Neutopia
Encyclopedia
is an overhead action-adventure video game
developed by Hudson Soft
. It was released by Hudson for the PC Engine in Japan on . It was then released by NEC
for the TurboGrafx-16
in North America in 1990. It was re-released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
service worldwide in 2007; it was re-released for the PlayStation Network in Japan in 2010 and in North America in 2011. The game takes place in the land of Neutopia, where the evil demon Dirth has captured Princess Aurora and has stolen the eight ancient medallions which contain the wisdom and power necessary to maintain peace and prosperity throughout the land. It is up to the main protagonist Jazeta to retrieve the eight medallions, defeat Dirth, rescue Princess Aurora, and save the land and its people.
Neutopia is widely regarded as a clone of the popular Nintendo
game The Legend of Zelda in nearly every aspect. Many reviewers have praised the game for making noticeable improvements over Zelda, but various shortcomings – which include long password
s, repetitive gameplay, and poor collision detection – prevent the game from being superior over the 1987 Nintendo title. But overall, reviewers have called Neutopia one of the better video games of its type and one of the better titles in the TurboGrafx-16 library.
Then, one night, Dirth appears and invades the land. He sends his army of demons to ravage the land, and he captures Princess Aurora and holds her captive in the Climactic Castle, where he would rule over the invading demons. He also steals the eight medallions, which he now controls for evil purposes; he scatters the eight medallions across the four spheres and places them in crypts. A young warrior named Jazeta arrives at the Sacred Shine, where he is given a "charmed compass" which "has the force of the medallions" and can guide him to them. He is also told that he would inherit the wisdom of his ancestors and win the Princess' love if victorious. Jazeta then ventures out to defeat Dirth and rescue Princess Aurora, so that she can free Dirth's spell over the ancient ancestors' spirits and use the medallions to restore peace to Neutopia.
Throughout the game, players can collect information from other non-player character
s, many of whom are located in caves throughout the overworld, in which some can be uncovered only by burning objects with fire, blowing up walls with bombs, or by pushing certain rocks. While Jazeta's main weapon is a sword, he can also use other items scattered throughout the game. The "fire rod" unleashes fireballs whose strength and range depend on Jazeta's health level; Other items include the "moonbeam moss" which can illuminate dark rooms; the "rainbow drop" which allows Jazeta to cross small gaps; "falcon shoes" which give him extra speed; medicine which refills his life meter; magic rings which can transform tough enemies into weaker ones; hourglasses which temporarily stop enemies; and wings which can warp him back to the place where he last received a password. Jazeta can also obtain sword, shield, and armor upgrades throughout the game which can increase attack power, increase defense against projectiles, and decrease enemy damage, respectively; each type of sword, shield, and armor ranges from bronze to silver to "strongest". Enemies in the game include spear-throwing goblin
s, fireball-throwing fish, fake rocks, ghosts, and charging knights.
Jazeta has a life meter, which increases by one unit every time the player collects a medallion or finds a monk throughout the spheres; it decreases whenever he gets hit, and the game ends
when it runs out. However, provided players have collected the "Book of Revival", they can continue
and restart the game wherever they have last obtained a password
, even after the console has been shut off; passwords also allow players to resume play at a later time. In addition, for users with a TurboGrafx-CD or a TurboBooster-Plus, they can save their progress in the systems' RAM
via a "File Cabinet" feature; in the same places where passwords are distributed, players have the option to save the game in one of four available file slots, each of which can be overwritten at any time with a new file.
and was released on in Japan for the PC Engine. It was released in 1990 in North America for NEC
's TurboGrafx-16
console. It received preview coverage in video game magazines Electronic Gaming Monthly
and GamePro
, which it was described in the latter as "a magic and monsters type role play". The game received a brief description in GamePros May 1990 issue and a full walkthrough in the premiere issue of TurboPlay
in June that year. It would later be released for the Wii
's Virtual Console
service in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on ; it was released alongside Super Metroid
and Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
. It was released for the PlayStation Network along with a series of other TurboGrafx-16 titles that were published by Hudson Soft; it was released in Japan on , and in North America on .
's The Legend of Zelda. The PC Engine version of the game was reviewed in the February 1990 issue of German magazine Power Play, where reviewer Martin Gaksch called the game "Zelda on the PC-Engine" and said that the "differences between Zelda and Neutopia must be found with an electron microscope
". They said that the graphics, music, and gameplay were good, and that the only thing that kept Neutopia from being superior to Zelda was the 24-character password system and that the text was in Japanese. There would eventually be a sequel to the game Neutopia II, in which Jazeta disappears, his son sets out to find him.
