Wachenröder
Encyclopedia
is a tactical role-playing game
for the Sega Saturn
developed by Sega
and released on August 6, 1998. It was only released in Japan
.
is very sophisticated and the people hold it dear: vehicles, gadgetry or weapons driven by vapor
in place of electricity
. This links Wachenröder, based on its contents and its overall design, to the steampunk
genre.
Since the building of several wastewater treatment plants
for the rich upper class, the citizens of Edoalds suffer more and more from diseases caused by hazardous waste
and contaminated drinking water.
The gamer assumes the role of Lucian Taylor, who is in search of Imperator Duran, to avenge the illness-caused death of his younger sister, which he holds him responsible for.
, similar the genrelike games Vandal Hearts
, Front Mission
or Final Fantasy Tactics
, and consist of several turn-based fights
separated by cutscenes. Some cutscenes are preceded by the playable character Bellebete narrating the story. As a result of its linearity and the existence of fan translations for both the script and manual, it's also playable by non-Japanese
speaking people. Most main functions are also either written in English
or pictured as small pictogram
s.
:
that comes packed with the game, for example, begins with a longer German text that tells the background story in lyric poetry
. The names of the chapters and some items are also written in German. Some of the characters bear German names ("Walter", "Georg"), a smeltery bears the name "Falkenhof" (mean: hawk courtyard), and so on.
The game's name is made up from the words Wache (mean: guard) and Röder, whereas the latter descends from the German word roden (mean: "to stub"), which in its original sense means "clearing trees". Thus a "Wachenröder" is a person
, who basically "eliminates guards".
Also worthy of mention is the usage of the Wiener Werkstätte
logo that is printed on the game's cover, the CD-ROM
, and used in the actual game itself.
and Foreigner
musician Ian McDonald
. In reference to this, the Imperial City includes an area called Crimson King.
Tactical role-playing game
A tactical role-playing game is a type of video game which incorporates elements of traditional role-playing video games and strategy games. In Japan these games are known as , a designation which might seem peculiar to native English speakers...
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...
developed 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...
and released on August 6, 1998. It was only released in Japan
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...
.
Story
The story takes place in a dark future on the island Edoald, which is ruled by the noble and magnanimous King Wizar (who is imprisoned by the evil prime minister Vlad at the time which the game begins). In this alternate history, steam powerSteam engine
A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid.Steam engines are external combustion engines, where the working fluid is separate from the combustion products. Non-combustion heat sources such as solar power, nuclear power or geothermal energy may be...
is very sophisticated and the people hold it dear: vehicles, gadgetry or weapons driven by vapor
Vapor
A vapor or vapour is a substance in the gas phase at a temperature lower than its critical point....
in place of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. This links Wachenröder, based on its contents and its overall design, to the steampunk
Steampunk
Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, and speculative fiction that came into prominence during the 1980s and early 1990s. Steampunk involves a setting where steam power is still widely used—usually Victorian era Britain or "Wild West"-era United...
genre.
Since the building of several wastewater treatment plants
Sewage treatment
Sewage treatment, or domestic wastewater treatment, is the process of removing contaminants from wastewater and household sewage, both runoff and domestic. It includes physical, chemical, and biological processes to remove physical, chemical and biological contaminants...
for the rich upper class, the citizens of Edoalds suffer more and more from diseases caused by hazardous waste
Hazardous waste
A hazardous waste is waste that poses substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. According to the U.S. environmental laws hazardous wastes fall into two major categories: characteristic wastes and listed wastes.Characteristic hazardous wastes are materials that are known...
and contaminated drinking water.
The gamer assumes the role of Lucian Taylor, who is in search of Imperator Duran, to avenge the illness-caused death of his younger sister, which he holds him responsible for.
Gameplay
Most of the time the game is presented in an isometric perspectiveIsometric projection
Isometric projection is a method for visually representing three-dimensional objects in two dimensions in technical and engineering drawings...
, similar the genrelike games Vandal Hearts
Vandal Hearts
is a turn-based tactical role-playing video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo for the PlayStation and later ported to the Sega Saturn by Konami Computer Entertainment Nagoya. The PlayStation version was distributed in Japan, North America, and Europe. The Saturn version was...
, Front Mission
Front Mission
is a collection of video games and related media produced by Square, now Square Enix. The series was created by Toshiro Tsuchida and developed by G-Craft, a studio that was later absorbed by Square and is now with Square Enix as Product Development Division-6...
or Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy Tactics
is a tactical role-playing game developed and published by Square for the Sony PlayStation video game console. It is the first game of the Final Fantasy Tactics series and was released in Japan in June 1997 and in the United States in January 1998...
