Arcana (video game)
Encyclopedia
Arcana, known in Japan
as , is a 1992 RPG
for the SNES
by HAL Laboratory
.
The game represents all of its characters as cards
, but plays like a dungeon-crawling RPG
, rather than a card-based game. In keeping with this metaphor, the death of a character results in a 'torn' card, and the magical properties of some cards are used to explain abilities of the game's characters.
Decades later, political unrest in the kingdoms of Elemen turned into bloody civil war. As armies slaughtered each other on the battlefields, the Card Masters were persecuted and hunted down by the minions of Galneon, the former court magician of Wagnall, King of Lexford. Galneon was the man who had launched the original coup that began the war, but his motives were much more sinister than bloodshed. He sought the unsealing and resurrection of Rimsala, to unleash her ancient evil upon Elemen again. In the conflict, King Wagnall's two daughters disappeared. It was also the last battle for the Knights of Lexford, a trio of brave fighters sworn to Wagnall, which dissolved as the war drew to a close. Galneon assumed power and stretched forth his oppressive authority across Elemen, eliminating every Card Master found so that the revival of Rimsala could succeed without interference.
Ten years have passed since these events. The young protagonist Rooks is the son of the last Card Master to perish during Elemen's civil war, who was also one of the Knights of Lexford. The death of his father motivated Rooks to begin learning the art of the cards in earnest, but in a decade his minimal training has barely scratched the surface when word comes to his home village of Galia. Mysterious events are occurring all over the land, heralding a cataclysm. Rooks' path lies before him as he sets off to prevent the awakening of Rimsala, but can he fulfill his destiny as the last Card Master before it is too late?
games.
Assuming a first-person perspective
, the dungeon
s and towns of the game are navigated from the viewpoint of the characters and, with a few exceptions, the conversations between characters hold true to this as well. Battles within the game are portrayed in the first-person, displaying the protagonist
characters along the perimeter of the screen, with the enemies in the center. Arcanas battles, however, are not graphically intensive and the characters' animations are limited to, at most, five frames. Breaking from the format established by Square
of displaying the damage incurred by characters above their heads, this information is summarised in a text display at the bottom of the screen similar to Dragon Quest
games from Enix
.
The map's
tile based dungeons are, arguably, the most challenging aspect of the game. Seeing often only what is immediately before the characters, the player is free to move in the four primary compass
directions. Labyrinthine in their design, and often fraught with dead ends and hidden dangers, the detail in the drawing of these dungeons compensates for their relative lack of animation.
Battles within the game follow a strict turn system. As each character takes his or her turn, various options are presented to the player. Rooks, the principal character, possesses many of the vital battling techniques. Because he can switch the Elemental spirits, flee the battle, and use magical card spells which, though powerful, were expensive, Rooks is the most valuable resource to the party. If Rooks is incapacitated, the entire party is crippled. A battle is followed with the reward of Experience Points and Gold. However, the level progression of all of the characters is standardized; there is no randomness to what statistics increase when a character levels up.
Four elemental spirits, Sylph
(Wind), Efrite
(Fire), Dao (Earth), and Marid
(Water), rotate through the same slot in the battle formation. Rooks and a spirit are always in the player's party, providing two other spots for party members. Unlike the human characters, an elemental can die and the game will continue. Their card will be torn, and they can be rotated out for a live elemental. If Rooks is incapacitated, however, the player can be stuck with a dead elemental. Spirits can be resurrected for a fee by the Spirit Healer who resides in each town, or by a spell Rooks can learn at a high experience level.
The game's difficulty is determined by various factors:
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as , is a 1992 RPG
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
for the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
by HAL Laboratory
HAL Laboratory
is a Japanese video game developer that was founded on February 21, 1980. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Its name comes from the HAL 9000 computer in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The company is most famous for its character Kirby, the protagonist of the eponymous game series, as well as...
.
The game represents all of its characters as cards
Playing card
A playing card is a piece of specially prepared heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic, marked with distinguishing motifs and used as one of a set for playing card games...
, but plays like a dungeon-crawling RPG
Dungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
, rather than a card-based game. In keeping with this metaphor, the death of a character results in a 'torn' card, and the magical properties of some cards are used to explain abilities of the game's characters.