Neutopia received much coverage from various video gaming websites after its release on the Virtual Console, and each drew similar similarities to Zelda. Adam Romano from Defunct Games noted that Neutopia was released two years before The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
and said that Neutopia "kept pace with or were actually ahead of the Nintendo curve". He said that gameplay and backgrounds remain varied and that "the fire rod weapon is especially fun to wield", but he noted that the things that keep the game from being better than Zelda were repetitive and frustrating dungeon exploring, boring boss battles, long passwords (for those who do not own a TurboGrafx-CD), and several "head-scratching moments" which include references to Judaism
and Islam
as well as quotes from Star Wars
. Marcel van Duyn from Nintendo Life noted many similarities to Zelda, including the existence of 8 dungeons and medallions, the need to blow up walls or burn bushes to uncover secrets, the dungeon designs, and the need to push blocks to uncover staircases. However, he noted that what sets it apart from Zelda are the fire rod, the ability to warp with wings, and a lower difficulty level. He concluded that the game, while copying Zelda, might be better as it added additional features that set it apart. Destructoid
's Tony Ponce compared the game's copying of Zelda to China Warrior
s copying of Kung-Fu Master, and he pointed out similar Zelda clones such as Crusader of Centy
and Alundra
for the Sega Genesis and PlayStation
, respectively.
GameSpot
's Austin Shau reviewed Neutopia in November 2007 and said progression through the game was "quick and direct" but was also more linear, unlike with Zelda. He praised the game for its variety of environments, which he said "helps to combat monotony", but he noted the lack of detail in the graphics itself. He also criticized the game's sound, in which he said the background music was a series of "grating instrumentations" while also pointing out the low-quality TurboGrafx-16 sound chip. IGN
's Lucas Thomas called Neutopia "one of the most shameless Legend of Zelda clones ever created" in nearly every aspect. He praised one of the differences in the presence of the fire rod, which he said "is unlike any weapon the 8-bit Link ever wielded"; he also noted the clean, crisp graphics and a good quality soundtrack. However, he criticized another difference from Zelda, that Neutopia had poor collision detection, saying that it can lead to additional damage to Jazeta, which causes the power of the fire rod to decrease and lead to the annoying "beeping sound" just as in Zelda. In general, Thomas said that, despite its lack of originality, Neutopia is a good TurboGrafx-16 game which has deserved all the praise it has received.
Action-adventure game
An action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
developed by Hudson Soft
Hudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
. It was released by Hudson for the PC Engine in Japan on . It was then released by NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
for the TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
in North America in 1990. It was re-released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service worldwide in 2007; it was re-released for the PlayStation Network in Japan in 2010 and in North America in 2011. The game takes place in the land of Neutopia, where the evil demon Dirth has captured Princess Aurora and has stolen the eight ancient medallions which contain the wisdom and power necessary to maintain peace and prosperity throughout the land. It is up to the main protagonist Jazeta to retrieve the eight medallions, defeat Dirth, rescue Princess Aurora, and save the land and its people.
Neutopia is widely regarded as a clone of the popular Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
game The Legend of Zelda in nearly every aspect. Many reviewers have praised the game for making noticeable improvements over Zelda, but various shortcomings – which include long password
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
s, repetitive gameplay, and poor collision detection – prevent the game from being superior over the 1987 Nintendo title. But overall, reviewers have called Neutopia one of the better video games of its type and one of the better titles in the TurboGrafx-16 library.
Plot
Neutopia takes place in the distant past in the land of Neutopia – a prosperous and peaceful land in which the people worshipped at a Sacred Shrine and were watched over by Princess Aurora. The land was divided into four contiguous areas called spheres: land, subterrain, sea, and sky. The people lived in prosperity and happiness with the help of eight spiritual medallions which were controlled by the Princess and were used for good; a "Climactic Castle" was built as a symbolization of the their prosperity. Each of the medallions represented powers of an ancestor whom Neutopia's arch-nemesis, the evil demon Dirth, turned to stone but whose spirit remains.Then, one night, Dirth appears and invades the land. He sends his army of demons to ravage the land, and he captures Princess Aurora and holds her captive in the Climactic Castle, where he would rule over the invading demons. He also steals the eight medallions, which he now controls for evil purposes; he scatters the eight medallions across the four spheres and places them in crypts. A young warrior named Jazeta arrives at the Sacred Shine, where he is given a "charmed compass" which "has the force of the medallions" and can guide him to them. He is also told that he would inherit the wisdom of his ancestors and win the Princess' love if victorious. Jazeta then ventures out to defeat Dirth and rescue Princess Aurora, so that she can free Dirth's spell over the ancient ancestors' spirits and use the medallions to restore peace to Neutopia.