, and consist of several turn-based fights
Turn-based strategy
A turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
separated by cutscenes. Some cutscenes are preceded by the playable character Bellebete narrating the story. As a result of its linearity and the existence of fan translations for both the script and manual, it's also playable by non-Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
speaking people. Most main functions are also either written in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
or pictured as small pictogram
Pictogram
A pictograph, also called pictogram or pictogramme is an ideogram that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and graphic systems in which the characters are to considerable extent pictorial in appearance.Pictography is a...
s.
Main characters
The events of the game mainly centre around the following charactersPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
:
- Lucian Taylor
An often depressiveClinical depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
young man in his early 20s, who seeks to avenge the death of his younger sister, who died 4 years ago. He is equipped with a S.R.G. ("Steam Refine Gear"), that provides his "Sledge", a steam driven weapon, with energy. He is named after the main character from Arthur MachenArthur MachenArthur Machen was a Welsh author and mystic of the 1890s and early 20th century. He is best known for his influential supernatural, fantasy, and horror fiction. His novella The Great God Pan has garnered a reputation as a classic of horror...
's book The Hill of DreamsThe Hill of Dreams-Plot summary:The novel recounts the life of a young man, Lucian Taylor, focusing on his dreamy childhood in rural Wales, in a town based on Caerleon. The Hill of Dreams of the title is an old Roman fort where Lucian has strange sensual visions, including ones of the town in the time of Roman Britain...
. - Carrol Mew
A princess who seeks to put a stop to the evils perpetuated by Vlad. She is armed with two firearmFirearmA firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
s attached to her hands. - Titus Groan
A mercenary who claims to be only interested in saving his own skin, but readily jumps to the aid of anyone in need. Named after the fictional characterFictional characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
Titus Groan by Mervyn PeakeMervyn PeakeMervyn Laurence Peake was an English writer, artist, poet and illustrator. He is best known for what are usually referred to as the Gormenghast books. They are sometimes compared to the work of his older contemporary J. R. R...
. He is armed with a steam-driven hammerHammerA hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
. - Bellebete
A singing diva who travels as part of the performance troupe the Chemical Brothers. After two chance encounters with Lucian's party, she finds herself quite taken with Lucian and convinces the rest of the troupe to help him out. Though supposedly blind, Bellebete uses bow and arrow as her weapon and routinely makes comments such as "You look well." - Duran Matthews
Rightful ruler of Foggy City. He leads the party in their war against Vlad for most of the game. His weapon is a sword-like S.R.G. - Helder
A political pawn of Vlad. Believing that Vlad's research can be used to avert tragedies like the one which killed his mother, he supported Vlad's rise to power and took on the rulership of Foggy City after Duran was forcibly deposed. - Vlad
The evil prime minister of Edoald Island. A scientist and theologian, he had the king of Edoald imprisoned and all leaders of Edoald's church murdered in his quest to master the ancient technology of the Moribitos and clear the fog surrounding Edoald Island.
Wachenröder and the German language
On several occasions, Wachenröder is bilingual. The little artbookArtbook
An art book may mean a conventional book on art or art history, or an artist's book, which is a work of art in the form of a book, usually produced in a small limited edition, often not just using normal printing techniques. The term might also cover graphic novels, books of anime and other types...
that comes packed with the game, for example, begins with a longer German text that tells the background story in lyric poetry
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
. The names of the chapters and some items are also written in German. Some of the characters bear German names ("Walter", "Georg"), a smeltery bears the name "Falkenhof" (mean: hawk courtyard), and so on.
The game's name is made up from the words Wache (mean: guard) and Röder, whereas the latter descends from the German word roden (mean: "to stub"), which in its original sense means "clearing trees". Thus a "Wachenröder" is a person
Person
A person is a human being, or an entity that has certain capacities or attributes strongly associated with being human , for example in a particular moral or legal context...
, who basically "eliminates guards".
Also worthy of mention is the usage of the Wiener Werkstätte
Wiener Werkstätte
Established in 1903, the Wiener Werkstätte was a production community of visual artists. The workshop brought together architects, artists and designers whose first commitment was to design art which would be accessible to everyone...
logo that is printed on the game's cover, the CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
, and used in the actual game itself.
Music
Wachenröder features a main theme composed by King CrimsonKing Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
and Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
musician Ian McDonald
Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
. In reference to this, the Imperial City includes an area called Crimson King.
External links
- ShinForce Review of "Wachenröder" Review and Screenshots of Wachenröder
- "Wachenröder" on www.cenocide.de Review, Coverscans und Screenshots of Wachenröder
- "Wachenröder" On GameFAQs Reviews and FAQs on Wachenröder