The Story of Thor 2
Encyclopedia
The Legend of Oasis, known in Japan
as and in Europe
as The Story of Thor 2, is a action role-playing game
developed by Ancient
and published by Sega
for the Sega Saturn
. It is the successor and prequel to the 1994 title Beyond Oasis
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
. The player takes the role of Leon, who must find the six elemental spirits and use their powers to fight the evil wizard Agito and his legions of creatures.
, the warrior Ordan gives his young pupil Leon the Golden Armlet, so that he can become the Spirit King of Oasis. This can only be achieved by obtaining the loyalty of the six elemental spirits of the land, which are called Dytto (the spirit of water), Efreet (the spirit of fire), Bawu (the spirit of earth), Brass (the spirit of sound), Shade (the spirit of darkness), and Airl (the spirit of air). Leon's nemesis is the evil wizard Agito who has the Silver Armlet and threatens to destroy the land.
The game action takes place in real time
. Each weapon comes with a set of special attacks that are executed in fighting game
style. The player can also summon spirits by firing a "Spirit Ball" at some object from the blue gem in his armlet; the exact spirit summoned depends on the object hit. The spirits can fight enemies, heal Leon, or help solve puzzles. Each has a different power, and Leon can wield short and long sword
s as well as bow and arrow. He is able to perform "combos" by means of combinations of the D-pad
and the action buttons. His arrows can trigger switches.
The game is generally one-player, though a two-player mode can be accessed using a cheat code.
The graphics in Legend are, for the most part, identical to the original. The only noticeable improvements are in color and frame rate
. The graphics in the prequel have sharper contrast and saturation
and the overall performance is more stable. Legend's soundtrack was composed by Yuzo Koshiro
, as was the one from the sequel.
) to justify its appearance on the Saturn
platform. The gameplay was also referred to as frustrating at times, because its perspective can make it very difficult to tell how high or low a platform is in relation to Leon — it may force him to walk great lengths to get back to where he was prior to jumping up to a platform that is too high. Game Informer
gave the game an 8.75/10.
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 and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
as The Story of Thor 2, is a action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
developed by Ancient
Ancient (company)
Ancient Corp. is a video game developer founded on April 1st, 1990, and managed by the game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The company was founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro also works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer...
and published by Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
for the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
. It is the successor and prequel to the 1994 title Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis
Sega Mega Drive
The Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
. The player takes the role of Leon, who must find the six elemental spirits and use their powers to fight the evil wizard Agito and his legions of creatures.
Plot
Many years before the events in Beyond OasisBeyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
, the warrior Ordan gives his young pupil Leon the Golden Armlet, so that he can become the Spirit King of Oasis. This can only be achieved by obtaining the loyalty of the six elemental spirits of the land, which are called Dytto (the spirit of water), Efreet (the spirit of fire), Bawu (the spirit of earth), Brass (the spirit of sound), Shade (the spirit of darkness), and Airl (the spirit of air). Leon's nemesis is the evil wizard Agito who has the Silver Armlet and threatens to destroy the land.
Characters
- Leon is the young pupil of Ordan and the next Spirit King of Oasis; he is given the magical Golden Armlet which empowers him with the ability to summon the six spirits of the land and have them help him with their elemental powers.
- Ordan is Leon's master and gives him the Golden Armlet.
- Myra is a sickly woman who flees to Oasis, pursued by Agito's monsters.
- Agito, Leon's nemesis, wields the Silver Armlet, the counterpart of the Golden Armlet, and intends to destroy Oasis. With his red-gemmed armlet, Agito is able to create chaos and cause destruction.
Gameplay
Real-time tactics
Real-time tactics or RTT is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics...
. Each weapon comes with a set of special attacks that are executed in fighting game
Fighting game
Fighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
style. The player can also summon spirits by firing a "Spirit Ball" at some object from the blue gem in his armlet; the exact spirit summoned depends on the object hit. The spirits can fight enemies, heal Leon, or help solve puzzles. Each has a different power, and Leon can wield short and long sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
s as well as bow and arrow. He is able to perform "combos" by means of combinations of the D-pad
D-pad
A D-pad is a flat, usually thumb-operated directional control with one button on each point, found on nearly all modern video game console gamepads, game controllers, on the remote control units of some television and DVD players, and smart phones...
and the action buttons. His arrows can trigger switches.
The game is generally one-player, though a two-player mode can be accessed using a cheat code.
The graphics in Legend are, for the most part, identical to the original. The only noticeable improvements are in color and frame rate
Frame rate
Frame rate is the frequency at which an imaging device produces unique consecutive images called frames. The term applies equally well to computer graphics, video cameras, film cameras, and motion capture systems...
. The graphics in the prequel have sharper contrast and saturation
Saturation (color theory)
In colorimetry and color theory, colorfulness, chroma, and saturation are related but distinct concepts referring to the perceived intensity of a specific color. Colorfulness is the degree of difference between a color and gray. Chroma is the colorfulness relative to the brightness of another color...
and the overall performance is more stable. Legend's soundtrack was composed by Yuzo Koshiro
Yuzo Koshiro
is a Japanese video game music composer and audio programmer. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune music and video game sound design...
, as was the one from the sequel.
Spirits
- Dytto is the spirit of water. She is summoned when Leon fires the Spirit Ball from the armlet's blue gem at a mass of water. She can freeze water or enemies as well as put out fires.
- Efreet is the spirit of fire. He is summoned from fire and can melt ice (which in turn can be used to summon Dytto).
- Bawu is the spirit of earth. It can be summoned from plants and can eat iron balls and bite enemies, and can also break open cracks in the environment.
- Brass is the spirit of sound. It can be summoned from metal objects and is able to attack enemies and shatter crystals by producing sound waves.
- Shade is the spirit of darkness. It can be summoned from graves, ice spires, crystals, and dead beings like ghosts, zombies, and skeletons. It can attack thorns, activate switches, and suffer attacks in Leon's place.
- Airl is the spirit of air. It can be summoned from air fountains, vapor, or electricity sparks. It can serve as a means of transportation.
Reception
The game has been criticized as not being original enough (compared to its predecessor, Beyond OasisBeyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
) to justify its appearance on the Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
platform. The gameplay was also referred to as frustrating at times, because its perspective can make it very difficult to tell how high or low a platform is in relation to Leon — it may force him to walk great lengths to get back to where he was prior to jumping up to a platform that is too high. Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
gave the game an 8.75/10.