain water, and items hidden in bones and pots. Enemies don't seem to drop money; instead you have to collect salable items (though if you miss the purchasable equipment, you’ll still do fine). The Ask command is used in specific rooms as a puzzle tool. There’s a bit of a difficulty spike at the end, and a character you can pay your excess money to for enough XP to gain three levels. That feels like a last-minute addition to manage balance. Overall, an absolutely brilliant overhaul to create something entirely new.