Story
The ancient land of Elemen was rife with chaos under the tyranny of the evil Empress Rimsala. A group of powerful wizards called the Card Masters combined their abilities to defeat Rimsala and seal her away. But her legacy would not be forgotten.Decades later, political unrest in the kingdoms of Elemen turned into bloody civil war. As armies slaughtered each other on the battlefields, the Card Masters were persecuted and hunted down by the minions of Galneon, the former court magician of Wagnall, King of Lexford. Galneon was the man who had launched the original coup that began the war, but his motives were much more sinister than bloodshed. He sought the unsealing and resurrection of Rimsala, to unleash her ancient evil upon Elemen again. In the conflict, King Wagnall's two daughters disappeared. It was also the last battle for the Knights of Lexford, a trio of brave fighters sworn to Wagnall, which dissolved as the war drew to a close. Galneon assumed power and stretched forth his oppressive authority across Elemen, eliminating every Card Master found so that the revival of Rimsala could succeed without interference.
Ten years have passed since these events. The young protagonist Rooks is the son of the last Card Master to perish during Elemen's civil war, who was also one of the Knights of Lexford. The death of his father motivated Rooks to begin learning the art of the cards in earnest, but in a decade his minimal training has barely scratched the surface when word comes to his home village of Galia. Mysterious events are occurring all over the land, heralding a cataclysm. Rooks' path lies before him as he sets off to prevent the awakening of Rimsala, but can he fulfill his destiny as the last Card Master before it is too late?
Gameplay
Arcana retains many conventions from earlier NESNintendo Entertainment System
The Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
games.
Assuming a first-person perspective
Perspective (graphical)
Perspective in the graphic arts, such as drawing, is an approximate representation, on a flat surface , of an image as it is seen by the eye...
, the dungeon
Dungeon
A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period...
s and towns of the game are navigated from the viewpoint of the characters and, with a few exceptions, the conversations between characters hold true to this as well. Battles within the game are portrayed in the first-person, displaying the protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
characters along the perimeter of the screen, with the enemies in the center. Arcanas battles, however, are not graphically intensive and the characters' animations are limited to, at most, five frames. Breaking from the format established by Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
of displaying the damage incurred by characters above their heads, this information is summarised in a text display at the bottom of the screen similar to Dragon Quest
Dragon Quest
, published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005,Due to the inconsistent usage by sources since Square Enix obtained the naming rights to Dragon Quest in North America. Dragon Quest has been used by sources to refer to games released solely under the Dragon Warrior titles...
games from Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
.
The map's
Level (computer and video games)
A level, map, area, or world in a video game is the total space available to the player during the course of completing a discrete objective...
tile based dungeons are, arguably, the most challenging aspect of the game. Seeing often only what is immediately before the characters, the player is free to move in the four primary compass
Compass
A compass is a navigational instrument that shows directions in a frame of reference that is stationary relative to the surface of the earth. The frame of reference defines the four cardinal directions – north, south, east, and west. Intermediate directions are also defined...
directions. Labyrinthine in their design, and often fraught with dead ends and hidden dangers, the detail in the drawing of these dungeons compensates for their relative lack of animation.
Battles within the game follow a strict turn system. As each character takes his or her turn, various options are presented to the player. Rooks, the principal character, possesses many of the vital battling techniques. Because he can switch the Elemental spirits, flee the battle, and use magical card spells which, though powerful, were expensive, Rooks is the most valuable resource to the party. If Rooks is incapacitated, the entire party is crippled. A battle is followed with the reward of Experience Points and Gold. However, the level progression of all of the characters is standardized; there is no randomness to what statistics increase when a character levels up.
Four elemental spirits, Sylph
Sylph
Sylph is a mythological creature in the Western tradition. The term originates in Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as invisible beings of the air, his elementals of air...
(Wind), Efrite
Ifrit
Ifrit—also spelled, efreet, ifreet, afreet, and afrit —are supernatural creatures in Arabic and Islamic cultures...
(Fire), Dao (Earth), and Marid
Marid
In Arabic folklore and common mythology, a Marid , is a jinn associated with open waters of the seas and oceans where it finds sanctuary. Marids are mentioned in pre-Islamic Arabian mythology and inside the One Thousand and One Nights alongside the Jinn in the story of The Fisherman and the...