Gameplay
Neutopia is an action adventure game which features a top-down perspective and labyrinthine exploration similar to that of The Legend of Zelda. The player controls Jazeta as he sets out to rescue Princess Aurora from Dirth. The game has four levels called spheres which Jazeta must explore and recover the two medallions from each. The medallions are hidden in crypts, where each medallion is guarded by a boss. After collecting all eight of them, Jazeta gains access to the North Pole, where Dirth resides. The player controls Jazeta by moving in any direction with the control pad. Jazeta can also attack with his weapons or use items, scroll through messages, or access the "status screen" with the controller. Jazeta's life meter, the weapons he is currently holding, and the amount of gold and bombs remaining are displayed during gameplay on the top of the screen. On the status screen, players can choose an item to use, see which direction they must travel as indicated by the charmed compass (which also sounds an alarm when Jazeta is near a crypt or a medallion), and view the map of the crypt Jazeta is in, provided they have collected the Crystal Ball inside.Throughout the game, players can collect information from other non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
s, many of whom are located in caves throughout the overworld, in which some can be uncovered only by burning objects with fire, blowing up walls with bombs, or by pushing certain rocks. While Jazeta's main weapon is a sword, he can also use other items scattered throughout the game. The "fire rod" unleashes fireballs whose strength and range depend on Jazeta's health level; Other items include the "moonbeam moss" which can illuminate dark rooms; the "rainbow drop" which allows Jazeta to cross small gaps; "falcon shoes" which give him extra speed; medicine which refills his life meter; magic rings which can transform tough enemies into weaker ones; hourglasses which temporarily stop enemies; and wings which can warp him back to the place where he last received a password. Jazeta can also obtain sword, shield, and armor upgrades throughout the game which can increase attack power, increase defense against projectiles, and decrease enemy damage, respectively; each type of sword, shield, and armor ranges from bronze to silver to "strongest". Enemies in the game include spear-throwing goblin
Goblin
A goblin is a legendary evil or mischievous illiterate creature, a grotesquely evil or evil-like phantom.They are attributed with various abilities, temperaments and appearances depending on the story and country of origin. In some cases, goblins have been classified as constantly annoying little...
s, fireball-throwing fish, fake rocks, ghosts, and charging knights.
Jazeta has a life meter, which increases by one unit every time the player collects a medallion or finds a monk throughout the spheres; it decreases whenever he gets hit, and the game ends
Game over
Game 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...
when it runs out. However, provided players have collected the "Book of Revival", they can continue
Continue (video gaming)
Continue is a common term in video games for the option to continue the game after all of the player's lives have been lost, rather than ending the game and restarting from the very beginning.-Arcade games:...
and restart the game wherever they have last obtained a password
Password (video games)
In many video games of the 8-bit and, to a lesser extent, 16-bit eras , after a level was beaten and/or when all continues were used, the game would display a password, that when entered in the game would allow the player to return to this part in the game...
, even after the console has been shut off; passwords also allow players to resume play at a later time. In addition, for users with a TurboGrafx-CD or a TurboBooster-Plus, they can save their progress in the systems' RAM
Non-volatile memory
Non-volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, NVM or non-volatile storage, in the most basic sense, is computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory, flash memory, ferroelectric RAM, most types of magnetic computer...
via a "File Cabinet" feature; in the same places where passwords are distributed, players have the option to save the game in one of four available file slots, each of which can be overwritten at any time with a new file.
Development
Neutopia was developed by Hudson SoftHudson Soft
, formally known as , is a majority-owned subsidiary of Konami Corporation is a Japanese electronic entertainment publisher headquartered in the Midtown Tower in Tokyo Midtown, Akasaka, Minato, Tokyo, Japan, with an additional office in the Hudson Building in Sapporo. It was founded on May 18, 1973...
and was released on in Japan for the PC Engine. It was released in 1990 in North America for NEC
NEC
, a Japanese multinational IT company, has its headquarters in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. NEC, part of the Sumitomo Group, provides information technology and network solutions to business enterprises, communications services providers and government....
's TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16
TurboGrafx-16, fully titled as TurboGrafx-16 Entertainment SuperSystem and known in Japan as the , is a video game console developed by Hudson Soft and NEC, released in Japan on October 30, 1987, and in North America on August 29, 1989....
console. It received preview coverage in video game magazines Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
and GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
, which it was described in the latter as "a magic and monsters type role play". The game received a brief description in GamePros May 1990 issue and a full walkthrough in the premiere issue of TurboPlay
TurboPlay
TurboPlay Magazine was a bi-monthly, U.S.-based video game magazine published by L.F.P. from June/July 1990 through August/September 1992. It was available via subscription only . A total of 14 issues were released, on schedule...
in June that year. It would later be released for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
's Virtual Console
Virtual console
A virtual console – also known as a virtual terminal – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some operating systems such as UnixWare, Linux, and BSD, in which the system console of the computer can be used to switch between...
service in Japan on , in North America on , and in Europe on ; it was released alongside Super Metroid
Super Metroid
, also known as Metroid 3, is an action-adventure video game and the third game in the Metroid series. It was designed by Nintendo Research & Development 1, programmed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console...
and Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master
Shinobi III: Return of the Ninja Master, released in Japan as , is an action game developed and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console that was released in 1993.It is the direct sequel of the 1989 game The Revenge of Shinobi...