(Water), rotate through the same slot in the battle formation. Rooks and a spirit are always in the player's party, providing two other spots for party members. Unlike the human characters, an elemental can die and the game will continue. Their card will be torn, and they can be rotated out for a live elemental. If Rooks is incapacitated, however, the player can be stuck with a dead elemental. Spirits can be resurrected for a fee by the Spirit Healer who resides in each town, or by a spell Rooks can learn at a high experience level.
The game's difficulty is determined by various factors:
- Easy Game OverGame overGame Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
s: In contrast to the norm for RPGs of the era, which dictated that the death of one character in the player's party was usually a recoverable loss, in Arcana, the death of any character save an Elemental results in Game overGame overGame Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
. This means that an unexpected confrontation could result in a speedy demise. - Little forewarning: Due to the convoluted nature of the passages, a common cause of death for a player's character is the sudden discovery of a Boss characterBoss (video games)A boss is an enemy-based challenge which is found in video games. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight...
. The gravity of the situation is not apparent to the player until the fight begins. The presence of these boss characters is not always deducible in advance, and in many cases results simply from the player's movement onto a particular tileTileA tile is a manufactured piece of hard-wearing material such as ceramic, stone, metal, or even glass. Tiles are generally used for covering roofs, floors, walls, showers, or other objects such as tabletops...
. - Scarcity of save points: Saving the game is limited to the town area of each level. As such, it is possible to be in a difficult situation without any restorative items. The player must escape to the solace of the town before further engaging monsters.
- Limited inventory: The party's inventory is limited to forty-two item slots. Unlike other RPGs, where multiple copies of the same item can "stack" in one slot, the items in this game do not stack, providing a very strict, and often small, item limit.
- Linearity: Having completed a dungeon, the player cannot subsequently return. The dungeon explored is determined by the player's progress in the story and not chosen. This prevents players from returning to a dungeon with easier monsters, and risks being stuck in a dungeon whose monsters are too strong to overcome.
Characters
Original names in parentheses:- Rooks (ルークス Ruukusu Rooks): Hero of the story and the last surviving Card Master. His parents were killed during Galneon's coup ten years ago. Rooks is the only character who can call the spirits to change which one is in the player's active lineup. As the Card Master, only he can use magical Cards in battle, which have various effects on enemies and the party. His other talents include swordsmanship, healing magic, and magic to negatively affect enemy stats.
- Ariel (アラン Aran Alan): Rooks' childhood friend, he hasn't seen him in ten years. Ariel seems to have several apprentices whom he taught, however what exactly they were learning is unknown as each has different styles of battle. It was because of Ariel's request to go to Balnia Temple that Rooks' adventure begins. However, there is more to him than he shows. Ariel is not playable but is interacted with at several points in the game.
- Teefa (ティーファ Teiifua Tifa): One of Ariel's apprentices. She is decent in battle but her real talent lies in sorcery. Teefa is the only character in the game who can master the eleventh level Attribute spell. Also, she can cast some healing magic. The first to join the player's party while following Ariel's request.
- Salah (サラ Sara Sarah): One of the two missing daughters of King Wagnall of Lexford who Axs has been taking care of since the coup. Like Teefa, Salah is primarily a magician. It was she who healed the injuries Rooks sustained during Chapter 1.
- Darwin (アーウィン Aauin Arwen): A wandering elf with two different color eyes that switch depending on which side of the party he is placed on. The fighter-mage character who is good at both talents. His reasoning for joining Rooks' party is unclear at first but will be revealed over time. Darwin is also the character who joins the most; he accompanies Rooks in three chapters while the others only are playable in two.
- Axs (アックス Akkusu Ax): The last surviving member of the Knights of Lexford; a group that once consisted of himself, Rooks' father and Ariel's father. After the king died, Axs became the caretaker of his young daughter, Salah. A warrior through and through, Axs uses the least amount of spells and none that have any offensive powers.
- Galneon (ガルネール Garuneeru Garnel): The former Court Magician from Lexford, he assassinated King Wagnall one day ten years ago and claimed the throne for himself. Currently, he is attempting to gain the three treasures necessary to revive the evil Empress Rimsala. Galneon is not playable.