. It was released for the PlayStation Network along with a series of other TurboGrafx-16 titles that were published by Hudson Soft; it was released in Japan on , and in North America on .
Reception
Since its release, people have widely regarded Neutopia as a clone of NintendoNintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's The Legend of Zelda. The PC Engine version of the game was reviewed in the February 1990 issue of German magazine Power Play, where reviewer Martin Gaksch called the game "Zelda on the PC-Engine" and said that the "differences between Zelda and Neutopia must be found with an electron microscope
Electron microscope
An electron microscope is a type of microscope that uses a beam of electrons to illuminate the specimen and produce a magnified image. Electron microscopes have a greater resolving power than a light-powered optical microscope, because electrons have wavelengths about 100,000 times shorter than...
". They said that the graphics, music, and gameplay were good, and that the only thing that kept Neutopia from being superior to Zelda was the 24-character password system and that the text was in Japanese. There would eventually be a sequel to the game Neutopia II, in which Jazeta disappears, his son sets out to find him.
Neutopia received much coverage from various video gaming websites after its release on the Virtual Console, and each drew similar similarities to Zelda. Adam Romano from Defunct Games noted that Neutopia was released two years before The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, known as in Japan, is an action-adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, and the third installment in The Legend of Zelda series. It was first released in Japan in 1991, and was...
and said that Neutopia "kept pace with or were actually ahead of the Nintendo curve". He said that gameplay and backgrounds remain varied and that "the fire rod weapon is especially fun to wield", but he noted that the things that keep the game from being better than Zelda were repetitive and frustrating dungeon exploring, boring boss battles, long passwords (for those who do not own a TurboGrafx-CD), and several "head-scratching moments" which include references to Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as well as quotes from Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
. Marcel van Duyn from Nintendo Life noted many similarities to Zelda, including the existence of 8 dungeons and medallions, the need to blow up walls or burn bushes to uncover secrets, the dungeon designs, and the need to push blocks to uncover staircases. However, he noted that what sets it apart from Zelda are the fire rod, the ability to warp with wings, and a lower difficulty level. He concluded that the game, while copying Zelda, might be better as it added additional features that set it apart. Destructoid
Destructoid
Destructoid is an independent video game-focused blog based in San Francisco, California that was founded in March 2006. It has since grown into one of the most widely read video game sites on the Internet, reaching more than 3 million unique visitors per month...
's Tony Ponce compared the game's copying of Zelda to China Warrior
China Warrior
China Warrior, known in Japan as , is a horizontal beat'em up video game created in 1987 by Hudson Soft for the TurboGrafx-16. The game was ported to mobile phones and the Hudson Channel for the PS2 exclusively in Japan with redone graphics, audio and gameplay...
s copying of Kung-Fu Master, and he pointed out similar Zelda clones such as Crusader of Centy
Crusader of Centy
Crusader of Centy is an action RPG game that was released on the Mega Drive/Genesis. The story centers on Corona, a boy who has just turned 14 years of age. It is time for him to inherit his father's sword and fight the "monsters" that threaten the human race's very existence, attaining animals...
and Alundra
Alundra
, released in Europe as The Adventures of Alundra, is an action-adventure game developed by Matrix Software for the Sony PlayStation and was released in 1997. It was published by Sony in Japan, Working Designs in North America, and Psygnosis in Europe. It won great critical acclaim for its bizarre...
for the Sega Genesis and PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, respectively.
GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
's Austin Shau reviewed Neutopia in November 2007 and said progression through the game was "quick and direct" but was also more linear, unlike with Zelda. He praised the game for its variety of environments, which he said "helps to combat monotony", but he noted the lack of detail in the graphics itself. He also criticized the game's sound, in which he said the background music was a series of "grating instrumentations" while also pointing out the low-quality TurboGrafx-16 sound chip. IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
's Lucas Thomas called Neutopia "one of the most shameless Legend of Zelda clones ever created" in nearly every aspect. He praised one of the differences in the presence of the fire rod, which he said "is unlike any weapon the 8-bit Link ever wielded"; he also noted the clean, crisp graphics and a good quality soundtrack. However, he criticized another difference from Zelda, that Neutopia had poor collision detection, saying that it can lead to additional damage to Jazeta, which causes the power of the fire rod to decrease and lead to the annoying "beeping sound" just as in Zelda. In general, Thomas said that, despite its lack of originality, Neutopia is a good TurboGrafx-16 game which has deserved all the praise it has received.